Friday, November 02, 2007
Two Year Plan
When I was in school for my MBA I took an amazing real estate class as an elective. The teacher went to great pains to show just how you can best leverage the investment in your house by buying up every 2 years. Right then and there we put ourselves on the Two Year Plan.
We bought our first house because it was unusual. People, don’t EVER buy a house because it is unusual. (Big curved walls? Really hard to hang stuff on it turns out.) That house was a big learning experience. So when we bought the house we’re in now, we had in mind to buy something nice and vanilla that would hold up as a home for 2 years, then we’d upgrade.
I don’t have to tell you that the housing market just is not on board with our brilliant Two Year Plan. Which, it turns out, is kinda OK with me. Why the change of heart you ask?
Well, we got boo’d this week. That’s right, some little Halloween elf (goblin?) snuck to our doorstep, rang the bell, then ran off leaving a bag of candy and a poem about how we’d been struck by the Halloween Phantom. Awesome. We don’t have kids, which makes it all the more awesome.
If you’re not from Arizona, you should know that Arizona houses do not have backyards that open to each other, we do not have front porches, and generally Arizonans don’t know their neighbors. But in my neighborhood I know that someone will put my garbage away at the end of the day if its still out, we know the alarm code to our next door neighbor’s house and vice versa, outdoor chores take longer due to the chatting and neighborhood gossiping that inevitably takes place on our driveway, and the neighborhood parents know its just fine by us if their kids come over to visit Karma and Mika….
I just don’t think we’d find that in another neighborhood!
So tell me, do you know your neighbors?
posted by atpanda at 1:58 PM
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About Me
- Name: atpanda
- Location: Mesa, Arizona, United States
I'm Amanda. I'm an engineer in an industry full of men, a professional wedding and family portrait photographer, a firefighter's wife, a traveler, and a dogMa.
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4 Comments:
Sounds like you've found the perfect neighbourhood! I'd say that in the year we've moved here, I know quite a few of the neighbours, but it has really helped having Buddy. INstant ice breaker!
BTW: cookie recipes on my blog. Check them out, I know you like to bake for the boys!
The cute one. :)
And good for you for doing Nablopomo!
We live in Johnson Ranch , we have some amazing neighbors and we all look out for eachother ,, We are also blessed with a small town feel with only a Fry's and a Walmart within 5 miles of us..
Sorry to hear about all that's going on with Ryan's fire dept ..
I'm hoping for the best for you 2.
-Crystal
That's exactly why I love my street, too :) I'm glad you like your neighbors and feel at home there in the "vanilla house".
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