The first time I moved out on my own was in 2007. It was March and I joined Twitter shortly after. It’s a shame I didn’t tweet back when I lived at home with my Dad. It would be interesting to see how the younger me perceived paying a piece of the rent while still abiding by a curfew. After a year in that first house, I moved closer to work but, in both cases, they were apartments. I was connected to others with a shared back yard and limits on how many people could park at my house. I had 2 parking spaces and that was it. In 2008, I moved to San Francisco to a 6th floor apartment in the Tenderloin. Still joined at the hip to others. In March of 2010, I moved to the ‘burbs of San Francisco into someone’s converted garage. It was spacious but still attached. Since August of 2010, I have been in a cabin in the middle of the woods on 5 acres of land along a river. I learned so much in that house, got rid of all of my “kid furniture” and moving into a world of proper wine glasses, cutlery and hosting dinner parties. In the cabin, I finally broke free of the San Francisco workaholic that was sure to become the death of me and into a life of 9 hour work days with more hobbies than I have time for. Those that have followed me since 2007 know that San Francisco was both my greatest success as an adult while also being the reason for weight gain, depression and total disaster for me. The city tore me apart because I wanted more than anything to succeed in that city. Everything was at stake and coming to New Hampshire has been a life-saver and I mean that literally. The cabin was my own space but I had neighbors below and beside me. It wasn’t a home.
Life is funny. Every time I think that this move, job or decision is the moment I become an adult. I have a tip of the youngsters; you are never an adult, at least in your mind. There are those moments where you say, “this is like a big kid thing. I’m paying bills and I’m an adult now” and then you buy a house, have a kid, start a retirement account and buy a car. In each case, us adults still amaze ourselves that we’re doing adult things.
This place I’m moving to is a home. This is not the analogy a lot of people use where a place you keep your stuff is suddenly a home where it’s a place you feel safe and secure in. I mean that this is a home on property with as many parking spaces as I could need with privacy and multiple levels and a basement. It’s my space with no connections. I was hammering in some nails to hang photos and looked at Elizabeth and we both simultaneously realized that no matter how many photos we hang, no one will complain about the hammering. We can blast our music, sing and dance and make noise and no one will hear. We live in a home..not an apartment, duplex or condo. It’s a home and it’s a joyous feeling.
I’m not a homeowner yet, but this certainly gives me that itch. I turn 27 in 2013 and the years from 18 to 27 have started to blur together and, although home ownership in our generation is no longer a requirement of adulthood, it is something I strive for at some point. There are still questions I should answer first. Do I want to spend the rest of my life in New England? Do I want to take the tax hit of moving to Vermont which is a far more beautiful and green state than New Hampshire? Is this a home I buy with Elizabeth or do I buy it on my own and invite her into it? How much should I spend? What are the obvious things my home should have?
The house that I moved into this weekend is large but tight. The kitchen is half the size I would need as a cook to truly take advantage of. I need more burners, more oven space, a larger microwave, a chest freezer, twice as much small appliance shelf space and a larger work area. I need a walk in pantry and a room that’s just for brewing beer with some commercial sinks for washing gear, burners with ventilation and fermentation rooms that are temp controlled. The bedroom, living room and office in the new house are perfect. The basement is smaller than I’d like it to be but it’s dark, damp and cool so my cellarable beers are VERY happy. The insulated outdoor deck is awesome and the yard and storage shed is perfect. There are 2 bathrooms and enough storage to get by.
This new house is not perfect. There are a lot of things I don’t like about it yet so it’s not a house I would buy. List was around $250K when it was on the market. We’re in a longer term lease and will probably stick around beyond the lease but it’s not a place I would buy. It is a home for me but I wouldn’t pick it for the home I raise kids in.
Despite the shortcomings of this new place, it’s my first house and the price is right and I’m happy to be here.
Moving in The Winter – I’m a Florida boy.
Little did I know what Hell was ahead of me in this move. As most of you know, the Christmas east-coast snow was rough. Over a foot of snow fell at my cabin but, by Friday, the snow was packed, plowed and roads were clear. I had moved a lot of boxes that weren’t dependent on warm temperatures onto my deck and into the garage. The deck is screened in and had never been flooded or snowed in and I woke up at 2AM on Wednesday the 26th with 4 inches of snow in my porch and boxes full of snow. 3 Hours later, all boxes were moved back inside. I went to pick up the moving truck on Saturday in town. The roads were clear and I arrived at the cabin just as a few flurries had started to fall.
By the time we departed the cabin with a crammed full 20 foot truck, the roads were messy and I was sliding all over the road. I drove commercial trucks in Florida for a year before starting with Apple. I knew what to do and handled the truck fine. However, snow driving with a truck of this size was not expected and there were accidents, abandoned cars and snow plows running all over the place. In total, 6 inches of snow fell that Saturday.
The few hundred feet long hills with 10-20% grades really gave me Hell. I couldn’t get into the driveway without having plows come out to plow for me and, at one point, I plummeted at 40MPH down a hill with locked up air brakes at a 40 degree angle relying only on fancy gear work and an e-brake to get myself out of what could have been a deathly experience.
Eventually, I finished my house and picked up Elizabeth’s house and we got completely unloaded the next morning returning the truck on time and the moving progressed through today which is 12/31. I have no Internet until Friday so I’m writing this to the iPad with a Bluetooth keyboard. After this is submitted, I’ll continue moving and unpacking / organizing will continue through the weekend since I have to return to work on January 2nd.
This move has been fun but cold and exhausting. I have a lot more stuff than I did when I moved here from California. Most of it is related to beer brewing and cellaring. I don’t have that much technology, clothes or furniture. Beer is half of my moving truck load and that’s alright. It’s a fun hobby.
This is my first home and I’m really happy. It’s nice to start the new year and my yearly detox in a new place. I have to find my juicer before tomorrow or else I’ll have some problems with that detox :)