image from atelier-ad.blogspot.com It feels like a never-ending search.
“Home is the place that goes where you go, yet it welcomes you upon your return. Like a dog overjoyed at the door. We’ve missed you is what you hear, no matter how long you’ve been gone.” MICHAEL J. ROSEN, Home
Ever since I came to Australia I have heard people talking about “The Great Australian Dream“, the dream of course to own ones own home. As far as dreams go it is totally understandable, though today it is becoming harder than ever to attain. In reality it was probably one of the reasons my parents wanted to come to Australia all those years ago. “Australia, The Land of Opportunity”, the chance to be able to have a home of their own and offer a greater opportunity to their children to have a better life than they felt they could have ‘back in the old country’. Times were changing and the brightness of Australia beckoned to many.
Since nothing ever remains static, dreams change as much as people. The dreams of having your own house back when my parents were young is vastly different to the dreams of today’s generation. The “old” Queenslander, which would have been a wonder in those days has become a huge, four (at least) bedroom mansion. I suppose its all relative really, and who am I to say anyone is right or wrong since I have jumped on the bandwagon yet again. URGH!
As of a few days ago when we decided a move was indicated, we have begun the planning process. Where to, what sort of house, how much land, the services available, which area to move to, and that’s all before the hard work begins. Part of the hard work, for me at least, is trudging through so many houses until you find one which ‘fits’. We have a list we always use. It has been honed over time to cover everything we could want or need in the home we want, right down to power points and if there are enough cupboards and drawers in the kitchen – VERY important if you want to be able to do anything.
image from atelier-ad.blogspot.com They really do breed if you take your eyes away from them for a second!
Packing! A necessary evil – at least to me. Days or weeks of packing boxes, tape, labels, paper cuts from the packing paper, and woe betide you if you forget to correctly label a box! The very first move I ever made, a pure novice, everything seemed to go wrong. I forgot to label everything down to the last detail. OK I forgot to put any labels on the boxes. I had boxes coming out of my ears in some rooms and none in others and not one in the right room! Everything had to be opened to try to find anything at all, and then move it to its real home. As a result it was hours before we could find something to use to for a drink, and let’s not think of a cup of tea or coffee – the kettle went into hiding! I couldn’t recall what had gone into any of the boxes, it was like a lottery – and there was no winner. That is just the beginning. After the unpacking has been done and you have hopefully managed to find ‘homes’ for all your things after they have been carefully washed again, you realise you cannot remember where anything is! I needed tracking devices to locate anything. Now that is an idea – I wonder if anyone knows where I can get some?
That is where I am at this moment, in the process of moving house, of packing boxes, wrapping everything in paper which always cuts my fingers one by one. OH NO! – OH YES! To this day there are still some things we cannot find. Perhaps when we pack this time we might find them? Who knows. Time is running out and I desperately need to find somewhere to move to, somewhere which ticks off the majority of, if not all the boxes on my list. You know, THE LIST, which, if I can get it right will mean I have found my dream home, the one which fulfils all our needs and from which I will not have to move again.
image from oneplanetimages.com There, I knew it existed somewhere.
So, as you can guess, we’d like a place in the country. It has turned out to be a deal breaker, in fact they seem to be as scarce as hens teeth. It must be somewhere that we can work from home, so both phone, internet and hopefully mobile access. Not too far from a post office for mail access. Deciphering real estate jargon makes it even more difficult. For example, this might be what we are looking for and have seen in the ad .
image from boutique-homes.com
When we get there , whilst charming, this is what we find. (OK, literary license has been taken here.)
Really though, the real description might say:
- “a home with space, it has ‘x’ number of square metres under roof – which means – they have counted all the covered verandahs, car ports (not garages) and any covered walkways or external entertainment areas. Is it possible to use any of that for a home office? No way, so what it doesn’t say is the house may be enough for a single person but it has loads of covered areas outside or around it.
- “it has charm and character” or “a little TLC is needed” – which means – it’s antiquated and may be held up by a few rusty nails. (see above).
- “close to all amenities” – which means – it’s really on a major road and the constant noise would drive you insane, and deaf!
- “the bedrooms are ‘spacious’ or ‘generous’ in size – which means – you might be able to fit a small bed in but forget anything close to a double bed unless you want a hernia.
- “it has air conditioning” – which means – one room has a miniscule and ancient mover of air and the windows open in the rest of the house.
- “it has 2+ car spaces under lock” – which means – there is lock on the front gate of the property and a rickety roof over the cars, if you are lucky.
- “country living at it’s best” – which means – possibly no garbage collection no phone coverage and unlikely to have internet access.
The list can go on and yes, I have chosen extreme examples just for fun, although some of them are not too far wide of the mark. I don’t need a mansion, although it might be nice, yet I don’t want to spend forever cleaning it. I really, really would love a place in the country but I have to be able to work from there, so it has to have all the accessories I mentioned. A creek would be nice, but not so that I will be flooded out if there is a minor shower. I’d prefer not to share my home with poisonous snakes, but I guess I’m a chicken, then again maybe not, I’d certainly be dinner for them!
So what is it that I want which I find so hard to find? What is on my “Bucket List?”
A place with room to breathe, fresh air and somewhere to walk on my property. Something of a reasonable size I can work from home comfortably in with phone and internet access. Peace and tranquility – oh yes – it would be marvellous to wake up and go to sleep to the sounds of the bush each day.
There is a place out there for me, which meets all the dot points more or less. I know it, I simply need to find it and soon, before the lease expires or I go insane. I really hate moving. After this I will only move one more time – to the house I build on acreage which will then have everything I want in it or on it. It’s all there on my dream board which I look at every morning when I wake up and each night before I go to sleep, so as you can tell, it has been a goal for a while. I want to stay in one place, my idyllic place and put down roots.
My home is my castle, my refuge and my sanctuary. I will be so grateful on the day I find it or build it. I will be eternally grateful to the Universe when this dream comes true. I’m following my instinct here and know I’m mindful that everything has to happen at the right time. I will have my dream home with room to breath fresh air, walk in the country, hear the birdsong, perhaps a burbling brook somewhere, where peace and tranquility will soothe my heart and soul and my health will recover and there is time and space for my soul to grow.
So, if you know just the place for me, just let me know, I would be so very grateful.
image from sothebysrealty.com Yes, it really does exist somewhere.
“Do you know how hard it is to make a home?… That’s something that a woman does from inside herself. You do it in the face of all sorts of opposition. Husbands are very appreciative when it works out well. But they’re not that anxious to help. It’s understandable. They don’t know how.”
SAMUEL R. DELANY, Dhalgren
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