House hunting

You might think that my first post in England would be about how we spent the weekend in London, or how we met Harry Potter or visited an ancient castle.  Well, it’s not so grand as that.  And we have yet to do any of those things, though they are on the list.  We arrived in England on Sunday the 19th, and since then, we have been searching for the right house (not the perfect house per se, just the right one).  We viewed at least two dozen houses, and most of the time it was easy to say no.  At the top of our list for why we didn’t choose particular houses:  1) washing machines in the kitchen (I don’t like the ideas of mixing my whites with the cooking).  2) carpeted bathrooms (Ewwww!).  3) yards I can mow in less than 60 seconds (no joke).  4) Creepy 600 year old cemetaries across the street.  Of course these didn’t apply to all houses we declined, but the majority fell into one or more of those categories.  Sure there were always the practical items like too far to commute, or not enough bedrooms, but who wants to talk about that. 

With all the traveling around house-hunting, at least we got to see a lot of the countryside.  It’s mostly small villages around here separated by lots and lots of farmland. 

Here’s a bit of village for you:

 

And here’s the farmland:

Now just alternate looking back and forth at those two pictures, and there you have it – just like being here.

And then of course, here’s what was in the back of the car for the last 12 days.  Let’s not mention the emotional roller coaster one (namely two parents) experience while three children are crammed into one seat with no choice but to be touching each other.  (take a deep breath with me now).

But we eventually found one!  A house that is.  We also found the Kinder eggs.

So here’s the house we are going to live in for the next three years (hopefully).  We haven’t signed the lease yet, so anything can happen still.  (knock on wood)   I say that because this is the second house we’ve chosen; the first one fell through because the landlord got an offer from a buyer, and of course that’s the better deal.

One of the main ‘selling’ points was the brand new kitchen ( with no washer in it – though it is nearby, within sight, next to where the fridge will be (hey, you can’t have everything).

AND the yard.  Yes, all the grass in the picture is the yard.  And I’ll be mowing it . . . often.  With any luck I can hire a neighborhood kid to help me out.  I’m already planning on picnics and campouts.

So that’s my perspective.  Let’s see what Lyana says in her post (she’s probably tell the WHOLE story.  I just gave you the cliffnotes version).

Cheers,

Rob