This weekend we spent a lot of time talking about where we want to live. It is kinda sounding like Vince would agree to MO but somewhat east of Springfield and that’s going to put me farther from Chad than I want to be. It isn’t that I really want to live next door to Chad but we are getting older and it isn’t going to be that many years before we will need help with some things. Not to be morbid but it’s pretty likely that one of us will go before the other one and I think whichever of us is left, we’ll want to be close enough to Chad that we can have some interaction with him fairly often.
I’m even more confident now than I was before that Chad will not move to a different area. He really does like it where he lives and he’s happy with his job.
I had to laugh after Vince and I made our list for what we want in a house.
Here’s my list:
- Close to Chad – preferably in the same town but not in the city limits – out of reach of the red tag man, but I wouldn’t mind being within a couple of hours of them.
- Basement – main level with a basement. No second floor AND a basement.
- Wood stained cabinets – no painted cabinets
- Attached garage
- 3-1/2 baths. Don’t judge! Vince and I do not use the same bathroom so we need two full baths on the main level and I don’t want visitors using either of our bathrooms so we need a half bath on the main level. We need at least one bedroom and one full bath in the basement.
- Gas stove.
Vince’s list:
- Shop
- Trees
- No older than 5 years
- Live water
- Metal roof
- Not near a major road/highway
- No farther than an hour from decent medical services
- Good well
- Separate a/c unit for basement and main level
- Mostly brick or rock – not much wood, and no stucco.
And then . . there’s the price. I think between both of our wants and wishes, we aren’t going anywhere.
I understand the reasoning for everything he has on his list and I suppose he understands my list.
Here’s the plan: Sit tight til the end of 2021. Then we’ll try to narrow down the area in which we want to live. NW Arkansas is not out of the question. Then we’ll start looking for a house and hope to find a place and move by the end of 2022. Having a plan makes me feel better. A lot can change in two years.
So, if anyone finds a house in SW MO or NW AR that meets all our wants, I’d be happy to hear about it. I might could even talk Vince into making a move sooner rather than later. Another couple of weeks like we’ve had, with everything going wrong, and Vince may be the one wanting to move NOW.
Ruth says
Vince has two “waters” on his list – Live water and well water. What is the difference?
Judy Laquidara says
Live water is like a spring fed pond or a running creek. Stagnant water is like a pond that only gets water added when it rains. Well water is water from deep underground – not surface water.
Kathy Hancock says
I hate to be dumb but what is the red tag man.
Judy Laquidara says
Not dumb – it was an ongoing problem when we lived in MO. It’s a small town and there’s a rule about weeds. They really do need some kind of rule but sometimes it was a bit overbearing. If weeds got to be 6″ or 8″ high (I can’t remember), they’d come stick a red tag in your yard . . kinda like a scarlet letter!
Vince moved to Texas in May and I stayed there til August and I was doing the yard maintenance and I lived in fear of the red tag man. One day my doorbell rang, Chad looked out and said “Mom, it’s Richard!” Richard was the red tag man and he was very nice and he did a thankless job. Someone had turned me in for having weeds to tall. WHAT? I was meticulous with keeping that yard cut and the sidewalk edged. He looked around and didn’t see anything but said “Can we walk around back and look?” Sure! We walked around and he couldn’t find anything wrong so he left. As much as I’d like to move back to that little town to be near Addie, I will never live in the city limits – probably not there or anywhere – ever again if I have a say in it. No one should have to live with that hanging over your head. But, in their defense, there are some really nasty looking places. The same houses get red tags over and over again. Those who don’t mind their yards looking like a dump also don’t mind getting a red tag. OK . . you can see I’m still a bit bitter about that red tag rule.
Susan Nixon says
I don’t see anything on there about taxes! Some places, income and property tax, plus sales tax on top of those, will drive you broke.
Judy Laquidara says
I think Vince has just accepted that he’s going to have to pay state income tax if we’re going to be closer to Chad. It’s a hard pill to swallow but if they won’t come here, eventually we’re going to go there. We will try to make sure we aren’t paying any more property taxes than we’re paying here. In MO, we should be paying about half of what we pay here. Of course, we will have to pay for internet, water, electricity – things we aren’t paying here. We have a lot of soul searching to do before we make a decision.