Holly's birthday was during Memorial Day weekend. That was, of course, the best thing about the weekend. However, the 2nd place winner was a near-tie. We found a house! After scouring craigslist for many weeks and seeing house after house that just wasn't right, we were despairing of ever finding a new home to rent. We wanted to leave Milpitas for a more amenable school district, and hoped to improve Damon's commute.
Then, finally, we came upon this beauty:
It's just around the corner from a park that is adjacent to the neighborhood elementary school. It's on a quiet, shady street. There are four bedrooms, a living room, and a family room. The kitchen does not have tile countertops (the bane of my Milpitas culinary existence)! It's an older home, but has been well cared for and was in very clean condition when we saw it.
Just the day before we'd looked at a house on the other side of the same park. It only had three bedrooms, and they were just too small to accommodate two kids each. And it was at the very top of our budget. I really liked the neighborhood and the less-than-five-mile distance from Damon's work, and as we drove away I thought, "We just need a 4-bedroom in this neighborhood, but all those houses are going to be too expensive." The next morning I got on craigslist--again--and saw the listing for a 4-bedroom house that was $500/month LESS than the one we'd just seen. When I mapped its location I was amazed. It was in the same neighborhood! I couldn't believe it. It was just what I'd asked for the day before.
We saw the house that afternoon (Friday) and by Saturday afternoon--in the middle of Holly's party--the owner was calling us and asking if he could cancel his Sunday open house. He liked us. We liked the house. It was a done deal. We signed the lease on the morning of Memorial Day, and slowly began moving our things over as Damon took a truckload to work each day.
We officially moved into the house on June 8, and for the next few weeks were visited by this welcoming committee: a flock of wild parrots!!
They are mitred conures and frequented the tree above our driveway (at the top right of the house photo above) to munch on seeds most mornings.
We've also been warmly welcomed by the neighbors, having met more of them within our first week than we did our whole nine months in Milpitas. The next-door neighbors are original owners of the house and have lived there for 48 years! Everyone is friendly and seems to look out for each other, which is a nice change from our very private neighborhood in Milpitas where we really only knew the neighbors on either side of us. We feel really blessed to have found such a wonderful situation. We know our many prayers were answered, and I am looking forward to a fresh start here in California.
1 comment:
Great looking house! I, too, hope this is the California move you were supposed to have last time. :)
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