I was lucky that I was able to get into the housing market in the late 1990s before house prices started going really crazy. I could just afford a little house with a backyard. Admittedly it needed some work doing to it which I did over a number of years – pergola, backyard refurb, new fence, new roof and finally – a new kitchen.
I was able to get the dog I’d always wanted because I had the room to do so. It was close to the city, close to public transport and close enough to visit friends and so on. Not too long after I bought it a friend moved in to take some of the load off the mortgage and a couple of years after that I became a parent and was really thankful I had somewhere permanent to live without having to worry about renting. The friend who’d moved in moved out before the lad came along – can’t say I blame him.
When the lad was in his later years of primary school I felt like I started to grow out of the place. It was a single fronted cottage on a fairly small block and even though it had three bedrooms, a living area, kitchen and while it had a back room near the bathroom, the back room wasn’t insulated too well so couldn’t be used as another living area during cold winter nights or hot summer days. The kitchen was a bit small so as soon as you had a few people around it started to feel quite crowded.
It was also very close to a very busy main road and I couldn’t sleep with the windows or front door open because of traffic noise. I ummed and aaahhed over what to do but in the end the only logical thing was to sell and move. The thought of packing and moving and all the tasks associated with that was very daunting but I finally bit the bullet and got the ball rolling. Actually I sold my old house privately from a chance meeting. I think things would have been different had that meeting not happened. I hope I still would have sold the house and moved.
Packing, moving, changing addresses, sorting out finance – yes it was hard – especially doing it largely by myself. Luckily I’ve got some fantastic friends who helped me pack boxes, move some of them before the big moving day, and unpack and sort out where furniture can go. A tip – if anyone offers to help you move – take them up on it.
We’ve been in this house for nearly one year and whenever I get home from work, or being out, and I look out the back towards the fantastic view we’ve got I know I made the right decision. Someone asked me the other day if I bring work home with me but apart from things occasionally cropping up, as soon as I step onto the property I forget about work. JJ is also really happy that we moved. He lucked out with the bedroom he’s got and told me he’s really happy here. He’s proud to bring friends here where he wasn’t so keen in our last house. The layout of this house works much better for us. It’s not heaps bigger inside than the old house but with three bedrooms, one main bathroom, kitchen, lounge and a separate dining room it works a lot better.
So, short term pain for long term gain? Yes it was.
