If you believe conventional wisdom in America, I’m now living The American Dream. In February, the bf and I purchased a home just south of downtown in an “up and coming” area of Nashville. What that means is that it’s not been fully gentrified and I’m hoping that we can keep it from going the way of so many other neighborhoods where everyone blue collar or working class gets shipped out. One of the big draws for me was the fact that the community is small and there have been some very big strides made when it comes to maintaining a stock of affordable housing. That said, I feel we’re on the edge of fast change and the siren’s song of easy money from yuppies (I know I’m one of those yuppies) will be too hard to resist. Development here is relentless and I won’t recognize the street in another 18 months.
For years I railed against homeownership. In my mind it was a dream killer that tied up your money and chained you to one location, dooming you to a life of unfilled ambitions and sad complacency. Perhaps my younger self was a touch melodramatic. I don’t feel like my soul is dying now that I’m a home owner, but you never know what will happen with the passing of time. Joking aside, it’s been much better than I expected.
Pros
- I absolutely LOVE our location
- We have a place “of our own” and roots aren’t as scary as I imagined
- The rooftop deck is full of potential!
- Our neighbors are all fabulous
- I can ride the bus to work and bike/walk to a bakery, coffee shop, and sandwich shop with a great beer collection
- The gym is walkable too
- We have a beautiful kitchen that I pretend to use often
- WE ARE GOING TO GET GOOGLE FIBER THIS YEAR
Cons
- We sacrificed location for space and I secretly would not be opposed to another room
- The alley behind the house is still used as a dumping ground sometimes
- We don’t have a garage or carport
- House maintenance costs frighten me
- We actually own this place and have to keep it up
- People park illegally which makes getting out of the complex challenging from time to time