The difference between our current home and the one we have waiting for us in Oklahoma is enormous. Really, the house and the terrain couldn't be much more different unless we were to live on the beach or a mountain top (and in fact, the Chesapeake Bay is less than 50 miles as a crow files to the east. If you drive 20 minutes towards the west, you can see the mountains on the horizon.
So anyway, I thought you'd like to compare this house with the Oklahoma house.
East Coast front of house:
Oklahoma front of house:
Okay, so different styles of houses. The East Coast House has a full walkout basement that Husband uses for his office and workshop. There is no basement at the Oklahoma house but it has an enormous 40 X 60 two story barn that has about a third of it heated and cooled. The rest is a workshop. The heated and cooled part is divided into four rooms. Two will be mine and Husband can have one for his brewery. We may make the fourth one into a small guest room since there is a bathroom out there, too. The houses, themselves, have about the same square footage although since nearly a third of the East Coast house is used for a workshop, we end up with more living room.
East Coast view from the front door:
Oklahoma view from the front door - the first is the yard and the second is across the street:
The Oklahoma house is much more rural, as you can tell. That being said, it is much closer to restaurants, grocery stores, etc. than the East Coast house.
East Coast backyard and the view to the north and the south:
How do you like those trees? I am going to miss them when we leave.
Oklahoma backyard:
I do love the wide open spaces.
Okay, so here is where you can tell how homesick I am. Here is a picture of my glorious East Coast Bathroom, complete with jacuzzi and view of gorgeous trees. I once saw a shooting star as I soaked in the tub with a glass of red wine. It doesn't get much better that that.
And then, there is the Oklahoma bathroom:
Yuck. No window. No natural light. No jacuzzi. At the time of this picture, covered with the previous residents' gunk. If I gain any weight, I won't be able to turn around in there.
The fact that I am eager to swap bathrooms is evidence that I can't wait to get back home.
7 comments:
You can always redo the bathroom - these days, you'd be doing a contractor a favor by changing your house.
Why are Oklahoma houses almost always one story high? That's something odd I remember from my last trip out there.
Janet
Janet, Oklahoma has a high water table so they rarely have basements. I don't know if that has anything to do with avoiding second floors but the land is so cheap that it is sometimes cheaper and easier to spread out rather than up.
I'll bet the low profile is due more to tornados than cheap land.
I lived in NM for 20 years, and though Albuquerque has the Sandia and Manzano mountains to the east, and the mesa to the west, I missed the green and the mannerisms of the South.
Now that I'm back here, I look back with fondness on the people, the diverse cultures, the hot air balloons and the green chiles of NM.
But I still don't want to live there.
You will probably feel that way about the East Coast after you've been home a few years.
A house is shelter, where the house is, near family or friends, in the landscape you love, that's what's important. Though as Janet said, you can always support a contractor and re-do the bathroom. I agree with you, give me the space and the rural area.
A house is shelter, where the house is, near family or friends, in the landscape you love, that's what's important. Though as Janet said, you can always support a contractor and re-do the bathroom. I agree with you, give me the space and the rural area.
Wow, the contrast is startling in so many ways. I've often thought if I ever sell this place I'd love to have everything on one floor. In this area though my guess is that's a rarity. I can see why you want to move the wide open space is tempting.
Teri
Less house...better location. Hey! No problem!! Very few basements in Texas too. I've never wanted anything but one level. There's enough work in a one-level house without having to trudge up and down stairs.
It will be good to have you in my "neighborhood"!!!
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