I live in a... how to put this. I live in a.. Wealthy? Upscale? Popular? Idealistic, beautiful, full of transplants, full of good entertainment, food, and shopping... town.
I was born here, I was raised near here, I went to college here.
But that reputation... I depends on who you are talking to. My home town is either the most awesome place you've ever been to, or a snobbish expensive 'burb full of jerks.
In any case, we're looking at moving up house wise. We have a tiny little place that we've put enough work into that it's one of the jewels of our little neighborhood (at least, it is in my mind!), situated on the very outskirts of the above town. We need more space if we're going to have kids. We need more space for our extra-curriculars. We need more space to realize our gardening dreams. We've scrimped and saved and planned for this: We're ready to move up.
Close friends who live in our popular town are behind us 100% when we say we want to stay here. They understand the appeal, and they love the ups and downs, the quirks and the benefits, of living here.
Close friends and family members who have moved out of this town are not so understanding, and feel the need to give us lots of 'advice' we never asked for, otherwise known as 'assvice'. We could move east, closer to oil wells and therefore closer to cheaper housing. We could move west, and up, and commute down winding mountain roads in the winter time. We could move 40 miles away, to a much bigger city, and open up our housing options quite a bit. We could move closer to the parents. We could move closer to our many friends in the much bigger city.
All this assvice about where we 'should' be looking for a house is annoying. It's offered constantly, but never has it been sought. It's offered as the only reasonable option, the only rational one, the obvious choice.
"Are you finally moving out of [hometown]?" (When you put the finally in there, I already know how you are going to judge my answer.)
"You're looking out east, right? You can get a lot more house out there, you know. You can get more yard. You could even get a new house."
"Why don't you move to [bigger city]? You know there are lots more houses there, right? It's really a good place to live now, you know that right?"
Some ask us where we are looking, instead of telling us where we should be looking. Half of those are happy for us, offering us good luck. The other half seem disappointed. "Oh. I thought for sure you'd look [insert the area that friend/relative would into look if they were us, which they are not] for sure. You know that you can get more house there, right?"
I just get tired of all the assvice. Listen, my partner and I have never leaped blindly into any major decision, much less a minor one. We are big planners, researching our every option, running through many scenarios, and only coming to a conclusion after what is probably too much research and time.
So here it is:
- Yes, we are aware that housing prices are generally higher in the areas we are looking than in the areas you are suggesting. We know. We've seen the listings
- We are still looking here, however, and we're okay with it.
- We both hate to commute. All that time in the car is a real waste to us. So that's why we're looking here: we work here.
- Plus, our cars are older. One is about to be eligible for classic plates! Therefore, if we want to avoid putting lots of money into them, or buying newer cars, we need shorter commutes.
- And have you seen gas prices lately?! Sure, I could move east and gets lots more house for less money, but how much would I spend on GAS?!
- We like this town. There is culture, art, good food, etc. here. If we moved to tiny towns on the edge of oil fields, we'd have to drive everywhere to do anything, including seeing a doctor, going to the grocery store, etc.
- Plus, do we really need a huge, brand new house? If you know us at all, you'd know we were into saving resources. Why buy brand new if there are older places available? That's pretty much our motto.
- And huge houses are pricey to heat! And cool!
- Plus, again, if you knew us, we like to DIY. We want to fix up a place, or remodel a basement. We're totally into that.
- And anyway, this is our decision. I'd love to talk to you about it, but please first remove from your brain what we should be doing, and instead listen to what we want. Then we can talk.
