I’ve been dreaming of having our own space for a while now. A place that we can decorate together and truly call our own — a home. And after living in France for over a year in a rental, I can finally say I think it’s time to move. When I first came, I moved into Tom’s one bedroom apartment that he had been renting for several years and the plan was to figure out what we were doing (staying in France, moving to the US?) before making any big decisions. Have we figured that out? Not exactly, but we’ve definitely outgrown our current apartment…
So is it time to move?
Our living spaces have an enormous impact on our overall happiness. Is your home messy and uninspiring? If so, do you feel messy and uninspired? Our apartment is cluttered, dated and just doesn’t exude a positive energy. And I’ve tried to live with it by making some minor changes like a new slipcover for the couch, fresh flowers and other little fixes. But it just isn’t enough any more!
So is it time to move? I like lists, so to help figure this out, I made a pros and cons list of moving. Here’s a snapshot of my reasons for each.
Pros of moving
- It’ll be our space, something we share and a space we will make our own together. This is something we don’t have right now. And we’re at the point where we want a home that’s ours.
- Better quality of life. The new place will be two bedrooms and better suited for our needs.
- We can make any changes we want since we won’t be renting. We’ll have a real kitchen, storage, will be able to paint, etc.
- It’s a buyer’s market and interest rates are in our favor.
- I’ll feel like a real adult. Moving without the help of friends or family and going from renting to buying is definitely more responsibility.
Cons of moving
- The expense. Any way we look at it, it’ll cost more to own a property than to pay our rent now. Even unexpected things like a broken toilet are now our responsibility and not the landlord’s.
- Stressful. We’re first time homebuyers! And it feels permanent — scary since we have no clue what our future plans are in terms of where we’ll be living.
- Difficult to find exactly what we want and something we both like. Although our apartment now is too small, we love our neighborhood but there’s nothing available in the same area in our budget.
All signs point to yes! Definitely time to move!
Where are we going? The same town since Tom’s job is here. It’s a great town with everything we need. I feel comfortable here and have a routine. It’s also not too far from Paris or the coast, so I have no complaints about the town. And if we do end up needing to move somewhere else in France or back to the US, that’s OK too. We’re not stuck.
As I always remind myself, we live once and sometimes the journey from going from point A to point B is just as important as the destination. We’ve put in the time renting a space that’s meant for one person — not two and a dog — and saving along the way, and I absolutely think it’s time. Let the house hunt being!
How did you know it was time to move? Did you go with your gut when deciding on a property? Any regrets?
Photo credit: ahhyeah / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND
Photo credit: Xurble / Foter.com / CC BY
I bought my own place nearly four years ago. It was the first place I looked at, but it felt right (I looked at plenty others after just in case). The timing was good, as it is for you now. Interest rates were low and houses were cheap. But I had one condition: my mortgage payments had to be covered by the rent if I decided to travel. That made my budget clear from the outset. It’s all worked out well. I’ve been gone for nearly two years and aside from the occasional bill for insurance or council taxes, I manage. It would be nice to travel without having such an asset to consider. I can’t travel full-time because I need to make sure I have money for the house if I need it, so I’m on a working holiday and having a great time. There really is nothing like owning your own home. Good luck 🙂
Thanks Megan! So glad your purchase worked out for you and you’re able to rent it while you’re gone! Very nice!
Cool! Congrats on the decision. Best of luck!!!
This is a tough one. I’ve rented, owned and rented again. we’re renting a fully furnished place in La Garde so the stuff in our house isn’t even ours.
I think if moving feels right for you than do it. But like everything else, after a while you may yearn for somethign diferent again.
for us now, we enjoy spending money and time on experiences but i think next year I will have had enough with renting a fully furnished place and we may want to get our own place with our own stuff inside of it..
Hi! It’s a major decision and not sure what’s best, but I do know I have to get out of this 1BR apt!! Hope you’re well!