New House!

Ed and I flew out to Boulder last week to look at rental houses, and after much ado signed a lease! Our home for the next year is a multi-story house in North Boulder, a stone's throw from the Hawthorn Community Garden and the North Boulder Recreation Center. The neighborhood is quiet and very safe, and we're a really easy bike ride (and an even easier drive) away from several grocery stores, restaurants, and other useful amenities.

There aren't a lot of good rental options in Boulder if one is determined, as we were, to live in a house and not an apartment, townhouse, or condo. We found plenty of houses that would be perfect for college students, but Ed and I wanted something a little less grungy. Of the few properties that fit our criteria, we narrowed it down to two, but were unable to negotiate a reasonable price with the owner of the first one. Luckily, we're really happy with the house we ended up renting. The people who own it are really nice and I think they're as happy to have us living in their house as we will be to live there.

Sadly, the trampoline is not included in the rental terms.

The house has a large front yard and a beautiful front deck that wraps around two sides. There is a fenced dog run along a third side of the house. It has five bedrooms, which means Ed and I will each be able to have our own offices! We'll use the tiny bedroom for storage (important, since the house doesn't have a garage) and the fourth one will be a spacious guest room. There are also four full bathrooms, a nice living room with a wood burning fireplace, and a sound-proof media room. The kitchen has lots of counter space and lots of natural light. There is a wonderful skylight in the master bedroom and space for a sitting area. All of this costs less than half our current rent! We plan to move in on October 3rd.

In addition to checking out the housing market, Ed and I got day passes at a popular gym and Ed fell in love with their salt-water lap pool. We also met up with two high school friends of mine and a friend of Ed's from his rowing days who all live in the area. We test drove a Subaru CrossTrek, which is a strong contender for Ed. And we checked out a few more restaurants, all of which were impressive. We even had time for a hike on the Long's Peak trail near Estes Park!

While it will be really hard to move away from New York, I'm really looking forward to living in this house for the next year!