Friday, February 10, 2006

House vs. Drug Habit

So I’m thinking about buying a house. Or a condo. Or a box of some sort. My price range is more box than house, let’s be honest. It’s all quite depressing. In an effort to depress myself even more I decided to stop searching online for California houses and turned my search to out of state houses. Just to get a good laugh at how ridiculous California house prices are. I think I’m going to move to Minnesota. Besides the cold and the snow and the loneliness Minnesota seems like a great fit for me.

Do you know that in Minnesota I can buy a 2 bedroom/.75 bath house on 7 acres for only $84 grand? Sweet Mary, that’s cheap. Although I’m wondering what exactly 3/4 of a bathroom looks like. I’m not sure how exactly the bathroom is divided up into 4 parts, each one of which can be left out at the homebuilder’s discretion. Let’s see, there’s a toilet, a bathtub, a shower and uh, maybe a sink? Or a toilet paper holder? I don’t know. But what I do know is that for $84 grand I could afford to add the missing .25 of the bathroom. I might go crazy and add a whole ‘nother .5 to the bathroom. That’s how we do it in CA.

I am trying my hardest to be a grown up and invest in my future and all that crap. I know that putting out money now will result in greater financial opportunities in the future but the future seems so, I don’t know, far off. And right now seems so right here. And man could I have a lot of fun right now for the amount of money I’m going to have to put out on a mortgage every month. I could travel, I could buy a car, I could develop a significant drug habit. All of these things would give me a more immediate result from my money than writing a check every month to live in a home that is 3 times smaller than the place I am renting, but cost me 3 times as much. I don’t like that math and I feel like I’m going to need the drug habit to help me fully accept it. But nooo, I won’t be able to afford the drug habit. And that’s a scary thought.

I seem to be at the age where I feel the urge to make adult, long-term decisions, yet I’m not quite to the age where the thought of making adult, long-term decisions doesn’t completely freak me out. But then again, I have a feeling I’ll be well into my 90's before I move past those freak outs. And imagine what housing prices will be like then. I mean Minnesota alone could skyrocket to over a $100 grand by that point. That’s a scary thought.

3 comments:

Patricia said...

california housing prices - and prices in general - are the reason my hubby left the bay area. well, that, and he was subconsiously looking for meeeeee. they're also the reason we keep coming back to for being unable to consider moving there. it's literally insane. investing in yourself now is smart. i wish i'd started earlier, financially speaking. and yeah, i'm nowhere near being over freaking out over being a grown up.

Anonymous said...

It's amazing what happens when you turn 28. You used to be so nonchalant about the future! Let me know when you've come to your senses!

Chunks said...

Take the plunge Dawn! I think interest rates are going up though, so be cautious-do your research.