home-hunting

Jeff and I are going to start looking for a place to live in today. We plan on driving through and checking out Richmond Hill on our way to Aurora to visit with Elizabeth and Bryan, will check out Aurora, then drive home by way of Uxbridge and Markham. We're not looking for houses yet, just a general area before narrowing our search.

Our current plan is to rent a house in the area in which we plan to buy first. Meanwhile, we'll sell our condo and start researching real estate, the rental helping us decide if we've chosen the right area as well as whether we really want a house (as opposed to a condo). It's going to be a pretty radical change for Jeff and me.

We're open to suggestions, by the way! Here's a list of the things I'm looking for during research (Jeff's list probably varies slightly):

- A quieter and cleaner-air area than the one we're in now.

- Detached home.

- More interior space and light. More window area.

- High speed Internet access.

- Within an hour's drive of my sister's place in North Toronto (Mt. Pleasant and Eglinton).

- Ideally, near a park or area good for running.

- Within walking distance of at least one coffee shop, one bookstore, one grocery store where I can buy staples like milk and bread.

*** Relatively easy access to buses and/or trains to Toronto throughout the day AND evening (up to midnight). I've noticed that the buses and trains stop running around 6:30 pm for some of the potential places we were going to check out! I want to be able to get to Toronto whenever I want to on my own, without a car, and still go to Urban Tapestry practices, visit with friends and family. For me, this is one of the most important factors, no matter how otherwise perfect the location or house. When we lived out in Hockley Valley, this was a real problem, and I started to go a bit crazy with cabin fever, especially when Jeff had to spend more and more time in the city because of work.

Yesterday, I picked up a copy of David Dunkelman's book, Your Guide To Toronto Neighbourhoods, 2002 edition, to check out potential neighbourhoods within Toronto itself. So far it looks pretty good, with two pages devoted to each neighbourhood along information about the general feel of the neighbourhood, price range, types of homes, shopping, recreation, schools, transportation, and a pencil sketch of a typical home in that neighbourhood.

I looked up the overview of the area in which we're currently living:

"Downtown West is Toronto's most lively neighbourhood. This neighbourhood's vitality is due to the fact that Toronto's Entertainment, Fashion and Financial Districts are all located here."

Jeff went gaming with the guys last night again. I tagged along with my laptop and spent the evening with Cumulus, continuing to cull and organize my digital photos. I'm working backwards by month and have reached May of this year so far. I fell asleep on the couch near the end of the evening; I think Jeff and the others were playing some head-chopping card game (something to do with the French Revolution).

One year ago, I was making friends in Japan.

Three years ago, I was work-stressed with no chocolate.

---

Today's Blatherpics:

	The Toronto neighbourhood info book I picked up at Chapters yesterday.
	Jeff and Scott.