I’m no Stephen Colbert, but I just wanted to give a tip of the hat to an article called “Second Chance City” which appears in the August Reader’s Digest. It’s about a town called Utica in New York that was basically becoming a ghost town in the 1970’s.
Instead of dwelling on hard times, the town started opening it’s homes to refugees from Asia, Africa, & Europe. They formed organizations, banding together to provide jobs, houses, food & clothing for over 11,000 immigrants. They even offer English lessons. In turn, the immigrants seem to prosper. It was a heart warming thing to read & reminded me that there are good people out there. A tip of the hat just is not enough.
I’m still in the rental stage of life, still have roommates. However, I’ve found it to be much more satisfactory to look for houses for rent instead of apartments. They are much quieter, & nicer. Plus, they have a more permanent, homey feeling. I’ve used Rentals.com in the past to see what is available in my area. The site is easy to use, & you can choose anything from a loft, to a townhouse.
It took me about 45 seconds to find a really awesome townhouse that would be perfect for living in with roommates. It has a fireplace, 2 car garage, 3 beds & 2.5 baths. That means that we can all have our own bathrooms & it’s only a little more rent than some really terrible apartments I’ve lived in. What I really love is the ambiance, the fireplace, archway & the niches. Besides the fact that the yard looks pretty low maintenance, which I love. It’s a house that I would buy if I was in the market for a house. So it’s nice to be able to live in a really fantastic space so it still feels like home even though I’m still a renter.
I think that every house should have a front porch. A porch is a place to gather & talk, as well as a spot to really analyze the outside world. I was over at wikipedia & found out that porches are a lot more interesting that I thought. For instance, did you know that:
- In Britain, a porch is what I would call a mudroom.
- In Subdivisions in Ontario you can just assume that your house will come with a porch.
- The Grand Hotel in Michigan has the longest porch which is 660 feet.
- Decks are different than porches because they aren’t covered, are made out of bare wood, & aren’t usually integrated with the home.
Even though technically I’m not ready to buy a house, I’ve heard several people recommend having pictures of your dream home around. This helps you to stay focused, & to save your money. It’s a concrete goal, that can keep you working hard. So many times, I forget my goals & think “Oh yeah, I was going to do that, I wish I hadn’t have spent all that money on shoes”. This is why knowing what & where your dream home will be is so important.
So when I saw Charlotte Golf Homes I fell in love. The thing about living on a golf course is that you have a beautiful back yard, that is almost a park, & you don’t even have to mow it. I’ve always been interested in Charlotte Real Estate because it seems so different than life out West where I live. I could definitely use a change of pace. I was looking at The Club at Longview & there seems to be something for everyone, even an activity center & a Youth Lodge, which sounds like a great idea for kids. It has activities for all ages from infants on up, & even has a movie theater. What a great way to meet the other neighborhood kids. Decide on what your dream is right now & then make it a reality.
