Housing Situation

I took a post down about our recent housing dramas when things started getting dicey due to contracts and whatnot, and it was probably best to not have all that info "out there." Therefore I took a blogging hiatus. However, I think the previous chapter of our housing saga with the contracts falling though and the aftermath is finally behind us. And that's all I'm going to say about that. Apologies for the vagueness.... if you want more detail just ask me in person... cause that's all you're getting here.

So, last I mentioned we had put an offer in on a house in a part of Denver called Stapleton.... it's the land of "we used to live in the city, but had children and now we are here." I swore up and down I would never become this person. And I tried really, really, really hard not to during our entire looking for houses saga. If you remember my blog post that I removed here is an excerpt of that explaining how we decided that Stapleton might actually be a good decision.


Weekend after weekend we drove through neighborhoods we had listed as our "ideal" location, and we saw one over-priced shit hole after the next. Small bathrooms, zero closet space, crap kitchen, small bedrooms, dank basements, creaky floors, lead paint, no a/c, and honestly not even the most amazing block out there (still not the place we are going to open the back door and let Ian run outside unsupervised). This whole ideal of "charm" was becoming a lot less charming. I left just about every place hearing my dad's voice in my head saying "Well, that one was a crapper." My dad loathes old houses... the low ceilings, creaky floors, and musty smells, he is crazy about them. He thinks they are nothing but a money pit, and I hate to admit it but I was starting to see his point.

[Insert adult conversation]

After much debate John and I decided that we needed to look at an area that had a bit more to offer than purely location. We need an area that provides Ian with a childhood similar to ours - one where he can run outside with his neighborhood buddies. We need a place that doesn't cost us top dollar but is still falling down. We need good schools. Blah, blah, blah. So where do 30 year old's with a kid live in Denver? We figured it out....they live in Stapleton. The area just east of Park Hill that is mostly newer construction where you can get a little more for your money (I mean it's still not cheap by any stretch of the imagination but it's more bang for your buck for sure). It's tons of new families, lots of green space, pools, a brand new rec center, etc.

I still sort of want to die a little bit at the idea that I am surrendering to Stapleton... come on now, I want charm not newer construction! Yeah, the truth is that I want charm but the kind that comes with a million dollar pricetag (which someone says I cannot have).  Honestly we had first ruled out this area because it's so family friendly that there are literally kids crawling out of the trees down every street. We joked that there is no way we could live near douches who had the "slow turtles" out in their front.

And this is a slow turtle.... it might not actual be a turtle but that's what we are calling it

Then we had the come to Jesus that maybe are actually douche bags ourselves sans the "turtle."  As we talk to people who live in this area the majority are people exactly like us... 30's, lived in the city while they were DINKS, then had a kid and realized they weren't going to find a "family house" in their currently 'hood so they moved to Stapleton because they still wanted to live in city limits but needed a floor plan more conducive to a family.  Yep, that's us. Douche. Bags. Now where do I sign up?


Well, that is exactly what we did. WE SIGNED UP! After the original deal we put in "went away" we then decided to look at the building option yet again (we had initially ruled that out because our place had sold and we didn't have time. My parents came to visit for Labor Day Weekend and we spent the majority of it house hunting when we took my parents to some of the models in Stapleton they lit up like Christmas trees. Even my sister was like "you're crazy if you don't do this." So we're doing it. We have a lot and we're building. They break ground in November and if all goes as planned Ian will have a new castle in late spring (we'll be putting our current place back on the market after the beginning of the year).

As a designer this is all very exciting and overwhelming. True to form I have the entire floor plan in CAD and have starting making changes (which so far the builder has been very accommodating with). Now the overwhelming part comes in because I can pick finishes all day long for my clients but it's about 10x harder to do for myself. I am pretty sure John and I combined are the worst combo for the builder...a designer who wants to make changes and a finance guy who ALWAYS has a laptop and spreadsheet asking "how much will that cost." So there you have it... it will be an adventure nonetheless. Ian, my baby, you have already changed your parents so, so, so much...Onward to Stapleton where you will likely have one million friends.