In a previous post I informed you my wife and I were considering moving. Our conversations about moving started in June and since then, have really picked up. Since July, we talk about it daily. (Most times I’m engaged in the dialogue 🙂
All kidding aside, our kitchen table conversations are about:
•If we really want to move, why?
•Where do we want to move?
•What (specifically) are we looking for?
•Can we afford to move?
•What is our long-term or short-term plan for this next home?
For this post, I’ll share our top-3 reasons why we want to move…
1)We currently live in a semi-detached home. We have ample interior space but very limited outdoor/backyard space. In our neighbourhood, we feel a little “cramped”, although we knew this could be an issue when we bought the home. We have little privacy (close to our neighbours; attached on one-side) and we’ve realized this is something we’d like to change. Close proximity to our neighbours (although they are great) makes outdoor life a little louder than we’d like; challenging to entertain family and friends, so we’re looking for some more outdoor space – a slightly larger piece of earth to own to gain more privacy. Our preference is for a single-family home on a larger lot.
2)Our semi-detached home only has one parking spot, beyond our garage. We have no problem fitting one car in our garage, and the other car in our driveway, but there is no room left for any visitors to park. When family and friends visit, they must park on the street. In the spring, summer and fall months, this is no problem – there is lots of room on the streets. In the winter months, not so much. Parking becomes a challenge. Narrow, snow-filled streets must be manoeuvred with care and, you must abide by the city’s winter-parking restrictions or risk getting your car towed when there is anything more than a dusting on the ground. This isn’t just a challenge for us living in our community, but for tens of thousands of others in other newly developed Ottawa communities. Our preference is for a driveway/garage with space for at least two cars.
3)We’ve recognized we want a large, spacious, great room on our main floor. Sounds simple enough, but it’s tough to find. Our semi-detached home has some great features and upgrades, but it lacks that fully open-flow you can easily cook, eat and relax in one large, inviting space. Our current home is quite open on the main floor and we tend to have a “good room” not a “great room”. Our preference is to find a spacious bungalow or two-storey home with this feature.
None of these reasons are forcing us from our current place by any means, so we’re not rushing our decision. We’ve looked at hundreds of homes online over the last few months, and almost a dozen in person, since they were legitimate considerations. In the end, none of them felt right. We know passing on “potentials” is part of the house-hunting process. It’s a big decision, for us, for anyone, so we want to be excited about the home, not just OK with it. Hopefully some patience and a dab of luck with land us our new home.
Does the subject of moving come up in your household?
Have you moved recently? Why did you move?
