to build or not to build (that is the question)

to build or not to build (that is the question).

This awesome post by my friend Lee could not have come at a better time, as my wife and I are stuck making this decision right now.

We recently moved from sunny Florida to Central Arkansas, which was a huge move, but definitely the right decision as, not only are we closer to family, but Arkansas is absolutely beautiful and we love it.

So, as we continue to get settled and try to get connected into the city and her people we’re faced with making a decision – do we buy a home in one of the historic neighborhoods and renovate to make it our own, or do we invest in some land that is perhaps a little out of the core and design/build our own forever home?

The decision is not easy and will take some time because, like the article points out, there are a multitude of factors that come in to play. For us the biggest factors have to do not so much with the house itself but with the lifestyle we want to have outside of the home, i.e. rural versus urban, dense versus room to roam, etc. As they say in the real estate biz “location, location, location” – it’s the “where” and “how” you want to live that can be the largest factors in home purchasing or building. If you’re a more outdoors kind of family, maybe you want to buy some land and build. If your social calendar is never empty, perhaps you want to be closer to the “thick of it”, as it were, to be part of the urban environment. Perhaps you’re like me and are somewhere in between?

Any which way you look at it, careful consideration and conversation should always precede the biggest decision and investment you’ll ever make in your adult life. Once you decide to start down that path, be sure to contact an architect and discuss your options. You’ll be surprised how the right design professional can help steer the discussion and help clarify your decisions.