Once Hubman accepted his new job, we started on what was next. The move. We came back to the Austin area a few times over the summer to look at homes. It wasn’t easy because I really didn’t want to be right in the middle of a big city and hubman didn’t want to be out in the sticks, (to be fair, I didn’t want to be out in the middle of nowhere either) so we searched and searched for something that was somewhere in the middle.

Living just a few miles from the ballpark in Arlington, the Cowboys Stadium, 3 huge malls and having I-20 quite literally in our backyard had taken it’s toll on me. I was sick of true city life, but I’m certainly no country bumpkin either. We both wanted to be close enough to the city to have fun and enjoy the conveniences that come with it, but also far enough away to not hear a highway when we stepped outside or sit in mall traffic when just running up to the grocery store. I wanted 5 bedrooms, (more on that later) a pool that I didn’t have to clean, and lots of trees. I didn’t want a back neighbor, because sitting on my back patio without being stared at over the fence is simply no longer an option for me. I wanted trees and a creek and nature, but people too, definitely people.

Hubman wanted the suburbs and a white picket fence neighborhood. He wanted a new community with room for growth, as close to the city as possible without actually being in the city. He wanted me to make friends with neighbors who had pools so he wouldn’t have to deal with one, (Okay, that’s fair.) We both wanted a big kitchen with lots of storage. We wanted lots of rooms, and an open floor plan. We knew for sure that two stories wasn’t an option, so at least we agreed on that. He wanted 4 bedrooms so he could have his office and I could keep the guest bedroom for our family and friends to feel welcome in our home.

So many requirements that we wanted and nothing was checking those boxes. How in the world would we ever find a compromise so that both of us could have some of the things we wanted?

We searched and searched for the perfect home and finally found the cutest neighborhood on the outskirts of Austin. There are many amazing things about this neighborhood: The location, low taxes, lots of beautiful trees and nature around, a community pool that we don’t have to clean or maintain, decent schools, an awesome hangout right down the road with live music, and a just a few empty lots for us to build upon…

My most favorite part about this whole thing so far is the lot that we chose. It’s right on a green belt at the top of a hill so we’ll have no back neighbors and a view with trees. We’ll still have neighbors right next door, (entirely too close for my comfort but – compromise) but we get the trees and the nature that I was so very adamant about. We fell in love with a certain model and from that moment on we’ve never really looked back. Even as we kept looking at other houses to be sure that this is really what we wanted, we kept coming back to the option of building.

We met with our DFW realtor and got a solid game plan in order for our current home. It was then that we finally made the decision that we would move forward with building our own home. However, now we had to figure out where we would live while the house was being built. Luckily I was still working remote due to COVID-19 and hubman’s new job allowed him to stay put for a few months because they too are working remote due to the pandemic. This allowed us to gather our thoughts, and get our ducks *somewhat* in a row. We didn’t have to rush into anything crazy.

Our DFW realtor was super helpful and found us the perfect realtor in Austin. We’ve been so lucky in having 2 perfectly amazing realtors that have our best interest in mind and we get along with so well. We couldn’t have asked for better people to lead us on this journey and both of them have been there for us each step of the way. DFW and Austin friends – if you need a realtor, just let me know!

We met with our realtor in Austin and dare I say, I made a friend. She’s the coolest soul with an awesome personality! We immediately started the search for the perfect temporary rent house. After coming up short each time, and quite frankly feeling a bit defeated, we finally just took what we could get since we knew it would be super temporary. She knew what we were looking for and found us a cute 2 story house in the perfect location and all the paperwork was signed. We finally had a move date & this whole dream was starting to become very real.

Stay tuned to hear about the packing and moving experience. We aren’t done yet, friends. This story is only just beginning.

Until next time, my beautiful friends, sing loud in the shower and drink champagne from the bottle. Life is short and you deserve to be truly happy and free!