Moving Forward

So, we're moving. I know, I know! Most of you already know this information as we're pretty excited about it and y'know us, we can't really keep exciting news to ourselves very well. But what you might not know is why we are moving, again. 

We've moved a lot since we've been together. Heck, before Chris met me I moved even more! I feel like I've moved so many times in my adult life I could practically pack in my sleep I'm so used to doing it by now.

For some of those moves, it wasn't our choice to move quite yet. We've had to move a few times for jobs as they kinda want superintendents to live in a particular apartment to be accessible to the tenants (and to save the company money by having the supers live in the building on a low floor where it's cheapest) but that also led to us having to move out of our apartment, too when we left the job(s). (Technically there were two jobs... I was a leasing agent at one job and had to move out because of management, but I digress...!)

Now that we're retired we kinda get to decide when and where to live without having a boss tell us what to do -- other than God, He kinda still gets a say...Well... a big say....

We moved to the current apartment we're in with good intentions of staying here a very, very long time. It's a two-bedroom, 1.5 bath apartment. It seemed big enough, but it turned out to be a little too small for long-term occupancy. Having said that, we still planned on staying as the rent is good and all utilities are included. 

Then, we started to look at houses to rent as adoption is still at the forefront of our minds. Rental houses are expensive and even with our decent sized retired income, we recognize the need to save more than we spend.

We really thought long and hard about moving out of the city, specifically Cornwall. Cheap housing, small town and near the water. All things that appealed to us for one reason or another, but it still didn't work out with the numbers and owning a house with my slight physical disability seemed impractical. Right as we anticipated finished to pay off our mortgage, we would've had to turn around sell and either buy or rent an apartment anyhow. When you're disabled stairs are not your best friend. I know what you're thinking, "Buy a bungalow, Rosie!" They're too expensive. It just didn't fit into our budgeting number crunching. 

As it is advantageous to stay in the city, keep the same doctors, chiropractor, dentist, etc. we currently have but just find a little bit bigger living space. I mentioned to Chris this one condo building I've had my eye on for many years. He said, "No." I conceded. We kept looking. But that condo building just wouldn't leave my mind! It kept nudging me and so I asked Chris again. "No!" He said.

I prayed about it, a lot.

I kept searching other avenues, a lot.

I crunched the numbers over and over again.

Prayed about it all some more.

One day, almost out of the blue, Chris said "Yes."

That same day I found a condo for rent in the building I had my eye on. Two days later, we met with the owners and we were approved for the lease!

This new space is $50 more a month, with indoor heated parking, all condo amenities, washer/dryer/dishwasher and 250 more square feet. Enough space for me to have a little crafting nook and Chris gets a workshop in the basement, as a bonus. Sweet!

We can live here as long as they'll have us. It's affordable and suits our needs if we do have a child, but even if we don't, it's not so overwhelming that we'll think, "Why did we move here?". Plus, the living space isn't so big that we can't manage it ourselves as we get older.

Chris and I have peace about the decision we made. We feel like we've made a step forward on the journey in which God is leading us -- especially because we think we'll still be parents one day.

We've saved for first and last month's rent, plus moving costs. We'll be paying for it all with "cash". No need to worry about our budgeting. We are still on track.

More than likely we'll end up buying our own condo in the building in the semi-distant future. No rush. We can settle in and rent for a while.

I'm looking forward to decorating our Christmas tree this year in the new solarium window (which we'll also be my crafting area).

Furthermore, I'm happy Chris is thrilled with the move, too. It was hard for us to let go of the dream of not owning a home. Actually, that was really hard. We always pictured a backyard with lush green grass and a park nearby. It would've been nice to have a rec room in the basement for the kids and a completely decked out kitchen for Chris to do his cooking while I could do my baking. But living in a condo we'll force us out of the house more, to the park, the museums, the library...

Sometimes, those dreams are our dreams but not God's. I think, in this case, we were dreaming our own dreams for a while. This condo suits where we're going in life and fits into our financial budget. We are so thankful for what we do have.

I encourage you all, to keep pursuing God's dreams for you. Put aside your own wants for a minute and just see what Heavenly Father speaks to your heart. Hopefully, you'll feel peace from The Lord like we did.