Location, Location, Location
celebrated by going out to lunch, and then we moved her stuff in - I
would move in three weeks later, after we got married. I recall being
excited to become a homeowner, but nervous that now that the house
belonged to us, any major problems became our problems.
Indeed, in seven years we've had pipes burst and small fires break out
and even a burglary. We've done renovations, bought new windows, and
weatherized leaky areas. And I went from being a worried and
incompetent homeowner to a resigned and incompetent homeowner.
And in seven years, my how the local real estate market has changed.
I remember when anything over $100K seemed exorbitant for our
neighborhood; now anything under $400K is considered a steal. So our
timing was good, and so was our God.
I asked Amy the other day, "If you could pick any intersection
anywhere in the world to live, where would it be?" She mulled it over
for about two seconds and decided that right where we are was her best
answer. I had to agree.
Some days aspects of the suburbs beckon to us. We harbor a growing
itch to spend our empty nester days in a tiny apartment downtown. I
still dream of retiring in a ballpark village near where my beloved
Oakland A's play.
But I'm pretty darn happy right now with where we're located. We're
within the lines of a new public school Penn supports, which our kids
will be able to walk two blocks to get to from the time they're in
kindergarten until the 8th grade. That school, our local park, and
the Penn campus are all within a ten-minute walk, all great places to
bring little kids. Also within ten minutes are two sets of transit
lines, our church, and probably three dozen restaurants.
And so as we celebrate our seventh anniversary as homeowners, I feel
quite fortunate that we bought what we did, where we did, and when we
did. Now if I can just figure out how to add a layer of insulation in
our attic and get around to buying a dining room table, we'll really
be cooking.
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