When we moved to western New York from Austin we didn't have a lot of time to look for a house. The Dude and I made a whirlwind trip up over the Easter weekend and looked at 200 houses in three days. We had no concept of exactly where we should buy or what neighbourhoods or schools were the best fit for us. We'd done a little research and knew we wanted to be on the east side of the major city but other than that we were wide open to where we would live.
It wasn't a great way to look for a house. It left us with too much area to cover and too many choices. It didn't help that the area we were leaving was in a slump and the area where we were moving was in a boom. We've got that kind of timing.
We couldn't find a place to live on that first trip although we did put in a few offers. We moved up with no knowledge of where we'd land.
We found this place the first day we went looking and while it has had its ups and downs (and leaks and drips and carcinogenic flooring) it's really a nice house on a nice street. The only problem really is that there are no kids on the street. These are good sized houses with big lots that would be perfect for soccer games or football games or tag games or neighbourhood hide and seek games...but there are no kids here. Most of our neighbours moved here in the early 70s and are still here - except they're in Florida for most of the winter.
Imagine my excitement when houses started to go on the market last year. I thought that for sure we'd get families on our street. Families with kids who would play with my kids so all of our playdates didn't have to be planned and wouldn't always require driving. I dreamed of being able to just kick open the door and throw my kids out and they'd bike down to a friend's house and play. Now that they're plenty big enough to do that kind of thing I so wanted it for them.
So far in the last year 5 houses have sold on my street. No kids. Including the 5 bedroom house three doors down. 5 bedrooms...surely it would be a family that bought a 5 bedroom house. Why would two people need 5 bedrooms? The last two sold this summer - one house is 2400 sq ft and the other is 3400 sq ft. They were bought by nice couples....in their 60s. In their freaking 60s.
Unless my kids learn to play shuffleboard they're not going to be able to play with the neighbours.
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