I owned a house back in 2003 when I lived in Raleigh, but since I moved to Atlanta later that year, I had been living in apartments. I actually liked living in an apartment because it was cheaper, and I had no need for a house at the time.
This time last year, Robby and I were thinking about moving to Tampa. It had been a cold winter, and if you know me at all you know that I HATE cold weather. If I could live at the equator, I probably would. I looked up the Tampa weather nearly every day and commented on how much better it would be to live down there. We looked at houses online and found some really nice ones, mainly because of the down economy and people selling their second homes down in Florida. We were ready to go.
Then a month later, we found out I was pregnant. Moving to Florida didn't seem like the best idea anymore, because our family is in Georgia. Not moving down there was probably one of the best decisions we made. Having family close makes raising an infant so much easier! So we started looking in the Duluth area - close to Robby's parents and closer to my mom then I was in Dunwoody.
We bought our house in February of this year. The cost of owning a house is definitely much more than an apartment. Not just the rent/mortgage cost increase, but the utilities and home repairs have really taken a hit on our budget. We used to have much more discretionary income. Now our discretionary income is next to none, but we have a comfortable place to raise our son.
This house has a special meaning after August 17th. Alan was born at home, on the bathroom floor. He started his life here, and hopefully he will grow up here.
I am thankful that we are able to afford this comfortable house and that it has become a home to my new family.
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Oh, you made me tear up when you said it has special meaning because Alan was born there. What an amazing experience for you guys!
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