Third Time's a Charm -- Our City House                                  March 2,, 2002

Sadly, we've backed out of buying the lovely, remodeled house in the suburbs that I wrote about last time.  We discovered that there were approvals to build a two-story townhouse right adjacent to "our" property line.  This house would have over-shadowed our place, reduced our privacy and spoiled our views.  Still, I loved that place and struggled with the decision to not proceed (the house was so US,) but in the end we chose to move on.

So it was back to the drawing board.  As our time in Christchurch was getting short -- we leave in less than a month -- we figured that unless something sounded really good, we'd just wait until next "summer" to become homeowners.  And while we were at it, we'd wait for that city pad that we've been wanting all along. 

And then we found it!!!  (OK, not IT, but almost IT.)  We had to make a quick decision; the place went into the listings on Thursday, we saw it on Friday, and by Saturday there were multiple offers.  We weren't ready to go over the asking price, but as our conditions were minimal (no financing approvals, no need to first sell a house, etc),  we got a call on Sunday letting us know that our offer had been accepted.  

Our new place is near the heart of CHCH city:  two blocks from the Casino and Hagley Park, near the museum and the botanical gardens.  It's three blocks from the new Art Center, and there are cafes and coffee shops just  a block or two away.  Cathedral Square, Christchurch's tourist center, is 5 blocks away and it'll be a short stroll to the many events that punctuate city life in January and February. 

So, "What's the place look like?" you ask.  Our new winter (Kiwi summer) home is a stand-alone, 3-story townhouse in the center of a gated complex containing about 30  mostly-attached 2 and 3 bedroom units.  One corner of the complex is built into the shell of two historic buildings   These buildings do a great job of shielding our place from street noise.  The complex has a small community pool; this photo was taken from our window.

Our townhouse is 9 years old, has four bedrooms and meets our bathroom requirement -- there are three, one on each level.  The main living area is on the the second floor, which also contains the master bedroom, the smallish but adequate kitchen, the nice open living/dining room and a good-sized deck.  The place is bright but currently painted a bit blandly; I'm ready to go colorful, so we'll be consulting a decorator to help with paint and furniture selections. 

Unfortunately, the sale won't close until after we leave New Zealand, so we can't buy much now.  But the house will be cleaned and painted in the meanwhile, and we'll likely order a table and bed for delivery in October; that'll allow us to move right in when we return.  Then, like most  of you, we'll be coming back "home" after our next 7 months of travel.  For us, that'll be quite a change.

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