Someone e-mailed me today asking about a comment I made regarding me living 5 doors down from my friends in AZ. I realized that not everyone knows about the Arizona house, so I thought I’d give a little history to the statement. (Plus, since I made a vow not to blog about the stupids at work, I have nothing else to write about today)

In September of 2005, I went with my friends Tony and Kerry to look at houses in Arizona. They were looking to move, and I was just going to hang out. We drove around and around and found tons of houses that I loved. One in particular I adored, so I brought home the information to Jas, and proceeded to talk him into it. (For the record, it didn’t take much talking). Tony and Kerry went and put money down for their house, and a week later we put money down for ours. They got the corner lot, and we got the same model 5 doors down. We were all so excited. A few weeks later we drove back and picked out paint, carpet, cabinets, tile, etc. Then we started working on financing, and that’s where it got ugly. My wonderful company was letting me keep my job. Instead of driving into the office everyday, I’d have an office in my house to work out of. Jas, however, wouldn’t have a job until after we moved. The best we could do on financing was $600 more a month than we were paying in California. And since Jas wouldn’t have a job, it would be up to me (at least at first) to come up with $600 extra a month. That was terrifying to me. We were already stretching our paychecks as far as they could go, and I didn’t think that we could handle the extra strain. Plus we’d need a washer/dryer, window treatments, various pieces of furniture, etc. All that stress, combined with the leaving behind of friends and family, made me very very unhappy with the decision to move. I was SO excited about getting a house and SO terrified that we were going to lose it within 6 months. Finally, in January 2006, we canceled our contract. I was half relieved and half depressed.

I often very much regret canceling the contract. Every time I go to Arizona, I feel guilt for being so scared of something new. Any time I pass a new housing development here, and see the crazy prices, I get a little mad at myself, because I could already be living in a great house. I know someday that we’ll get a house that I love. I’d just rather it be sooner than later.