Would You Live On a Non-Working Farm?-update with photos
Sept 18, 2019 22:12:29 GMT
**GypsyGirl**, my3freaks, and 5 more like this
Post by Basket1lady on Sept 18, 2019 22:12:29 GMT
We just moved to Belgium and have been house hunting. We are down to two choices. Both have a ton of charm.
But one is an old farm house. It’s been completely redone, including one section completely rebuilt from the old bricks. But do I want to live on a farm? And by farm, I mean a gentleman’s farm. There aren’t any animals, tractors, manure, or anything like that. But there are several outbuildings, an (unused) pasture, and it’s about a kilometer out of town. There’s a Carrefour about 5 minutes away, so it’s not totally isolated. But the road in is little more than a paved goat path! However, that describes a lot of the roads in the area. The kitchen is a big old farm kitchen (with modern appliances), it has a beautiful terrace with large doors that open out into it, and my dedicated studio space would be huge, with old French doors leading into it. The bathroom in this house is really weird, with a room for the shower, a room for the toilet, and a room for the vanity and tub. Also not unusual—we looked at a lot of houses like that. ETA:mowing of the pasture and such is done by the landlord.
The other house is just outside of a little town. The commissary is about 15 minutes away and a small Carrefour about 10 minutes away. The house is a lot smaller, but even more charming, with huge old beams and a wine cellar. The train station is within walking distance. It’s on a side road (and when I say on, I mean about 1 meter off the road—also very common here). There is traffic in the morning and evening, but it was quiet during the day. And the windows are really good, so I couldn’t hear the road noise when a car would go by at 1 pm. The bathroom is all one room, but it’s a big step into and out of the shower and the tub is framed in as a large rectangle that’s tiled. So it’s not really better than the farm house, just different. This house is a lot smaller and I don’t have a dedicated studio. I’d have to have my space in the (very) large main room. But the bedrooms are just gorgeous with white plastered walls and beautiful huge beams from the rafters exposed. And there’s a whole line of closets in the hall that would provide more than enough storage. (Very few Belgian houses have closets).
I’m really torn!
Update: We didn't get the farm house. I slept on it and dreamed of baking bread in that great kitchen. We had 2 other viewings in the morning and went over to the housing office to put in our offer for the farm house. Another family beat us to it. It’s been up for rent since July and we missed it by 2 hours! Gah!
I’ll admit, I’m bummed. But the other house is quaint and the village is really cute. We drove over there today and looked around the town. I didn’t see a grocery store right there, but there is a patisserie, so I’ll get my croissants! I’m really disappointed about losing that studio, but I do believe things happen for a reason. We’ve been saying we need to downsize and this house is half the size of the house we had in the States. So it will be a good test run for us. DH is 20 minutes from work and Emma (therapy dog) will probably work at the school or hospital on base as well. So that’s not far away. And then there’s that train station so close—we plan to take advantage of that!
we see it again on Saturday to negotiate the terms of the lease, so I’ll take some photos then!
Update 2: 9/24–we signed the lease today on the smaller house. We will move in on the 11th because they need to reinstall the railing and bannister. They took it down for the last tenant’s move out and will reinstall it when we move in. I have no idea how they will get a washer and dryer up those stairs, much less an armoire, but they promise that it will be just fine.
We did some exploring this weekend and found that there’s a nearby town that is much larger than our little village, with even more train options. And there’s at least 3 grocery stores within 5 minutes of the house. I’m still working on dairy free substitutes, but we will get there.
But one is an old farm house. It’s been completely redone, including one section completely rebuilt from the old bricks. But do I want to live on a farm? And by farm, I mean a gentleman’s farm. There aren’t any animals, tractors, manure, or anything like that. But there are several outbuildings, an (unused) pasture, and it’s about a kilometer out of town. There’s a Carrefour about 5 minutes away, so it’s not totally isolated. But the road in is little more than a paved goat path! However, that describes a lot of the roads in the area. The kitchen is a big old farm kitchen (with modern appliances), it has a beautiful terrace with large doors that open out into it, and my dedicated studio space would be huge, with old French doors leading into it. The bathroom in this house is really weird, with a room for the shower, a room for the toilet, and a room for the vanity and tub. Also not unusual—we looked at a lot of houses like that. ETA:mowing of the pasture and such is done by the landlord.
The other house is just outside of a little town. The commissary is about 15 minutes away and a small Carrefour about 10 minutes away. The house is a lot smaller, but even more charming, with huge old beams and a wine cellar. The train station is within walking distance. It’s on a side road (and when I say on, I mean about 1 meter off the road—also very common here). There is traffic in the morning and evening, but it was quiet during the day. And the windows are really good, so I couldn’t hear the road noise when a car would go by at 1 pm. The bathroom is all one room, but it’s a big step into and out of the shower and the tub is framed in as a large rectangle that’s tiled. So it’s not really better than the farm house, just different. This house is a lot smaller and I don’t have a dedicated studio. I’d have to have my space in the (very) large main room. But the bedrooms are just gorgeous with white plastered walls and beautiful huge beams from the rafters exposed. And there’s a whole line of closets in the hall that would provide more than enough storage. (Very few Belgian houses have closets).
I’m really torn!
Update: We didn't get the farm house. I slept on it and dreamed of baking bread in that great kitchen. We had 2 other viewings in the morning and went over to the housing office to put in our offer for the farm house. Another family beat us to it. It’s been up for rent since July and we missed it by 2 hours! Gah!
I’ll admit, I’m bummed. But the other house is quaint and the village is really cute. We drove over there today and looked around the town. I didn’t see a grocery store right there, but there is a patisserie, so I’ll get my croissants! I’m really disappointed about losing that studio, but I do believe things happen for a reason. We’ve been saying we need to downsize and this house is half the size of the house we had in the States. So it will be a good test run for us. DH is 20 minutes from work and Emma (therapy dog) will probably work at the school or hospital on base as well. So that’s not far away. And then there’s that train station so close—we plan to take advantage of that!
we see it again on Saturday to negotiate the terms of the lease, so I’ll take some photos then!
Update 2: 9/24–we signed the lease today on the smaller house. We will move in on the 11th because they need to reinstall the railing and bannister. They took it down for the last tenant’s move out and will reinstall it when we move in. I have no idea how they will get a washer and dryer up those stairs, much less an armoire, but they promise that it will be just fine.
We did some exploring this weekend and found that there’s a nearby town that is much larger than our little village, with even more train options. And there’s at least 3 grocery stores within 5 minutes of the house. I’m still working on dairy free substitutes, but we will get there.
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