I never thought I'd be a homeowner, but buying my house is the best decision I've ever made by Elizabeth Licata on Mar 1, 2018, 10:39 AM Advertisement
 Nearly two years ago, my husband and I did something I really never thought we'd do: We decided to buy a house. After two decades of frequent moves, job changes, and bouncing around from New York to Beijing, and then to Heidelberg, Germany, we settled down in the Midwest and bought a gorgeous little mid-century home not far from where my husband works. I never really thought I'd buy a house and become a homeowner. I loved the freedom of renting, and buying a house is an enormous financial expense and responsibility. But every time I walk through the front door, I still think buying this house was the best decision we ever made. Here's why: SEE ALSO: 10 hard truths no one tells you about buying a house We're going to be here for a long time  My husband and I moved around a lot over the past couple decades, so buying a home was never even an option for us. A change of jobs would have meant we would have to relocate to another city or country on short notice, and that would have been impossible if we'd owned a place. Even owning furniture made the process more difficult and expensive. When we settled down with more long-term career plans, we knew it was also time to find a stable home.
We have a kid, and she likes it here  The last time my husband and I made a big move, we had four suitcases and dozens of books. When we moved back to the US four years later, we also had a two-year-old. Having a baby made me more interested in the idea of stability and familiarity. My parents have lived in the same place since before I was born, and even though I'm a grown adult, I still walk into their house like I own the place. Buying a house meant our daughter would always have a place to call home, friends who lived nearby, and the opportunity to go to school in a great school district.
This is the house we picked, not the first house we could get into  Prior to buying this house I spent decades renting — and it felt like I was playing a hyperspeed game of musical chairs. There always seemed to be more renters than apartments, and I was always in a panic to find a place — any place — and sign the lease before it disappeared. Back then I considered myself lucky if I found something close enough to work and only a little bit over budget, never mind an apartment with everything I wanted inside. When I started looking to buy, however, I made a shopping list of everything I needed and everything I wanted before I took a serious look at my options. I toured dozens of different homes, all of which had some but not all of the qualities I wanted, before deciding which was best for my family. While I still didn't get everything I wanted, I had an incredible array of choices I had never felt I had while renting.
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