Why I Like Central MN

As we drove all over all day long Saturday and Sunday, seriously only stopping to get out and examine a few properties and take a few potty breaks, we saw lots of beautiful things. Besides the trees, lakes, deer, birds, cocks, bald eagles, etc., we also were welcomed by some of the friendliest people around. Even at the restaurant where we stopped after all our searching was done for the day, the boy behind the counter asked us all kinds of friendly small talk questions.

We laughed yesterday as we admired all the "unique" things there. I hadn't realized what a chained society we've become. It was like driving around a pretty version of Fargo's 13th Avenue. Same restaurants. Same carpet stores. Same auto body shops. Same mall stores. Same realty companies. Same lots of stuff.

The housing market is in quite a different state, though. We were shocked at how unkept many of the homes were. Not only were many folks living like pigs, but they didn't even bother to remotely tidy up the places. And a lot of homes were already empty. Yikes. The ones who did clean (and even stage) their homes really stood out. And it's not like we were looking at poverty-level homes.

We did find some wonderful neighborhoods and several homes on our short list. The one we'd planned to make an offer on today accepted a purchase agreement first thing this morning, before we even had time to check out the place at the courthouse. Now on to Plan B.

The more we got to know the area, the more our list of must-haves has changed. We no longer need a huge yard/acreage. The lots are plenty big in pretty much every neighborhood. We no longer need a rambler. They are super hard to find, and the ones we found that were below our budget were way below the budget and disgusting. But now we do need a 3-stall garage or an option to build an additional garage. And we do need a 4th bedroom for office space. Three just won't cut it. Our poor realtor. He's really earning this commission. But what a cheerful fella! Thank goodness!

I've found a few more places to check online today, so we'll see what we can set up for this weekend. I'm ready to get the show on the road - and get everything taken care of before I need to look for couches to crash on come July 1.