One of the questions I remember my father-in-law asking after giving him a full tour of our townhouse was, “Is this what you always imagined your house to look like?”
I don’t know if he was confused by the layout or if he was truly mesmerized but I gave him the short answer. The short answer was, “Yes. We always knew we wanted to live in the city so a townhouse seemed the most fitting for now.”
We did what most people would do when they’re ready to purchase a home.
Google.
We googled homes for sale in Houston and went straight to the main source, Zillow. We began this process long before we actually closed on our home. It wasn’t until late 2018 that I came around to the idea of finally purchasing one. Here’s a fun fact – Jose tried convincing me on purchasing a home twice before coming to the conclusion it was time. I’ll save that story for later. Anyway, we started exploring styles, color schemes, exterior/interior finishes, and of course, price.
On top of this huge decision, we were debating on the location. I am not referring to whether we would purchase inside or outside the loop (aka 610), it was definite we would stay inside the loop. I am referring to moving back home, Bryan-College Station area.
After weighing the pros and cons, we decided to stay in Houston, the city we love and adore. (Dallas, you still on top tho.)
So what’s a townhouse? Today, a townhouse (or townhome) is a stacked home of two or more floors. Sometimes they’re attached to other townhomes but it’s also common to see them standing alone. In Houston, I’ve only seen them in the city.
We liked the idea of purchasing one for several reasons but the main reasons were: our commute to work would be short, we would stay close to everything we enjoy, and it was time to stop throwing away our money on rent.
Time to answer the big question – what is it like to live in one?
Well, it’s a great starter home for us. Thankfully, we are both active people so it wasn’t hard adjusting to the many existing staircases. However, on a bad day, I may say otherwise. For example, when I exercise my legs or when an injury occurs. Woof – it sucks getting old! Anyway, our guests will probably beg to differ. I think they hate the stairs – haha!
Personally, I am enjoying the split living spaces. I love that I don’t need to worry if my bed is done or not. Oh you know…out of sight, out of mind. If guests come over on short notice, they can just hang out on the second floor where the main living area is located and never find out about the mess upstairs. I love the openness this floor has to offer as well. That’s so easy for me to say though, we come from apartment living so anything larger than 500 square feet is pretty sweet. This main living area also has a bathroom so it’s super convenient for hosting.
We have yet to set-up our office, but once that’s completed, I think this will help from getting distracted while working. Don’t get me wrong, I can definitely get work done at home but it’s so easy to stop for a break and do chores in between. I am also guilty of playing tv in the background so stopping to watch bits and pieces of The Bachelor certainly doesn’t help on being productive.
A huge aspect we love about our specific location is our incredible views of downtown. I am looking forward to furnishing our terrace to begin having date nights upstairs! I remember when we used to live in The Woodlands, one of my favorite things to do was having brunch or dinner dates on our little outdoor balcony. It was oh-so-sweet! We have yet to decide where to purchase furniture so hopefully we can agree to something before spring arrives.
Onto the not-so-fun stuff…
Well, let’s be real. There are four floors. FOUR floors. We went from 500 to over 23902903029 square feet. OK, OK, I am exaggerating. But seriously, it has been exhausting furnishing the place. Not only am I faced with decisions on which furniture to buy but also how to decorate. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fun and all. But we have so much going on right now, it’s hard keeping up with everything. This is why I gave myself permission a long time ago that I would take my time. I am not rushing the process and everything will be okay. And guess what?!? Everything IS okay 🙂 My sanity is still with me so I am thriving!
I don’t know about you but I have husband that’s pretty involved. We consult with each other about (mostly) everything. I always think about him when it comes to picking out home items and I can say he does the same for me. So what does this all mean? Decisions take twice as long sometimes. We have similar taste in a lot of things but we don’t always agree on everything. Man, that would be a bliss. As a matter of fact, we’ve had several disagreements in the past about where to purchase stuff. I am glad he’s finally letting me take the wheel so those disagreements don’t happen as often. God bless.
So if you’re thinking about purchasing a townhome, I think they are perfect for couples who enjoy the city life.
I have yet to meet all of my neighbors but I know there’s a good mix of us. Some are newlyweds, empty nesters, single, you name it. I have yet to see children in our neighborhood. But don’t let this stop you, I’ve seen plenty of nearby neighbors running/walking with small children. I am sure they’re from nearby townhome communities. And of course we have thought about when our first baby comes, we already have a plan in place for our future little. As our family grows, you guessed it, we will be purchasing a bigger home. Until then, this is our home.
As always, if you have any questions, you can email me at sonia@mrsprofresh.com or send a DM on Instagram.
