My Next Home

On August 13, 2016 -- three years ago and before we put in motion our move to the west -- I wrote this post on my old garden blog, describing what I wanted in my next home. At the time we were just beginning to talk about moving . . . and then it all happened quickly.

Now here we are in what became "our next home". How much of what I wanted actually came true? Here's the text of the post:

My Next Home

My next garden is going to be in a dry climate. 

Cold wet winters, damp soggy springs and summers too humid to garden or even sit outside are wearing on me. I will learn xeriscaping and I will have flowers and foliage and color and shade, but I don't want to be confined to such a limited window to enjoy it.

My next house is going to have tile floors and radiant heat in the floors. 

I like winter, I'm not one who has to flee south for the duration. But how cozy would warm floors be?  

My next yard will have much more hardscape and very little lawn.

It's a challenge to keep a decent lawn for all the reasons that the environmentalists charge, and my attempts here at narrow stone paths, skinny walkways and a smallish patio and gravel sitting area have only been stabs at true hardscape. I want a big stone terrace that IS the back yard, large gravel areas, arbors and pergolas and all sorts of boulders and stone walls. Lots of it. No grass except maybe an oval spot somewhere surrounded by stonework.

My next home will not have a cranky dehumidifier that needs emptying every day in summer just to keep mold away.

In a dry climate they use humidifiers to ADD humidity to the house. Go figure. I'm tired of running our dehumidifier and lugging pails of water up the stairs each day.

My next house will have solar panels.

This house has solar panels too, but I just thought I'd specify that. It's something I don't want to give up. 

My next garden is going to be smaller. 

What I have here is too much to take care of. Especially since it is never going to mature. Every winter I lose so much and have to redesign and replant, and now this difficult summer I'm losing more that I have to take out and replant. I'm always starting over. Change and loss is part of gardening, so I will always be replanting, but I want much, much less of it. 

My next house will not have tacky coasters scattered around on every table surface.

I won't need them. Drink glasses don't sweat all over everything making puddles on tabletops in a dry climate.

My next garden borders will have drip irrigation installed.

Maybe even on a timer.

My next house is going to be a condo.

Out west.

Did any of it come true? Well, yes. I am out west, in a dry climate. Been here two years now. My gardens are small, we have no lawn and lots of hardscape. Those wishes were fulfilled, but I don't have drip irrigation and so have to do endless hand watering.

And we don't have solar panels, although they'd be such a bonus in this sunny part of the country. I miss the free electricity we had back east with rooftop panels. But we use less electricity here -- the air conditioning doesn't run all summer to battle the humidity, windows are open most of the day instead. The dryer is used less, many things easily air dry outside in 20% humidity.

I do have all tile floors throughout the house, but no radiant heat. Radiant heat and solar panels would have both been nice to have.

Dehumidifers and tabletop coasters are a thing of the past.

And yes, this home is smaller. That was a deliberate plan when we were house hunting and we are now in a smaller home. But it's not a condo.

So we didn't find a home with every item on my wish list from three years ago. But we found most of what we wanted and it all happened quickly, and I am surprised now re-reading this three year old post, how we made the important things come to pass.