Musings on My Year in Memphis: Jacksonville

I arrived in Jax yesterday around noon and promptly got oriented. First stop: Walgreen's for a street map (in other words, a Mapsco, in TX terms). Map in hand, I headed to some neighborhoods to see the houses I'd already listed out.

The first was a huge disappointment in person. The next one was better. It was just down the road from a great restaurant (where I'd had breakfast with a colleague during the interview trip) and super close to the river. The back yard was, well, less than ideal. But it'd work.

I found the third house, and, okay people. Come on. If a yard is "fenced," doesn't, or at least shouldn't, that imply the yard is totally fenced in? Well, this third house was fenced only about 2/3 of the way. Not going to work.

Sigh.

But this third house had taken me to the area I really was interested in---Riverside & Avondale. The two are side by side, and although I'm sure there's some rule, I don't know where one ends and the other begins. Anyway, one house would be fabulous, and its neighbor, not so much. But the area was indeed full of charm.

Tired, and starved, I found something to eat then made it back to the hotel to check in. There, I got online and looked up more prop mng companies and made a few calls. Ah ha! One said they had one property, but it was too late to set up a viewing. Still, I had the address in hand.

I drove by. Hmmmm. Right neighborhood, but you could tell, this house would be small and lacked some character. On the one hand, it was way in my budget, and it was one that would certainly motivate me to buy sooner rather than later. Hmmmm.

So I drove around the neighborhood more. From one street to the next, things could change. But it was that historic eclectic area I like.

By then, it was late and getting dark. I found some dinner take-out, and took that back to my hotel, getting a great night's rest.

Up early this morning, I headed for a Starbuck's and to buy a tape measure. (I now own three---my original, the one I bought last summer looking for a house in Memphis, and this one.) Then I headed up to check out a key to the house I'd seen from the outside the night before.

I found the leasing agency, and while waiting, I noticed one more property listed in the neighborhoods I'd narrowed down to. (I'd found one other online too.) They let me check out the keys to all three properties. I had two hours. I was off!

I started with the third house. It was on the other side of I-95 than where I'd been concentrating, but I was open minded. :-) (the rest of this will be about this first house. I went to see the other two, but nope, they just didn't speak to me like the first one did.)

Back to that property. I drove up, and it was cute! the neighborhood was this small pocked of homes, all from around the 40s and 50s, and most all of them, you could tell, remodeled. Almost all yards were well maintained, and all with my favorite: St Augustine grass. (makes sense, seeing as the city, St. Augustine, the oldest city in the US, is buy 30 miles south.)

I had a key to the back door, so I headed around back. Lovely! There was a HUGE tree in the middle of the yard, big red caladiums around that tree, and a giant philodendron over on a side. There was a deck too, ideal for my patio furniture and grill. As soon as I opened the back door, I saw the kitchen, and able to see into more of the house, did a double-check of the rent. yep. It was more than I'd planned, but it was indeed affordable.

The house is about 2100 square feet. It's listed as a 3/2, but really, that third bedroom would be an odd bedroom; there's a french door from the Florida room (that's what they call sunrooms here) into that room. Still, it'll be a great office.

The kitchen is tons better than where I am now. Granted, it's not perfect. But for rental it's a dream. And it's much better also than mine in Fort Worth. Come on---it's got an island! I love a kitchen open enough for people to circulate; after all, that's where we all end up, yes? (And I've committed to hosting a turkey dinner in November; this one will so totally work for that!)

There are some oddities. A lot of the doors have dead bolts. Um Hmmmm. Dead bolts. I asked, and the leasing agent isn't sure, but I will just get over that creepy factor. The common bathroom has lots of tile (circa 1950s), but it isn't obnoxious at all, even if I am not a fan of blue. At least the blue is the walls, and the tile, half up the walls, is more of a golden subdued peachy yellowish.

But ah ha! This one has TWO bathrooms! (My nieces are already excited about that! we had seven people at my house in March, with only one bathroom. that took organization!) The master bath is just off the master room, and it's tiny. But if I'm the only one in there, that'll be okay.

The entry, well, I still haven't figured that out. It's a room. Seriously, like ten by ten. But it's right there when you walk in the front door. It's too small for a sofa, really. I figure, though, it'll work for my piano.

The laundry room is this odd little room that you can access from the master bedroom or the Florida room. The common bathroom has a window in it---stained glass----and that window goes to, get this, the laundry room. Okay, so clearly we've made some additions to the house. :-)

But when I walked in, it felt like home. That's the same feeling I had a year ago, walking into my first place, And here too, I got to meet a neighbor---the one to the south. She was really nice and welcoming. Young and married and expecting and with two yellow labs. Very nice.

And of course, I went back to the neighborhood this evening. At first pass I was a little worried. There was no activity! Where was everyone? Didn't anyone around here have dogs? Jog? Anything? Hmmmmm.

So I found my way down the road to the nearby grocery store, figuring it'd be good to get a little fruit for the next couple of days. The cost of living here is higher, and I saw that today. While produce and meats weren't that much higher, canned goods and cleaners were indeed more expensive. Good thing I got a 20% raise for my new position!

It was close to seven o'clock, so I thought I'd try the neighborhood once more. (as I said, it's a small pocket of homes, and it prides itself on its home and area preservation.) Ah ha! Here were people! I met two different dog owners out walking, and they were nice enough to chat. They love the neighborhood, and they assured me people are out walking dogs, pushing strollers, etc. One guy had lived there fifteen years, and he said women jogged alone at 5am, and that wasn't an issue. Sure, there are home burglaries, but with proper steps (Howard barking, locked doors), that risked is lessened tremendously.

And so, I think I've found my home. I've made the decision to head back to the leasing agency tomorrow morning, and I'll check out the key one more time and submit my rental application. My criminal history is vacant, and my credit's excellent. I've also touched base with my HR contact, and she's faxing an employment & income verification in the afternoon.

Oh! And if you want something, ask for it! I realized, after I'd left the house the first time, there was no refrigerator. I swung back by, and indeed, none there. Argh. Well, could buy a refrigerator. Granted, I'd rather not, as when I buy a home, I want to be sure that what I buy will fit ideally in there. Anyway, so back at the leasing office, I sighed, "But there's no refrigerator." The manager was standing there, and she said, "Let me ask. If that's the only thing that'll keep you from this house, I bet we can work that out." I then asked, "I didn't see this property online, so I don't know, is yard service included?" She said, "I'll ask."

See, she had just been emailing the owner, replying to an inquiry. And the house has been vacant for six months. The owner is mo-ti-va-ted. And so, he's putting in a refrigerator! (not new, but that's a lot of money I don't have to spend!) AND he's going to continue the lawn care. Cool!!!

Ah---and this afternoon, I visited two nearby Ys, and they'll be perfect. They both have spinning, and one has an indoor pool and the other, get this, a rock climbing room! Neither's more than three miles away. One will be ideal for early morning (just over the bridge), and the other easily accessible coming home from work, without dealing with bridge traffic.

WooHoo! And so, as I said, I think I have home. This visit has been easier than last year. After all I haven't had to spend time moving boxes into an office, doing lunch with new colleagues, or driving here. I've had almost two full days already of looking, and that's less than I got to use last year. And it's not like I've been totally alone; I have already chatted with my traveling companion from last year, my sister, about these houses. And she reaffirmed with me: I need to have a place that's nice. And I need to have a house that makes me as happy as this one did on first look. It's time. It's the right thing for me.

As soon as I make it final, I'll post some pics.

This past weekend, my neighbors hosted a gathering to say farewell to me. What a great time we had!

We all gathered at Michael and Tabitha's house, two doors down from me. We enjoyed wonderful food, fabulous margaritas, and nice chilled brewskies while we kicked back on their huge front porch. (Sadly, Cole (Howard's bud) didn't make it; he was home with a stomach bug.)

Ray from two doors down one way, Michelle and Morgan, Chris and Christina and Jackson, and Sheila from across the street all came, and all brought some goody or another, and Michael handled the main courses---zesty quesadillas and some wonderful pork tenderloin. Tabitha made sure my margarita glass never was empty!

We laughed and talked and enjoyed visiting well into the night. I felt truly honored that they held a party for me, and truly sad to leave such wonderful neighbors.

As I sit writing this, having driven around Jax neighborhoods all afternoon, I wonder who my new neighbors will be. And as I reflect on some of the areas I considered for a rental house, I keep in mind that I got extremely lucky in Memphis to have found a rental in the midst of a lot of owners---people who really cared about our area. That might not happen again---immediately. I remind myself that my plan is to rent for only 8 to 18 months. After that, then I'll look for that place where I'll set those neighborly relationships to be a little more permanent.