From the archives: To the left, to the left

This post has been rattling around my head for the past few days. Namely because I have been thinking about Beyonce and this awesome song, and also because on Friday night we were at dinner and had a few people ask about how we came to live in this little village. There was a great cross section of people who live here at this fabulous Indian Bollywood dinner – some for not so long, others for many years. We all decided that this place chooses people, rather than people choosing it….almost everyone had never heard of this place before stumbling across it, falling in love, buying a house without knowing a soul and loving every minute of it since.

Here is the post that I originally posted in July 2010 when we had just bought this house. To give a little back story, the previous post dropped the bombshell that we had just had our offer accepted. I still get excited reading it, all these years later.

babymacs-house-outside-front-door

I know. I know. Can you believe it? Can you BELIEVE it? Can I stop repeating myself?

But let me back it up a bit. A week or so ago I wrote this post in response to some of the changes that have been made in my life. Our lives. Finishing work. Getting Harper out of daycare. Getting some behavioural issues sorted with Daisy. Plan. Action. Change.

Just 3 weeks ago now we drove away from a weekend away with friends wondering if any of this stress we were living was worth it. Harper’s constant illnesses. Daisy’s night terrors and tantrums that were getting worse. My inability to deal with the constant stress of well, everything, and Rob’s business and where that was going to next. We were at a serious cross roads and we thankfully took the time to recognise it for what it was, and try to figure out how to make it all better. While our life was great – good health, great friends and family, a lovely home in a fabulous inner city suburb close to all the things we love – good coffee, food, pubs, restaurants, two good jobs that paid us – happy kids – it was still missing…something. We just couldn’t work out what that something was.

We have spent the last few months looking at buying that “next” house. The one up from this one – in size, in location – you know that ‘next step’ on the grown up path, because that’s just what you do. It was incredibly depressing. The price of these next houses was astronomical for what you get. While our house is lovely, the location could be better, these houses location was better, but the house equally as nice, or just a little better. The space? The same. The price? Oh just 500 HUNDRED THOUSAND more. And I’m not kidding. Really. It was just depressing. We kept having to move further and further out – to suburbs that we never thought we would look at – just to try and get some more value for you money. And there was more value. More space. More everything…but yet, still something missing. We even bid at an auction on a house that was lovely and we got so over excited that we bid waaaaaaay over what the house was worth, and certainly what we could afford, just because it was the only one that ticked {most} of the boxes. Did someone say crazy? At least we weren’t the ones that paid $250k over what the reserve price was. And you think I’m kidding? Lucky vendors… Thank GOD we missed out on it.

I then found myself trawling the net day after day looking at real estate and getting depressed by it – a COMPLETE first world problem I know – but depressed nonetheless. So. I started to look on google maps (how good are google maps?!) in about a 90 minute radius outside of Sydney. Just for a giggle. I would then open Domain (a real estate website) and start checking out properties in the towns that I was looking at on the map. Completely random I understand, but the method worked for me and certainly kept me from other important matters like washing, or cleaning or cooking my kids DINNER. You know, stuff like that. And then one afternoon I stumbled upon a little village. Where is that? I thought. Then up came the houses. Oooh nice. Oooooooh LOVELY.

Hang on, HANG ON…there was a house. Not just any house. But a HOME.

I sent it to Rob who sent back “call the agent and see if we can have a look”. I almost choked on my coffee as he had agreed to even contemplate this – immediately called the agent and 2 days later there we were, in said house, in said village, day dreaming about a simple life in the country.

We spent all of the next week continuing to look on the net and yet I kept finding myself going back to that house. Looking at that front gate. That veranda. That garden. I sent it to a few people laughing at the idea – half hoping that someone would say “hang on, that’s not SO crazy”. And a few people (thankfully did). My trusted sources. Some family. Some close friends. Rob and I started to get a little more serious in the thinking – all the while looking at the house {again and again and then just one more time} We would have a long discussion about it all, drink some wine, get carried away with our dreaming, but somehow just come back to the here and now. Surely not? Surely…?! We wrote lists of pros and cons. We came to one sure conclusion: we had to sell this house. It just isn’t right for us and me and Rob and all of us anymore. The noise. The location. The COMMON walls of terrace living. So that was something. We knew THAT much. Could we rent somewhere after selling this? Trial out living in the burbs? And yet…still…that house. That country house. We got parents involved. The more people started to say that “maybe this could work” the more we thought “maybe this could work”. The lists of pros far out weighed the cons – that were all just fears. What ifs. WHAT IFs that you never really know until you make the leap of faith. And really, aren’t all big life decisions – getting married, having kids – just that? A leap of faith. Into the unknown? And a commitment to try and make it work?

We went down again. To that house. The sun was shining – streaming into the beautiful windows, onto the garden. It just felt about as perfect as any house could ever be for us. We talked some more, went to and fro some more, but really we both knew that it had out hearts and somehow we would just make it work. Somehow.

And then just 5 days later (many calls back and forth, stress and worry and excitement and FREAKING out), it was ours. Well….not yet…but offers accepted and things underway.

This could just about be the craziest thing we have ever done. But then again, people probably thought that when Rob and I were engaged after just 4 months of going out. And that worked right? It could be the dumbest thing we have ever done. Selling our house and getting out of the “Sydney” market. It could be hardest thing we have ever done – going from a town of 4 and a half million people to just 150. There will be plenty of time when it will just be me and the girls when Rob has to be in Sydney. In a new town. With no family and friends near by.

But.

But….

It could be the best thing we have ever done. Right? The fresh country air. Living in a house that we would never be able to live in, was it in Sydney. The space. For all of us to do our own things. The being together. The school in the village that has just 35 kids – that our gals will go to. The friends we will make. The sheer beauty of that part of the country. The adventure. And the starting over. Making decisions for US as a family. Putting that first. For a change. Rob is in an amazingly lucky position where his work can be done (Mostly remotely) so it won’t really matter if he is in a studio in the country, or in a funky office in Alexandria. I am in an extremely fortunate position where I don’t have to work, if I don’t want to. We are lucky. Very, very lucky and we are going to use that to our advantage and try and make our life as amazing as we possibly can, because, well, we can.

So. Here we go. On the start of one hell of an adventure. I am as excited as a kid on Christmas day. I am as scared of it as I have been about anything I have done. I am nervous about selling this house, and going through all that, and completely overwhelmed about what the next 3 months are going to be like for us.

But.

We have made the leap. Made the decision. And I think (for now) that’s the hardest part done.

And just think of the blogging material that this is going to bring! And regardless of where we physically are – you will still all be there on my laptop in the morning, afternoon and night, supporting me, making me laugh and feel like I am not alone. And that’s not going to change. I hope you enjoy the ride too!

Comments

  1. Alli @ ducks on the dam says

    What a turmoil you were going through! Don’t you wish that you had a forward looking transporter that you could have had a brief peek through? Our tree change was so fast. 7 weeks from a job spotted online to moving into our rented house in the country. I am kind of glad it was fast or maybe I would have dragged my heels a little.

    • BabyMacBlogBeth says

      You bet…I love reading back on those posts though…so much angst and turmoil! Such a great reminder of how far we have come.

  2. Hi Beth,
    Loved this post! We too made a big decision. It involved living on a remote island for 6 months. Too easy pack up our personal belongings and 3 months worth of food – hop on a speed boat to a remote island in Bass Strait, Tasmania. No problems! Only us living there – no worries! It must have been the right decision because we are still here nearly 5 years later. We too believed we were “chosen” to live here. We love it. Must admit not having children made it easier and we still have our “city” home if we need to go back – don’t think so though! So in a way I know about making those big decisions and so glad yours has obviously worked out so well for you and your family. We wonder where and when our next adventure will be. Have a great Sunday ~ x

  3. I love looking back on big changes that happened in our life and smiling about how right we were back then. Clearly this is exactly what happened to you guys. Your home is absolutely gorgeous, I just adore it.
    My little version of this story happened 2 years ago. We sold our house and had nowhere to live next (crazy, right?!). One Sunday morning, my husband Chris was trawling realestate.com.au and found this house. I thought it looked cute, we rang the agent, visited it the next night and put in an offer. Rejected. Put in one final offer. Accepted! We lined up the settlement dates and moved in 5 days after we got engaged. That was one big week!

  4. Lisa Mckenzie says

    It was the BEST decision ever ,you should never ever doubts those sorts of rightness ,I am so glad for you that you did buy that house and your so happy there and it is truly beautiful xx

Trackbacks

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