In Dec 2024/Jan 2025 we did something we thought we’d probably never do. We moved.
After 25 years of living out in the country we traded land for interior space. Seems crazy right? Leaving 16 acres of country-living behind us. I don’t know how many people have looked at my cross-eyed and said “You did what? Why would you do that? Why would you leave this?”. Well, I’ll tell you why.
We have lived out in the country for 25 years. But like the previous owners that also lived there for 25 years. Times and seasons changed.
Our farm home out in the country was a fantastic place to raise our 5 kids. I wouldn’t change that for anything. The oldest moved there with us when he was 9, the youngest moved out with us when he was 17. The previous owners, the Daniels, also raised 5 kids there.
We’ve had plenty of fun; built a barn, was fortunate enough to have our horses on our property vs boarding. Hosted many a fall festival, 4th of July, and Hen fests, graduation and birthday parties (mostly outside). We’ve had plenty of animals over the years, built a shooting range, ridden dirtbikes, and overall lived some of our best life there.
Oh, and we did all of that with 1 and a half baths, go figure.
While we’ve loved our old farm house who’d bones date back to before 1857, and while we’ve updated plenty of it over the years, it was time for something newer. The house, for a farm house, wan’t really small, almost 3,000 square feet. It was still a farm house, full of chopped up rooms. There was no great room, and no finished basement. All significant entertainment was outside, which if fine 8 months out of the year. As our family has grown, most of our kids have significant others. We have grand children, 5, at the time I’m writing this. Things were starting to get a little tight. Entertaining outside was always easy, but inside was starting to be difficult.
So where we are back in a neighborhood, one with an HOA no less. If you know us, you know an HOA was one of the primary drivers for us moving to the country, but here we are.
I wish my mom could have seen it, I think she’d approve.
We traded massive outside space for massive inside space, yet still kept the ability to entertain outside as well. With a bigger better inground (over our redneck inground/above ground), as well as a hottub to boot. A fantastic basement with pool table and shuffleboard, as well as a bar area and media room. The kids and especially the grandkids all approve.
It took us a long time to find it. Literally 3 years. In fact our closing date was litterally 3 years to the date we met our agent when we looked at our first home. When it’s right, it’s right.
So the days of tinering with old tractors, having big gardens, ripping up the yard with dirtbikes, fireworks, and potato launchers are behind us. Sadly, I no longer have my own private shooting range.
But the future looks bright, the home is fantastic, and we have great neighbors, and a 2 mile walking trail literally right outside our front door.
Here’s to another 25 years!