The answer is simple. We bought this house for the house itself, with its 1897 charm...
...and its roomy but manageable backyard...
...and the fact that this lake is about 100 feet from said roomy backyard.
But living here also means that we live 12 minutes from these people...
...and 18 minutes from these people (minus Tigger, obviously)…
...and that makes every minute of my morning commute and every missed sale at Joann Fabric's completely, 100% worth it.
The one person missing from all of these photographs is my brother Brendan, who is currently living in Phoenix, Arizona, in his first year of Teach for America. I hope he has the choice of living near family someday, because I wouldn’t want our kids to grow up without knowing the distinct sense of humor and wisdom of my little brother.
So why do we live here? Because we’d rather commute to work than Sunday dinner. Because we don’t need a Target within walking distance to be happy. Because I'd rather see my mom than a movie.
Because we’ve been blessed with two amazing families that not only love us but each other as well, and our jobs allowed us to stay in this area.
Why do you live where you live? I’d love to hear your stories. :)
Family photos, with the exception of the somewhat crazy brother-in-law love photo, compliments of our joint 2009 trip to Disney World. :)
Family photos, with the exception of the somewhat crazy brother-in-law love photo, compliments of our joint 2009 trip to Disney World. :)
Aww, family! We live where we live for the same reason. Nate's parents live a block away. My parents are 3 hours (which stinks but it still close enough for a week-end visit). It's great being able to spend time with our nephew and nieces. I also just love the midwest!
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm in love with your house. My newest obsession is flipping a farm house to live in. And getting cows. Nate is 100% not on board with these plans. :P
Yes. Thanks for posting this- it's nice to see I'm not the only sentimental sap.
ReplyDeleteWe live in our house because it's a solid little ranch that our growing family fits into perfectly (not too big, not too small), because the yard is so lush and green that it looks like Eden, because we love DIY and will never run out of projects. We have my husband's parents four doors down one street and his brother's family five doors down the other. Because my best friends, including a godmother and a few "aunts" within a stone's throw. Because Pirate football is walking distance. Because my town has such a sense of pride and community. And because, after 18 years of moving with the Army, I finally got to pick my home.
I couldn't be happier.
We live in Dallas, Texas, only 4 miles from downtown in a little 1940 brick bungalow we call the Little House.
ReplyDeleteWhy do we live here? For Kevin, moving to Texas after college meant the opportunity to have his dream job. For me, it was the opportunity to be with Kevin. Moving 1000 miles from my family in southern Indiana was hard, but it was 100% worth it to be with the love of my life.
Why live in a tiny house in Dallas instead of a huge behemoth-of-a-house in the 'burbs? We love old houses and big trees. We love being able to walk to our favorite restaurants on the weekends. And with Dallas traffic, having a reverse commute means we have (at least) two extra hours a day to spend with each other.
I always said I would never move out of my hometown of Hope, Indiana or live in a big city-- I just wasn't that kind of girl. But now that I've done both things, I've found out that (as cliche as it may sound) home really is where your heart is (and mine's with Kevin).
That's a very sweet post.
ReplyDeleteWe love the weather and ocean and that is the only reason we haven't left South Florida in general.
First things first...your house is a thing of dreams. Seriously. I would have bought that gorgeous hunk of 19th century history too. I grew up in an old farmhouse in a smmmmmmalllllll town and have hopes of one day buying an old house to love and make my own.
ReplyDeleteI love that y'all would rather sacrifice convenience than family and love. Beautiful heart you got ma'am.
We live north of Dallas about 20 miles...yep, the heart of suburbia. We bought our house 4.5 yrs ago when we thought I'd be going to medical school in Fort Worth (I didn't btw...grad school for psychology/counseling instead). David works in downtown Dallas so we were looking for something to split the commute, but also keep us close to our friends and church community. Living close to our family isn't an option for either one of us right now. My parents are divorced and my mom lives a little over an hour away and my dad about 3. Dave's family lives 6 hours away in south TX. It's hard on us both sometimes (don't even get me started about the holidays) but we're thankful the Lord has given us a place to belong during this season of our lives through the love and support of our church family. Wouldn't make it w/out them.
Awww yay; thanks, ladies, for sharing! Your stories are so sweet and unique! :)
ReplyDeleteaww you're so amazing. i'm going to phoenix in january for a marathon...maybe i should take your brother out for coffee for you since we're sisters and all. :)
ReplyDeletei would love to live in denver or ny or another country but i am 15 minutes away from katie and her family, 25 minutes away from my parents, 1/2 mile away from a large lake and 15 minutes away from downtown minneapolis. perfect.
have a fantastic weekend!!
Erin!! You've been holding out on us!! Your house is absolutely gorgeous!!! And that yard is to die for! Your future children will LOVE it!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE living in Montana!
I LOVE that we have all 4 seasons (you know what I mean right!?) and not just summer (60-80 degrees 8 months of the year) and rainy season. I love being able to hike/boat/camp...although we are usually to busy to do these things a lot. I love that most of my family migrated up here from San Francisco and that I got to grow up with all of my cousins. (We are all still in the state except for my brother and his wife, who just moved to WA.)But most of all,I love that it only takes me 5 minutes to get to my parents house and that my boys can have sleep overs at Grammie's!
By the way, Rick is the SPITTING IMAGE of his Dad!!!! :)
I live an hour and a half from family and do so because of work. I love where I live because I have all of the conveniences of living in a town but can get into a rural area very quickly.
ReplyDeleteYour farmhouse is lovely!
I love your house, and your story. We also live about half an hour from any kind of city, but I go every 3-4 weeks and get whatever I need that I can't get in town, otherwise, I don't go very far. We live on 20 acres in a house we built, and it's the best place in the world to us!! Midwest, all 4 seasons, beauty everywhere :)
ReplyDeleteWe live 9 miles from my parents and really far away from any Atlanta fun, but it's totally worth it to let Weston know his grandparents. But mostly for the free babysitting. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm dying over your gorgeous backyard and lake! Amazing!
What a lovely way of putting it =) We live where we do for family as well - and we're so glad we do... Even if we wouldn't necessarily choose it for any other reason.
ReplyDeleteThose are so pretty good reasons for living where you do.
ReplyDeleteI live for my dreams to become a real estate professional. That's why I keep on studying through the best real estate school that I can enroll to.
ReplyDelete