Househunting

David wakes up on his day off to find me standing over him , "This house is too big, we're moving."

"Can I shower first?", he says.

We have lived in a 3 bedroom house since the mid 90's. It may seem like overkill for a couple with no kids, but we have always used the space. We have had friends that lived with us for extended periods of time, for various reasons, and we also love to entertain. It seemed that everytime we hosted a party, poker game, whatever, people have always stayed the night. Granted, other than a year spent in Dallas, we have always lived, either in the country, or in a small town a little ways from a city so our friends had to drive a few miles. When we moved to Mazatlan, we automatically went for the 3 bedroom category, and along with that, good parking and some sort of a yard were our priorities. We lived in a wonderful little house in El Centro for a couple of months while we looked for a permanent place to live, located 2 blocks from Plazuela Machado. We loved the place, and we loved living there, but it was a 1 bedroom, no parking, 5 blocks from the beach. Now, Chili the Wonder Dog is very, very active. She requires, at minimum, an hour of ball chasing a day, otherwise she is a hyperactive mess. Just taking a walk, no matter how far, does not even warm her up. She will also not do her 'business' on concrete, she requires something natural; grass, dirt, sand. Now, 5 blocks to the beach may seem pretty close, and I thought it was, until one morning came around that was very stormy and I was really sick. Five blocks in the pouring rain seemed like miles, and I had to hop a cab to get back so I could make the bathroom in time. Luckily, we found a great house in El Cid. It has a small yard, pool (which made me happy--this was to be the first time since I was 16 years old where I did not have a car or a job-I was worried about getting bored), 3 bedrooms, and right out our back gate is a par 5 hole. Now, normally, we are not your gated community type of people, so this was kind of a stretch. But then, this is Mexico, so it's not your average gated community. Case in point- there was a letter distributed about a month ago - " dogs are forbidden on the golf course, but if you do have a dog on the course, please pick up after it". It does have advantages, for one,we rarely lock the house, except at night or if we leave for a day or more. The guards are great, very observant and helpful. We came in one night with a pickup load of stuff from our storage in Nogales. Within 5 minutes of us pulling in, there were 4 guards to help us unload. What would have taken David and I, a couple of hours to do, they got done in about 10 minutes and they would not take a tip. I did make a big batch of cookies the next day and took them to the guardhouses. Another thing we love about it, is the golf course behind us. After 5 pm or so in the evenings, it becomes a park. Juan and his friends next door set up goals and play soccer. Maybe 3 houses further is more kids and a trampoline they pull out onto the fairway. There is also a gentleman that comes out with his two boys to hit golfballs up on the green. Add to this, several kids and dogs from other houses that come over to play with one or both groups. It is fun! There are lots of dogs that Chili plays with, but probably her best buddy is a big, brindle boxer named Tiger. If we are not out on the golf course as soon as he is, he will come to our back gate, flop those long, uncoordinated legs over it and bark until I let Chili out. We are also located on a cul-de-sac, so it is a very quiet spot, with little traffic of any kind. So, you ask, why do I want to move? First off, we have yet to use the third bedroom at all. Second bedroom, yes, but the third, no. Also, it would be one thing if we were renting a house full of our stuff. Well, we have no stuff. We sold all of our stuff when we moved to Mazatlan, so I have a 3 bedroom house full of someone elses stuff. That's no fun. Another thing is, most of the time I have the USS Ford, but when I don't, I have to walk 15 minutes to the front of El Cid just to catch a cab or bus, or find any type of store or resturant. I know that is not too far, but somedays it is just irritating. So, I am on the hunt for some new digs. This time a 2 bedroom, but we have to stick with the secured parking and a yard of any size and/or within 1, maybe 2 blocks of a park, beach, or any type of green (or brown) area. We are really not picky about the neighborhood, to a point, of course, although we would LOVE to be back in El Centro. Of course, parking and green areas are hard to come by there. Wish me luck, it seems I will need it. It is weird this year, usually by now, rentals are flooding the market, with the snowbirds flying the coop, but for some reason it is not happening yet. I have had a realtor friend helping me look and she is even shocked at the lack of rentals available for this time of year. Luckily for us, we are in no hurry, so I will keep plugging along until the perfect place appears!!