Why not just settle for condo living?

I've owned a few homes before. I know what it takes to be a home owner. There is not a day that goes by that something doesn't need to be attended to. I have often felt as though I was a slave to the houses that I've lived in.

So why on earth would I want to do it all over again? I mean I live very comfortably in a condo now. I pay someone to worry about the yard and the trash removal and the snow plowing. Just today, we got a foot of snow here in New England. I have not stepped one foot outside and my driveway and walkways are all perfectly clear. Tomorrow morning, I can get up and just jump in my car and go to work.

Meanwhile, my husband was at his house today and spent a few hours snow blowing. He was out there so long that he had icicles hanging from his beard. Not my idea of a good time. But as the home owner, he had to take care of it. So why do I want to put myself in that position again?

Well, even though a lot of the time it sucks, I really do miss it. I miss my garden and having my hands in the dirt. Plastic planters on the porch are not the same. And while all the neighbors I have met in the condo complex are very nice, I much prefer to not hear or see anyone around me. I love being out in the woods and want a little corner of the earth to call all my own. I want to shape the land to a form that is visually appealing to me. I want to live in a structure that I designed to meet my specific interests and needs. Now that we know we are not having any children, we can safely own a 2 bedroom home and not worry about whether or not we have enough living space.

So even though it seems crazy to some that I would disrupt my carefree life, I'm ready for the next adventure. I know what I want in a home and I've worked hard for many years to be able to afford it. While I'm by no means well-off, I know how to save and be frugal and creative. My husband is very skilled and has great ideas, so I know that between the two of us, we'll create a beautiful place to live.

Will we ever live in a house we love?

That's the question on the table at the moment.

My husband and I are in a unique situation. We happen to have separate residences. We live less than 10 miles apart, and we each pay our own mortgages, taxes and insurance on our respective properties. We didn't start out our marriage this way some 10 years ago, but in low period in our relationship, this is how we have found ourselves.

But now we are back on track, and we want to get back to living together permanently. We also want to live in a house that we love. Of the two properties that we have now, we love neither.

So here is the plan we've laid out:

1. Sell the property that my husband lives in. (This is the house that we bought together at the beginning of our relationship.)
   
2. He'll move into the condo I bought when I moved out of the family home a few years ago.
   
3. Whatever money he was spending on his housing, will go into savings/investments to put towards a new house. I'll be the primary financial support on the condo.
   
4. We'll design a house that suits our livestyle that we'll be happy and comfortable in.
   
5. When we have enough money saved to purchase a piece of land outright, we'll do that. (We'll probably have enough with the proceeds of the sale of the house.)
   
6. As we have the funds, we'll build a new house.

That's the plan in a nutshell. I thought it would be a good project to blog about this experience. I know it's not going to be an easy process. I think journaling about is along the way will help me keep my thoughts straight and hopefully keep the stress level under control.