Monday, August 04, 2003
Hovel Hunting
On Saturday, we blew off another 4-year-old birthday party, and with some guilt, went to look at houses in NJ.
The first place that Joanne the real estate agent showed us was incredible. I had no idea that people lived like this. It was a 2 room Cape with an unfinished upstairs. So, that first floor had one bedroom, a livingroom, and a kitchen with brown carpeting. You walk up the staircase that greets you as you entered the house, and you enter a windowless attic with insulation hanging down. And there was absolutely no yard. None at all. One foot of cement separates the back of the house from the neighbor's fence. But there was a hot tub in the basement.
All that beauty for $330,000.
I was pissed off. Pissed off that all money doesn't buy you a postage stamp of backyard or even an upstairs. Pissed off that we carted the kids all the way from the city to see that. Pissed off that we blew off poor Jakey's party for this.
Then we saw five more architectural wonders. I looked past the Hummel statues and the duckie wallpaper borders and the doll collections and the smell of pot, but these places couldn't even be called fixer-uppers. How dare they cost that much money?
When we came back, Steve and I both noticed how great our apartment was. Yes, it needs some paint and plaster, but it is far superior than those houses.
What should we do? Keep looking in other areas? Hunker down here for the long haul? Move to Florida?
On Saturday, we blew off another 4-year-old birthday party, and with some guilt, went to look at houses in NJ.
The first place that Joanne the real estate agent showed us was incredible. I had no idea that people lived like this. It was a 2 room Cape with an unfinished upstairs. So, that first floor had one bedroom, a livingroom, and a kitchen with brown carpeting. You walk up the staircase that greets you as you entered the house, and you enter a windowless attic with insulation hanging down. And there was absolutely no yard. None at all. One foot of cement separates the back of the house from the neighbor's fence. But there was a hot tub in the basement.
All that beauty for $330,000.
I was pissed off. Pissed off that all money doesn't buy you a postage stamp of backyard or even an upstairs. Pissed off that we carted the kids all the way from the city to see that. Pissed off that we blew off poor Jakey's party for this.
Then we saw five more architectural wonders. I looked past the Hummel statues and the duckie wallpaper borders and the doll collections and the smell of pot, but these places couldn't even be called fixer-uppers. How dare they cost that much money?
When we came back, Steve and I both noticed how great our apartment was. Yes, it needs some paint and plaster, but it is far superior than those houses.
What should we do? Keep looking in other areas? Hunker down here for the long haul? Move to Florida?
