I can’t believe I am finally typing these words, we are moving! It is surreal, but also very bitter sweet as we have absolutely loved living in NYC for the past decade. Our little family is beyond excited though to plant our roots and start to make this house our home!
Let’s backup a bit…
So about two years ago, right before Logan was born, Matt and I had a serious conversation about our timeline in the city. At that point, we weren’t sure how it was going to go once we had a baby (we ended up being pleasantly surprised how much we and Logan have enjoyed it). We did know that we wanted to raise our kids in the suburbs, with a yard, neighbors, a sense of community, etc. This is how we both grew up and absolutely loved it. This upcoming spring was always our end goal to say our goodbyes and move out. With Logan starting a 2’s program this upcoming fall, we really wanted to get settled in a place. Schooling in the city is just crazy expensive and since we didn’t see ourselves here forever, we figured this timeframe would be a natural fit.
Well, about a year ago, we started looking at homes and then COVID hit, and the world changed. The market outside the city went crazy! Although we always planned to move out in 2021, it now looked like a lot of others did as well (which did not go in our favor for finding a house lol). In May we made the decision to re-sign our lease. We just were not ready to leave the city yet. Knowing we would be there for another year, we decided to cautiously look at real estate, and really focus on finding the right town for us. We also had hopes that things in the market would calm down a bit as the year went on. Honestly, knowing we had our lease and no huge rush to leave made the experience rather enjoyable.
Where are we headed?
Not too far! Which shouldn’t come as a surprise. Between Matt’s job being rooted in the city and just our overall love for the city, we knew we wanted to be a commute away.
For the longest time we assumed we would go to New Jersey (or maybe Westchester, NY). New Jersey is closer to my family in Pennsylvania and most of our closest friends from college are from New Jersey and planned to move back there soon.
Then, one day we were driving home from Boston and decided to stop in some towns in Connecticut. It immediately felt right and we new deep down in our hearts this is where we were meant to be. Unlike so many of our friends that grew up in the suburbs of NYC and knew where they wanted to end up, we were working with a blank slate and could go anywhere. We stopped and asked ourselves, why would we not move here? For us it had so many advantages – taxes are more affordable (still high, but not like NY/NJ), we could get more for our money in terms of house and lot size, the public school systems are amazing (very important to us as we know we want our kids in public school), and we loved the aspect of being so close to the ocean and beaches, and just the overall sense of community. It is also about equal distance between my family and Matt’s family. It is a longer commute into NYC than we were initially targeting, but with work from home expanding, and all the other advantages of the location, we knew this was the right choice for us.
House hunting with a toddler…
Two words, HOLY COW! House hunting is a beast in itself, but add Logan in the mix and it was next level, especially with COVID. We owe a lot of thanks to our patient and kind realtor who would entertain Logan while we walked through homes, as well as family who made the drive to help when possible. We actually had to close on our house with Logan as we didn’t have childcare and I would not recommend that to anyone, ha. Thankfully Matt is a lawyer so we could get through things quickly as he was familiar with the terms, etc, but man was that challenging!
I am going to work on a blog post to discuss some of the tips we learned for searching for a house in this competitive environment. If you have any questions let me know and I’ll address!
Our home
This past fall we found our dream (and hopefully) forever home. The second we turned onto the street it reminded me of where I grew up and this sense of peace and calm just came over me. Kids were playing out in the tree lined streets, and you could feel an overall warm neighborhood vibe. I gave Matt a look before even stepping inside and just had this feeling this house needed to be ours. We looked at it the day it hit the market and made an offer right after. It had the character and charm that Matt and I both love and I could instantly envision holidays there, our kids running around the backyard, and so much more.
We submitted a “love letter” with our offer that night and then one more a few days later to reiterate our sincere interest in the home (we were persistent, haha). The listing agent had an open house scheduled for that upcoming weekend, which they wouldn’t budge on canceling even with our offer, so we had to wait. With the market the way it is, we had a feeling we wouldn’t be the only offer and of course that was the case. I was sick to my stomach the next few days patiently (or not so much) waiting to hear back.
We were driving back into the city late one night from my parents and received a video text. The owners and listing agent made the absolute cutest video letting us know we got the house! I was SHOCKED and started screaming with excitement. I will cherish this video and the thought that went into it forever. We found out there were other offers that even topped ours, but they really liked the personal touch of the letters we wrote and knew we would love this house as much as they have.
We also were flexible with our closing date, particularly since we still have our place in the city. They had kids in school so it worked out in everyones favor that we were able to close several months later.
Will I be sharing home projects, etc?
DUH!!! I freaking can’t wait!!!!!!!
So if you have noticed me off the grid or a bit MIA for a day at a time, we likely have been at our house or doing different home things! I am so so so excited to finally share this with you all and take you along as we make this our home.
Because we still have our place in the city until May, we are not living out there full time yet (we are trying to get out of our lease earlier, but with the occupancy rates as high as they are in the city, that will likely not be possible). We are trying to take advantage of this time and do some home updates before moving (mostly a facelift for the kitchen and some other smaller projects around the house). We are obviously also doing the interior design for the whole house. I can’t wait to pick your brains on some decisions that need to be made! That is one of the things I have told Matt that has been the hardest without sharing yet, I want you all to weigh in on so many aspects as you always have the best ideas!
We plan to officially move this spring. We have been de-cluttering our apartment little by little, bringing things over to the house and it feels SO good.
So that is our news, I hope you all are looking forward to this next chapter with us and I can’t wait to bring you along for the ride!
New York will always have such a special place in my heart, I already know I am going to cry like a baby when we officially move out, but seeing Logan in our new home has brought an entire new light to his face and ours!