I spent last week in Steubenville with David. (Aimee opted to stay home and spend the week with friends.) I was able to help David clean and set up his new office and emergency response trailer. I was also able to do some house hunting and see more of the town.
Luckily, I was able to find a house that really feels like "home" to us. Our offer has been accepted and I'll get the financing in place this week. If all goes well we should be able to close on our new place in about a month. It's a huge relief to know that we'll have a place to stay!! We also found a temporary apartment for David to stay in until we close on the house. Unfortunately, we have no way to transport some of our larger furniture so we couldn't even send a couch with him- he'll be using an air mattress and looking for a cheap used recliner or other chair. Poor guy will be living the bachelor life for about two months. He should be able to come home for one or two more weekends, which would help. I made sure he was well stocked on groceries and household items- thank goodness for couponing and a stockpile!!
Besides, the more I send with him now, the less I have to pack later!!
Steubenville seems like a really nice town. It's not as small as you'd think for only having 18,000 people. The downtown area is mostly banks and a few other businesses, but also a lot of empty storefronts and the slums are only a street or two over. (There's a lot of poverty down there.) Once you go up the hill and west (away from the river) everything gets a lot nicer. The main street through town is Sunset Blvd. and everything seems to branch off from it. There's some shopping along Sunset (Kroger, local grocery store, small shopping center, fast food) but also a mall, Walmart Supercenter, Big K, Lowe's, etc. really close by. (I don't think it takes more than 10 minutes to get anywhere in town!)
Our new home is literally 5 minutes away from the Mall and shopping- we didn't realize it but if you climb the hill in our backyard you can actually see the back of Lowe's!!
Our new neighborhood seems really quiet. We will be in a group of three cul-de-sacs so there's hardly any traffic, and it looks like there are quite a few senior citizens that live there. One of the new neighbors has a yard that looks like hoarders meets hillbillies, but thankfully we have a privacy fence up on that side!!
One thing I've noticed so far is that everyone seems really friendly. David keeps insisting the people we've met so far are nice because we are customers, but I think it's more than that. We've met realtors, waitresses, a home inspector, a banker, an apartment manager, and cashiers... and every one of them has been nice! (What are the odds that there wasn't a single grouchy one??!!)
Life seems more laid back and the pace of life is definitely slower. The neighborhoods are almost eerily quiet at 8:30 in the morning (late risers??) and no one seems to be in a big hurry to get things done. (We'll have to adjust our expectations in some situations to account for this!)
All in all, I think Steubenville will end up being a nice place to live. I may have to find a hobby or two (there's not much to do there) but I think I'll also be able to relax more and enjoy the moments rather than rushing through life just trying to keep up. As much as I'd love to stay in Cincinnati forever, I have to admit that I'm starting to look forward to moving. I'll miss the people here, but new adventures await!
Luckily, I was able to find a house that really feels like "home" to us. Our offer has been accepted and I'll get the financing in place this week. If all goes well we should be able to close on our new place in about a month. It's a huge relief to know that we'll have a place to stay!! We also found a temporary apartment for David to stay in until we close on the house. Unfortunately, we have no way to transport some of our larger furniture so we couldn't even send a couch with him- he'll be using an air mattress and looking for a cheap used recliner or other chair. Poor guy will be living the bachelor life for about two months. He should be able to come home for one or two more weekends, which would help. I made sure he was well stocked on groceries and household items- thank goodness for couponing and a stockpile!!
Besides, the more I send with him now, the less I have to pack later!!
Steubenville seems like a really nice town. It's not as small as you'd think for only having 18,000 people. The downtown area is mostly banks and a few other businesses, but also a lot of empty storefronts and the slums are only a street or two over. (There's a lot of poverty down there.) Once you go up the hill and west (away from the river) everything gets a lot nicer. The main street through town is Sunset Blvd. and everything seems to branch off from it. There's some shopping along Sunset (Kroger, local grocery store, small shopping center, fast food) but also a mall, Walmart Supercenter, Big K, Lowe's, etc. really close by. (I don't think it takes more than 10 minutes to get anywhere in town!)
Our new home is literally 5 minutes away from the Mall and shopping- we didn't realize it but if you climb the hill in our backyard you can actually see the back of Lowe's!!
Our new neighborhood seems really quiet. We will be in a group of three cul-de-sacs so there's hardly any traffic, and it looks like there are quite a few senior citizens that live there. One of the new neighbors has a yard that looks like hoarders meets hillbillies, but thankfully we have a privacy fence up on that side!!
One thing I've noticed so far is that everyone seems really friendly. David keeps insisting the people we've met so far are nice because we are customers, but I think it's more than that. We've met realtors, waitresses, a home inspector, a banker, an apartment manager, and cashiers... and every one of them has been nice! (What are the odds that there wasn't a single grouchy one??!!)
Life seems more laid back and the pace of life is definitely slower. The neighborhoods are almost eerily quiet at 8:30 in the morning (late risers??) and no one seems to be in a big hurry to get things done. (We'll have to adjust our expectations in some situations to account for this!)
All in all, I think Steubenville will end up being a nice place to live. I may have to find a hobby or two (there's not much to do there) but I think I'll also be able to relax more and enjoy the moments rather than rushing through life just trying to keep up. As much as I'd love to stay in Cincinnati forever, I have to admit that I'm starting to look forward to moving. I'll miss the people here, but new adventures await!
1 comment:
We are going to miss you so much, but I'm glad you are getting excited to move. I didn't know you guys were planning to buy a home. That's great!
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