don't read if you love babies or love your suburban house or like to think that i'm a nice person
there are some good deals on houses around here...very tempting. on Sunday H asked if i could ever live in Suburb X because you can get fabulous homes for much less. it launched a series of passionate declarations from me, using phrases like "I might as well be dead" and "Your life is over". not just about living in Suburb X, but about buying a house and having babies in general.
the bargain hunter in me wants to take advantage of undisputable good deals, but for it to be a REALLY good deal you have to consider resale value and that means you are bound to everyone else's values, not your own. you are not buying for your own taste, but buying for the taste of the next buyer. and all that alters your perspective away from being a "young" person who is able to take risks to being an "old" person who has something to lose and therefore makes decisions based on self-preservation instead.
and why not rent for the rest of our lives? if we don't need all that space for ourselves, it doesn't feel like throwing away money, when rent is so much less than mortgage and the tax writeoffs don't fully offset the difference. it feels like we only need to buy a house for the babies.
which makes me resent babies...if before i was ambivalent, now i am actively resentful. because not only do they cost money to clothe, feed and educate, but even before they are born they force us to sign our lives away to 30-years of debt. so all this money i've worked to earn is no longer for me to enjoy...i've only had a couple years to spend on myself and soon i will have to put it all into a couple of twits who, if i've done my part of staying self-supportive, will never pay me back. so remind me again, why would i want children over early retirement?
I did concede, though, that if we waited until baby time to move to Suburb X I could "survive". Because it's true, I know that a baby would distract me tons and I wouldn't feel like i was missing out on as much. And hey, I've been living in Suburbs Y and Z for 3 years to be with H. It's just the principle...choosing a place where no friends will visit you and you won't ever stumble across something new or experience anything unexpected is like choosing to turn your back on life.
the bargain hunter in me wants to take advantage of undisputable good deals, but for it to be a REALLY good deal you have to consider resale value and that means you are bound to everyone else's values, not your own. you are not buying for your own taste, but buying for the taste of the next buyer. and all that alters your perspective away from being a "young" person who is able to take risks to being an "old" person who has something to lose and therefore makes decisions based on self-preservation instead.
and why not rent for the rest of our lives? if we don't need all that space for ourselves, it doesn't feel like throwing away money, when rent is so much less than mortgage and the tax writeoffs don't fully offset the difference. it feels like we only need to buy a house for the babies.
which makes me resent babies...if before i was ambivalent, now i am actively resentful. because not only do they cost money to clothe, feed and educate, but even before they are born they force us to sign our lives away to 30-years of debt. so all this money i've worked to earn is no longer for me to enjoy...i've only had a couple years to spend on myself and soon i will have to put it all into a couple of twits who, if i've done my part of staying self-supportive, will never pay me back. so remind me again, why would i want children over early retirement?
I did concede, though, that if we waited until baby time to move to Suburb X I could "survive". Because it's true, I know that a baby would distract me tons and I wouldn't feel like i was missing out on as much. And hey, I've been living in Suburbs Y and Z for 3 years to be with H. It's just the principle...choosing a place where no friends will visit you and you won't ever stumble across something new or experience anything unexpected is like choosing to turn your back on life.