Changed da house,
Changed da look.
BTW, my bathrobe's usually pink
and we don't have a fireplace.
Other than that,
it's pretty accurate...
Psst...click the words above to navigate.
Best viewed, unfortunately, in Internet Explorer.
Changed da house,
Changed da look.
BTW, my bathrobe's usually pink
and we don't have a fireplace.
Other than that,
it's pretty accurate...
Psst...click the words above to navigate.
Best viewed, unfortunately, in Internet Explorer.
After spotting a possible house deal, we decided to drop by upper Gungahlin (read: super ulu area) to have a look-see for ourselves.
It's eerily true, but Australia - or Canberra at least - is turning into another version of Singapore, as far as house prices go. The trend of packing in as many rooms as humanly possible into a smaller area, is also a parallel I've drawn. Hard-earned Aussie money doesn't seem to be able to buy much in the way of houses these days - house prices have doubled since 2 years ago. It's just been ridiculous.
I really don't see how we'd be able to afford anything nearer to the town centre. I'm thankful that I actually enjoy being a part of Whoop-Whoop ville, as far as the rest of Canberra's concerned.
Note to Singaporeans:
Whoop-Whoop = Super Ulu area.
Because the houses we were looking at today were all brand new, I think I've managed to inhale oodles of things that can only be bad for me. We viewed two different townhouses that have just been completed, and one across the street that was still under construction.
Here's a pic of the first one we had a look at:
Then we got brazen, and decided to check out a 4+2 bedroom corner unit that was selling at twice our budget.
And I had to fall in love with it.
We had seen this house many months ago, and Tony and commented aloud how perfect it'd be for us - if we had the money - because essentially it was 2 separate living areas on the same compound. Wouldn't it be nice, he had sighed, when it finally comes time for my mother to move to Australia, and she could live in the two bedroom granny flat that was replete with bathroom, toilet, full kitchen with dishwasher and gas cooking and heating - and our family would live in the four bedroom house.
We'd all live together, and yet have a house each. SUCH a pipe dream!
We know it's a huge investment and we're not sure if it's in any way within our grasp... but we feel pretty revved up now, I can tell you that.
Sigh, sigh, sigh....
Yes, it's been a while since I've reported anything from the marriage front.
Apart from the highs and lows of work, coming home to Tony everyday pretty much epitomises the gorgeous peacefulness I get here in Canberra. Yes, there can be the potential to get bored, although I maintain that boredom is a state of mind totally brought on by the self.
Still, these eight-and-a-bit months have seen a pretty predictable pattern emerge; we work weekdays, grocery shop Saturday, meet the church on Thursday and Sunday, have people over for a meal every two weeks, go over to someone else's for a meal as and when, curl up in bed with the laptop and watch The West Wing series for recreation.
Given the frustration both of us have been facing at work for the first seven months of the year, the monotony has been strangely welcome. I get the occasional urge to buy something pretty and pretty expensive, but other than that, I've been a good girl and have saved all that cash.
And so as it always turns out, once a state of equilibrium is more or less reached, something else comes into the picture to stir it up again.
Am NOT pregnant, in case you're wondering... but last night, Tony had a look at the AllHomes website and found a two-bedroom townhouse that we could actually afford to buy with what we earn now.
It's new (only a year old), within walking distance of the newest upcoming town centre and the bus interchange, and we calculated that the bank loan we'd have to take up would cost only $100 more than our current rent per month, to pay off. If we threw my income at it and lived within Tony's means, we'd pay off the mortgage in four years!
But what if we started a family before then?
We'd buy another house, rent out the first house so the tenants could pay off our mortgage, and start paying off the newer house over 30 years instead of squashing it into 6-9 years on my income. If I were to lose my income because of child-rearing, we'd have to think about this more closely... but it actually might just work.
Suddenly, the world of housing, investments, and all things complicated became that much more palpable.
We're still mulling over this one, but it's all very exciting...
I love you, my husband-of-two-third-year.
I love you, my wife-of-similar-timeframe.
One of the nicest things my mother-in-law said to us, was that she really hopes Allison and Geoff will be as happy as Tony and I are with each other.
That really, really made my day.
Singaporean Chick embarking on
Adventure of Lifetime with
Cute Aussie Bloke.
Crazy turn of events officiated
18th December 2004.
Online Communications Officer
~ Accomplishments So Far ~Still Married After 13 months
Attained Driver's License!
Manual one, too!
On my first try!
Found a Real Job
BOUGHT A HOUSE
Bought a coffee table
Climbed part of Mt Kosciusko
Chilled with Mum
Organised a house warming party
Good health
Good friends
Renewed relationship with God
"A house is a machine for living." -- Buckminster Fuller, designer/architect/inventor
Check out back entries,
predating the emergence of Mrs Velle