Having A House

Perhaps home ownership is part of the “American dream.” Maybe there are places where owning your own home is not of that much import. To me, there’s really something about that sense of having your own tiny corner of the world that’s all yours.

The idea of owning a home makes me think of security and having a place in this world, both literally and figuratively.

Recently there was a conversation on A Practical Wedding about how many people my age are not very interested in home ownership. They prefer travel or the freedom of year-to-year leases. They urged us all to think about whether a desire to “settle down” and buy a house is because we really want it or because we’ve been told it’s what we’re supposed to do, that it’s the next step.

So I thought about it.

And I really want to own a home. I like to feel rooted, grounded, dug into a place. I traveled around this country a lot in my twenties and I want a place to call my own that will be mine for the next ten, maybe twenty, years at least. I’m sick of moving. I’m tired of uprooting. I’m tired of the rent going up every year. I’m tired of feeling like the money I put towards my living space is just disappearing into a void, feeding a monster who is never satisfied. I don’t want to pack all my things and find new places to put them all. I don’t want to live in a limbo feeling like I might have to change everything again at any moment. I want memories that attach to surfaces and a home that I’ve really put life into.

The fact is, we are in a very strange place where it will cost less for us to buy a small house than it will to keep renting our apartment. We can save the leftover difference to put towards repairs and emergencies! And the money feeding the monster will someday fill it up completely and we’d pay only taxes every month. What a sweet dream that is!

I was starting to despair that this dream of mine could ever come true.

I did think I might be stuck renting for the rest of my life, but thanks to the generous wedding gift of a friend, Brad and I are looking at houses!

And we’re anxious to get moving on the process because every month we stay where we are, we run out of more money than we can afford (they say your housing should cost around 30% of your income. Ours is closer to 75% or maybe 70%. So not okay).

So what are we looking for in a house?

Well the basics are that I want something cozy, traditional, good space in the yard for a garden and chickens.

I think the only way in which my Hindu-ness comes into play is keeping an eye out for a good puja space.