We had been trying to determine where we wanted to settle down after being recalled from Mexico. Chelsea had put together a spreadsheet of all the things she wanted. It included items like: sidewalks, mature trees, walkability to locally-owned restaurants, an international airport, etc. From there we whittled down the larger list of possibilities to four or so – Huntsville, Upstate New York, Charlotte, and the North Carolina Research Triangle. As part of our process, we decided to spend time in each area in order to either validate our interest or eliminate it as an option.
Beyond the wants list, Chelsea’s brother and sister-in-law live in Huntsville. That made it additionally attractive, so that was our first stop. We stayed with them for a week and found a very small historic section of Madison, Alabama we liked. The problem with it being so small is that there aren’t enough houses to have a lot of turnover. There was one for sale, but it needed $50,000 worth of foundation repair before any other issues could be dealt with. Madison stayed on the list, but we would have to keep an eye on it from afar.
Our next stop was Troy, New York. We rented an Airbnb for six weeks, so we would have a base from which to explore. While there we took trips to Albany, Nyack, Poughkeepsie, Tarrytown, and Sleepy Hollow. A couple of them might have worked, but we decided the cost of living would have made things too uncomfortable.
Regardless of where we were, we would keep our eyes on Zillow, Redfin, and Realtor.com. While we were still in Troy, Chelsea saw a “coming soon” listing for a late 1800s Queen Anne Victorian in Concord, North Carolina, a town northeast of Charlotte. We had never heard of Concord, but we were interested in it enough that I contacted a realtor and made an appointment for the first showing of the house once it became active.
Concord actually has three historic districts surrounding a small downtown area. Fortunately, there were two other houses available for viewing in addition to the one I made the trip for. That made flying, renting a car, and staying in a meh hotel worthwhile and increased our chances of finding something we really wanted.
In true House Hunters style, I visited a Colonial Revival house first. It was beautiful, but the most expensive, and needed some major repairs. Also, the surrounding area was not very attractive, so we marked that one off the list.
The second house was a one-story Queen Anne. It was the least expensive of the three and newly renovated. The downsides were that it was too small and was next to the elementary school’s rear driveway. Even if it had been larger, the chaos of parents and school buses exiting was enough for us to move on.
The third and final house was the one pictured above and the main reason for my visit. It was exactly what we wanted. The neighborhood is well maintained; there are sidewalks and old trees. It is walkable to multiple locally-owned coffee shops and restaurants, an independent bookstore, a library, and mom-and-pop shops of various kinds. In addition, it is only 30 minutes to the Charlotte airport.
The same day I toured it, January 28, we made an offer. The seller received multiple offers, but ultimately ours was accepted. We think it was partially due to our flexibility on a closing date that would work with her schedule. On March 29, we signed the paperwork and finally found a new home.
If you are interested in our repair adventures, decorating choices, and neighborhood explorations, we hope to be posting regularly about our idea of home.