part 1 here
part 2 here
part 3 here
part 4 here
part 5 here
part 6 here
So we're pretty much caught up to current. If you want to find out why we're in Texas now, instead of California, you can go read it using the links above.
But maybe you can't quite figure out why we're house hunting again so soon after the frustration of house hunting in California.
Now that we finally sold the place in California, and we're no longer paying both a mortgage and rent, why would we put ourselves through the frustration of house hunting again? Wouldn't we want to take a break, and relax a bit after the hustle-bustle of packing up our house and road-tripping 1500 miles?
Well, we wanted to wait. Really we did.
Our apartment here costs significantly less than any of our apartments ever did in California (except splorp!'s bachelor apartment). And if we could stay here we could save a lot of money over the next several months, and add to our down payment.
splorp! was even doing the math, saying our payment could be much lower than in California, and we could actually get a 15 year loan instead, and be in good shape.
So, yeah, waiting a while and socking away the money was the plan.
And mentally, it would be nice to take a break from house hunting. The first time around was just so stressful, it would be nice if we could consider taking some time to relax.
But we can't relax when we're home.
It's because of that train. You know, the one that is right next to us:
But maybe you can't quite figure out why we're house hunting again so soon after the frustration of house hunting in California.
Now that we finally sold the place in California, and we're no longer paying both a mortgage and rent, why would we put ourselves through the frustration of house hunting again? Wouldn't we want to take a break, and relax a bit after the hustle-bustle of packing up our house and road-tripping 1500 miles?
Well, we wanted to wait. Really we did.
Our apartment here costs significantly less than any of our apartments ever did in California (except splorp!'s bachelor apartment). And if we could stay here we could save a lot of money over the next several months, and add to our down payment.
splorp! was even doing the math, saying our payment could be much lower than in California, and we could actually get a 15 year loan instead, and be in good shape.
So, yeah, waiting a while and socking away the money was the plan.
And mentally, it would be nice to take a break from house hunting. The first time around was just so stressful, it would be nice if we could consider taking some time to relax.
But we can't relax when we're home.
It's because of that train. You know, the one that is right next to us:
The Train We Hate
Living next to it sucks. A lot.
It's an extremely busy cargo line. And while we are not exposed to train whistles (fortunately we're far enough from a crossing that there is no clanging bells or flashing lights, either) we are constantly shaken awake by the train going by at night.
And the frustrating part? People keep telling us, "Oh, I lived by a train. You get used to it after a while and you don't even hear it anymore."
That's ... nice. We appreciate that they're trying to make us feel better about a poor situation.
But what everyone seems to miss is that we don't have a problem with hearing the train. We FEEL it.
It vibrates the walls, the windows, everything. It happens all day long and all night long. It's just not restful.
And so (with money in the bank) we find ourselves in the enviable position of being home buyers in a buyer's market. And after owning a home once, we know what we want, and have the money in the bank to afford to be picky.
The houses here? Much, much larger than in California, and for much less money.
We're already in contract on a much nicer house, with more square footage, more bedrooms, a bigger backyard, only 15 years old, in a much nicer neighborhood ... for $100,000 less than we paid in California.
No that was not a typo. Yes, I really did mean to type $100k. Less.
I think I like it in Texas.
It's an extremely busy cargo line. And while we are not exposed to train whistles (fortunately we're far enough from a crossing that there is no clanging bells or flashing lights, either) we are constantly shaken awake by the train going by at night.
And the frustrating part? People keep telling us, "Oh, I lived by a train. You get used to it after a while and you don't even hear it anymore."
That's ... nice. We appreciate that they're trying to make us feel better about a poor situation.
But what everyone seems to miss is that we don't have a problem with hearing the train. We FEEL it.
It vibrates the walls, the windows, everything. It happens all day long and all night long. It's just not restful.
And so (with money in the bank) we find ourselves in the enviable position of being home buyers in a buyer's market. And after owning a home once, we know what we want, and have the money in the bank to afford to be picky.
The houses here? Much, much larger than in California, and for much less money.
We're already in contract on a much nicer house, with more square footage, more bedrooms, a bigger backyard, only 15 years old, in a much nicer neighborhood ... for $100,000 less than we paid in California.
No that was not a typo. Yes, I really did mean to type $100k. Less.
I think I like it in Texas.
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