We’re officially on the hunt for a new house. A bigger one, in a better school district. We’ve given ourselves lots of time (those of you who have followed me here from Ancestral Pile may remember that it took us two years to agree on dining room chairs, so agreeing on an entire house needs some major lead time), but we’re definitely in the market and looking. As the prospect of moving looms closer with every open house or agent showing we go to, I’ve been getting excited about the thought of living somewhere else.

Here’s a list of some of the things I’m really looking forward to about moving.

  • No longer having to go through one of the busiest highway interchanges in the area just to get to the grocery store.
  • The possibility of my new grocery store – whichever it may be – having parking spaces sized for cars bigger than a Mini.
  • Being excited about those sale emails from Joss & Main and One King’s Lane, instead of just annoyed because I have no place to put anything.
  • New and different obnoxious neighbors.
  • A fence.
  • Not having to spend fifteen minutes on the highway to get pretty much anywhere.
  • Sidewalks.
  • Having a playroom to put my children’s things in and reclaiming my living room. At least when company’s over. (I’m realistic about Toddler Sprawl.)
  • A dedicated office space to write in. (This is a filthy lie. I have an office now. I never use it. But let’s pretend that things will be different.)
  • A deck. A DECK!
  • Telling people where I live without a detailed explanation of Baltimore County geography.
  • Windows in bathrooms.
  • Having a house where the outside looks as nice as the inside.
  • A usable front door.

Here’s a list of the things I’m not looking forward to about moving.

  • Actually moving.