There's Still No Place Like Home

Today marks my eighth anniversary as a homeowner, and I still couldn't be happier with my decision to do that. And although I probably should have done it years before (I shudder to think of all the money I shelled out in rent during the years prior to this purchase), I"m very happy that I ended up in the house that I did, in the location where I am.

I just took a look back at my thoughts on this day five years ago, and I have to say that I'm still in complete agreement with what I said back then:

It hasn't been without its problems, of course, but I have to say that, all in all, homeownership is really cool. Mom and Dad come up every few months and do more stuff to spruce the place up, and even when I'm stuck mowing the lawn, it's not all that bad because I realize that it's my own place that I'm making look nice instead of somebody else's (I don't miss the rental house at all in that respect, not one bit).

And now that I've been there a while, it's gotten an identity of its own as a place full of music and friends. The hangs, the jams...I've never felt more at home in any other place I lived since the house I grew up in[...]

Here's to many more years of great times in this place...

And the lawnmowing even gets hired out now; that's another bonus: Living right next door to an über-handyman who also does nearly every lawn on the block, making it the best-kept one in the neighborhood, if I do say so myself.

And while the housing market in some places is cratering, the value of my house has actually gone up a bit (thanks, Firewheel!). The economic turmoil of the past year may have taken some of the shine off the idea that homeownership is the best way for a non-corporate entity to create wealth, but even if that's so, it's still been a great investment for me thus far.

And as I said in that old post, here's to many more great years under the roof of Casa de Kev!