Today, just because I could, I drove to El Reno, OK, which is about 22-24 miles from where I live. I wanted to see if time had changed it, if it was different and if it was, I wanted to know how it was different. I didn't see much change, and I wasn't sure if I was happy about that fact, or not. I suppose in some ways you can say that El Reno, a small city west of Oklahoma City, is the same today as it was literally 50, 60, even 70 years ago. I will say this, it had more churches than I thought it would have, or that I remembered it had. Lots of churches!
Then, about an hour after I drove there, I took my bestie Jeannie with me out to Okarche and Kingfisher, OK, which is on the same North/South highway as El Reno. Okarche is about the same distance, about 22 miles from Oklahoma City, and Kingfisher is up the road another 10 miles. LOVE LOVE LOVE Kingfisher, Oklahoma! It has literally everything I need, but it doesn't have the two things I want -- my kids (which include my grands) and it doesn't have my besties.
So, what to do? I want to move out and I want my own place, but it looks like I'm going to have to make plans to stay relatively close to where I am now so that I can be closer to the grands, closer to the kids, and of course, closer to the besties. Robin and Jeannie have been in my life since I was a kid - - they do mean a great deal to me. I'll end up buying a place in or around where I live now, or maybe down into Norman, OK but it's going to take some time.
I'll need to save about 10-15% of the house cost so I can get a better house in a better neighborhood, and I'll need to be at my job for about a year so I get better breaks from lenders too. Looks like I'll end up renting for about a year, saving each month, waiting for the interest rates to fall (which they will after November) and I'll end up getting a place that suits me better than one that is farther away - - even though I truly love Kingfisher. I guess Jeannie and I can take a few trips out that way each year - - maybe that will suffice.
The best thing for me probably, if I'm honest, is a condo. I know the funding is tougher, but if I'm putting up 10% I should be OK. I don't like lawn work, so the HOA makes sense to me. A two-bed two-bath place with 1000 sq ft will be in the $115,000 range with $250 a month for HOA. (The HOA covers the water, sewage, trash, and lawn maintenance as well as the exterior insurance.) I'll be fine. I have never been one to do anything outside the lines so I will fit into an HOA just fine.
For now, at least the next few months, I'll end up getting an apartment near where I live now and "suffer through" the one-bed one-bath thing for a while - - though to be honest, I'm a cave dog and have no problems with smaller places. Even if I had $$$$ I couldn't see myself buying a big place. I may buy a place with a big barn! I could do that and stuff it full of horses. I could...but I probably won't. I believe those days are over too. I'm just going to be content, which if you think about it, makes more peaceful sense than anything else.
I'm too blessed to be stressed. This much I know.
No comments:
Post a Comment