Drove by a few more houses. Definitely more home for the money than in the valley, but still very close to each other. Also not much money left after the purchase for any remodeling. They're just your typical nondescript suburban homes. That's not a dig. Lot's of people are comfortable with that, like a lot of people like to drive Camary. Common, familiar, non-descipt, low-risk. We just want something a little different. Also don't want to hear it when my jerk neighbor is yelling at his kids everyday.
Had another great meal near downtown before heading home. Ravenous Cafe & Lounge was cozy. Food was great. Our hostess was perky and attentive, without being annoying. Wow. Is it possible that some people actually like their jobs that much?! Maybe it's the air.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Loving Healdsburg
We made the drive up to Healdsburg today. Stopped at Sonoma square on the way. Even in winter it seems very touristy. Nice to see a Whole Food Market there.
To get in the mood of our journey, we stayed at the lovely, and dog friendly, Duchamp Hotel. We want to build this but BIGGER! Concrete floors. Large walk-in shower with wall jets. Modern light and bath fixtures. Short walk to downtown off the main road.
Downtown Healdsburg is pretty happening. Gives us that warm fuzzy of downtown Mountain View or Sunnyvale. Seems well attended by locals, but perhaps that will change come tourist season. Nice selection of restaurants. Great dinner at Dry Creek Kitchen. Tasty. Well presented. Great service. Not too stuffy.
To get in the mood of our journey, we stayed at the lovely, and dog friendly, Duchamp Hotel. We want to build this but BIGGER! Concrete floors. Large walk-in shower with wall jets. Modern light and bath fixtures. Short walk to downtown off the main road.
Downtown Healdsburg is pretty happening. Gives us that warm fuzzy of downtown Mountain View or Sunnyvale. Seems well attended by locals, but perhaps that will change come tourist season. Nice selection of restaurants. Great dinner at Dry Creek Kitchen. Tasty. Well presented. Great service. Not too stuffy.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Some Background
A little more background on us, and what this blog is all about. We're a late 30s / early 40s couple living in Silicon Valley. Working in the high-tech industry for the past 15 years. We rent a nice size house, in a very safe and clean neighborhood. It's hard to complain too much. We've got jobs. We're healthy. The Bay area is great.
Still. We're not content. Renting means living in someone else's idea of a house. There's only so much you can change. Being in Silicon Valley means being very close to your neighbors. Thus learning the names of the neighbor's kids and dog because you hear him screaming at them all summer long. Buying anything means $500k for a very small fixer-upper.
Sure we could have probably gotten a loan for a $900k house. Lots of acquantences urged us to get into the housing market. "Interest only loan is the way to go", some of them said. "All that interest you're paying is actually saving you money as a tax deduction", seems counterintuitive. Now some of those people are looking at bailing on their property. In some cases actually encouraged to break that legally binding contract, never mind the moral responsibility, they signed up for called a mortgage. Nothing to show for it other than wrecked credit. No place to live. Even if we could have dodged that bullet, we're not willing to be so leveraged that we can't go out to eat occasionally, or be forced to max a credit card if/when a major home repair presents itself.
The million dollar question (no pun intended), is can we find somewhere we would like to live, has affordable land, isn't too far from the valley should we need to drive in, and will be receptive to modern housing? We may have Ligne Roset taste, but realistically need to live on an IKEA or maybe DWR budget. If for no other reason that we become slaves to the house and end up resenting it. Like many people who put every penny in their house. Only to discover it demands more in repairs and upgrades they did not plan for. And traps them there, because there's nothing left for vacations or entertainment.
Thanks to books (Prefab Modern), magazines and conferences (Dwell), and hip lodging (W Hotel) we've gotten by living the modern lifestyle vicariously. We've been researching, and hoping. Planning and plotting for years. Sometimes sad or desperate to escape. We even contemplated trying to convert a boarded up movie theater we ran across to living quarters. Great home theater! Unfortunately the lack of parking (none) and ranking as the gang murder capital of California quickly put that to rest.
But the time finally seems right for us to give our own house a go. The stock market is doing a little better. Interest rates are pretty darn low. We've got good credit and a reasonable down payment in the bank. Telecommuting for work is becoming more and more acceptable, widening our potential area to look.
Still. We're not content. Renting means living in someone else's idea of a house. There's only so much you can change. Being in Silicon Valley means being very close to your neighbors. Thus learning the names of the neighbor's kids and dog because you hear him screaming at them all summer long. Buying anything means $500k for a very small fixer-upper.
Sure we could have probably gotten a loan for a $900k house. Lots of acquantences urged us to get into the housing market. "Interest only loan is the way to go", some of them said. "All that interest you're paying is actually saving you money as a tax deduction", seems counterintuitive. Now some of those people are looking at bailing on their property. In some cases actually encouraged to break that legally binding contract, never mind the moral responsibility, they signed up for called a mortgage. Nothing to show for it other than wrecked credit. No place to live. Even if we could have dodged that bullet, we're not willing to be so leveraged that we can't go out to eat occasionally, or be forced to max a credit card if/when a major home repair presents itself.
The million dollar question (no pun intended), is can we find somewhere we would like to live, has affordable land, isn't too far from the valley should we need to drive in, and will be receptive to modern housing? We may have Ligne Roset taste, but realistically need to live on an IKEA or maybe DWR budget. If for no other reason that we become slaves to the house and end up resenting it. Like many people who put every penny in their house. Only to discover it demands more in repairs and upgrades they did not plan for. And traps them there, because there's nothing left for vacations or entertainment.
Thanks to books (Prefab Modern), magazines and conferences (Dwell), and hip lodging (W Hotel) we've gotten by living the modern lifestyle vicariously. We've been researching, and hoping. Planning and plotting for years. Sometimes sad or desperate to escape. We even contemplated trying to convert a boarded up movie theater we ran across to living quarters. Great home theater! Unfortunately the lack of parking (none) and ranking as the gang murder capital of California quickly put that to rest.
But the time finally seems right for us to give our own house a go. The stock market is doing a little better. Interest rates are pretty darn low. We've got good credit and a reasonable down payment in the bank. Telecommuting for work is becoming more and more acceptable, widening our potential area to look.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Why A Blog on Modern Wine Country?
So why a blog about Modern Wine Country, or lack thereof? Partially it's a diary, for us to keep track of what we've tried, where we've been, and what we've accomplished. It may also be cathartic, given that it, in the words of Axl Rose, may require us to have "traversed a treacherous sea of horrors" in order to reach our intended destination.
More optimistically, may it serve as education and entertainment for our fellow nice modernists who have yet to take the plunge. Due either to money, fear, common sense, or just lack of example.
Stay tuned fellow modernists. Cheer us on in hopes that our dream will become reality. Send us tips if you've already blazed a trail. Or perhaps lurk and take schadenfreude as we pull our hair out, risk our life savings, and potentially our sanity.
More optimistically, may it serve as education and entertainment for our fellow nice modernists who have yet to take the plunge. Due either to money, fear, common sense, or just lack of example.
Stay tuned fellow modernists. Cheer us on in hopes that our dream will become reality. Send us tips if you've already blazed a trail. Or perhaps lurk and take schadenfreude as we pull our hair out, risk our life savings, and potentially our sanity.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)