Falling off the hamster wheel

That was a close call. We almost jumped back into the mortgage/homeowner thing way too fast. Within days of arriving in Texas we were house hunting and networking to find the next house to purchase. I think part of this was because we didn't know what else to do with our time, it is fun to look at houses and meet people (realtors). As time went on and we made appointments to view properties I was getting worn out and wasn't real interested any longer. I was recalling that we really were looking forward to living in an apartment, not doing the yard work, working out when we wanted, swimming in the pool a few times a week. Of course this apartment will be 100 times better when we have our stuff....which will arrive in about 3 weeks. I think what sealed the deal was when I called the mortgage company to prequalifly us for the loan....our credit was not as good as we wanted. Of course this was due to the family situation we were in a few years with my grandmother. It just reminded us why we chose to move in the first place. We wanted to explore new horizons, be debit FREE, travel and not freeze our butts off in winter. Well the credit thing put the brakes on the whole deal......and we felt free! Last night Paul and I went down the street to check out a sports bar and we had sometime to chat. I asked him how he was with everything.....he looked at me and said that if he never had a yard again it might be to soon. :) I totally understand. I am headed back to Washington to sell the mower and 95% of the lawn equipment. We still don't know where we want to land in this big old city....it is the 4^th largest metro area in the US! Daily we find or are told of areas to check out, and that is what we will do for the next 6 months to a year. We will take pause to figure out what we really want. Right now it looks like a condo/townhouse, 3 bedrooms, 2-3 baths with a little courtyard or patio. Because we live on our patio's....that is just how we roll. Of course it needs to be within walking distance to a Starbucks or a row of cute little businesses that we will get to know the owners by name. Because we like community. I know we will find it and I am happy that we are in no hurry to do so!