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| Do not read this book while house hunting unless you enjoy crying. |
Our Iowa people keep asking what town we're going to live in, because they are thinking in midwestern terms. The best way I can think to explain CT is to compare it to the Des Moines Metro area: much (although not all) of Connecticut is covered by towns that bleed together, so you never really know when you've left one town and have entered another, except perhaps that the name of the road has changed (so confusing). We will live in a specific town, of course, once we find a house, but the name of whichever town we choose is really only important because there is no open enrollment in CT, a privilege that we enjoy here in Iowa.
Open enrollment, at least here, means that even if you live in Ballard school district, you can still choose to send your kids to school in Ames. There are exceptions to this, of course; certain districts choose to close themselves off because they're already at capacity, or for other reasons. What reasons? I don't know. I just assume there are others.
Where we're headed, however, where you live is where you go to school. The population density is so high that even though Derek is working in Bristol, we have, I don't know, dozens, I guess, of towns and school districts to choose from, and when we're looking online we might see lots of houses in a certain town that look so charming! And reasonably priced! Oh, but it turns out the school district is extremely poorly rated and hey, ho, the Connecticut legislature has actually stepped in because so many millions of dollars were stolen from the district and it's now failing. Guess we don't want to live there.
Because of this, however, the towns with the good school districts have fewer homes for sale within our price range because the market is more competitive there. Or the property taxes are insane. (Iowa friends: think double what we pay in our town. Yes. That insane.)
Even so far, it's been a lot of ups and downs, just searching online. Look at this house, it looks so nice! Oh, wait, the schools are crap. Here's a house, and the commute looks reasonable! No, no, it's in a flood plain. Here! Here is THE HOUSE. Look at these pictures! Now this is a Crisler house! Nope- it's on a street so busy we'd have trouble pulling out of the driveway and we'd likely never be able to resell the place.
What I keep telling myself is that God already has a house in mind for us. He already knows where we're going to live, and we just have to trust His timing.
Doesn't that sound nice? Don't I sound like a good little Christian? The truth is that although I am great at saying this (on repeat in my head), it's way harder for me to actually walk through. So if you see me and I seem to be FREAKING OUT, well, you're missing the ten minutes a day that I'm actually resting in His promises. Better luck tomorrow.
Gratitudinals:
1. Free Wifi at the airport, even if it's only for an hour. A deadline! Deadlines can be helpful, right?
2. My mom, who didn't murder my sisters and I when we were growing up, and is considerate enough to not murder us each time she sees us. She also does her best to muffle her laughter when I call and say things like, "Exactly how am I supposed to get our daughter through middle school? Without gnawing off my own arms in frustration and rage, I mean?"
3. Caramel lattes. Lattes of almost any kind, in fact.
4. People who take care to shower before they get on planes.
5. My mother-in-law, who was kind enough to take me to the airport today so that I don't have to park our vehicle in short-term parking, keep track of an extra piece of paper, etc. Such luxury!
1. This was one of my favorite books when I was a kid.
ReplyDelete2. I didn't murder you girls in middle school because Gma didn't murder me when I was in middle school. It's the circle of life (or hormones, so to speak).
3. I do think God has a plan for all of us. However, house hunting in this market sure could test anyone's patience.
I kid you not- I checked out this very book every time I went to my school library when I was in kindergarten . . . and hey, at the time -I lived in Davenport.
ReplyDeleteHouse hunting is stressful when the houses are in the next town or down the street, but the pressure of going so far and finding a HOME before the return flight while dealing with questionable school districts, YUCK!
And I had no idea there were places that had open enrollment. That sounds nuts! Good luck!
I wish I still lived in CT so I could offer you a place to stay while house hunting. I wish you a fruitful expedition.
ReplyDeleteThe coast of CT, as it spreads east from New York city, was quite expensive when I lived there. But I was a renter and non-parent then. Being a parent and needing to look for the right school district changes everything.
To Lorri L - I am grateful that there was no middle-schooler-icide going on in this family because, while I have never met you all, I highly value your perspectives and your writing. Middle-schooler-icide would have put a damper on that.
I am trying to wrap my head around the idea that one could pay property taxes in a different municipality than where one's children go to school. Is that better or worse for school funding?