Thursday, September 11, 2008

To move or not to move....that is the question.

This is a call for advice...from some very wise, very objective individuals...that would be you.
For the last two years a major topic of conversation in our household has been whether to move or not to move. Unfortunately, Chad and I were both cut from the same indecisive mold when it comes to decision making; which is why we are still having the same discussion twenty-four months later and which is why I have called upon you for help.
We have been in our current home for five years. It was the perfect little, emphasis on the little, home for us then. But, times have changed. Things are becoming sigificantly cramped shall we say. Not an environment fitting for a self-proclaimed neat freak and clutter phobe. Our humble (2400 sqare feet) abode, I fear, is no longer able to accomodate our family of six.
And to complicate matters more, there has been talk of possibly adding one more to the mix, thus making the grand tally a nice round seven. This really freaks me out. I seriously can't imagine where I would stick one more person. We could convert the master closet into a "bedroom". But that would just be plain old "dub-ya tee" now wouldn't it?
The other, more practical, arrangement would be to stick Beckham with Carter, thus making the nursery available for occupancy. While this seems logical enough, it makes me a little nervous because Carter is in the basement and Beckham is just a baby and I...uh hum, I mean he, needs me to be close.
While the space issue is enough reason to move in my opinion, I feel it necessary to share the reasons why we shouldn't move just to be fair.
The first and most important reason being money. Naturally, we will be taking on more financially to upgrade. The question is whether or not the trade off is worth it.
Secondly, we are ridiculously close to every modern convenience: grocery stores, restaurants (Texas Roll House specifically), I-15, shopping i.e. Target and Wally's.
Thirdly, we will be leaving behind the best neighbors, neighborhood, ward etc. and I'm nervous that we won't be so lucky a second time.
In all honesty, I think this freaks me out more than the money. I hate to move to a nice, big, expensive home only to learn after the fact that we have Freaky Freakerson on one side Creepy Creeperson on the other. Likely not gonna happen, which I realize, but that's just how my mind works.
Now to you my trusted, fellow blogees, am I being impractical, worldly, selfish...?
Is wanting a bigger house really a bad thing? Part of me thinks yes; that I just be grateful to any home at all. But then, part of me also thinks no. There is nothing wrong with wanting something more...something better. It's good to be motivated; to have goals and aspriations, right?
You can see my dilemma. I am a perpetual fencesitter (as is Chad on this particular topic). So, please if you have any opinions, advice, or suggestions etc. please share. Don't worry, what you say will only affect the rest of my life...just kidding, but at the same time kinda not.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Yikes, that's a big one. I say...more than the square footage is the floor plan and yours is not that condusive to the size and age of your family. Now is as good a time as any to get in to that dream home and then watch for the values to rebound and make some money. I know you are level headed, so, make the budget, do the math, and then move! Good luck!!! (my 2 cents)And I don't think moving equates to ungrateful. Remember your blessings and count them in your new home. :o)

Kedra Simpson said...

I was thinking the same thing as the wise older sis jodi. Your house doesn't have the best floor plan for your family. It would be one thing if the bedrooms were all upstairs next to you but I would be super worried having a little one down in a basement too. Don't get me wrong I love your home and once called it my own. But I don't think that there is anything wrong with upgrading. I just think that more then likely you will have to move, maybe even to the east side which might be the hard part for you guys. Finding a home big enough and for the right price might take you away from friends and family a bit. But with how awesome you guys are, you would fit in anywhere. Good Luck!

brittanyc said...

Move to Bountiful!!! I would LOVE to have you as a neighbor! Surely we'd be cooler than Creepy Creeperson, right? It is definitely nice to have room for all the kiddies to have their space. And I'm sure you're figuring out with Carter that with older boys comes lots and lots of friends in your house. I love having them come here, but I wonder if they would find someplace else to congregate if our house were smaller. They pretty much have the basement to themselves to party hardy. It's nice. However, so is a low(er) mortgage. Not much beats that! Good luck, and seriously, look into Bountiful!!!! We absolutely love it here.
Britt

megan b. said...

I don't make decisions either. Oh man I just love your house though! It's so dang cute! But if youre feeling cluttered Wes and I say...move! (As long as you are still near by) And about leaving your awesome neighborhood...at least you would be rid of Satan the cat! You definitely wouldn't be ungrateful for moving! Good luck with deciding!

Kim said...

You know how I feel about this. You can't move unless we just find a great place for all of us to go together. I feel your pain, though - I have felt total stress on the space issue with this new baby coming! LIke I said, let's just find a place for all of us to go.

Emily N said...

Brendle Bunch: I couldn't get a job as an economist, so I became a programmer instead. But I'll chime in on this one anyway. A secret to wealth is staying put. You hedge inflation and once you've paid off the mortgage, you're really in good shape. That said, you can still leverage this secret by staying put once you buy that new house. I'm sure you've considered a lot of angles. Here's an other: Buy an empty lot. Put a double-wide on it. Attach a wood porch. Raise chickens in the side-yard. In the spirit of "break a leg," I'll leave you a nice Yiddish curse: May a barracks fall on you. Luv Bill.