I’ve had a lot of time to contemplate whether or not I wanted to leave NYC…

Living in very tight quarters has left me with a longing for a little more space…and just certain amenities. So I’ve spent an hour or twenty daydreaming about all the things that I would want…

First off, the place. Ideally I’d like to be within walking distance of a town with a Main street. I’d like my main street to have:

  1. Movie theater/performing arts house
  2. At least two restaurants
  3. Tea Room
  4. gallery/historical society
  5. BOOK STORE
  6. Well stocked grocery
  7. Store for sundries
  8. Thrift store
  9. Arts and Crafts store
  10. Funky boutique
  11. shoe/sneaker store
  12. Library

In this perfect town, I would love if the venues had classes or lectures or some other way to learn things.

As for my house, I would love to have the following:

  1. screened in porch with a gas fireplace and big comfy chaise, and small herb garden
  2. Master bathroom with soaking tub, make up vanity, large rainfall shower (massaging toilet sear optional)
  3. Large master closet with a closet system
  4. nook for a desk and a chair with an ottoman as my workspace. Should have big window
  5. kitchen with adequate storage and counter space. Five burner stove and dishwasher. Dedicated space for my very heavy mixer
  6. Large utility closet/storage space

My yard:

  1. small flower garden where I can learn about flowers
  2. archery set because I would love to get better at this
  3. covered porch for me to sit under
  4. fire pit
  5. I haven’t decided if I want a spa system

Has pandemic made you think of moving somewhere else?

What are some of your dream items for a new abode?

Random Song of the Day:

115 thoughts on “My Perfect House”

    2. Exactly. This ridiculously small house for the 4 of us is in perfect walking distance to most things plus on the mass transit line AND has access to major highways where we are (SW Toronto, Canada) but the locked down endlessness of this pandemic has us wanting to move into a bigger house. We can’t afford bigger in our area so we look further away. Suburbs are out for the reasons you say. Next best thing is country…but how far to get what we want?

      I just don’t know what to do.

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  4. I’m not planning on moving any time soon (god willing!) but every now and again, I indulge in a similar exercise. I think for me, like you, having everything I need within walking distance will be a number one priority.

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  5. I already live in a place pretty well exactly as you describe. We both grew up in or near big cities, planned to always live in them for all the wonderful reasons you know about, and ended up here a very long time ago because of a job offer. It has become a welcome oasis!

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  6. So basically you want to move a house into NYC, seriously I love my small town even if I am not in walking distance to a ton of things. Maybe living in a smaller city with houses instead of all apartments would work, but you might find it prohibitively expensive.

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    1. It’s just a daydream to get me through too many people in too little a space. I will add my dreams also include me being alone…if that gives you indication of my mindset…

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  7. I really love where I live. Yes, it would be amazing to be able to walk certain places and not have to drive, but for someone that dislikes people and crowds as much as I do, that simply isn’t going to work for me. I really need my elbow room so to speak. I have a few “dream projects” I’d like to do with the house someday to get it a little closer to perfect (the craft room is finally getting done!), but we got really lucky to get as close as we did when we built. If it were just me, though, I honestly think I’d want something completely different as I think my priorities would be drastically different.

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  9. Let me know when you find that town! The walking distance is a big plus! House definitely needs a big porch with a swing!! We are actually looking towards retirement places to live so I have been doing a lot of thinking on this. Steve plans on retiring in about 6 years. His list includes a nearby golf course and biking distance to a beach. Mine includes access to hiking and mountains!! We have some compromising to do!! 🙄Lol

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      1. We definitely have all four seasons. And if you don’t like the weather, just wait a few days and it will change again!! 🙃 Seriously, if you own a home in NYC and can sell it, you’ll be shocked at what you can get for the same amount of money here. Taxes are definitely lower here than NYC. But, the Midwest is not everyone’s cup of tea.

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  11. I have moved so many times that even this pandemic has not made me wish to do so yet again. On the other hands, it is unnerving when people get in the elevator and are not wearing a mask. Hubby says tell them to wait for the next one but so far I have not done so. I heartily dislike confrontations. And it’s only happened a couple of times. When it does it does cause me a lot of anxiety. I don’t want to get Covid, and right now the cases have more than doubled in this city. It also makes me consider moving. HOWEVER, here I don’t have to shovel snow or mow the lawn. We have underground parking that is heated – a huge bonus in winter. So, weighing the risk factors against the horrors of moving I will stay put.

    Your dream home/town sounds delightful though, a place I’d love to visit.

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  14. I’ve given up on downsizing and cleaning out and have decided I need to buy a larger older (but renovated) house with a big attic to store stuff in……problem solved. What ever happened to attics?

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      1. I don’t know, so many houses have cathedral ceilings or the attic is just a trap door in a bedroom ceiling……that’s what mine is. I want a good old-fashioned attic with stairs!

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      3. We had one in our old farmhouse, which is why I have some antiques today, but I think maybe it could be insulated, as I’ve seen some loft-like renos in magazines. You need an older home though. I looked at an open house in my subdivision and it had a loft over the garage, and they used it for storage, but it was easily accessible a door upstairs. I was unable to have my garage sale in the summer, and someone said to me, why are you giving all this good stuff away and that comment stuck in my mind – it’s storage space I lack! Do we ever have enough?

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  15. Honestly, I could not live like you do. The main reason is that we have way too many kids! We also get antsy not having backup supplies of everything we use.

    My ideal place is smaller than what I have, since I clean and maintain it all. I’ve always pictured an old brick European style, preferably Victorian or Tudor. I need a window seat with sunlight. Books, definitely books. I hadn’t considered proximity to other things, although I wouldn’t want a lot of noise or pollution.

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  17. I agree with you that it is nice to live somewhere in walking distance to some stores. A Main Street soy sounds nice, but I’d take just walking distance to a Trader Joe’s or other similar market :). I would LOVE to leave California. I don’t like the big city I live in, I don’t like the always hot weather, I don’t like the governor, the high taxes, I could go on and on lol. I think I’d like to move to Tennessee. Perhaps a suburb of Nashville or Knoxville. TN doe not have state income tax, great for retirees. Hubby is not quite ready to retire yet. So we are here for now …

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  18. By the way, I found out about TN being a tax free state by joining a Facebook group called “Leaving California”. It has a mere 29.3K members lol. People post questions such as, “I’d like to live somewhere that has XYZ” and then other people give ideas of where they could move to. Perhaps you could find a Facebook Group called “Leaving New York” 🙂

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      1. Many people in TN like Franklin, a suburb of Nashville, about 45 minutes from the city. It is supposed to have a quaint downtown. I’ve not been there, but it sounds interesting. I should also think that a college town might have all the things you are looking for, but of course, it would also have a lot of undergrads roaming around.

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      1. I’ve been reading posts by people who have left California, and they say things like, “My house is 3000 square feet and my utility bills were $80 for the month” and then all the Californians pipe up and say they spent $300 or more, etc.

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      4. There is also another page, very similar, called “Life After California”. Both seem popular. I had to unfollow the pages and just look at them when I wanted to lol.

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  19. We just spent the last week house hunting. I think the pandemic has made us want to have a new environment because we’ve been stuck at home for eight months. Most of what was on your list, we have. You may want to check out Palm Springs, CA. Our house is two blocks from downtown, with a live theatre, restaurants, shops etc.

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    1. I have heard of no such plan. I know some have proposed a 10$ a day work from home fee, but thats just one way if dealing with budgetary shortfalls. But I do know my property taxes are going up. So there’s that.

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  21. Id’ stay put. Everywhere sucks right now.. Even The Villages (🎶 Florida’s friendliest hometown 🎵) had dueling Trump and Biden golf cart parades.. so yeah, it’s either boutique/theater/restaurants with humans around (which means problems)..or a small, deserted island made of rocks with no power for your stove…. and of course, no toilet.

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      1. Yeah…butt…😂…depending on the circumstances in real-ville, I could learn to make do. No lie I talked to my mom today (she’s 89) and she was all stressed out about a potential run on toilet paper. She told me she thinks she uses a roll a day..I was like “mom! there is no way you use a roll a day, but if you think you are using too much, just try to cut back a bit.” She said she would try and then matter of factly said, “well if I run out, I can always use corn husks..” I had to ponder that for a minute, esp because she was serious. I told her that it’s not the right season for corn so, for real- just try to use less..” Again..solo on an island, just rocks, no toilet..who needs TP?

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      1. I dunno–what if you sell all your stuff..get there and it’s just more of the same..plus covid..ugh. On an island of rocks, there are no surprises..it’s just you and the rocks…unless you bring your husband, then you need to pack stuff-like a solar powered Tv.

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  24. We are within walking distance of 1,2,4 sort of 5 (Ollie’s),6,7, 8 & 10 on your list. As for the rest all drives within 30 minutes including an airport, casino & amusement park. After 9 years in this 2nd FL 1 bed Apt I’d love a house, but took 9 years to convince my wife to want to upgrade, even if we still just rent a house or do a prefab community (and I don’t mean trailer park) or a bungalow would be ideal. Within the same general area of where we are now.

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  25. What a great idea for a post. I’d like to have a chalet in the Alps where I can learn to ski properly. I’d like to cook big meals for family and have a big log fire. I love being mum and looking after everyone. Ideally it would have a little garden that in the summer I can grow my veg. Now I just need a heck of a lot of money! Katie xx

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  26. We moved six years ago and still love our house, neighborhood, and community. We have two items from all your lists — a small flower garden and a covered porch. You definitely wouldn’t want to live in our house! There! That should help narrow your flights of fancy!

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  28. I did this exercise for myself back in the late 1980’s for a class project…we were living on the east coast / about an hour and 1/2 west of you @ the time. It took a little bit to get the details down on paper, as I recall, flash forward 20 years, and every last detail had manifest itself in my life. There is definitely something to be said for taking the time to identify specific goals like you’ve done. The more specific the better. (Just like you’ve done here) Thanks for sharing ! DM

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  29. Excellent post, LA. And, YES, it has. I often find myself daydreaming about moving to Europe. Where? No idea. Furnishings? Not sure about that either. Yet, I do think that in the next couple of years (3 to 5), I will find myself in a very different place, and maybe part of the world. 🙂

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  30. I love your dreams. I don’t think you would ever find anything like that, but having some of those things is certainly possible. I’m not a big city girl. We have one house in the suburbs of a medium sized desert town which is great for shopping needs. (Actually, being from NYC you would probably think it is small.) We also have a small house (cabin) in a mountainous area where you don’t really see your neighbors. Nothing’s perfect, but until the “Pandemic” I thought I had the best of both worlds. Now I try to be happy inside whatever 4 walls I happen to be in, and grateful that I can go walk the dogs in either locale. Keep dreaming. I understand lots of people from San Francisco are feeling the urge to move away and expand too. You are not alone.

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  31. Try here for dream homes. (They send me regular updates because I used to read the magazine for nature and conservation articles).
    https://www.countrylife.co.uk/

    It’s not the dream home that’s the problem, it’s the dream bank account.

    We are moving in a couple of years as our retirement plan – two things are important – near a big hospital and cheap enough to afford. I’m flexible on the rest! 🙂

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      1. Not at all – I sit and dream. There’s a nice one at the moment four acres of meadow with river frontage, annexe suitable for a poet, plenty of room and, if I win the lottery this week it will be mine! 🙂

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  32. If you find that town, let me know! But seriously, my husband and I have decided that we do want to move one more time, before we’re old enough that our only moving option is a retirement community. We love our home, but the yard is too big, and we don’t have any one room large enough for our whole family now that we’re adding grandkids to the mix. Plus, we’re tired of old plumbing and plaster walls (NEVER buy a house with plaster walls). We want a ranch, with a first floor master and a smallish yard, within walking distance to at least some of the things you’ve named. And I think after this stupid pandemic is finally over, we’re going to start house-hunting.

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    1. A first floor master sounds like heaven. I read a memoir about a woman renovating her house and it was the first time I ever found out anything about plaster walls. My understanding is that maintenance is tough

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  33. You might want to move to where I live. We have all of what you want around here. And a bit more. Just saying, as someone who has lived in cramped apartments in a high rises, it’s not bad out here in a funky suburb. Just make sure you pick one that has some character.

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  35. We ventured from our small Florida town today for an appointment. I think I found an ideal place for you. Winter Park, Florida. It has a Main Street with artsy and trendy shops, and there gardens and a variety of restaurants. I’m not sure about the theater requirement.

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