Well, here goes

Well, here goes, my first foray into the world of blogging!  Over the last few months, I have become a blog addict. I find one I like, read the back-story and the archives, and then wait expectantly for each new entry.  It’s terrible…. I ask myself “what draws me to these blogs?”  I guess it’s not the subject matter that’s important, really I just love the stories, the insight into other people’s lives, and the free and open way in which people are able to write about themselves, their feelings and what they see around them. As I became more and more addicted to reading blogs, I found myself yearning to have my own, a place to really unload my thoughts, and unite with others that share common ideas and interests. 

I guess I should start with a little history. The story of why I am where I am now really begins almost 4 years ago, when I met the man who is now my husband.  We met, we fell in love, and it was AWESOME.  We moved in together after a year and began to talk about moving away from our home in a rusty, stressful, upper Midwestern hellhole of over 4 million people.  We were tired of the commuting, the cold weather, lack of accessible nature, the constant din of ringing cell phones  and the supersized houses and SUV's. I’m from the sunny south, and my husband grew up in the very cold, but equally beautiful, northern reaches of said upper Midwestern state. We decided to come up with a happy medium.  Our dream goal was to move somewhere:

1. warm
2. friendly
3. laid back
4. cultured
5. with lots of accessible nature
6. maybe a college town
7. socially conscious
8. less than 500,000 people
9. with less traffic, good public transport
10. hopefully a lower cost of living

We began researching; books, the internet, maps, and creating these bizarre spreadsheets charting our different options.  As our selections narrowed we realized sadly that our options were spread out all over the US.  We had 10 days to visit as many places as possible.  We decided to focus on one region of the US, our choice; the Southeast. 

Our Odyssey Begins

August 2002 – We made our trip's first stop in Virginia, Charlottesville to be exact, beautiful college town, but very expensive, considered it a maybe.  Next up, Raleigh/Durham, NC, drove through Chapel Hill and had lunch, in our notes we actually circled Raleigh/Durham and put a big slash through it.  Guess we didn't like it too much. Charleston, SC loved it!  And finally Savannah, GA, nice to visit but not to live.  We made our way home and started phase 2 of our planning.  My husband is a teacher and he knew he wanted to continue doing that, I was the manager of a bookstore for a large chain whose name will go unmentioned, I knew I was definitely going to make a career change.  So my husband hooked up with a headhunter and we decided that we would choose the best place from the job offers he received.

December 2002 – We got engaged, I don’t know how it happened but it did!  I do know that a shot of tequila at 8am on a Sunday morning was involved.  We decided on a June wedding because we knew we’d be moving that summer.  Began planning a wedding that initially was supposed to be small and intimate but ended up with about 150 people.  But then again I guess there are some people these days who would consider that small and intimate.

March 2003 – New York City here we come for a giant teacher job fair by above mentioned headhunter.  My husband interviewed for many jobs, some that he was really excited about.  Unfortunately most were either in areas of CA where a 700 square foot house cost $900,000 or in some NE state where it snows even more than our lovely midwestern home.  Some bright spots though, we had our fingers crossed.

April 2003 – Husband gets some offers to come visit schools, only one is even close to where we’d like to live, guess where!!! Our favorite place Raleigh, NC!  So off he went and when the offer came he took it.

End of June 2003 – Got married.

July 2003 - Returned home from honeymoon July 8.  Packed up 4 bedroom house with basement.  Moving truck came July 18.  Last day of work July, 18.  Moved into new 2 bedroom apartment on 4th floor, crammed 4 bedroom house with basement worth of furniture into new apartment.  Plus 2 dogs, and eight bicycles.

August 2003 – Depressed and totally freaking out.  Husband stressed and freaking out with new job.

September – Even more depressed and freaking out, found a part time job and started volunteering.

October – A little better, found second part time dream job running an afterschool program for a non-profit.

November 2003 – Bought new house.

January 2004 – took possession of new house, only to discover that once all of the furniture was out, the place needed more work than we expected, also discovered a 5” dip in the kitchen floor that the inspector somehow missed.  That’s a whole other unfortunate story.  Spent every night and all day every weekend for the next 2 months fixing up the house so we could move in.  Replastered all of the walls and ceilings, gutted the bathroom, repainted every inch.

End of February 2004 – Moved in to new house

April 2004 – AAAAAAAAAAH, here we are now.  I need to take a deep breath.

Update - December 2007 -  Well we don't live in the Little White Bungalow anymore, we now live in the Medium Red Log Cabin and we've added Baby D to the family.  Although at 19 mos I guess he's not really a baby anymore.  Anyway, our adventure continues as we try to get our little homestead on 5 acres going with a huge market garden, chickens and more!

 

Comments

[Kathy Hand]

just curious #1 - Why do you have eight bikes??

#2 - When you were looking for that perfect place to live, did you visit Asheville? It's on my list of places to check out. Although I would prefer a place where it NEVER snows, Asheville seems to have a lot going for it.

I LOVE BLOGS!!

[em]

Hi Kathy,
Well we actually only have 7 bikes now I think, I have 2, a road bike and a mountain bike. My husband on the other hand has a road bike, a cyclocross bike, a mountain bike, a track bike, and a time trial bike. I guess he never wants to be caught unprepared! As for Asheville, we did go there, and I can't believe I left it out, we actually spent 3 or 4 days there. We liked it almost as much as Charleston but finding a job there is tough, it's a pretty small town. It's beautiful though, and so cool, I'm with you about the snow, we were definitely trying to get away from that. Although we did get quite a bit in Raleigh/Durham this year. I love blogs too! They are so much fun, I'll check yours out.

[Peter]

Well, aside from the wedding part, you've described my last two years...except for one small detail. We haven't found the place to make the move to yet. Coming to Raleigh / Durham / Chapel Hill next week to continue the search. Crossed C'ville & Asheville off the list for the same reasons as you. SO...is the RTP area doing it for you? My wife & I are from suburban NYC (she orig from Baton Rouge) and are hesitantly giving a look next week, but are put off by the middle of all we read. Middle NC, middle class, middle life crisis. etc. I'm an artist, recently of broadcast design fame, and I know I'll have to rethink my job pursuits in the heartland of NC. I am an avid gardener and biker (both pedal & motor) in search of an enthusiastic group of semi-educated, open-minded folks who believe. In something. Hope, art, music, food, you name it. Until I met my wife, I didn't realize how downtrodden suburban NY'ers really are. Is it the weather or the traffic or life in cars that dulls them out as soon as they leave the stimuli of Manhattan? Possessions rule here. That's okay if its offset by down to earth people ( and a frisbee toss or two). Anyhow, I ramble. Just thought I'd write to MY first blog.

Peter & Jean ( 4 bikes - 1 dog )

[em]

Wow, you're in a very exciting place right now! I hope I can give you some information that's helpful! Let's see... is RDU doing it for us... What you said about it being in the middle of everything is very interesting, and I understand what you're saying. I guess I would say it's not really "middle," it's more like mild. I grew up in Texas where everything is big and loud and crazy. I lived in Austin for years as an adult and it was free thinking in a big, loud and crazy way. I lived in the metro Detroit area for years where it's go, go, go in your face attitude most of the time. In NC everything is mild, people are thoughtful and nice, the climate is gentle most of the time, and here in Durham people are free thinking but in a quiet respectful way. So what I'm saying is.... if you're looking for lots of excitement and stimulation in the form of crazy outgoing people, public events bordering on the edge of anarchy, and the like you're not going to find it here. But.... you will find a lot of diversity, culture, art, nature, some really great restaurants, a great college atmosphere that offers a lot to the community, good music, some great seasonal events, and being in the middle of the state, lot's of great places to go for the weekend. As far as biking, there's a big biking community, lot's of great rides, and Performance Cycling is right down the street in Carrboro. The only thing that gets me down is the lack of a really good grocery store. Not bad! We live in Durham which is funky blue collar neighbor of Raleigh and the closer of the two to Chapel Hill. I've heard this little joke that pretty much sums up the area. In Raleigh, women wear pantyhose, in Durham women have bare legs, and in Chapel Hill the women don't shave. That pretty much sums it up. Raleigh is a little more upscale, it reminds me a lot of Dallas, Durham has had some problem with crime over the years so it gets an undeserved bad rap from everyone. Chapel Hill is great, but the traffic is awful (the only problem traffic that I've come across in the area), it's expensive, and it can be a little like Raleigh sometimes, I think all of those hippies are growing up and getting an attitude.

Anyway, good luck with your search, and if you have any other questions let me know.

[Roger]

I'm in a similar position, but have not yet closed on the property. I did notice several spots in the flooring with dips with the biggest problems being in the bathroom, kitchen and laundry area. I did have a home inspector go through the property and he seems to have done a good job. His biggest area of concern for us is the flooring. Apparently the house support beams are sitting on top of concrete blocks which sit on the dirt. Is this what you mean by pier and beam? Some of the wood has fungus/mold and may need to be treated or replaced. Other areas have been rigged with shims to try to level. Was your flooring structure similar?

What kind of costs, ballpark, am I going to be looking at to have someone professional level the floors as opposed to doing it myself? Did you have to replace the wood flooring inside or was it salvaged? Was there any damage to walls or ceilings (cracking) due to jacking up the floor? We love the character and location of the home, just don't want to get in over our heads with repair costs.

Your comments and advice would be much appreciated.