Sometimes I love my house. I’m getting to the point where the labor has all begun to pay off, and it’s starting to feel like home – the maple tree, the garden, the pine floors, the sun room, are all cozy and familiar. It’s a sanctuary for our four cats, my husband and me.

But I’ll be honest: sometimes I hate it.

Sometimes I get to thinking that without a ~$3,000/month mortgage, I could do a lot more with my money. Without all the maintenance that needs to be done, I could do a lot more with my time.

It’s not realistic to consider moving/downsizing. For one, my husband is against it, and marriage is, if nothing else, a compromise. For a second thing, try finding an apartment that will let you have four cats. Moreover, try living in a small space with four cats. No way. For a third thing, selling my home – let alone selling it for enough to cover the remaining mortgage – would be challenging or impossible.

But that doesn’t stop me imagining it.

I hadn’t read all of Early Retirement Extreme’s 30-Day Makeover, so I became engrossed in that this morning. In Day 1, he explains his method of finding sustainably-inexpensive housing. Here’s a quote:

I think there are three things that matter.

  1. Location relative to your work.
  2. Location relative to your grocery outlet.
  3. Cost.

Jacob then walks you through using Craigslist and Google Maps to find some housing options that meet these three criteria. I read the article with interest, but feeling a little crestfallen that none of this was really relevant to me. Then I read his little note at the bottom of the article: Even if you are not going to move, try going through the craigslist/google maps exercise anyway just to realize that it is possible.

Well, sure, why not. Here I am killing time until my next assignment, anyway.

Since I currently work in Bedford, New Hampshire, I went to NH Craigslist to begin my search. I went to housing, typed in “Bedford,” and entered in the parameters of $400-$700 that Jacob recommends (I have to admit, I was very skeptical about this limit, since I don’t live in a particularly inexpensive part of the country, but again, killing time). I didn’t specify a number of bedrooms or the need to allow pets. In this imaginary downsizing world, I don’t have four cats, and pets do significantly limit your housing choices.

One of the first acceptable listings I found (i.e. not for a single person, not furnished) was this one, a walkout basement in someone’s home with a bedroom, living area, and bath. I had no idea if it was anywhere near where I worked or not, so I turned to the power of Google Maps. Jacob recommends that if you live somewhere where you can bike to work year-round, you should limit the distance from work to 6 miles; 3 miles if you live somewhere with a winter, so that you can walk the route if necessary. I, of course, live in the cold Northeast, so 3 miles was the limit.

Good news! Google Maps’ walking directions to my workplace clock in at 2.4 miles. The most difficult part, I knew from experience, would be the walk along Rt. 3, which is a divided highway with scant sidewalks. It was doable, though. Ironically, the walk would take 49 minutes, which is exactly the amount of time Google estimates it takes to get from my current home in Massachusetts to my workplace by car :)

Total time elapsed in doing this search? Five minutes.

What’s my point? Jacob’s way of doing things is feasible. It’s not for me, right now, but it was an interesting thought experiment. Maybe some day the markets will perk up, I’ll have paid down more of my mortgage, I won’t have four cats, and my husband will be sick of stacking wood and changing air filters. Such a move might be more reasonable then.

But for now, I’m content.

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