Two weeks later, internet again
And it's awesome.
Home ownership, not so much.
First act within the American dream? Accidentally locking both cats in an interior room, requiring a Friday night visit from the locksmith.
We're still essentially camping, because we don't yet want to move in the furniture, because we first want to de-carpet and refinish the floors, which can't be done until we paint the walls, which can't be done until we finish massive amounts of spackling, and I'm getting phone calls at work from K, to the effect of, "uh, E? Do you remember a massive crack in the guest bedroom wall from window to baseboard? I can't believe I'd have missed it yesterday...is the house developing new fault lines?"
Since my work, as is its wont, is cycling through another phase of high aggravation (causing me to look ever-anew, as is my wont, for diversionary tactics, but that's another post), I don't tend to get home early enough to be much help, except for taking out my aggression and frustration on the dandelions in the yard. Our lawn looks great.
Because everything is both more expensive than anticipated and taking longer -- which I'd been warned about, of course, but still hadn't adequately revised my estimates -- I'm seriously getting worried that my joke about settling in just in time to move to Berlin won't be at all hyperbolic.
But mostly, I'm wondering whether some people are just born renters. That alleged psychological benefit to home ownership? Still waiting for it to kick in. What does it look like?
Home ownership, not so much.
First act within the American dream? Accidentally locking both cats in an interior room, requiring a Friday night visit from the locksmith.
We're still essentially camping, because we don't yet want to move in the furniture, because we first want to de-carpet and refinish the floors, which can't be done until we paint the walls, which can't be done until we finish massive amounts of spackling, and I'm getting phone calls at work from K, to the effect of, "uh, E? Do you remember a massive crack in the guest bedroom wall from window to baseboard? I can't believe I'd have missed it yesterday...is the house developing new fault lines?"
Since my work, as is its wont, is cycling through another phase of high aggravation (causing me to look ever-anew, as is my wont, for diversionary tactics, but that's another post), I don't tend to get home early enough to be much help, except for taking out my aggression and frustration on the dandelions in the yard. Our lawn looks great.
Because everything is both more expensive than anticipated and taking longer -- which I'd been warned about, of course, but still hadn't adequately revised my estimates -- I'm seriously getting worried that my joke about settling in just in time to move to Berlin won't be at all hyperbolic.
But mostly, I'm wondering whether some people are just born renters. That alleged psychological benefit to home ownership? Still waiting for it to kick in. What does it look like?
5 Comments:
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esquiver said...
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- 10:40 PM
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Anonymous said...
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- 10:39 AM
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Italophile said...
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- 4:22 AM
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Esquiver said...
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- 1:38 PM
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Italophile said...
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- 10:24 AM
Post a CommentNB, Mom, it was not a new crack in the wall. But, I'll concede: there are an awful lot of them.
CASH THAT CHECK (if you haven't already)!
Yes, some people are born renters. I am actually one of them! (even though we now own a flat) That is to say, I almost certainly wouldn't have bought if it were not for being with D. But there is something to be said for that remark: home ownership can be part of Building a Life With Someone.
You might also want to re-read your posts about your crazy EX-landlady and the troubles of finding inhabitable rentals. The problem with the US (and the UK, for that matter) is that tenants have very few rights. Continental European governments generally give tenants greater rights (including giving renters greater security that they'll be allowed to stay). It makes renting in those societies a far better option than it is in the US and the UK.
Yeah, yeah: you're right as usual, of course. I think what surprised me is that one of the perks I was looking forward to was the ability to make every little decision about my domicile. Speaking as a zealous decision maker, I thought that would appeal to me very much. Turns out my control freakery is domain-specific and I just don't find the petty details of my domicile terribly interesting. ("Nesting," not so much.)
That said, you'll be glad to know I'm taking some pleasure in getting things like a manual reel lawnmower (I know, I know: a xeriscaped garden would be even better, but this is an awfully uniform street), a front-loading washer, and low-E windows.
That's a good (and interesting) way to put it. But once you have the basic structural stuff taken care of over the next few months, I imagine that you won't have too many obligatory decisions to make.
PS Belated apology for the smug/cloying use of Capital Letters When Unnecessary. Ugh. I need to start drinking coffee or something so that I catch those errors before they slip through.
PPS Bravo on the other stuff. The lawnmowing will seem a pain at first (because you will have to do it more often), but it is very therapeutic, and you can do it at any time of day without hacking off the neighbors, which you can't do with a powered lawnmower. Not that I foresee you getting up at 6 to mow your lawn, but you never know.
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