Never Done: I found a house that makes me feel like I could be at home in NYC
And ... it's not available.
But that's a good sign, right? That it's possible to settle here, grow raspberries, love my neighborhood, have a driveway, acquire a family, have room to sew and make art and music, have room for guests, have a home office... and not be too terribly isolated from most of the other people I am close to.
Damn, why is that house not available? And why did I also find a decent rental on the same day -- not ideal, not nearly as dreamy as the house, not "it", but seriously decent -- on the same day? And what will I do about that? Take the one that's seriously decent, with the reminder in my fact that it's not dreamy, and the knowledge that dreamy actually exists? Not take it, and hold out for the dream, potentially sacrificing the seriously decent?
What mide (middah) do I need to focus on to stay hopeful and positive about this? As usual, Patience: Do not aggravate a situation with wasted grief. Plus, I think a healthy dose of aggressive, cutthroat New Yorker would also serve me pretty well, don't you?
In six months of looking, I found 3 great possibilities. The first one I even put an offer on, but withdrew it on the advice of many of my friends. It was next door to a bakery and they pointed out there would be 4 am delivery trucks. The 3rd house was the charm and I have been very very happy! If there is one, there will be another. Good luck on this path!
ReplyDeleteCan you make an offer on the house that's not available? That's what my mom did, and how we got the house she owned her whole life. They didn't know they wanted to sell it until she made an offer. Or, can you rent the other house until you find your dream home to buy?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the encouragement, Katy. The thing that I find different is that I liked Portland so much that many houses/neighborhoods/options would work out well. In NYC, I keep wondering if I need to leave because I just don't feel at home here. And then I finally found a place that made me feel like I could be at home ... and it's already gone. Things move SO FAST here!
ReplyDeleteSandra -- it's for sale, it's just already got an accepted offer and 10 back-up offers, and the realtor is not willing to take another offer. As for renting the other place until a dream place comes along ... that's what I've been doing since 2002, and this is the first time I saw something that qualifies as a dream. But ... onward and onward! One place or another!
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