What do you get when you cross a desire for urban living with a 100+ mile commute, and a cul-de-sac in a newly planned community with a love of historic architecture? In our case, this combination yielded an immediate need to sell the first house we ever purchased. Fast.
It was San Francisco in the early 2000’s. Eager to buy our first home, Bud and I gave no weight to where we wanted to live, only how far outside the city our budget would force us to go. Bonus points went to homes that would not require camping overnight outside the builder’s office to qualify for a lottery where a hundred people would compete for a few lots.
We located such a home 50 miles outside the city, and we both failed to realize we would hate living there. Conventional wisdom suggests you have “made it” once you own, but for us, it just meant that we now lived 50 miles away from everything we enjoyed. Our gas budget quadrupled, and our spontaneous outings with friends vanished. We were homeowners, yay! But at what price?
In less than a year after purchasing our first home, and after a particularly grueling commute, we admitted that the romance and excitement of city dwelling was no longer our reality. We had to move somewhere. Anywhere. And it had to be urban.
Wherever we moved, we would have a well-documented plan. I am a consummate list maker, so I created:
(1) pros/cons lists;
(2) best of/worst of lists;
(3) lists of cities we could afford to live in;
(4) lists of neighborhoods with the proper proximity to culture, medical centers, airports, shopping, bars, cafes, etc.
We were about to make the most well informed decision of our lives.
And then we discovered FindYourSpot.com. This (sadly, now defunct) addictive little website, with its cartoon dog “Spot,” wagging his cartoon dog tai
l, promised if we took their quiz, the site would recommend cities we would love to call home. Spot said come to Portland, Oregon. So we threw all of our other lists away, and we came. Logical, yes? Follow the direction of an adorable website mascot funded most likely by travel and tourism bureau dollars.
And let me tell you, that little website was spot-on. We now live in an old bungalow full of charm that is located just blocks away from shopping, eating, drinking, movies, and more. We are never without coffee, happy hour, or places to walk our dogs.
The moral of the story, if there is one, is that buying a home is a huge decision that will impact your life. Sometimes it is great to be prepared and do all your research. Other times, though, you may be just as happy to throw caution to the wind and see where life takes you. Because if it takes you to Portland, Oregon, then you will have hit the best housing lottery of all, and indeed you will have found your spot.
Moving to Portland? Or already here? We are Here to Help
Danni Duggan, Dana Smith, and Charles (Bud) Garrison, OR Brokers, Premiere Property Group, LLC
Danni: 503-719-2279 | danni@dannipdx.com
Dana: 503-805-0569 | dana@dannipdx.com
Charles (Bud): 503-679-1893 | bud@dannipdx.com
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