Here we go a huntin'

Alright folks - this is a big one.  After what will be five years in New York City - the Mobleys are ready for a little more space...not like an extra bedroom & moving up to the Upper West Side space though - like YARD space, like a GUEST ROOM space....like HOUSE SPACE!  Yes, we're starting our hunt for our first house!  We're venturing away from the concrete jungle next year to the gorgeous county of Westchester to find our perfect home.

Before starting our house hunt, we had to discuss a few things in order to establish some priorities.  Would our house be a great deal on a fixer upper, or was it more important to be in move-in condition?  Did we want a festive hobbit-y Tudor home - so characteristic of Westchester, or the comfort and cozy retreat of a colonial?  Is it more important to renovate a kitchen or bathroom?  And if a house is perfect, but doesn't have an impressive backyard, do we count it out?  But what about a basement - do we care about having a finished basement?  These were all choices that we had to make before even selecting the homes we wanted to tour with our broker.

After what seemed like endless searches online, we have decided on Bronxville, New York as the future home of the Mobley family.  There were a few things that factored into this decision.  First was the proximity to the city.  Bronxville is a mere 28 - 32 minutes on the train to the city! That's closer than some commutes of my friends IN THE CITY!  Since we both work in Manhattan, and probably always will, at least in the foreseeable future, we didn't want to move somewhere that would mean we spent 2+ hours/day on a train.  That's just not fun.  The second thing we wanted from our future home was a village feel - a place that feels like a real town, not just a collection of neighborhoods.  Bronxville has the most adorable town that you ever did see.  There are still cobblestone streets in some of the older roads, the church is a stone masterpiece, and the streets are lined with vintage gas lamps (whether or not they still USE the gas lamps vs. electricity is still to be seen, but they are vintage, nonetheless).  And finally, it has to be said - we did think about schools.  We don't want to move to a town with a bunch of derelicts!  We wanted the option of great school for the eventual little WeeMobs that we'll have running around one day.  The first time we drove through Bronxville, and I saw the school...it was comparable to Hogwarts...well if Hogwarts was staged somewhere in New England...instead of REAL England.

So needless to say, this is an extremely exciting and potentially stressful or emotional time for us, Trulia has been an absolute lifesaver, and we are in love with the broker we found at Houlihan Lawrence.  And we know that at the end of this, we'll have a home! We can paint walls without having to worry about losing a security deposit!  We can build a real fire instead of having an electric space heater.  We can park our car in the garage instead of down the street for $350/month.  Wish us luck as we take on this journey and we can't wait to keep you all updated on the progress!