House Hunters International - Poage Style!

Funny thing is that we actually did apply to be on the show.  We thought we had as good a chance as anyone until it dawned on us what a mess we must have sounded like.  Our application story went something like this:

...We've been living in the UK for the past year and we're moving to Australia in a couple of months, to a city I didn't really know existed until recently we have never visited.  At the moment we're living in Texas, but actually not living in the house we own.  The house we own is sitting vacant move-in ready, and we hope to have it sold or leased before we hop on a plane to move to the other side of the planet.  My husband and I with our two young girls have temporarily taken up residence in the entire 2nd story of my sister's home, along with her incredibly understanding husband, their two kids, and their very sweet, very blind dog...  Queue the circus music... (And all this during the height of the Holiday Season.  I can't imagine why HGTV wouldn't have contacted us to be on the show?)

But in the absence of the muscle of network TV, the details of our lives sorted themselves out through a series of what our family likes to call God things.  You know when those huge, looming problems on the horizon (that have the power to paralyze you if you let yourself think about them for just a second too long) are seamlessly solved in ways that couldn't have been more beautiful if you had scripted the outcome yourself?  God things.  For example: Our house in Texas sold in a matter of weeks -- Even in a down economy where perfectly-priced, beautiful property was sitting on the market for months.  We signed it over to new owners just days before our flight left.  God thing. 

Fast forward a few frames of our lives and we found ourselves in our temporary accommodation in Perth with just 2 short weeks until school was scheduled to start for the girls.  We needed to find a place to live.  PRONTO.  We desperately wanted to know where we would land, how much we would pay for rent, which area of town would we call 'home' and where the girls would go to school. The International house hunt was ON... and there were plenty of good things (and God things) in store for us. 

So... Here it is... Our own 'episode' of House Hunters International.  And just because we love you, dear reader, we're bringing it all to you today -- commercial free.  (But just a warning- you may still need a coffee break or two before you get to the end! This post is long.)  Here we go:

The first house we saw was very well priced for such a large space!  It sat right on the edge of Swan River in a suburb called Mount Pleasant.  Beautiful lake views from the windows of the house, and I especially liked the wrap-around balconies.  A paved hiking trail ran just between the house and the water's edge, and there were plenty of joggers & Mums-with-strollers getting fresh air and exercise along the trail.  The house was a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom with 2 living areas and plenty of garage space.  We liked that it included a refrigerator, a washer and some other useful pieces of furniture, but we were unsure about living south of the river and what that might mean for Collin's work commute.  The inside of the house was a little dated, but still lovely.  We meandered through the first level and immediately noticed something was missing... Where was the kitchen??  As it turns out, the kitchen was on the top floor with bedrooms down below.  ??  A little odd, but not necessarily a deal breaker.  Having the kitchen up high did give the best lake views to the dining and living rooms.  Perhaps that is what the architect had in mind?

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The next house was much smaller, but beautifully located just a short drive from white sand and blue waves.  This North Cottesloe 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom duplex was in catchment area for a great local school and looked very promising.  We loved the tropical look of the neighborhood, the gorgeous updates to the living area, and especially liked the idea of living in a quiet cul-de-sac where the kids could play without much interruption from cars.  But again...  something was missing.  Where was the bathtub??  Only one bathroom in the house and it had a sink, a toilet and a shower stall.  Hmm... Not ideal.  But a good, solid option for a place to live, assuming the girls could learn to shower at ages 3 & 5!

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Next, we visited a house that was a little less desirable 'on paper', as it was only a 2 bedroom/2 bath house, but we thought it might just have enough perks to overcome the space issue.  It was located in Shenton Park, which we had read was a gorgeous place to live, and was within walking distance of everything needed for life with kids: Great school, a beautiful neighborhood park with a playground and a lovely little lake, cafes, shops, bus/train stops nearby for Collin's work commute... But would 2 bedrooms be enough?  Our time was running short and this rental had yet to be listed on the market so we knew we had the inside track (God thing) if it turned out to be something we liked. In addition to the prime location, we liked that this house had an open floor plan, a modern kitchen, spacious bathrooms (both fitted with tubs and showers!) and huge walk-in 'robes', as they call them here, in each bedroom.  The only downside was the lack of any grass in the backyard which might limit where the kids could play, but then again... a nice green park was just one street over.  I did love that the entire side wall opened up to the paved courtyard with accordion-like doors. (Very unique!)  Another solid option.

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And, lastly... We traveled South of the river once again to a beautiful, leafy suburb called Applecross.  If not for the distance from 'the rest' of the city, this house seemed nearly ideal.  It may have looked quaint from the street, but it was actually the most space of any of the houses we had visited.  5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and 2 living areas.  Unfortunately there was no outdoor space at all, but the kitchen was large and included an 'American style' pantry.  The only potential deal-breaker with this house was the issue of Collin's commute to work.  Since it wasn't conveniently located to the city center, or to a bus stop or train station, our family may have needed a second car in order to live here.  (We were hoping to be a 'one car' family.) The only thing lacking that I enjoyed about some of the other options was the opportunity for any sort of pedestrian lifestyle.  Still a viable option!

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So many good choices!  For our family, though, only one of them seemed to make the most sense.  We applied, found out we were accepted, signed a lease and through the course of several small miracles (God things!) the girls were given places in the local school that was thought to be 'full' when we moved in.

Having lived in our new place for a little over 3 months now, it's beginning to feel a lot like home.  I look forward to posting 'settling in' pictures tomorrow.  For today, which house would you have chosen?