Home?

The holiday season is quickly approaching and it seems everyone in the office here is finalizing their plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Since this will be my first holiday season with this company, there have been a lot of people asking if I plan on going home this holiday season. Everyone seems a bit confused about the fact that I spend Thanksgiving with Austin's dad's side of the family and Christmas with his mom's side. 

Most people just seem a bit confused but don't really question why I don't go to see my parents seeing as I've only been here six months, but people do seem all so concerned with the fact that I'm not going "home" for the holidays. Everyone I meet also seems intent on asking me one of many standard questions, one being "Where are you from?" I grew up as a military child and never really lived anywhere long enough to put down roots. So what do I consider home? Is it the place I was born but don't remember home? Is home any of the various houses or military bases I lived on while growing up? I can't think of any place I lived while growing up that I felt at home. So I usually resort to just explaining that I grew up moving from place to place and I'm from all over, really. 

And maybe this is part of the reason that the entire concept of "home" seems alien to me, I never had one. It was a completely normal thing for me to pack up and leave after living in a place for only a few years. That's just what people do, right? I've moved so many times that I'm more efficient at packing and moving than most professional movers. I have a system. I have lists. I have spreadsheets. I can pack up a house (well, an apartment) in a matter of a few days. I can unpack and get everything hung up in about five or six hours. 

So even while I've been out of the situation that I never had a choice about moving, it still feel natural. I've lived in Texas for four years and when I moved in August it was the fourth time moving. It isn't necessarily that I disliked the places I was living, but it feels normal to move. And signing that mortgage promising to stay somewhere for 30 years? That was terrifying. I haven't even been alive that long and here I am promising to stay in one place for 30 years? It seems insane. 

But now that I own a house, does this make this city my home? Does this mean that I have really set down root? Does this mean I can answer that this is my home? I know that a house doesn't necessarily make a home, but does a having a mortgage make Dallas my home? If I move in five years to another city or state or country, does that mean I can answer that I'm from Dallas? I've never been able to give people a straight answer when they ask where I'm from, do I now have the answer? 

I had never realized how much of my identity was ingrained in the fact that I don't put down roots. Now that I am a homeowner, it seems like that part of who I am is a bit confused. Is Dallas my home? When people ask where I'm from, do I now have an answer? When people ask if I'll be going home for the holidays, do I just say that this is home? 

Who knew buying a house would cause such an identity crisis. 

House Tour!!

A couple little notes about this video...

• Look how long my hair is finally starting to get! Growing it out is taking forever and I'm glad I'm finally seeing some progress. 
• The office does kinda look like crap right now, but I think it'll look better once we get a desk in there and I can get it organized. Also, we're going to be using that as our Dallas Stars paraphenalia room. We've already got a signed Alex Goligoski stick in there and I'm sure it'll be filled up as more seasons pass.
• I love having a backyard!! Sunday a woman with Paws in the City is coming over to do a home inspection before we start fostering a dog!! 

All right, I think that covers it all! Enjoy!

A few weeks of madness

In 17 days, I'll be a homeowner! After the past six months of looking for a house and dealing with bank and title people, I can't believe it's almost here!

This past weekend, on top of spending as much time as possible as I could with my mother in law who's been dealing with some pretty major health concerns, Austin and I started to pack up our apartment. Being a military brat and moving constantly, I've become quite the professional when it comes to moving. I've got labels and spreadsheets and more labels. I've got a system that I've been using for years in order to pack. Austin thinks its a bit insane to see the way I got about packing, but it really works for me (and it makes unpacking incredibly easy).

I usually just see packing as a pain, but, knowing that this is that last time I'll be moving for quite some time makes this experience bearable. Am I the only one like that? Just knowing that you're not going to have to put your entire life into boxes and move somewhere new for many, many years (if ever) is a great feeling. I keep thinking "The next time I unpack this, it'll be in my new house!" It will be unpacked into my house. A place that has my name on it, not an apartment's name. All of these things will be going into a place that will be my own. I can put these boxes into rooms and paint these rooms! I can change the flooring if I want! I can get the appliances in my kitchen that I want, not worry about making due with what an apartment has to offer. I can change the lighting if I wanted to! I'll have a yard! A real yard!

With a yard, I'll finally be able to do something that I've wanted for many, many years. I'll be able to foster a dog and eventually have one of my own! I'm really excited to start working with Paws in the City to foster dogs and find a pup that fits into my home. I've wanted to have a dog ever since I got out of my parents' house but I can't bring myself to get a dog when it would be stuck in an apartment all day. Finally being able to have a house and a yard for a dog is wonderful! And, since I have had my cats for years, I would want to foster a dog or two to make sure that the dog not only fit with me, but also with them. And, even if I can't find the dog that I want for many months, I'll still be able to give love and attention to a dog just by fostering them. The past few weeks I've been working with a few people with Paws in the City to get all of my paperwork ready so when we get moved in all they need to do is tour the home and then find a dog for us to foster.

The next few weeks are going to be insanely busy, so I might not be able to post too much (other than photography assignments here and there). I'll be helping with the office move next weekend, moving into a house (yay!!) the week after, finishing up my last two weeks in British Lit and my Photography course, and getting into the fourth quarter projects here at work. I've been told fourth quarter is when shit hits the fan... I'm hoping I'm ready for it!

Home sweet home?

A little over a year ago, I wrote this post about the fact that I had no intentions of buying a house any time soon.

Just shy of a month after being married, people kept telling me and insisting that my husband and I should be looking at buying a house because it was a buyers market blah blah blah. Mostly, people were trying to tell us to buy a house because it was something that we were supposed to be doing. Not because it fit where we were in our lives. At that point, Austin was travelling a lot and was being sent to any office in a 150 mile radius on any given day. I also wasn't sure where I would be five years from now. I knew I didn't want to spend my life as an executive assistant but I hadn't the faintest clue what I would do with my life.

So, in short, buying a house was a terrible suggestion because it didn't make sense for us.

But, that's all changed.

Austin has worked in the same office for a while and knows he'll be in one location for quite some time. I've gotten a job that I really like in a position I love. I've been going to the same dance studio for three years now and don't plan on going anywhere else anytime soon. In short, we've started to settle down. We knew that our lease was coming to a close mid-August(ish). We  know where we plan to be for the next stretch of our foreseeable future. So, about three months ago, we started the house hunt. And, about a week ago, we put in an offer on a house. We wont be closing on the house until the middle of August, but we're well on our way to having our first home. And I'm on my way to having my very own dance room!

Considering the only input I've ever had on buying a home in the past is when my parents would buy a house and my biggest concern was picking my room and picking the paint for my room, I honestly had no idea how much of a process it is to buy a house. Not only is it difficult to try and find the perfect house (and not one that isn't waaaay outside your budget), but there's a lot of paperwork that goes into buying a house. Did you realize that it takes about a month to actually go through the process from the time you put in an offer until you actually close? I didn't. I hadn't the faintest clue. I feel like I'm selling my soul. Or first born. Or something equally as dramatic. So, if you're out there thinking about buying your first home, don't think it's going to be as easy as walking into a realtor's office, picking a house and getting the keys a week later. There's also the bank, the inspectors, the seller, the seller's agent. Everyone is trying to come out ahead and it is just exhausting. But, at the end of it all, if you're deemed worthy enough by everyone, you might find yourself with a house.

So, keep your fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly! Hopefully, possibly, maybe I'll have some pictures of the new home in a little over a month!

Should I buy a house?

The simple answer to this is no, I shouldn't.

People have a preconceived notion of things they should be doing. Buying a house, living in the suburbs, having children, having a picket fence, these are things that we are taught from the beginning to think we should have. But why? Is this really the smart thing for us to do? Do the same values that led people to have these beliefs still hold true?

No. On all accounts. At least, from my perspective. And it doesn't work for my lifestyle, and most likely never will.

Buying a house is one of the biggest decisions you will ever make. You are (in most cases) going to sign a mortgage that will be for at least 30 years. This means you should be devoted to living in that house, working in that area for at least five years. Most people I know can't be too certain of their future with a specific job for that long. Is your company going to continue to grow? Will they require you to relocate? Will they have to downsize? Are they always going to be as stable as they are now? Most of these questions are impossible for you to answer. In my case, I know that I get tired of living on one place for more than a couple years. Part of this is due to the fact that I grew up as a military child and was constantly moving, so I like to be able to start fresh. Not necessarily to a new state, but at least to a new home. I get tired of being in the same place for extended periods of time and I need a change. So does it really make sense for me to sign a mortgage for 30 years when I know that I will not be living there for more than five? For any person that has a job that requires them to relocate, does it really make sense for them? And as depressing as it is to think about, people aren't going to work for a company for their entire life. Do we really want to lock ourselves into only one small area of potential jobs by owning a home? 

The experts all say that real estate is a good investment, but we all saw what happened to the housing market in 2008 when houses that people bought at $500,000 suddenly were only worth $200,000. Yes, part of that is due to the facts that banks and people got greedy. People bought houses they couldn't afford, banks were lending money they didn't really have to people that couldn't pay it back. And BOOM. The crash hit. Houses were almost worthless. So no, the housing market is not the safe place it was once thought to be. Small changes can have a big impact and the house you bought for $500,000 can suddenly lose more than half of its value, even if you did nothing wrong. Yes, there is risk with any investing, but is it really the smartest decision to believe the tactics of real estate agents that talk about how houses will only go up?

People look down on renting, but is it really that bad? People tend to think of renting as something you do in your youth, before you "grow up". Owning a house means that something is actually "yours". It is your home. But wait... That mortgage you signed, that means the bank owns it. So, really, you're just choosing to rent from a bank as opposed to most landlords. And where as with actually renting a house/apartment/condo/box on the corner, the landlord is going to do all of the large upkeep, this is now your job. You now have to worry about landscaping, especially if there's an HOA involved. You now have to worry about electrical problems. You now have to worry about plumbing. You now have to worry about climate control. You now have to worry about structural problems. You now have to make sure the roof over your head doesn't blow away in a terrifying storm. Then there's the taxes... I know how much everyone loves paying their taxes, so people wont be too upset when they find another tax bill in their mailbox. You also have to pay more for your insurance. Yes, most people are required to have renter's insurance, but the rates are almost nothing for the security of knowing your belongings are safe. For a house... Not so cheap. But hey, at least when you own a home, it's yours. Oh that's right, it's not. It is the bank's house.

I don't know where I will be in ten years. Hell, I can't say where I'll be in a year. Will I still like my job? Will my job still like me? Will my husband still have the same job? Will he be in the same city? Are we going to want to live in the city for the rest of our lives? Is the housing market going to recover? Are we going to be in a place in our lives to buy a house? I don't know.

But I like that. I like not knowing. It makes life more interesting.

Should I?

Now that we've gotten married, I've had a lot of people begin telling me a variety of things that we should be doing. We should buy a house. We should have children. We should know our life plan for the next ten-fifteen years. I don't know why people feel like I need to have their advice, but apparently they think I need it.

My next couple of posts will relate to two of the biggest things I keep hearing about: a house and children.

I have no intention of buying a house in the next five years. I also have no intention of having children in the next five years. And soon, you will all know why.