‘New’ house!
Towards the end of 2018 we decided to move house.
Here was nothing wrong with the old house, it had been our home for the previous 20 years but since the arrival of Mathew we had outgrown it. Put simply: there wasn’t enough room. Inside or out.
The house was originally built in the late 19th century and restored in the 1980’s The ceilings were low and beamed, the windows small and mullioned. Downstairs comprised a living room and kitchen; upstairs two bedrooms and a bathroom. Outside there was a small patio and a driveway shared with seven other cottages. Broadband was virtually non-existent. However, the views across the valley were stunning and when the mist clung to the valley bottom and the moors opposite were bathed in golden morning sunlight none of that mattered.
Initially we hadn’t really formed an idea of where we wanted to move to and what sort of house. We had a short ‘must have’ list which made things quite simple when it came to ruling properties in or out. There was no way we were going to uproot Mathew from primary school, so it had to be somewhere that made drop off and pick up a practical consideration. It also had to be somewhere that fit the same criteria when it came to secondary school. Even though we didn’t know where he’d end up, we narrowed it down to an area and started looking in earnest.
We put the house on the market just before Christmas and by February we had a firm offer which we accepted. We’d also found the house we wanted to move into but there was a snag: it wasn’t built yet. The house we’d chosen was a new build (something we’d not really considered) but it ticked all the boxes. We reserved the house and took a rental. Initially for 6 months and after that a rolling month-by-month contract. Not that we’d need that.
We moved into a three bedroomed bungalow with a large garden and double garage. Whilst a lot of our ‘stuff’ went into storage.
There were numerous delays and snags but we eventually moved into our house in October 2020. I think I speak for all three of us when I say it’s now almost home.
