House-Hunting
Ken and I have started that exciting and horrible search for a home in Austin. It can be so much fun, but also tedious and disheartening at times.
Over our 15 years of marriage, Ken and I have learned a few things about the difference in wants and needs in a home. We've also learned (the hard way) that some of the wants that we felt were needs end up being a big, expensive pain in the rear!! (Beautiful, extensive landscaping for example.)
We adored our home in Highland Village. It served us well for the 4 years we lived there. The neighborhood, the pool, the schoolroom, the location were all dreamy! Then we hit the jackpot finding this place to rent. It was scary to move from a pretty big house on a half acre into an apartment, but the Regency has been an excellent home. I'd recommend this place to anyone moving to the Coppell area.
We had our share of trouble with neighborhood kids, but that has all died down. The kids have found some sweet friends, making all that's great about this home even better.
In Austin, we plan to rent for the first two years. This will give us time to save up some money to buy a home again (maybe) while we're getting to know the communities in Austin. Right now, we're looking in a particular area that is an easy commute to TSD as well as a safe location for the kids to play.
If you're curious, here are our priorities in finding a home to rent:
- Under 2500 square feet, to keep utilities lower and keep it easy to clean.
- Space for 3-4 bedrooms plus an office for Ken. That office could be an extra living area or dining area.
- Safe road without too much traffic. A cul-de-sac would be ideal!
- Hard floors in as much of the house as possible. (Don't care if it's wood, tile, or stained concrete, but the less carpet, the better. With 5 kids and some with allergies, carpet ends up being a pain!)
- Less than 10 miles from TSD since we will be commuting there and back every day.
- Safe walking/biking access to parks and trails. We've loved that about living here. We can go to two parks and several lakes without ever having to cross (or even be near) a street.
- Easy-to-maintain landscaping!! Simple grass, trees and shrubs or xeriscape.
- We would love to have our own saltwater pool and hot tub again, but aren't concerned about that in a rental. We're hoping to find a neighborhood with a community pool.
This is another season when I have to remind myself to lean into praying for God's direction. It's so easy to get caught up in worrying about finding a place with the appropriate rent, location, etc. I find myself spending too much time scouring Trulia or HotPads for rental houses. It's good to do our homework, but I get so dependent on those tools that I forget to pray and trust what I know: God has a plan!
Over our 15 years of marriage, Ken and I have learned a few things about the difference in wants and needs in a home. We've also learned (the hard way) that some of the wants that we felt were needs end up being a big, expensive pain in the rear!! (Beautiful, extensive landscaping for example.)
We adored our home in Highland Village. It served us well for the 4 years we lived there. The neighborhood, the pool, the schoolroom, the location were all dreamy! Then we hit the jackpot finding this place to rent. It was scary to move from a pretty big house on a half acre into an apartment, but the Regency has been an excellent home. I'd recommend this place to anyone moving to the Coppell area.
We had our share of trouble with neighborhood kids, but that has all died down. The kids have found some sweet friends, making all that's great about this home even better.
In Austin, we plan to rent for the first two years. This will give us time to save up some money to buy a home again (maybe) while we're getting to know the communities in Austin. Right now, we're looking in a particular area that is an easy commute to TSD as well as a safe location for the kids to play.
If you're curious, here are our priorities in finding a home to rent:
- Under 2500 square feet, to keep utilities lower and keep it easy to clean.
- Space for 3-4 bedrooms plus an office for Ken. That office could be an extra living area or dining area.
- Safe road without too much traffic. A cul-de-sac would be ideal!
- Hard floors in as much of the house as possible. (Don't care if it's wood, tile, or stained concrete, but the less carpet, the better. With 5 kids and some with allergies, carpet ends up being a pain!)
- Less than 10 miles from TSD since we will be commuting there and back every day.
- Safe walking/biking access to parks and trails. We've loved that about living here. We can go to two parks and several lakes without ever having to cross (or even be near) a street.
- Easy-to-maintain landscaping!! Simple grass, trees and shrubs or xeriscape.
- We would love to have our own saltwater pool and hot tub again, but aren't concerned about that in a rental. We're hoping to find a neighborhood with a community pool.
This is another season when I have to remind myself to lean into praying for God's direction. It's so easy to get caught up in worrying about finding a place with the appropriate rent, location, etc. I find myself spending too much time scouring Trulia or HotPads for rental houses. It's good to do our homework, but I get so dependent on those tools that I forget to pray and trust what I know: God has a plan!
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