home buying principle #1

(a note to self, as everything else in this website)

I keep thinking that I need a bigger house. Our current house is not small but it feels small when guests stay with us. It also feels small when I work from home because there’s no refuge from other inhabitants.

However, caveat emptor.

Choose the wrong bigger house and our actual vital space will shrink.

principle: zoom out and look at your real backyard, not the house backyard

Look at the map of the area, urban map, topographical map. The house’s real backyard is comprised of several elements in a 10-mile radius. These have to be accessible: little to no traffic, available parking spaces, no crowds.

Some elements that come to mind:

• City parks
• National and state parks
• Hiking spaces
• Camping spaces
• General nature and wilderness
• Oceans
• Good surf breaks
• Grocery store

another principle: be thoughtful about Sirius and Luna’s domain

Because they are indoor-outdoor cats, I shall not shrink their empire by blindly choosing a house with more square footage than the current one.

Luna and Sirius’ domain is estimated as three houses to the east, three houses to the west, one house to the north, another to the northeast, one more to the northwest. Nothing to the south.

If the new house is too close to an open wild space, it will be frequented by predators. If it is too close to an avenue, it will be too risky due to vehicular traffic.

I may stay here for a while.