It has officially been a year since we moved into our house, which feels both impossible and completely accurate. In some ways, it still feels new. In other ways, it’s hard to remember our daily life anywhere else.
We really hadn’t been planning to move. Jessica, who already lived in the neighborhood, told us a house near her was going up for sale in April. Then in May, at Miles’ birthday party, she convinced us to check out the open house since it had gone on the market that week. We went to look at it, really liked it, and then suddenly we were seriously considering moving when that had not been on our radar at all.
We listed our old house at the end of June, moved out over the Fourth of July weekend, and closed the following week. It was a lot packed into a very short amount of time. I was nervous about the actual work of moving, which is why we decided to hire movers. That should have been one of the better decisions we made, but I will point you back to our move from hell.
I was also nervous about the cost. Our old interest rate was much better, and our old mortgage payment was much lower. We definitely still miss both of those things. But a year later, I can confidently say moving here was the right decision. Joel and I will still randomly look at each other and say, “We love this house and neighborhood.”
The One-Year Snapshot
A year into living here:
- The giant deck is still one of my favorite features, even though we could probably use it more.
- I finally figured out how to keep the deck umbrella from falling over, sandbags!!
- I love having solar panels.
- The finished basement gives us a lot more space, although it is definitely not the kids’ hangout spot yet.
- The living room is the actual hangout spot, as you can tell by the toys that explode everywhere even right after we clean it.
- The garage gym is used by us and also half the neighborhood, especially the kiddos as a jungle gym.
- The street is quieter, but somehow we know far more of our neighbors.
- The kids have a whole group of friends nearby.
- I joined a neighborhood book club.
- I found one of my closest running friends a couple houses away.
- We have completed some house projects… sort of
- We still have boxes in the basement storage area that suggest we moved three weeks ago.
- I still reach for the bathroom light switch in the wrong place almost every day.
What I Love About the House
The house itself has worked really well for us.
The deck was one of the features that stood out when we first looked at the house. We’ve eaten out there, had people over, and used it as another place for the kids to move between the house and the yard. We probably haven’t used it as much as I imagined we would, partly because it gets so sunny. I did finally figure out how to keep the umbrella from falling over, so now we have decent shade.
The front porch has probably gotten even more use. Joel and I will sit out there and have coffee in the morning, sometimes before the kids wake up and sometimes once they’re awake and watching TV. It gives us a few minutes to actually sit and talk. It’s one of my favorite things about the house and one of my favorite parts of the day.
I also love the view behind the house. There have been plenty of early mornings when I’ve sat on the couch and looked out at the pond. It’s just pretty and quiet, especially before everyone else is awake.
The house came with solar panels, which wasn’t necessarily something we were looking for, but I’m so glad we have them. I like seeing how much energy they produce, and our electric bills are much lower during the summer than they would be otherwise. I feel that’s super important because getting the upstairs of a two-story house cool can be challenging, so we have to run in a lot harder than we probably would otherwise.
The finished basement gives us a lot more usable space, especially when people are visiting, but it isn’t really the kids’ favorite place to play. I think that might change when they’re older. Right now, everyone ends up in the living room.
The garage gym has also become one of the most-used spaces in the house. Joel and I both use it, I run and lift with Andrea regularly, and the neighborhood kids have also decided it belongs to them. They swing from the rings, play with the resistance bands, and hang things from the pull-up bar to make something that is basically a homemade bouncy jumper.
What I Would Change
I don’t love everything about the house. The backyard is much smaller than I would prefer. A lot of it is heavily landscaped, which looked really nice when we toured the house. After living here with two kids, I would probably trade some of the landscaping and plants for plain grass.
Our old house had a much bigger backyard and a great swing set. I do miss that butI don’t miss mowing a large yard that was also on a hill.
Thankfully, our neighbors have a great yard that the kids end up at all the time anyways. Or they are hanging out in the front.
The landscaping in general has been a struggle for me. I’m constantly trying to figure out what needs to be watered, trimmed, pulled out, or left completely alone. I think I finally understand how to handle the landscaping in the front. The backyard can be a project for year two. I think I also killed the bushes on the side of the house by trimming them down when I wasn’t supposed to. The deers also ate our cute little pine tree that’s out front, it seems like it might grow back.
There are also some things about the house that still don’t make sense to me. The light switch in our bathroom is in a spot that my brain refuses to accept. I still reach toward the wrong wall all the time. The bathroom fans upstairs used to run 24 hours a day. Apparently, the houses were built without an air exchanger, so the fans were meant to pull air through the house. I finally figured out how to disable that enough that they still run regularly but not constantly. One of the first things I did was clean the bathroom fan in the bathroom next to our bedroom.. it was gross.
We also haven’t finished unpacking the storage area in the basement. At this point, if we haven’t needed something for an entire year, I’m not sure why we’re keeping it. (But you never know when I might need it though!)
There are always other house projects too. Some are things we actually need to fix. Others are things Joel and I have discussed enough but just need to buy things – like something to hang up his climbing rope in the garage.
The Neighborhood Has Been the Best Part
The biggest surprise has been how much the neighborhood changed our everyday life.
There wasn’t one big moment when I realized the move was worth it. It was more all the normal evenings after work when the kids would go outside and immediately have someone to play with. They can run between yards, ride their bikes or rollerblade around the block, or find a group of kids without us needing to plan anything. They get outside and burn off some energy, and we can stand around talking to the other parents.
Hailey had eight other kids on our block start kindergarten with her. I still remember being in the house for less than a week and the kids were already playing in our next-door neighbor’s backyard. Andrea and I were talking, and I ended up joining her on a 10-mile run the next morning. At the time, I obviously didn’t know that would turn into one of my closest friendships. Now we run together almost every day and lift together all the time. Having someone a couple houses away who is also willing to get up early and work out has been great for my consistency, but more than that, I’m just really thankful for the friendship.
We had started becoming friendly with a couple of neighbors at our old house, but it wasn’t anything like what we have here. We have people we can text when we need something and chat with while the kids play. There are neighborhood get-togethers, and the kids are constantly wandering from one yard to another.
I also joined a neighborhood book club that meets every month, which is so amazing. I love reading and being able to walk over to a neighbors house for book club is so great. I’m hosting it at our house in August.
We still go out and do plenty of the same things we did before, but we also eat at home more than we used to. I think a lot of that is just because we want to be here. The kids want to be where their friends are, and we enjoy being home too.
The neighborhood has given all of us something. The kids have their friends. I have Andrea and book club. Joel and I have people to talk to while the kids are running around. We moved because we liked the house, but the people around it have probably been the best part.
Making It Ours
Over the last year, the house has stopped feeling like a house we just bought.
Our living room is almost always covered in toys, even if we just cleaned it. There are toys and books everywhere, kid artwork, running shoes, random gadgets, and all thing that Joel hates having lying around.
Our first Christmas here was one of the times when it really started feeling like ours. We had the tree set up in the living room and got to celebrate in our own house. I remember sitting on the couch early in the morning with the tree lit up and looking out at the pond, fireplace on, and just feeling so peaceful. (We also added permanent Christmas lights which I’ve loved playing with.)
Our first Fourth of July here also felt a little full circle since the year before we had been in the middle of moving. This year, we got to do the neighborhood bike parade, go to the potluck at Jessica’s, and participate in the things happening right around us.
A lot of what has made the house feel like ours isn’t really decorating or house projects. It’s the coffee on the porch, the kids running in and out, Christmas in the living room, and the neighborhood kids turning our gym equipment into playground equipment.
One Year Later
When we moved, I knew I liked the house. I didn’t know how much I would like the life we ended up having here. There are still things I would change. I would like more grass in the backyard. I would like the basement boxes to unpack themselves. I would also happily accept our old interest rate back, but I feel more settled here. It feels like this is where we want to be.
If I could tell myself something on moving day, I would tell myself it was worth it. The work, the stress, and the higher mortgage payment were all worth it.
For year two, I’d like to finish unpacking the basement, figure out what I’m doing with the backyard, and keep doing the neighborhood things. I’m excited to host book club in August, use our permanent lights for too many occasions, and keep up my early runs and workouts with Andrea.
Mostly, I’d be happy with more of what we’re already doing. Coffee on the porch, kids running between yards, and normal nights when we’re all glad to be home.
A year ago, it was the new house…now it’s just home.