House Hunting Trip

Brad and I flew to Kansas City last weekend to find a new place to live. We are planning on renting until we sell our home in Michigan. The trip actually went really well and everything fell into place for us. We had looked on line at rental homes several times before the trip and narrowed down an A and B list of homes we wanted to look at. Although, of all of those, there was one that stood out to me, which I was really banking on. I really just wanted to see it first, fall in love with it, sign a lease, forget the other homes, and spend the rest of the weekend getting to know the area, relaxing, etc.

That's pretty much what happened (except for the relaxing part). Sunday, we went to church and felt very welcomed by the ward members. The rest of the weekend, we spent a lot of time driving around, running random errands, exercising, and eating out. Here are some things we learned:

1. House hunting trips are always stressful for me. Even when everything falls into place, my mind won't stop thinking about tons of details. As much as I wanted to just relax, I couldn't. I had a hard time sleeping, never felt hungry (even though, I was really looking forward to eating out and we did go to some really great restaurants), felt completely exhausted, and just had an underlying feeling of anxiety (something I'm still learning to manage).
   
2. Brad walks faster than me in the airport. I walk faster than him in the mall and when we're exercising.


3. Kansas City seems like a very easy city to get around. We were happy to see some trees around, but will dearly miss the trees in Michigan.


4. We found a few biking paths and a beach to take the kids to.
   
5. We enjoyed a perfect filet mignon, found a good Mexican restaurant, and loved the chocolate fondue at the Melting Pot.


6. We drove around the neighborhood where Brad grew up. We saw his old house and school. Thirty years later, the trees in that area are gorgeous.
   
7. One morning, we left the hotel and walked to a local highschool to use the track and run stairs. It felt good to move around after sitting on the plane, and spending so much time in the car. We enjoyed our breakfast much better after the exercise.


8. We had fun using the portable GPS system in the rental car. Those things can be so handy. I don't know how we would have done the house hunting trip without it.
   
9. We went to Lifetime Fitness at 11:30 pm one night to check it out
   
10. We toured the library and got new library cards.
    
11. The people we are renting from are architects and designed the home. They were really great to work with and even printed us a floorplan, so we can get a heads up on where to place furniture, etc. I also measured closets and figured out which ones I need to add shelving to.


12. I love the home. It will be perfect for us. We're on a quiet street at the end of a culdesac, with permanent green space next to us. Lots of kids are around and a member of our church even lives within walking distance who has a boy Sawyer's age.
    
13. Brad has a great sense of direction. He can figure out a map much quicker than I can and did a great job of getting us around.
    
14. Brad and I make a good team. We enjoy the same things and both have strengths that complement each other.


15. I'm going to miss the trees and terrain of Michigan, but know I'll love Kansas City.
    
16. We both like things that look new. And, even though neither of us are huge shoppers, we like having retail nearby.