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Thanks to a nudge from @conorsen, some initial thoughts on how homeownership has felt different than renting. Three big themes for me:
- security
- agency
- timescale
- security
- agency
- timescale
The first one is easy. It’s *MY* house. I’m not worried about my landlord asking us to leave on 30 or 60 day notice in a pandemic. This brings so much peace of mind to the entire family, I’ve seen all of us be less chippy with each other.
It lends itself to agency too. I am much more in control of my life circumstances. But it extends to smaller decisions: I’m excited about what I can make of my home from the walls to the lawn. Flip is I’m even more annoyed by the stuff I don’t like because I know I can change it.
Now timescale: I could never *plan* in the rental because it was either a 1-year horizon or month-to-month. Now I’m thinking about big capital investments (appliances, solar panels, cars etc.) and the implications for my job and family. These things cascade down.
Some things are more agonizing and drawn out, like changing Noor’s carpet. We requested the last landlord do that and they hired a guy to put in some cheap floor. Now I’ll probably spend time thinking about the material, the wash, and whether to do it myself.
I’m definitely in a honeymoon period at the moment but I did not expect it to affect my psychology this much. It felt very much like a “we have to do this” decision and now It’s changing my outlook in subtle and obvious ways. (I’m still not a NIMBY, don’t worry).
