Life update: buying a house
Mar. 9th, 2009 04:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
scottahillI've posted some minor details about Miriam etc but I haven't said anything about the major ones.
So we're moving to Toledo in May, and we're looking to buy a house! We're going to be there for at least seven years while Jen aims for tenure, and with the market what it is it seems like a good idea to buy-- although we're certainly okay with renting if we don't find anything we like. (The problem with renting first is that the move from Dallas to Toledo is being paid for by the University, including movers and all; a second move would not be. Would hate to have to move twice, particularly carrying all the boxes around ourselves the second time.)
We're in contact with the real-estate agent in Toledo who has sent us 230 listings. :) We've pared them down by how well-rated their elementary school is rated (www.greatschools.net) and how walkable the neighborhood is (www.walkscore.com), and gotten a list of maybe 20. In two weeks we'll be going to Toledo to look at the properties and the neighborhoods and so forth. A walkable neighborhood is really important to me: I hate relying on a car for everything. If there's a park and a library and a restaurant/coffee-shop and a grocery store within a mile of the house, I will be much happier. While I hate urban environments, I do prefer the small town setup over a suburban or rural area.
I really wish I knew what it was I would like in a home that would make it easy to work in one. Since Chicago I've gradually become more and more inclined to get out of the house as frequently as possible, to work. Granted, a lot of that time was spent underemployed or unemployed, and now that I spend all day with Miriam, getting out of the house is even more reasonable. Still, it feels like there should be some sort of setup or floorplan or something which would make the place more appealing to me, if I could figure it out. One thought I've had: we're looking for a 4-bedroom house, with a master bedroom, bedroom for Mira, bedroom for guests/other child, and one room as an office. The real estate agent wanted to know if we'd accept 3 BR and a finished basement, and that really has a certain appeal to me: a large room with a desk in the corner, maybe blackboards along the walls (I'm thinking blackboard paint), plenty of room to pace. It might really work; it's certainly different than anything else I've tried to use as an office.
Anyway, that's the news. :)
(Oh, and I still owe![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kcobweb the five-word meme (my words: composition, shyness, feminism, singing, parenting), but I could write essays on most of them so this could take a while).
So we're moving to Toledo in May, and we're looking to buy a house! We're going to be there for at least seven years while Jen aims for tenure, and with the market what it is it seems like a good idea to buy-- although we're certainly okay with renting if we don't find anything we like. (The problem with renting first is that the move from Dallas to Toledo is being paid for by the University, including movers and all; a second move would not be. Would hate to have to move twice, particularly carrying all the boxes around ourselves the second time.)
We're in contact with the real-estate agent in Toledo who has sent us 230 listings. :) We've pared them down by how well-rated their elementary school is rated (www.greatschools.net) and how walkable the neighborhood is (www.walkscore.com), and gotten a list of maybe 20. In two weeks we'll be going to Toledo to look at the properties and the neighborhoods and so forth. A walkable neighborhood is really important to me: I hate relying on a car for everything. If there's a park and a library and a restaurant/coffee-shop and a grocery store within a mile of the house, I will be much happier. While I hate urban environments, I do prefer the small town setup over a suburban or rural area.
I really wish I knew what it was I would like in a home that would make it easy to work in one. Since Chicago I've gradually become more and more inclined to get out of the house as frequently as possible, to work. Granted, a lot of that time was spent underemployed or unemployed, and now that I spend all day with Miriam, getting out of the house is even more reasonable. Still, it feels like there should be some sort of setup or floorplan or something which would make the place more appealing to me, if I could figure it out. One thought I've had: we're looking for a 4-bedroom house, with a master bedroom, bedroom for Mira, bedroom for guests/other child, and one room as an office. The real estate agent wanted to know if we'd accept 3 BR and a finished basement, and that really has a certain appeal to me: a large room with a desk in the corner, maybe blackboards along the walls (I'm thinking blackboard paint), plenty of room to pace. It might really work; it's certainly different than anything else I've tried to use as an office.
Anyway, that's the news. :)
(Oh, and I still owe
kcobweb the five-word meme (my words: composition, shyness, feminism, singing, parenting), but I could write essays on most of them so this could take a while).
