After looking at nearly 40 houses (I’m estimating, it could actually be more…) I am happy to report that I have it narrowed down to two very good options.
Option number one is a condo.
Pros would be: Location, location, location. It is across the street from one of the hip little blocks of commercial stuff that pop up in the middle of residential areas here in Denver. This is an “it” spot for people to hang out on Thursday, Friday, Saturday night. It would be a great for socializing if I did that sort of thing. I could walk to Wash Park. It’s in such a desirable location that I think reselling it would be a piece of cake and if I wanted to keep it and rent it I could probably make a profit on it. It’s very cute. And it’s in a super safe neighborhood.
Cons would be: It’s teensy. As I think about how I would live there, I’m not really sure how I would get my stuff in, like where I would even put a laundry sorter. It would take even more of a purge than I’ve done already. I would probably have to have a storage unit on the side for a while for Sawan’s stuff, until I decided what to do with all of that. Plus it would mean all of the things that I hated about condo living again, you know, shared walls (when I say that I mean I hate hearing other people having sex), long walks from the car with groceries, no washer and dryer of my own, and going back to buying small packages of paper towels because there’s nowhere to put a Costco size. Also, I would be fully committed to living alone, there’s no way to put a roommate in this space unless we wanted to do bunk beds. Also, there’s nowhere on-site to take my dog out to “potty.”
Option number two is a Victorian House in a slightly sketchy neighborhood.
Pros would be: There’s plenty of room. It doesn’t have a lot of work that needs to be done: a little touch up paint and cleaning, maybe installing a garage door opener. It’s adorable. It’s affordable enough that I can do it on my own, but the place is big enough that I can have a roommate and there are great bedrooms. It looks like a dollhouse. On the inside and the outside. It’s pink (and I love pink), but not obnoxious. It has a bay window in the master bedroom. It has gabled ceilings and beautiful wood floors throughout. It actually has two bathrooms, which is unusual for a house of that age. There’s a very tiny yard, which is perfect for the fella, and also not a lot of maintenance for me, since I’m not really that stoked about yard-work.
Cons would be: It’s a slightly sketchy neighborhood. It’s just on the “wrong side” of Broadway. Also, the house was built in 1900. So it’s old. It’s just going to require some maintenance. This scares me. A LOT. But Sawan and I always told each other that it’s not brave if you’re not scared.
So that’s what I’m obsessing about today. I’ll keep you posted about what I decide.
Nothing trumps safety for me.
ReplyDeleteThanks, that's helpful.
ReplyDeleteI'd rather you felt safe than felt like you had room for your stuff. And I think being able to resell is big time peace of mind for you in the big uncertainty of everything else in your life. That's my two cents. One more thought: a guy I consider very wise both spiritually and practically once advised us, "Better a dog house in a good area than a palace in a bad area."
ReplyDeleteAs a condo-dweller, I can attest that sharing walls/parking spaces/walkways/yards with inconsiderate people can be a real pain. They probably also hate hearing us have sex (really, it's the only thing we do that's inconsiderate, I'm sure). But a house built that long ago would scare me too.
ReplyDeleteI am torn. I have no good suggestions.
The opportunity to get out and socialize seems like a nice addition to life too, especially when things are in walking distance and the neighborhood is safe.
ReplyDeleteNoel, I've only lived in one neighborhood that turned out to be really bad. It didn't appear that way when you first looked at it, not at all. Erin Erickson bought a house and I was her roommate. We had so many issues with safety that we did not even live there a full year. It took Erin another entire year to sell it. You can work through making a small space work for you. You can't change the way a neighborhood functions. I'd much rather hear my nice, kind neighbors having sex than hear my rude neighbors setting their car on fire and pushing it in front of my house. :)
Good luck! Keep us all posted!