A Place to Call My Own
After I wrote about enjoying my ongoing trial run of remote work, my company announced that employees can work remotely for the rest of the year. It’s not a permanent switch to remote work like Twitter, Facebook and a few other companies (yet), but it’s making me think more about other potential places to live and how that fits with my otium goals.
Lifelong Renter (So Far)
I’ve been a renter my entire adult life, throughout college, law school and my working years so far. It’s generally been fine, even if not ideal.
But, for over two decades, where I live has been dictated by where the educational and professional opportunities have been, rather than where I might want to be. With remote work becoming a possibility at more and more companies, including my current one, a new world of possibilities has opened up.
Current Situation
My spouse and I currently rent in a large city, for better or worse.
Advantages include:
- Proximity: Since everything is relatively close by, it’s convenient to see friends and family, get groceries, eat out, do activities and go on a run or bike ride. It’s not far from an international airport, so traveling is convenient as well.
- Options and possibilities: New restaurants are popping up all of the time and there’s no shortage of things to do.
- Affordability: Our rent, while high compared to the rest of the country, is lower than what our mortgage would be if we bought a similarly sized place.
But, disadvantages include:
- Noise
- Traffic
- Hard to get any peace and quiet
- We’re not cramped, but we could use more space, including outdoors
Possibilities
If we could live anywhere, considerations include:
- Financial (buy vs. rent; mortgage, insurance, property taxes, income tax deductions, predictibility)
- Urban vs. suburban vs. rural
- Maintenance hassles
- Proximity to cities and airpots
- Potentially more space
- Pride of ownership
More to come, as we continue to noodle on this!
Related Posts
About The Author
OG
I'm an in-house attorney who has been practicing law for over a decade. I started Otium Goals to blog about my thoughts and journey, as I pursue financial independence and otium.