Woke up at 7:30 am (a full SEVEN HOURS of sleep!) and packed up the Burbank hotel. Checked out and drove to Surburbia Heaven, a.k.a. Awesometown, a.k.a. Santa Clarita Valley. It's a suburban area that's been developed and planned over the past 25 years or so. Remember the developments in E.T. and Poltergeist? This would be them (we even saw a house tented with a termite tent, but that was yesterday in Burbank). It's very similar to Evan's brother's place in Plano or the Broker's place in Florida, but with hills and tons of desert vegetation.
We met a different Realtor, who gave us the lowdown on the area and gave us a great tour of the various neighborhoods. This was the first house we saw.
After two days of 1200 sf for 600k, HEAVEN.
This was a foreclosure, and needed some work. But it had unoffensive rugs, lots of rooms, a decent enough kitchen, and a huge addition to the family room which would make a great library. This house was from the 60s, one of the first developments in the SCV, and the taxes would be a lot less than newer houses. But the upkeep didn't show, so we kept looking.
Pinch me, I think I'm in Heaven
Three garage bays (room for COMICS!) a gorgeous front room, and a huge family room + kitchen, with a media niche for Evan and a granite countertop for the kids to do homework on while I make another pot of ravioli for them.
And then we went outside.
Plus a bedroom downstairs for visitors, and three bedrooms upstairs. The kids share a bath and the master bath tub big enough for the family to recreate the bath scene from Totoro. AND! The walk-in closet, as in every home we saw, was big enough for me to make into an office. I'm not kidding even a bit.
HOORAY! KURT WON THE GOLDEN GLOBE!
This was a foreclosure and priced as such. There was a sad tale on the blackboard wall in the kitchen. It listed "bills to pay" and most of them were medical bills. Nonetheless, we would have bought this house if we could. It will probably go in the next week, according to my broker. It's been on the market a week.
Wow, That's a Lot of Turquoise Carpet
Evan loved this place.
A big front room with those ever-present vaulted ceilings, a huge kitchen + family room which included a window seat in the breakfast nook and a fireplace. And again, outside was pretty awesome:
We peeked over the fence and realized that Bart and Hayden would LOVE to visit us.
This house would also be a keeper, with new flooring and a fresh coat of paint.
Nice floors, but we need that 4th bedroom for all these nice people reading my blog and planning their visit to CA
This was a charming house, with beautiful finishes and in a great cul-de-sac.
Gorgeous floors, lovely kitchen (there's that homework island again!)and a nice front room off the entry that could be walled off into a fourth bedroom. Too small, too cher.
That's a Whole Lotta Garage for a Wee Little House
This was a tiny little 3br flip.
The problem was that the garage was easily 50% of the first floor, and it showed. And we need that 4th br for all you nice people, right?
We took a look at some new construction as well. The amenities were beautiful, and it had a great 4th br and bath on the first floor, but regulated to this entry ghetto. The kitchen, oh, the kitchen:
It was a great Realtor jaunt. We got a great idea of the towns, and as much as Auntie JoJo will hate it, I think we will end up in this suburban paradise.
We hit a California Pizza Kitchen afterwards, and saw not one, not two, but three interracial couples. We are really nervous about moving somewhere where our kids might think that it's NOT normal that people have different colored parents or that some kids have two moms, two dads, a mom and a dad, a grandparent and a mom, whatever. I need to do a little more research online about the area and the schools, the Cub Scouts, and the diversity. I know I'm not going to find a South Orange/Maplewood out here. But -- and I apologize in advance if I offend someone -- I can't move my family into a town of 100% White Christian Republicans. Now keep in mind that some of my very favorite people are white Christian Republicans (you know who you are) but I want my family to live in a place where there is a welcomed exchange of ideas and ideals. I hope this is the place.
We are halfway through the Golden Globes so far and about to order room service. Evan suggested we go downstairs to eat, but after being 100% ON!!! for three days with Realtors, principals, my husband's coworkers, and millions of prospective neighbors, I. Am. Done. I want to take my bra off and drink too much wine and talk about how I still don't like Claire Danes even though she's a great actress and she left that guy that left that girl that was pregnant.
What do you think about our move? What about our need for a 4th bedroom? What about the severe deficit of cheap pedicures on the West Coast? I love your comments on Facebook, but I'd love you to comment on the blog.
So after the older two shared a room in Maplewood, I thought with their own bedrooms now, we'd have fewer arguements. But now all I hear is "GET OUT OF MY ROOM!" Still, I like that they have a private space where they can be adn make their own.
ReplyDeleteBTW, love love love our kitchen island. ;-)
Looks like a lot of good options out there! The interracial couples are a good sign. I can't believe they don't have cheap pedicures out there tho...
ReplyDeleteI am loving your blog! Please keep it up -- this house porn is killing me!
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