Update round 2
Jan. 14th, 2023 10:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
maygraderhemaSo, I got laid off from my job of the past 15 years in March of last year. I wasn't particularly surprised - the company was struggling and there was a lot of consolidation going on. They gave me a months severance and I hit the job boards immediately.
Two months and some 300 applications later, I had managed to get 3 interviews, none of which panned out. Of the other vague interest I received, all were only will to pay for entry level HR positions, not for someone with 30 years experience. I checked into my SS status and found I could retire a bit early, but not if I had to keep paying my current mortgage.
So, I put my house on the market. We've been in that house since 2003, and I honestly did not plan on ever leaving, but Life has a way of taking your plans and turning them into mulch, so, I started hunting. I knew I could get a pretty good price for the house (4 bedrooms, 3 baths, in a very growth accelerated part of metro Atlanta) and could likely get a modest house a bit further out with the proceeds even after I paid off my mortgage.
I found this:
This house has lived in my head since I was about 10 years old. It's 122 years old. It's paid for. It has quirks, and I have already dumped a shit-ton of money into to upgrading some things and put in a new bathroom and a new roof. It's going to be a money pit for the foreseeable future, but I love this old lady. In spring, we'll give her a nice bath, paint some exterior trim, and bedeck her with gardens.
We live about 30 miles south and east of Athens, in the middle of effing nowhere, and it's kind of delightful in that, OMG what do you mean there's no sushi anywhere? or Thai, Or Italian, or Pizza, or any food delivery, or trash pickup, way.
We do have lots of cows nearby and logging trucks. We have a secret staircase. We have an unfinished attic that is approximately the same size as the first floor. We have indoor plumbing and HVAC and a kick-ass wood stove for additional heating. (Very handy in the sudden freeze over Christmas.) We have 5 females (4 adults, one 9 year old) and 7 cats. We have armadillos and deer in the yard. We have a Dollar General across the street and a Gulf station next door that sells some decent pizza and wings. Those are pretty much the only two businesses in town. For anything else, you need to drive to Athens (30 minutes) or Washington (15 minutes).
I'm both kind of appalled and excited I did this, and that my housemates came along for the ride. But honestly; renovating a 100 year old farmhouse was not on my retirement bingo card.
Two months and some 300 applications later, I had managed to get 3 interviews, none of which panned out. Of the other vague interest I received, all were only will to pay for entry level HR positions, not for someone with 30 years experience. I checked into my SS status and found I could retire a bit early, but not if I had to keep paying my current mortgage.
So, I put my house on the market. We've been in that house since 2003, and I honestly did not plan on ever leaving, but Life has a way of taking your plans and turning them into mulch, so, I started hunting. I knew I could get a pretty good price for the house (4 bedrooms, 3 baths, in a very growth accelerated part of metro Atlanta) and could likely get a modest house a bit further out with the proceeds even after I paid off my mortgage.
I found this:
This house has lived in my head since I was about 10 years old. It's 122 years old. It's paid for. It has quirks, and I have already dumped a shit-ton of money into to upgrading some things and put in a new bathroom and a new roof. It's going to be a money pit for the foreseeable future, but I love this old lady. In spring, we'll give her a nice bath, paint some exterior trim, and bedeck her with gardens.
We live about 30 miles south and east of Athens, in the middle of effing nowhere, and it's kind of delightful in that, OMG what do you mean there's no sushi anywhere? or Thai, Or Italian, or Pizza, or any food delivery, or trash pickup, way.
We do have lots of cows nearby and logging trucks. We have a secret staircase. We have an unfinished attic that is approximately the same size as the first floor. We have indoor plumbing and HVAC and a kick-ass wood stove for additional heating. (Very handy in the sudden freeze over Christmas.) We have 5 females (4 adults, one 9 year old) and 7 cats. We have armadillos and deer in the yard. We have a Dollar General across the street and a Gulf station next door that sells some decent pizza and wings. Those are pretty much the only two businesses in town. For anything else, you need to drive to Athens (30 minutes) or Washington (15 minutes).
I'm both kind of appalled and excited I did this, and that my housemates came along for the ride. But honestly; renovating a 100 year old farmhouse was not on my retirement bingo card.
