Sunday, March 14, 2010

Shopping for a House

I hate shopping. I rarely spend money because I hate shopping. I never buy new clothes, shoes, jewelry, books, CDs, DVDs, or stuff that clutters up the house. I don't care for electronics, expensive cosmetics, or collectibles. I tolerate grocery shopping because, well, my family has to eat. My husband's first wife was on a first name basis with her favorite Nordstrom sales associates, so he definitely appreciates that I'm not fond of spending money on frivolous purchases.

For the last several months, we've been casually talking about buying another house. Every few weeks or so we'll drive around the neighborhoods we like and check out what's available, stopping in on any open houses along the way.

I love my husband's house. I don't want to move and I'd be happy to spend the rest of my life here. Unfortunately, our neighborhood isn't as nice as it was when my husband moved here in 1981. Thanks to the RHNA and government interference, our neighborhood is slated to turn to what I consider absolute crap. My side of town will most likely be where the city council is dumping over 800 very low or low-income units.

Our city traditionally does not allow high-density housing, but housing advocates don't really care how the legitimate residents feel about the matter. I guess they feel that everyone deserves to live in an area with low-crime, highly rated schools, and very high property values. . .whether they can truly afford it or not. That last part is particularly galling to those who worked hard and saved up to live in such a great area.

One of the things I like the best about living here is that it is mainly single-family homes. If I wanted to live around high-density housing, I'd be living in my condo. Call me a snob if you want, but I don't want to live in an area with a lot of apartments or condos and I don't want my son to go to school (even a highly rated school) in such an area.

So we've been looking to move and just rent out this house. We walked through a house that I actually liked a lot today. My husband HATED it. I asked what he didn't like and he said it was too small. I think our current house is too big (it always feels that way when I'm cleaning anyway!) and I've been hoping that we'd buy a smaller house. He actually wants a much bigger house! Of course, I know who will be cleaning so I'm not quite on board yet.

I want a big & open kitchen. I want glass fronted built-in cabinets. I want at least 2.5 restrooms because I don't want visitors to use the restroom my kids will be using. I want both a living room and a den and I must have a dining room. And I do not want to hassle with a 2-story house. Seriously, we aren't getting any younger and there will come a time that we won't want to drag our old bones up and down stairs. Frankly, I want our house with an extra bathroom and in a better neighborhood.

My husband wants a lot of space for parking - at least space for six vehicles. He wants a very large backyard and at least a 3-car garage. He wants at least four bedrooms. And he wants a bigger house.

Purchasing property was much easier when I was single because I only had to please myself and didn't have to consult with anyone. I hate moving and I don't want to ever move again once we buy another house. Right now, it seems that we don't really care about the same things and I don't think that the perfect house exists for us.

I hate shopping. . .even if it's for a house.

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