Oh my aching HEAD. My aching FEET. My tired, tired, TIRED to the core body. That was a LOT of houses. I lost count around number 18, but over the course of the weekend, our realtor Sara showed us a “sampling” of every nook and cranny in the towns of Glen Ellyn, Wheaton, Winfield, Warrenville and Naperville. She told us that there was a limit to how many you could see at once because you could only retain so much in your head before they all started to blend together, and she was right!
At the end of the day, we hardly remembered the first few houses we saw. “Was that the one with the fire pit, ,or the Koi pond?” I’d say, and Marc would remark “There was a Koi pond?! Was that in the house with the mud room or the house near the community pool?” Like amnesiacs stumbling around together, we were thankful for all the notes and pictures that I took.
Did we find the home of our dreams? No. But we did find many homes that we could get by in just fine, and a few that knocked our socks off, even if they weren’t exactly the right fit, along with a few that were so horrifying they made us duck and run for cover!
Here are some of the highlights and lowlights of the trip...
The hubs and I all giddy to get started!
How about I lead with my dream home. How perfect is this place? It's just seethes CHARM, and New England style charm at that. I am in HEAVEN!
The empty lot next door could be an arboretum - just look at all those gorgeous flowering trees!
Once inside, it doesn't disappoint. Get a load of this laundry/mudroom!!! I could have died and gone to heaven!
Helloooooo built-ins, where have you been all my life?
Perfect kitchen! Warm, homey, lots of sunshine and tile on the diagonal (and wood floors!!) Who could ask for anything more?
More? Oh, how about this BASEMENT - yes that's a basement with 10 foot ceilings, FINISHED! With a bedroom and a full bath, perfect for guests!
Oh house, please be mine. Please oh please? Don't we just belong on your front porch? I'll put a swing up, and the children will play for hours on end and....
This, sadly, is where Marc had to lead (er, drag?) me away by the hand and point out that this was virtually the ONLY nice house on this street. That the other houses were dilapidated, sad things, with trash in the front yards and sheets hung up in the windows for curtains.
I stuck my fingers in my ears and started to sing "Lallalalalalalalalalala I can't heeeaarrrr youuuuuu!" But it was no use. He was right. It was a terrible neighborhood. Not right for us at all. But at least we have the memories - our special time on the porch, dreaming of tire swings and summer picnics and daisy chains and...SIGH.
That was pretty much the theme of the day as we rode around trying to see what our budget could buy us. We kissed a whole lotta frogs.
Like the ones in this drowning hazard
Or this one. I would have found our two year old face down in this lagoon within five minutes of moving in.
There was the wall o'glass block that was oh so eighties-chic.
The fence that only looked solid. In reality it was had hidden openings to walk through and a main road on the other side. Why did the chicken cross the road? To give his mother a heart attack! No thanks - not for me!
We can't forget the "dog" house. Adorable little pups they were, but their realtor mustn't have discussed the importance of decluttering with their owners. The house was covered in dog gear - toys, bowls, crates, beds and even the dogs POOP! But at least they were kind enough to warn us to watch out for it.
There was the Brady-esque abode.
The house with a wasteland out the front door because the economy turned and buyers dried up. It was a beauty! But who wants to look at a construction dump every day?
Just a smidge close to the power lines, don't you think? You could SMELL them...though I suppose the mosquitoes wouldn't be so bad - might be like having your own industrial strength bug zapper!
For every gross, nasty, scary, hazardous thing we saw though, there were so many wonderful details to make up for it. Some of our favorites...
The takeaway from this exercise was a list of neighborhoods we love, and the knowledge that we're going to be just fine, wherever we land. There's a lot to love about Chicagoland, and we're just getting started!
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