Looking Forward|Pad Patter 8.3.17

[bestcee]

It's that time at my house: Lease renewal. Not sure if it's the same in other areas, or other countries, but here the standard is 60 days before the end of your current lease to commit to a new one or commit to leave. And our lease this time came with a 2 year option as well as a 1 year.

So, that's my question. Two years feels like a long time to commit to a lease! Do you think you'll be in the same spot in 2 years? 5 years? Or is it just my wandering feet that makes 2 years seem long?

And in case you wondered, we committed to 1 year. Not 2.

 

[StefanieS]

We have been staying in our home for 17years. I think I would get all kinds of twitchy having to pack and move and sort through everything. But yes, 2 years feels long for a lease, indeed.

 

[cfile]

We have been in our home for 18 years as of October. To me 2 years goes by very quickly. It would depend on jobs or if in the military. In the military you move a lot if in the Army etc. The Navy seems to be more stable staying in San Diego, Norfolk, Jacksonville etc for longer stretches. It depends on your circumstances to decide what is best for you.

 

[bellbird]

Everyone's different I guess b/c I can't imagine that kind of thinking! We bought this place when DD was in kindy (she's half way thru year7 now) and thought of it as our forever home (i think we used the phrase that it was 'until we're really old and go into a nursing home'...)

 

[Meredith78]

Funny - we own our house (or at least, we pay the bank for the privilege of living here) and I'm fine with that, but when it comes time to renew my mobile phone contract, I freak out about the commitment every time!

 

[carrie1977]

We've been in our home for 15 years now. I don't think we'll think about moving until after the kids are done with school. We are located super close to both schools so to leave would be unwise. My husband does want to find a country home so I'm sure that's where we'll end up once we make the decision to move on. It will be strange, though, because we brought both of our babies home here...lots of memories have been made.

 

[jenn mccabe]

We have been in our current home for 12 years and that is the longest I have ever been in one place my entire life. I am a wanderer at heart too so I hear what you are saying. If I was a renter I don't think I could commit to the 2 years. We are already dreaming of all the places we can go after the kids finish HS.

Wanderers unite!!!

 

[Karen]

We've been in our house for 14 years now and don't plan to leave until the kids are through high school (they are in 6th and 8th grade now). So I plan on being here for a long while still. I'd stay in our house forever if I had the choice, but I know my hubby would love to have a country house with a barn to store toys. The thought of moving my craft room alone makes me think I'd rather never move.

 

[QuiltyMom]

Oh goodness, the thought of moving every year would send me into a frenzy!

When I was single I moved just about every year until I got married 20 years ago. I'm so done with moving! I don't care if I ever move again. My DH already owned our current home before we even met. I moved in after the wedding and we've stayed here ever since. He always thought this was a starter home, but it's worked well for raising a family. It's nicely centered in the community with easy access into downtown DC either by car or public transportation, and our neighborhood association is small, friendly and supportive. We're considering converting our walk-out basement into a rental which would mean less space for us but an added income, as well as having someone to take care of the place if we decide to travel. But right now that's just a thought.

If we ever move it will be to Tennessee, far far away from the zaniness and politics of the Washington, DC metro area. I really, honestly and truly hate living here because of the politics. Everyone is angry all of the time, no matter who what when where or why.

 

[KarenB]

We've been in our current home for 12 years now. The longest I've lived anywhere. But we are in no hurry to move and have just paid off our mortgage. We are lucky that we love the area and have no need to go elsewhere. Its good to feel settled

 

[djp332]

We've never leased a house, only rented 2 apartments when we were newlyweds. We owned our first home for 14 years, and we've been in our second home now for 19 years. We paid it off last year when we thought we would retire. Hoping to move south to the Sarasota, FL area in about 2 when hubby retires.

 

[bcgal00]

When the kids were young we moved 7 times in about 12 yrs. Then we bought a house and we've been here for 20 yrs. Two years can be a long time if there is any uncertainty in your life but for others, it flies by. I'm looking forward to buying another house in a few yrs but at the same time I'm not looking forward to packing it all up, staging it for showing buyers and looking for another place.

 

[IntenseMagic]

I have lived in this house for going on 27 years. When my ex-husband and I bought it, it was never intended to be a forever home, just a starter, it's small. But, then divorce happened and one thing after another and here I am all these years later. I am anxiously looking forward to having the house paid for in the next few years. Before this, I had never lived in one house more than 3 or 4 years. I am a wanderer at heart, too, and would move all the time if I could. It just hasn't worked out that way. But, I can retire in 2 years, the house will be close to paid for if not totally, and I am outta here! I'm going to head south and preferably to a condo or townhouse where someone takes care of maintenance type things for me. That's where I want to spend the rest of my days...on or close to the ocean. I will be a bit sad, because I did raise all of my children in this home and it's been a wonderful place for them to grow up, but at this point in my life, I am truly over "the joys of home ownership", which have been more like a pain in my rear haha. My oldest is really sentimental about this house, but he has always known I don't plan to stay here forever. I told him that he is more than welcome to buy it from me when the time comes. I do know that if I was renting or leasing, I would have a really hard time with the 2 year option as well.

 

[BevG]

We have lived here 18+ years and we still own our previous house as a rental (28 years this month). Through the trees, they are about 1/2 mile apart.

I grew up in one house but my hubby was an army brat that moved all the time. My kids want us to own this house forever. One has already moved out and one is in college. We have one more at home for at least 2 more years. I do think we will live here forever unless finances dictate otherwise. Just think of all the craft rooms we could have!

 

[tkradtke]

When I first moved to Chicago, I moved every time my lease was up (and once even before it was up). Jeff and I bought a condo when we got married, and never rented again, but somehow still ended up living 5 different houses in the first 10 years of our marriage (this is Alex's 5th house, Clara's 4th and our 6th since getting married). We've been in our current house almost four years. We talk about moving since the empty nester phase seems to be rapidly approaching... but have decided to wait until we see where the kids settle. If they're far away, we'll keep this house since there's more room for guests, if they stay close, we might eventually move to a high rise condo. All I know is that we're not doing anything any time soon!

 

[michelepixels]

Well, I lived in the same house from the time I was 18 months old until I moved out at the age of 23 to live my now-husband. So living in one house for many years feels natural to me. Still, in 2000, when we moved into our current house, I wouldn't have guessed we'd still be here 17 years later. My husband's job is uncertain, and though we bought the house with kids in mind so it's plenty big, we weren't thinking of it as a forever home. In fact, over the years we've come to realize we don't like suburban life and we hope someday to move back into a city.

Two years doesn't seem like a long time to me in general. But it is if you don't know for sure that the location is right for you.

 

[bestcee]

I am a wanderer at heart too so I hear what you are saying.

Someone who gets my soul!

The thought of moving my craft room alone makes me think I'd rather never move

There's a reason that after our last 2 moves my paper scrapbooks have been photographed and moved to digital pages!

far far away from the zaniness

This is what I think about here. Vegas is a little crazy and zany.

Two years can be a long time if there is any uncertainty in your life but for others, it flies by.

This is true. I didn't think there was uncertainty, but I guess there is! The first year here flew by!

. My oldest is really sentimental about this house, but he has always known I don't plan to stay here forever.

My brother in law is like that. He's struggling with my MIL's decision to move. She's lived there 30+ years!

Just think of all the craft rooms we could have!

Ooo! You could host a big old crafty sleepover!

this is Alex's 5th house, Clara's 4th and our 6th since getting married

This is munchkin's 4th home. Although, we spent so much time at my mom's that I think he counts that in his head!

So living in one house for many years feels natural to me.

Maybe this is it for me. The longest I lived somewhere was 4.5 years before I got married. We had our house for 4 years. So, I've never been a long term in one place kinda person?

But it is if you don't know for sure that the location is right for you.

We love the location currently! But it depends on what DH does with his job. He may want to advance in the next 2 years, which would probably necessitate moving, or a really long commute! His old boss wants him to go to CA, and I'm not ready for that. I'd rather go East or Pacific Northwest.

 

[bestcee]

Wow! I'm amazed at how many people stay in one place for so long! I guess because that wasn't my childhood (although it was my younger brothers), it's just not something familiar to me.

I love it though! It's awesome!

 

[mcurtt]

We rented (a real dive) for 3 years before we moved to our first home.
We were in that home for 17 years. We upgraded and moved to our second (existing) home, and that was 24 years ago. Time flies.

But I can remember being in college and moving 5 times in a year. Lots less possessions then...

 

[Serena]

I'm like you, Jan and Karen. I moved around a LOT in my younger days, usually after a year of being in one place we moved, but then I hit the 2 year mark and was like "WHAT IS GOING ON?!?!?!"

Like Jan and Karen, I've been in this current house almost ten years. I hate it. It's ugly and boxy and just.. ugh. But it's the only house my son has known so I like that I can give him stability. But man... I want to move soooooo bad. Packing is awful but getting in a new place with a fresh start and a different scene is what my soul truly wants.

I've ALMOST got the other half addicted to the idea of moving again. He's staying firm until the kids get out of school which is WAAAAY too long in my opinion but at least he's considering.

2 years seems like a really long time, I think you did the right thing with the 1 year lease because then you can just re-sign for another year after if you need! ^.^