32 More Days!!

     Laura and I will move to our new house in 32 more days. To say we're excited would be so understated. We can't stand ourselves. We're browsing Pinterest and shopping with fake money online. We're literally going over the photos we took and putting the final touches on everything in our heads. We know things take time, effort, and money, but pretending is free and it's fun. We even made a long list of the things we won't miss about where we live now. The list is something we do literally every time we go from one spot to the next, whether it's a job or a place to live. We just like stating out loud and in writing what we're not going to miss. It just gives us another reason to state what we're really going to love at the new or next place.

    So, to give you an example, and it won't be comprehensive by any means, I'll start bullet-pointing what we will not miss and explain why.

• First, the lack of safety at the old place. It's right on the corner of a semi-busy area with apartments literally on 3 sides of us, with a business on the other side. We live in a house, and the apartment tenants get a bit envious of anyone who lives in this house. They can be a challenge.  We haven't had our packages stolen, but my flag has been thrown to the ground, and there are just too many homeless people walking the streets. Some even decide to take refuge in our carport.

• The backyard is nice, but they didn't put the fence all the way to the ground, and the dogs try to dig out to see the people teasing them, or the squirrels making their way through the trees behind the fence. We put up those spikey things (and will take them with us when we leave), but it doesn't stop them from trying to get out to play with the people walking by - and yes, there are a lot because the school bus and the city bus stop right in front of our house.

• The noise (we have a one-story place) from the traffic and the people walking by makes it impossible for Laura to stream or record. It resounds into her room, even with the foam soundproofing she had to put on her windows, which means she has no windows.

• The city we live in has 500K people, and we live just north and west of the downtown area. It is highly populated. There are two hospitals, several businesses, stores, restaurants, and shopping centers within 1 square mile.  There are 33,000 people within our current zip code, with 4000 people per square mile.  The new place has 18,000 in the entire zip code and 142 people per square mile. Yes, thank you!

• We certainly will not miss the loud music, the booming and the screaming, and the loose dogs that the people in the apartments think is acceptable because they're too lazy to walk their dogs or put leads on them. Those dogs then run over to our fence and bark at our dogs. We end up putting ours inside and letting the landlords know AGAIN that they aren't putting leads on their dogs, and they just let them out! There are a hundred cars that could and have hit those dogs! They don't care. The managers at the complex don't care, and that brings me to my next statement.

• I really love our manager. She is wonderful. The manager before her was her mother-in-law, and I loved her. The maintenance...not so much. They're nice, but they don't do anything. They do have our lawn trimmed and edged; we pay for the service, but they routinely leave the gate open, and we have to close it. We've taken to locking it so they'll have to let us know when they're going to be there; instead of coming at 6:05 a.m. on a Saturday! No, thank you!

• The maintenance at the old place (because we are the maintenance at the new place) has never come to fix the stove's hood. We've lived without one for the entire time, and that means we have to open the windows when we cook bacon, hamburgers, or anything in a skillet. It's so dumb. They know it needs to be fixed. We went 4 months without a security light outside after complaining every week! EVERY WEEK! (of course, we were nice about it, but we mentioned it.)

• The old place, the crowded city, has too many people driving who don't have a license, don't have insurance, don't know what they're doing, and who aren't legally allowed to drive.  We've been nearly hit a dozen times and therefore, we have taken to ordering groceries and everything else we need online. In the new city, we can drive and be out in the world again -- the law is strict there, and we appreciate it. They actually do a good job, and they're not overwhelmed by the ratio of cops to citizens.  We have dozens of neighbors now, and won't when we move.

• Finally, and this will be my last one - there are more, but I want to be as positive as I can be. We will not miss the expense of everything. Our smaller town has a lot more mom-and-pop places to eat, and the food there is amazing. We pay about 15-20% less for dining out, and about the same for food in the grocery stores. The gas is even cheaper by about 9-18% depending on where you go. If you stay away from the off-highway stations, you'll save more.  

    And now, for things we'll really love about the new place, that we just didn't have at the old place.  It's not as if we will miss it here; it just wasn't an option.

• The vet is literally across the street from us. Our vet (God bless him, we will miss him the most) is about 27 miles from our house, but we trusted him, so we took our animals to him. His son was the horse vet, and he was even further away. The new vet is within walking distance, and by that, I mean, leave my drive, cross the street, and go 100 feet.

• We have to have two accounts with Cox Internet service here because of how many people are using the lines and service. We couldn't both be hooked up at the same time and expect good service. We had to have two separate accounts. In the new place, we have one account, and it's 1000/sec just like it is here, and instead of being $143 a month per line, it's $120.

• We'll have horses!!  We haven't had horses in over 3 years. I think it's been almost 5 for me, I'm not sure. Laura kept one and paid board but when board went from $350 to $450 I quit. She paid another year or two and gave it up. We have our own land, so we will not have to pay board - but yes, the place did cost more because of the land, but the benefits are soooooooo wonderful. (no neighbors)

•  Last one, because the blog is really long -- the new place feels like home. We can put our framed pictures and paintings on the walls. We couldn't do that here. No holes were allowed to be punched. We own it, so we can paint it. We can decorate, we can hang flags, we can run around dancing, singing, screaming, or just being ourselves without all those watchful eyes -- I can park my car outside without feeling that it could be damaged.  It just feels like home.

    OK, a few more, but that's it. We go outside and into a garage area now to wash clothes. At the new place, the laundry is attached to the house. The fence goes to the ground; there is a storm shelter (creepy as hell, but it's there, and we'll fix it).  We have a sense of community there already; the folks who know we're moving in have come by to welcome us. That was just amazing!! There is a little cross in the front yard. It was carved out of an old dead tree that fell -- instead of pulling out the roots, the owners carved a cross -- we'll keep it. I'll even pour polyurethane on it to keep it from decay. There's just a lot of little wonderful things about the new place that seal the deal and keep us thanking God for His wonderful gifts.

    We have 32 more days, and because we're really smart, we have 9 more days from the move date to actually move. I have the old place paid for the entire month, or will have, so that I can move slowly and do it right. We are starting the packing now, and getting the loose things taken care of -- by the real day, we'll likely be able to move 90% and use the last 9 days to clean and be 100% certain that we've left nothing, wiped, swept, and cleaned the place. I won't miss it. I won't miss the city, I won't miss the crowds, I won't miss the hub-bub, and I won't come back unless it's 100% necessary to do so. If friends need to see me, they can make the drive! 😆😆😆

    This girl is smiling - and is humbled beyond belief. 

Photo Credit: Online (it was a drone shot from Homes.Com) The barn will be demolished and a new barn or sheds brought in. The oil lease behind us is on our land. I will end up selling that portion to them possibly in the future.