Only freedom will do

edinburgher

gallygirl wrote: »

Mr GG like the heart in an ironic kind of way :rotfl:.

Me too. Reminds me to occasionally say things like 'we have been very happy here' to prospective purchasers.

Unlike the time when we went to view a house with a 10' security fence on one side and the sellers looked to the other side of the garden and said *those* neighbours are great. :rotfl:

Seanymph

First top tip: Mr Sea tends to swear DIY jobs to completion. From observation it appears that the correct tools and measuring have little difference to the success of a project, the liberal application of ever more imaginative foul language should be employed at increasing volumes. By all accounts that works a treat.

Secondly: I know you have already thought of this - but in case you haven't - the nearness of a babysitter will pale into insignificance in about three years compared to the desirability of the nearest school and the area of catchment for it.

Trust me.

Driving now to enable an easy entrance into a desirable school in 4 years (probably sooner, they seem to take the poor blighters at about six months now to get at the government money!)... will look like the best option in about two years

You may well want to have a look-see at where the best schools are - if not little schools, certainly big schools.

It's a whole new minefield for you to navigate!

edinburgher

Awesome seanymph, maybe I'm better at DIY than I think! :rotfl:

The babysitter is free and will save us c. 50% of mortgage payments a year in avoided costs for 2 years (£9,000). It's a material consideration.

We are on the case re. schools. We talk about little else :doh:

misscousinitt

On the DIY front I think it sometimes goes wrong because you are trying to be TOO precise. Good tools and materials are good - but sometimes it's good to 'wing it' and use your eyes (instead of the spirit level).:rotfl:

Our new house runs out all over the place, so there is a certain amount of DIY by eye - otherwise it would look wrong - even though its right.

Oh, and the swearing works too (DH would confirm that!)

12 viewings! That's fantastic! :T

MCI

AlexLK

edinburgher wrote: »

Dear Alex, you are a cheeky monkey

Cheeky monkey??!

edinburgher wrote: »

I am glad that you have appointed yourself as the official arbiter of taste, it was a position that had remained sadly vacant in the small town of Edinburgher. I imagine your home to be along the lines of Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, another style guru?

Glad to be of service.

After looking up images of Llewelyn-Bowen's house, I'm rather offended; there is most certainly not any painted furniture or murals within five miles of my place. :eek:

edinburgher wrote: »

I now believe the heart to be talismanic and will carry it with me throughout the world.

Get yourself to the doctors.

edinburgher wrote: »

DIY does not appear to be my thing and that frustrates me. I research the correct tools for the job, I don't skimp on tools or materials, I measure up carefully, apply the recommended techniques THEN SUDDENLY IT ALL GOES WRONG!!!! :rotfl:

Have you found this to be the case with most practical things or just household DIY?

edinburgher wrote: »

We have no objection to moving out of the city, but there are the stresses of commuting, costs and the environmental impacts to consider. Our inlaw babysitter lives near the city, so we can't go too far out. In terms of stress, we would be looking at commuting at rush hour, which is pretty grim in our neck of the woods. In terms of costs, it would be roughly double public transport.

12 viewings and counting.

You'd get used to commuting and would it really be stressful to drive baby 10-15 miles each way? I can understand wanting to avoid city rush hour though thinking about "environmental impacts" ... seriously? :eek:

edinburgher

Have you found this to be the case with most practical things or just household DIY?

I reiterate my cheeky monkey comment! :rotfl:

I am a very good cook, I have managed several minor electrical jobs without killing anyone and I'm a dab hand at aquarium plumbing. I can also accomplish a very nice decorative finish when painting etc. So not completely useless

though thinking about "environmental impacts" ... seriously?

Absolutely. Giving a crap about the planet is a win win situation. Public transport = better use of resources, less emissions per person (cleaner air), cheaper, passive (i.e. I can sit and read a book while the bus wends its merry way through traffic).

There are so many aspects of our lives where positive choices don't exist, it is nice to be able to embrace them in areas where we can make a choice.

Ps. Speculative offer received already

edinburgher

Second prospective offer mentioned, but wants a second look avec builder before continuing

velocity_girl

All sounds very positive edinburgher! I think by the sounds of it we live in very similar style flats so I am hoping ours will generate this kind of interest when we come to sell in a few years. Do you think you'll go to a closing date?

edinburgher

Definitely. 13 viewings, 2 already talking about offers, think that's the best way to maximise our return.

I am such a pessimist. I thought we'd struggle to sell

AlexLK

edinburgher wrote: »

I reiterate my cheeky monkey comment! :rotfl:

Having read what I typed back to myself, it does sound a bit rude, didn't mean to, sorry.

edinburgher wrote: »

I am a very good cook, I have managed several minor electrical jobs without killing anyone and I'm a dab hand at aquarium plumbing. I can also accomplish a very nice decorative finish when painting etc. So not completely useless

I'm absolutely useless with electronics.

I wondered if it was a case of ability with tools or just experience. In your case, I think it's experience and practise.

edinburgher wrote: »

Absolutely. Giving a crap about the planet is a win win situation. Public transport = better use of resources, less emissions per person (cleaner air), cheaper, passive (i.e. I can sit and read a book while the bus wends its merry way through traffic).

There are so many aspects of our lives where positive choices don't exist, it is nice to be able to embrace them in areas where we can make a choice.

Ps. Speculative offer received already

Don't think we'll ever agree about public transport ... I can count on one hand the amount of times I've used it (not counting steam train rides with son or planes) and see it as stressful and inconvenient.

Fantastic news re. all the offers though. I think you'll sell your place in no time, just don't let it go cheap.