altarflame (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
altarflame) wrote2012-11-17 10:48 pm
altarflame) wrote2012-11-17 10:48 pm
Maryland, the Budding Obsession
I've spent the entire evening:
-hearing about how awesome Kristin's new Takoma Park neighborhood is
She's been given printed directions, a phone charger, coffee, bottles of wine, and invitations to a potluck and a holiday party, by neighbors, already - having asked for nothing. These people also had her (and Carina's, and their three children's) 28 foot moving trailer emptied in under two hours, and have recommended the best thrift store and explained the local co-op style PARK...apparently they've turned a vacant lot into the place for everyone's outgrown swing sets and big plastic toddler toys, hung a tire swing, and bring food out there to eat dinner together when kids don't want to come in O_O She's been in a total state of shock since ordering Indian food for delivery at 10 pm.
-interrogating her mercilessly about neighborhoods, highways, train lines, and so on
-having another whole-family meeting about the move, over dinner
I'm really, really happy that everyone seems on board with this. Ananda and Aaron have some hesitations because of their friends, but it helps that their best friends are in D.C. every summer anyway, and that we'll come back here for visits, as well. Even they are swayed by factors like, "actually seeing Dad sometimes," and "less time on the highways." The little kids have been confused about what we would be able to bring - there seems to be a new amazing idea every day. We can take the TRAMPOLINE? HOW?! We can bring PETS? HOW WILL WE GET THEM THERE?! Etc. Now that they are reassured that there will be food in our new kitchen (?), the stuff on our walls can come down and be transported, and so on, they are just like SNOW?! STAIRS IN OUR HOUSE! SIGN US UP!
-researching the University of Maryland psych department
Entrance requirements don't look problematic at all - 2.7 GPA? Done and DONE. Also - they have a neuroscience minor option! That is not as stringent as UMs, which was really impossible for me to do with the kids! It is a much closer option that UM or FIU would be, here.
-researching local dance schools
The only ones that even come close to Dance Empire are in D.C. - but hey, I've already looked at several great houses blocks from train stations that would make that a 20-25 minute trip WITHOUT A CAR INVOLVED.
-researching cello options
Our new acronym would be MCYO. Maryland Classics Youth Orchestra requires private lessons on the side, and that would probably be a good idea for Annie anyway, since their audition requirements are a little beyond her current abilities.
-average utility bills
They look significantly lower than we pay, which is a relief, since we pay a lot. Our electric (and water) bill in the summer is always at least $530ish per month, and has ranged up over $600. There's a lot more variance to adjust to - water bills coming separately and quarterly, and paying for gas heat in the winter - but the average over the course of a year still seems to be about $250 per month TOTAL for all utilities which sounds...amazing.
and, of course, combing Craigslist in small groups for affordable 4+ bedroom places that allow animals and are at least somewhat walkable
There are actually a lot, most of them different from the ones I saw a couple of weeks ago. I'm not really sure if there's any point to perusing them yet, since many are immediately available and seem to have high turnover, and we aren't going anywhere for a couple of months. But it's fun ;)
It is definitely looking like we're going - Grant's boss needs/wants him there more and more, and is impatient about it. I'm feeling excited about an adventure, and good about "planting" my kids somewhere safer, prettier and more laden with opportunities than my parents did me.
-hearing about how awesome Kristin's new Takoma Park neighborhood is
She's been given printed directions, a phone charger, coffee, bottles of wine, and invitations to a potluck and a holiday party, by neighbors, already - having asked for nothing. These people also had her (and Carina's, and their three children's) 28 foot moving trailer emptied in under two hours, and have recommended the best thrift store and explained the local co-op style PARK...apparently they've turned a vacant lot into the place for everyone's outgrown swing sets and big plastic toddler toys, hung a tire swing, and bring food out there to eat dinner together when kids don't want to come in O_O She's been in a total state of shock since ordering Indian food for delivery at 10 pm.
-interrogating her mercilessly about neighborhoods, highways, train lines, and so on
-having another whole-family meeting about the move, over dinner
I'm really, really happy that everyone seems on board with this. Ananda and Aaron have some hesitations because of their friends, but it helps that their best friends are in D.C. every summer anyway, and that we'll come back here for visits, as well. Even they are swayed by factors like, "actually seeing Dad sometimes," and "less time on the highways." The little kids have been confused about what we would be able to bring - there seems to be a new amazing idea every day. We can take the TRAMPOLINE? HOW?! We can bring PETS? HOW WILL WE GET THEM THERE?! Etc. Now that they are reassured that there will be food in our new kitchen (?), the stuff on our walls can come down and be transported, and so on, they are just like SNOW?! STAIRS IN OUR HOUSE! SIGN US UP!
-researching the University of Maryland psych department
Entrance requirements don't look problematic at all - 2.7 GPA? Done and DONE. Also - they have a neuroscience minor option! That is not as stringent as UMs, which was really impossible for me to do with the kids! It is a much closer option that UM or FIU would be, here.
-researching local dance schools
The only ones that even come close to Dance Empire are in D.C. - but hey, I've already looked at several great houses blocks from train stations that would make that a 20-25 minute trip WITHOUT A CAR INVOLVED.
-researching cello options
Our new acronym would be MCYO. Maryland Classics Youth Orchestra requires private lessons on the side, and that would probably be a good idea for Annie anyway, since their audition requirements are a little beyond her current abilities.
-average utility bills
They look significantly lower than we pay, which is a relief, since we pay a lot. Our electric (and water) bill in the summer is always at least $530ish per month, and has ranged up over $600. There's a lot more variance to adjust to - water bills coming separately and quarterly, and paying for gas heat in the winter - but the average over the course of a year still seems to be about $250 per month TOTAL for all utilities which sounds...amazing.
and, of course, combing Craigslist in small groups for affordable 4+ bedroom places that allow animals and are at least somewhat walkable
There are actually a lot, most of them different from the ones I saw a couple of weeks ago. I'm not really sure if there's any point to perusing them yet, since many are immediately available and seem to have high turnover, and we aren't going anywhere for a couple of months. But it's fun ;)
It is definitely looking like we're going - Grant's boss needs/wants him there more and more, and is impatient about it. I'm feeling excited about an adventure, and good about "planting" my kids somewhere safer, prettier and more laden with opportunities than my parents did me.
Re: good luck with your move
I do not need to get a job. I don't think people are understanding this situation accurately.
Grant's job pays really well. We're doing fine as it is. We got behind on our mortgage and it caused a lot of people to assume a lot of things, which is to be expected, because this is the internet. Anyway, as a moving package, his company is paying for us to visit Maryland three times to check the area out and find a house, giving us $5,000 in moving expenses, and adjusting his salary up to compensate for the higher cost of living. That is all their standard relocation package and does not include the promotion and raise he's going to have soon after for the project he's working on that is centered out of Maryland. Additionally, we are currently use to paying over $1,500 per month in gas, tolls, car maintenance, car insurance, and his train fare, and that is going to go down drastically after we're there. We are already budgeting for winter clothes and heating expenses. There are tropical expenses, too, like how we had to pay $15,000 for a new roof when we moved into this house because the codes are so important, and how we have to spend a couple hundred dollars every summer on hurricane supplies, and of course replacement shutters and missed work, not to mention home damage, when one comes through. Fences and decks rot much more rapidly in south Florida, cars and bikes even rust faster!
Almost all of the rentals I've looked at so far say they're fine with pets; Kristin just moved with 4 cats. Additionally, along with Kristin, my sister and father in law are both also currently transitioning to renting (by choice) because they are tired of paying the sky high property taxes and insurance down here (ours is over $10,000 per year), and having to deal with maintenance and repair costs themselves.
We are going to get a chunk of money when we sell our house, to have in the bank and move with, because we owe much less than it's worth (we'll get somewhere between $40 and 80k, after paying the realtor, depending on how much more the market swings up by then - $40 is the minimum we'd profit now, and it's been going up for awhile).
All that said, I am not trying to discount your comment and appreciate your well wishes. And, I hadn't thought of snow tires, so thank you for mentioning that. I am feeling frustrated that I'm getting comments here and questions over on tumblr that range from implying to flat out saying, "You have no idea what moving is like and are so ridiculous!" I realize you're not being rude like that and apologize if you feel attacked, here.