Depending on what timezone you’re in, today (Friday, 11th June 2010) is the three year anniversary of our move from New York to London. And what an amazing three years it has been! There’s no easy way to summarise everything we’ve done in that time, but one thing is for sure: I’m really, really glad I kept the blog (mostly) up to date. It’s so awesome to be able to look back on what we’ve done, where we’ve been, who we were with, etc. Good times!

After three years in London, I can definitely say this: if you want a good espresso, find an Australian (trained) barista. Loads of people know this to be true; Taylor St Baristas (which conveniently is right near my work) even use it as their biggest drawcard! But shops (and signs) like this are few and far between, and when you’re always on the lookout for good coffee, this isn’t an ideal situation. Unfortunately, there’s really only two things we can do to remedy this -

1. Go into the cafe business and become a barista for a living; or
2. Move to a place where practically every barista is Australian trained

And, though I’ve always thought that I’d enjoy going for option (a), we’ve decided instead that we’ll go for option (b).

Yep, you read that correctly: we’re moving home. It’s the end of an era.

Why?

Well, for two reasons, really.

Firstly, as already explained, it’s for the coffee. I guess the other option would have been to move to Italy – we’ve certainly been there enough this year! – but frankly, I’m not impressed at the way they look down on you simply because you enjoy a little bit of milk in your afternoon brew. That, and we can’t speak Italian. And we don’t have visas. OK, Italy would have been a rubbish choice!

But, perhaps a slightly more important reason, is because Kristy is pregnant, and we’re expecting the first baby Thomas in late September! And, as much as we love being in London (seriously; I could live here forever), we always knew that when it was time to deliver a baby, we’d be doing it in Australia. Say what you will about Australia’s public health system – we’d take it any day, over the NHS.

And obviously, given that the entirety of our immediate family is back in Oz, we have a much broader support network available at our beck and call. (Not to mention all the free babysitting!)

Where?

Back in the second-half of last year, we kept our wonderful parents busy running around Brisbane, looking for a new place for us to live. After loads of false starts, Mom and Dad came upon a private sale at Everton Hills which ticked all of the boxes. Everyone who checked the place out came back with positive reports – including the building and pest inspectors – and so we put in an offer. And after an arduous loan application, many late nights calling Westpac in Adelaide, and a settlement period that didn’t seem to want to end – it all finally went through at the beginning of January.

Our new home! We can’t wait to get back and see it for ourselves – as well as go on a crazy shopping spree to fill it up with furniture!

When?

It was tough to decide when we could move back with “time to spare” (before Kristy’s due date), and yet still have enough time here to feel satisfied when we left. Eventually we decided on finishing up work in July, then moving back in early August – dependant of course on the doctors giving us the “all clear” for Kristy to fly. So far we’ve been very lucky, fingers crossed it all stays that way.

That only leaves us about seven weeks in the UK. Seven weeks! Eeeeekk!!!

After seeing the “overwhelming” results saying that size is more important than location when it comes to houses, Kristy and I headed out to Boondall tonight to check out another place that’s for sale. Mum and Dad also came along to give their opinion. And I must remark that we were all very, very impressed.

As my Cousin Natalie would say, it’s a “four-two”, meaning four bedrooms, and two bathrooms. It has brilliant entertaining areas, a great kitchen, a remote-controlled 2 car garage, and lots of space in the living and dining areas. It also has a really cool herb garden out the side, and a fully brick shed which is more like a mini house!

Each house has a few things that you don’t like though – but on this one the list was very minor. The paintwork in one of the bedrooms was terrible (it looked like it was only half finished, but apparently that was the look they were going for), and the outdoor hot-water system wasn’t insulated (one of Dad’s pet peeves). Something else that bewilders Dad (but he didn’t seem to notice) was that there are very few towel rails. Where do people hang their towels?

Anyway, we’re going to arrange another inspection on Saturday, to check it out in the daytime. Stay tuned for further updates!

Looks like popular opinion says that the size of the house (or “comfort factor”) is more important than the location. However, it was a very narrow win, with only 2 votes the difference. And to be fair, many people said that they’re both important. Adam summed it up the best, with this:

You cannot get a third party to tell you whether the grass is greener here or there. And if you dont have both, then you will always wish you had the other.

Good call. So really, I’m back to square 1. With this in mind, Kristy and I are trying to arrange an inspection of the house at Boondall. Stay tuned!

Kristy and I checked out another house yesterday, also in the Virgina area. It was beautifully renovated brick house, with quality paint, downlights throughout, a cool deck, brilliant kitchen, and a really solid fence. The only problems that we saw:

• Small pantry – Personally not a problem because I shop every day (sorry Nelly), but I’m sure that will change when Kristy is running the shop
• No outdoor storage – you’d have to add in a shed
• Fence isn’t dog friendly – but not too many mods required to fix this one up
• It’s a little small – besides the bedrooms, the whole place was probably a little smaller than my current house

Basically, what it comes down to is size & space versus position. As an example, we’ve also been looking at a place at Boondall. It’s $10k cheaper, is a much bigger house, and is built on a much bigger lot. However, it’s another 8 – 12 minutes out of the city by car, and at least another 10 minutes out by train (guessing).

So readers, when it comes to real estate, what’s more important – size, or position? Please, let me know!