Confession: I am so BORED with this 30 day challenge, but I am going to finish it, so let's keep moving.
Day Twenty: Why do you live where you live
There is a long answer to this but I think I have written about it before so I will try to keep it simple.
Seth was offered a job in Chicago.
We lost money selling our Utah house.
Houses in Chicago were expensive.Taxes in Chicago were HIGH!
Wisconsin wasn't much better, but definitely better.House prices were at their peak in Wisconsin.
Houses were flying off the shelves at all time high prices.Our choices were very limited.
We were assured prices would continue to sky rocket in this area.We bought this house with the intention of moving in 3-5 years.
Our house has not increased in value one cent since we bought it.
In fact, six years later our house is worth way less than we bought it for.Our house has not increased in value one cent since we bought it.
Oh well, it is a roof over our head and I know most people are in the same boat.
Except for the people who bought our Utah house.Wouldn't you know that house went up in value $100,000 the year after we sold it.
Yes, I am still bitter.And that is why we live where we live. I initially thought it sounded so much cooler to move to Chicago and was bummed out that we landed in Wisconsin. But if I had it to do over again, I would do it the same. I have learned a lot about humility and gratitude in this little house. I used to be so embarrassed of my house and worry what other people thought of my life. But we sleep as well here and laugh as loud as we would in a mansion on the lake, or a high rise in the city. I think that in these Wisconsin years, I have finally learned to be confident and comfortable in my own skin. That said, we are hoping the real estate market wakes up eventually because we are ready to move. I don't want anything extravagant, just bedrooms that are big enough to fit two twin beds, and maybe even a dresser. I also want to move to a little bit nicer area. My neighborhood is fine and I have some great neighbors, but some of the nearby neighborhoods could be better and I have heard awful things about the Middle School in our area. However, we no longer have any intention of moving to Illinois. As long as Seth works here (maybe forever?) we will stay in Wisconsin. We love Wisconsin and are happy to call ourselves Wisconsinites.
Sorry for the lack luster, low effort answer. I told you I was bored.
9 comments:
I have to admit I didn't realize what a challenge it was going to be to keep up with 30 days of the challenge ... guess that's why it's called a 30 day challenge. But I missed out on your earlier post when you've talked about this, so it's all new news to me. Thanks for sharing it. I think when I was in your place I was determined we were going to move out and into something bigger, better, in a nicer neighborhood, etc. And then when we could afford it - of course, after the kids were all grown - suddenly we couldn't think of a nicer neighborhood than the one we're in. We love our ward. We love being close to Brent's parents. And we love our home. Just need to get the kitchen finished so we can love living in the home again! Funny how time changes everything.
Julie, I also love my Ward, but the good news is that I can move anywhere in the whole county and still be in the same Ward. Our Ward members are all mostly concentrated in one area though, so a lot of the kids go to school together and live close enough to play together. We live about 20 minutes from that area so I do feel out of the loop sometimes. But we live by the lake and lots of trees and I like that too. The trees are our mountains, so I have to live where there are trees. I don't know why they cleared all the trees out of some of the nice new neighborhoods? We have our eye on a few neighborhoods, but if it never happens it never happens. We have an open enrollment policy so I can send Alyssa to any middle school in the district if the one in our area is too bad.
On Wisconsin
I called the schools about the open enrollment policy when I was registering Abi and they said I had to register her at the one that she is 'supposed' to go to and then I would have to fill out a form for the other one and wait and see if she could get in based on how many kids enrolled.
I just decided to leave her where she is supposed to go unless we don't like it once she is there.
i don't know if the middle schools work differently or not.
Oh and I would say please come move to our neighborhood because it's pretty nice ... but it's not a very friendly one so there are probably better ones.
Thanks for the Depeche Mode. I was loving listening to it! Oh and then right on to Elvis! Your music has officially put me in a good mood.
Cheryl, I know they have to make sure there is room first, but everyone I know who has tried has gotten in to the schools they tried to get in to. I think most people just stick to the school closest to them so there is not any one school that gets bombarded with requests. Why do you want to move Abi? You guys are in boundaries for a good school. I have known a lot of people who have had kids go there. Did you want her with the rest of the church kids? I admit that sometimes I wish my kids were with some church kids at school. Where I grew up I went to one High School and the other kids from my ward went to the other one. The Mormon kids at my school were from another ward so in my own ward I never really fit or had close church friends and at school the Mormon kids stuck together with the other ones from their own ward so I was out of the loop there too most of the time. Luckily I made plenty of good friends at school but it would be nice if my kids had a few close church friends. I will say that the friends who were the best influence on me in both High School and College were not Mormon though. I realize that not all Mormon kids make good decisions and a lot of kids who aren't Mormon do so it is not about that. I would just like them to have some one who relates to what they believe.
It's actually not about church kids. I'm not sure if any schools will have kids from church in with her. All the kids in her primary class seem to already be in Kindergarten.
I thought about it because it is so close. Nash is one mile away so we could walk to and from school in nice weather. But to PP she will ride the bus.
I really felt good about it though when we went to register. It seems like a nice school and the kids walking down the hallway seemed really well behaved.
Hi Julie! I found your blog on Cheryl's blog. I have seen a few people do this 30 day challenge and I know I don't have what it takes to do it. So I am impressed that you would try it!
I've read a couple of the comments here and I'm not in the "ward neighborhood" either. Emma goes to Pleasant Prairie Elementary and seems to like it. I think there's only 1 other kid in the school who's a member, and he's not in her grade. That's really weird for me to think about. Growing up in Utah of course is much different. I would love for Emma to have more close friends from church too. Part of that is being new here though. She doesn't really know anyone yet, and she only see's the kids at church once a week. I don't mind her having non-member friends, it's just nice knowing the standards and values are there in the home. My 2 best friends growing up were not members ironically. I hope her summer isn't too lonely though. My husband grew up in Colorado though, and only had maybe 10 members in his school (and most of those were his siblings or cousins), so this is much more normal for him. I'm just hoping that it makes Emma a stronger person and more convicted in her beliefs and principles.
I would totally be bitter about the house thing too! That's the kind of thing I don't think I'd ever be able to let go of.
Anyway, I look forward to getting to know you better!
Never say never. I really thought we'd always be in Boise and here we are 14 months later in Utah. We are bummed about the rise in costs too in Utah after we sold our house but I remember you once telling me that happiness is more about where your home is eternally rather than worrying about where it is geographically. BUT I agree neighborhoods and schools are big on the list.
Hi Holly, glad you found me. I saw a comment from you on Cheryl's blog one day and tried to follow it to a blog but it didn't link to one. You will have to get me your blog address if you blog. Also, I think Abi will actually be at Pleasant Prairie next year and she is Emma's age, although in a different grade with her late b-day. It is so different from Utah here, but I like it and I have been so impressed with how strong the youth are here. I really like our ward and feel so much more a part of something here than I ever did in a Utah ward. Anyhow, I am exicted to have you here...on the blog...and in Wisconsin...and I am excited to get to know you better too.
Makinzee. I do remember telling you that and I still believe it. It is not so much the little house that bugs me. I guess it is knowing that I could have had a nicer house for the same price a year later, or this house for way less money, but that is just my pride getting in my way. When I am really honest about it, I know we needed to move here when we did. The blessings we have received far outweigh any money or square footage that was lost. I still think it is CRAZY that you guys moved back to Utah right after we "talked" about this last year.
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