Quote:
Originally Posted by calgarywinning
Slava,
You needed to sound humble by knocking the worst Safeway in the universe in Bonavista.
Fish Creek access in that community is unbelievable. I think they have it open from the floods. You have the beautiful lake. The Lakehouse restaurant which is stumbling distance if you choose your battle ( they do a good job ).
So here is my questions for you:
1) Do you really feel that the big house with all the space was quality space. Wasn't it a noisy home compared to what you have now?
2) Do you find that a closer space makes the family closer together?
3) Bonavista is a kick ass community, is your garage still there? Wish I could've met you when I lived there.
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1) I don't feel the space in the bigger house was wasted. I like finishings in new homes more than in older homes. I had those rounded edges on all the corners (bull edges or something?). Loved my huge ensuite. Loved the open main floor. Bonus room was spectacular with 12' high ceilings.
I snuck in during the build process all the time and did a bunch of extra stuff like sound proof insulation between bedrooms, pre-wired bonus room for stereo system, cat5 cable throughout the house, etc. I liked the extra bathrooms. I liked having two sinks in the bathroom. I liked 9' ceilings on the main floor. I liked having a vacu-flo kick plate I could just sweep messes into. I liked how the floors didn't creak. I liked the maintenance holiday where I wasn't always planning the next project.
We built the old house from scratch and planned everything to be just the way we like it. I upgraded a lot of the fixtures, appliances, railings, doors, moldings, etc. to make it perfect, and it was. I planted a bunch of trees in the backyard and they're looking awesome now.
The problem was, though, that I didn't understand how important location is at the time. The advice I'm going to give my kids is to buy a new house in the burbs for their first house, but not to upgrade everything like I did. You don't really get your money out of that. A new house is great for young people with a limited budget because you don't have to worry about maintenance. You won't need a roof, windows, hot water tank, furnace, etc. You can basically have a maintenance budget of $0 per year and be fine.
2) I don't think the closer quarters make us closer as a family. I'm slowly working on bringing the standard of my new house up to my old-house standard. Basement is pretty much done the way I want with a nice big bathroom, heated floor, nice fireplace, upgraded staircase, etc. Upstairs we still have a ways to go.
3) Yes, garage in my new place is awesome and I never want to give that up, hah. I had so much fun building it, too. It's kind of a bummer that there's nothing left to do in there
So I sound pretty down on my house, but I do really like it. Just not as much as my old house. I think in 5-7 years, though, my new house will be better than my old house. We have some really cool plans that we're saving up for and it will ultimately be a great size for my whole life if we choose to stay here.
What really has made us happy is the neighbourhood. We're active people, partly because of where we live. My neighbour told me we look like a Participation commercial. We'll do a bike ride in Fish Creek, come home and have lunch. Then walk over to the lake for a swim. Then play tennis there in the afternoon. Then hit Brewster's for wings. In the winter we'll skate around the lake, or around the bonfire, or toboggan down the hill. I honestly believe you could live a very happy, fulfilling life without ever leaving Bonavista. That, to me, is way more important than a fancy bathroom or higher ceilings. So when you ask specific questions about the physical home, there's no doubt the old one was better. But my new lifestyle and neighbourhood are better and are well worth the trade off - no regrets whatsoever about the move.