House Hunting

Chris and I are sort of the classic “a little bit city meets a little bit country” couple. He grew up on his uncle’s farm helping with the work, feeding baby calves and playing in the fields. I grew up in suburbia on a street filled with kids, our kickball games taking over the neighborhood. You can imagine how buying a home together is requiring some compromise.

When I was 25 and ready to buy my first place it was just Piper and me. I looked at houses but in the end my condo was the best option for my money and I do not regret that decision. The open floor plan, large kitchen and walkout to a pretty private wooded area were the selling points for me. I knew that this first home was only temporary but when Chris moved in, I could tell right away it was out of his comfort zone. Honestly, even though I grew up in the suburbs, you could drop me in the middle of the city or way out in the country and I’d be just fine. Chris, not so much. He’s happiest away from the fast paced, in our face city life. But even though I could be happy anywhere, I imagine a childhood more similar to my own for our future children because that is what I know. When we first talked about buying a house we each listed what we were hoping for. After getting together a budget and time frame for moving, we ultimately decided it made the most sense to stay in the suburbs. BUT we would try to find the biggest yard for our money and hopefully as much space as possible between houses in a neighborhood.

 

The first time around back in the Spring we thought we had found the perfect compromise. It was a house in a neighborhood with a gigantic yard on a cul-de-sac with a lot of privacy from neighbors that weren’t right on top of us. After everything went sour with that deal I wondered if we would be able to find something that met our standards in our price range a second time. I started to get really nervous after we went out looking on Sunday and found nothing. But we revisited an area we had not considered this time and were excited to see some good possibilities. After seeing the houses in person last night I had a lot talk over with Chris but I’m really excited because the one we both loved from the pictures turned out to be just as awesome in real time. Let’s hope by this weekend we have a winner!