Yeah, this is the mid-step. We had originally planned to be building about now, but then the stock market crashed and took out ~40% of our savings, so that's just no longer possible in the short term. We have a fair amount of savings and will be getting a bit back from the house sale, but it just wouldn't be enough to buy land and finance the construction, so it's pretty much scotched for now.
And then we realized that we'd be doing the adoption soon, and so trying to move or do construction or whatever when we have a baby or toddler would be a nightmare anyway, so whereever we were at the time we got the kiddo, we'd definitely be stuck there for at least five years or so, until the kid was more self-sufficient and didn't need constant monitoring.
Not wanting to be stuck in the Northern Boonies for five more years, and not having the cash to build the dream house, we decided to split the difference, and find a place that was closer in and an upgrade from where we were, but still within our limited budget.
Location is really the biggest concern, since that's the biggest reason we want to move from where we are now. It's just way too far out for us to spend any real time with our friends, and that's been really difficult. The work commute's not horrible, but it could be better, and we definitely don't want to go worse on that, either (which is part of why we won't do a bridge commute anymore.)
So we're not looking for the patch of land we want to stay in forever, but we do want something that we can tolerate more in the short term.
And we also want enough of an upgrade on the house itself that it will seem worth the extra money we're spending on it. Technically speaking, we could of course get by with something on par with what we have now, but we've gotten a bit spoiled, and there are some bells and whistles and such that we'd like to have with the new place. There are a few "musts" on that list, though definitely plenty of room for negotiation. We're unlikely to find a place with a jetted tub in the master bath, for instance, though that would certainly be delightful. It's not a deal-breaker the way a tiny kitchen or no space between houses would be.
I doubt we'll find perfection. That won't happen until we build, undoubtedly. But I also don't want to be stuck in some god-awful 1970s cheesefest, either. ;)
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momijizukamori
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Date: 2009-07-17 12:43 am (UTC)And then we realized that we'd be doing the adoption soon, and so trying to move or do construction or whatever when we have a baby or toddler would be a nightmare anyway, so whereever we were at the time we got the kiddo, we'd definitely be stuck there for at least five years or so, until the kid was more self-sufficient and didn't need constant monitoring.
Not wanting to be stuck in the Northern Boonies for five more years, and not having the cash to build the dream house, we decided to split the difference, and find a place that was closer in and an upgrade from where we were, but still within our limited budget.
Location is really the biggest concern, since that's the biggest reason we want to move from where we are now. It's just way too far out for us to spend any real time with our friends, and that's been really difficult. The work commute's not horrible, but it could be better, and we definitely don't want to go worse on that, either (which is part of why we won't do a bridge commute anymore.)
So we're not looking for the patch of land we want to stay in forever, but we do want something that we can tolerate more in the short term.
And we also want enough of an upgrade on the house itself that it will seem worth the extra money we're spending on it. Technically speaking, we could of course get by with something on par with what we have now, but we've gotten a bit spoiled, and there are some bells and whistles and such that we'd like to have with the new place. There are a few "musts" on that list, though definitely plenty of room for negotiation. We're unlikely to find a place with a jetted tub in the master bath, for instance, though that would certainly be delightful. It's not a deal-breaker the way a tiny kitchen or no space between houses would be.
I doubt we'll find perfection. That won't happen until we build, undoubtedly. But I also don't want to be stuck in some god-awful 1970s cheesefest, either. ;)