we took it!

We took the house in Port Credit!!

It was a pretty crazy day yesterday. We left our place at noon, and got home at 1:00 a.m. - but were only in Port Credit for an hour! Most of the day was spent getting to and from the airports on both ends.

But we're so fortunate to be able to go to Toronto for a day, even to be able to see a place before we move in. Most immigrants don't have that option, and if we were moving to, say, Vancouver, we wouldn't have it, either.

We went to Port Credit predisposed to like the place, and assuming we would take it. (Hence one month's rent in Canadian currency in our backpack!) We both knew that unless there was something very wrong with the house, we weren't letting this location slip away.

We met the owner at his place, asked some questions, gave him some additional information about ourselves, then followed him over there. Walked around the inside and outside, murmured and consulted, shook hands all around, signed an agreement, and handed him an envelope of cash. Ta-da!

Very positive things:

The location is amazing. It's half a block from the Lake, on a cul-de-sac (no through traffic). At the end of the street there's a little park, an entrance to the walking and bike path - and the Lake. In the other direction, it's in easy walking distance to the Port Credit GO station and various stores. It's exactly the location I dreamed of, but I wondered if it was only wishful thinking on my part.

Since it's an older house, it's on a lot of land - almost a half-acre.

And it's a nice little house. Two decent-sized bedrooms, one tiny bedroom, good-sized living room and dining room, a nice big kitchen with new appliances, finished basement, new carpet.

We now know when and where we are moving. We don't have to break our lease, or ask for an extension, or deal with our current landlord at all. Our new landlord seems like a really decent guy - very friendly, and also very professional. He also lives in Port Credit, about 10 minutes away.

Not as positive things:

The bathrooms (one near bedroom, one in basement) are tiny, with very old fixtures. After sharing one small, old bathroom for all our time together, I thought Allan and I might graduate to a more luxurious bathroom arrangement. This is not to be.

There's not a lot of closet space, but on the other hand, there's a lot of storage space, with a basement and an attic-crawl space. We're not sure how we'll configure the space yet. We might put Allan's office in the basement, and use the tiny third bedroom as a big walk-in closet.

Hmmm... I can't think of anything else on the negative side! I'm sure they'll come up, but for now, it seems perfect.

So here's the plan. I spend all of June and July writing Ancient Civs. I spend the month of August sightseeing in New York and packing. We move at the end of August.

We are almost there.