We've been househunting. And wondering whether we are putting the proverbial cart before the horse, because we haven't resolved the philosophical questions that we brought with us when we came down here a couple of weeks ago: what about the terrible politics here? What about our aging parents? What about the isolation of living on an island?
Well, we started looking at houses anyway, those questions remaining largely unanswered. Maybe they're not answerable, or maybe we won't ever answer them. And we have found a couple of houses that we are absolutely in love with. Those houses carry a pretty big price tag, and we're not planning to sell our home in Baltimore for a while, so that would mean two sizeable mortgages and a lot of debt. And that would further mean taking all the remaining vacations of our lives, most likely, here at Seabrook. No more dreams of Italy or of returning to France or Spain. Where we've been is where we'll have been by the time we die, because there won't be extra cash around to finance those big trips anymore. Am I ready for that? For all my remaining vacations to be in South Carolina? Never to see Rome?
The house we love most is big, it sits on a lagoon, it has a Wolf 6-burner gas stove and hardwood floors throughout the house, marble bathrooms, and four bedrooms. All that while still looking beachy and informal. Huge palm trees line the driveway and the lot size amounts to just about an acre, most of it natural and untamed. This dream house has three decks, two fireplaces and a screened-in porch. There's an enormous two-car garage with an enormous 650-square foot room on top of it which could be used as an office for Mr Big or, since it has a modern, full bathroom and a small kitchen area, as guest quarters or an "in-law apartment."
But who would be our friends? Would we just be sitting in our snazzy house looking at each other and the cat and the dog? Would our families visit? Would our politics shift? Do I really want to live in a state that still flies the Confederate flag at the statehouse?
But who would be our friends? Would we just be sitting in our snazzy house looking at each other and the cat and the dog? Would our families visit? Would our politics shift? Do I really want to live in a state that still flies the Confederate flag at the statehouse?
