Decisions, Decisions

"Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it. "-Bill Cosby

The Husband and I are in the throes of trying to figure out our finances, and whether it would be smarter to try and buy a house in the next year or so, or whether we should stick things out where we are until I get a job in 3 1/2 years when Maeve starts school.  It's complicated, it's confusing, and so far we have no idea.

This all came about because our apartment sent out our renewal notice, and our rent here is so high it seems like we should be paying the $50 more a month it would cost us to have a mortgage and at least be paying into our own future instead of the pocket of a rental company.  And the rambunctious children upstairs, delightful though they are, often make us daydream of a roof without pounding.

But the prospect of home ownership for n00b's like us is very daunting.  We have never signed a mortgage, found a realtor, or even gone serious house-hunting.  We have, however, watched lots of HGTV, including Holmes on Homes, so we know to get an inspection!  If we did try to get a home, it would be exciting, it would be new, it would be... terrifying.

What city would we live in, and more importantly, what school district?  How can we balance staying close to the Husband's work with a quiet neighborhood and good schools?  Can we live with one bathroom, or is that a dealbreaker?  Or should we just stay where we are, where Maintenance will come fix our dishwasher, the express-bus stop is a ten-minute walk for the Husband, and there's a park with two ponds and a playground across the street?

You know, this really is still about being a parent, because if Maeve were not here, none of it would matter; we could buy a condo with no backyard and not care what part of town it was in.  But we are deciding the future of our family, of all of us, so even thinking about buying a house is, for us, another exercise in parenthood, the kind that doesn't necessarily have a right and wrong answer.  We want the best thing for us, we just don't know what that is.  But if we figure it out, I'll let you know!

It's fine with me, as long as I can bring both my dinos.