Things are heading south in our lives, and by that I mean that they are actually headed on the compass in the southward direction. It’s actually true. The life that we have carved out for ourselves in this little bit of suburbia is being reconsidered as we look to Dallas. It seems as if all of our life is centered around Big D and getting more so that way each day. We used to joke about moving and now we are actually taking it seriously.
For those of you who have been with me on our recent journey, you will recall that over the last few months we have made some mega changes in our lives. Change numero uno is most obvious – I took the plunge and returned to design school in Dallas. Followed closely by a design firm internship in Dallas. Add to that, we have begun mentoring a family on the south side in Dallas. Also, we have changed churches and are attending in Dallas. The only thing that has not changed for us is Matt’s job in Dallas. Did you notice that all of the above sentences end with the phrase “in Dallas?”
Now all of these things are good….but all of these things are definitely located south of our current existence. This is where the rub occurs. With no intention of leaving our suburban bubble, our lives have morphed into something that does not include our current locale.
With that in mind, we have come to a decision. We have decided to place our home in the burbs on the market and place a contingency bid on a home in Dallas – specifically the Park Cities. Assuming that the home doesn’t’ sell anytime soon and our home sells really fast, this site would be our new digs.
With an appealing driveup and right smack next door to our longtime friends the Cox Family, this home is everything we could ask for and more.
The layout of the home offers us great usability and would allow us to plunk our furniture right into the house without losing much in the way of time or pieces.
This photo does not do this laundry room any justice. But let me tell you…it’s a dreamy place to be. With the washer and dryer located on the second floor along with the bedrooms and this much square footage in the laundry room alone, it calls to me in a deafening voice “Buy me!
White kitchens are truly my thing but this one will due in a pinch. I much prefer to dream of turning it into one like the kitchen found below all in an ethereal white scheme.
And yes, this photo is from my endless interior design tear sheet files. I'm glad it came in handy for me this time.
What could be better than a back porch and a glass of wine? Friend to join me, that's what!
Although we are used to a spacious backyard, this yard provides a tastefully landscaped area with room for the boys to run.
You might be wondering exactly what were our considerations when trying to decide whether to move on down south or not. Being the wife of a numbers dude and a former business woman myself, it made perfect sense to chart the pros and cons of a move. That being said, the decision split right down the middle. Take a look at my following comparisons:
| DALLAS | FRISCO |
| Matt’s commute 8 minutes | Matt’s commute 45 - 1+ hour |
| Carla’s school commute 5 minutes | Carla’s commute to school 35 minutes |
| Carla’s work commute 3 minutes | Carla’s commute to work 45 minutes |
| Commute to church 10 minutes | Commute to church 25 minutes |
| Commute to our mentoring family 10 minutes | Commute to mentoring family 15 min & 1 hour on Sun |
| Great Public Schools | Great public schools and we know them well. |
| Nice potential house with everything we need | Great current home and things are almost how we want them |
| Right next door to the Cox family | Excellent friends and relationships in Frisco |
| No fixes need to existing house that we know of | Fixes needed, but we have the cash to do them |
| Price of home – not exactly cheap. We would be giving less away in a trade for giving more of our service time | Lots of equity in our home and much cheaper mortgage payment, with possibility of payoff soon. |
| Neighborhood is filled with kids (42 on one block), but boys don’t know anyone yet | John doesn’t want to move because he’s had the same friends since he was in diapers |
| No bus. I’d have to take the boys to and from school unless I can figure out a carpool | Bus comes to our door and saves me time |
| Need to move in next 10 months as John would be starting middle school in 5th grade | If we don’t move this year, we would need to stay put as we ‘d hate to pull out the boys from school middle/high school |
| We wouldn’t need to change any of our downtown commitments and have more family time | We would need to move some of our “downtown” commitments back out to Frisco as they are really eating into our family time |
UUGGHHH! I thought for sure that after I made a chart, the answer would become crystal clear. No such luck. So…what to do? As I mentioned earlier, we decided to go ahead and put our home in Frisco on the market and see if it moves in the next few months. We have placed a contingency contract on the home in Dallas. The shocker on that contract is that the current owner actually accepted our contingency terms. And now we wait. The waiting process is so difficult for a woman like me who is decisive. If you know of anyone in need of a beautiful home up north of Dallas, give us a ring. I just happen to know a wonderful family that is looking to sell quickly.
Can’t wait for the first party,
or perhaps the "staying put" party -
C
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