Bang for your buck.

I'm a pretty huge HGTV fan, and this week we were in Carson City for my own version of House Hunters.

We've been looking online at places to rent pretty much since Mr. TPG accepted the job. The rental prices in Carson City had me jumping up and down with joy like a kid in a candy store. [I won't even start talking about home prices (to buy) at this point because they are so low compared to what I'm used to that I was tempted just to buy a place instead of going the rental route!] Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area (just across the Bay from the city itself), I've always had a skewed perception of housing prices. A 3 bedroom house could easily sell for over $500,000. My roommate and I used to pay $2100 per month for our (admittedly awesome) 2-bedroom apartment in San Francisco. And in Washington D.C., Mr. TPG and I paid $1400 and $1600 a month for the one-bedroom apartments we called home during the past three years. We've never lived in a house (as opposed to an apartment) together since getting married!

The specs on the place we're leaving:
Washington D.C. 1-bedroom, 1-bathroom basement apartment in a Capitol Hill rowhouse. Best price (quite low) for the prime location near Eastern Market on a quiet block with friendly neighbors. Not much light - it is a basement - but it quite large at about 800 square feet. Included an approximately 5' x 5' outdoor brick patio space. Older apartment without many updates. $1400 per month.

The front door of our basement apartment.

Mr. TPG flew out to Carson City a few days before me (I was still taking my last law school exams) and narrowed the options down to the top three - so it really was like the actual House Hunters show. We toured the different neighborhoods in Carson City so I could get a feel for each of them. It didn't take too long, as it only takes 15 minutes to drive from the south end of the city to the north end of the city. By lunchtime, we had narrowed the options to two. One had location going for it - the neighborhood seemed less transitional and maybe a little safer - but the other had more space and a stunning interior. But in moving to a brand new city, I knew that we had to go with the gut instinct on the neighborhoods until we figured out more about our new hometown.

The specs on the place we're moving to:
Cute little Carson City 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom single family home, about 1050 square feet. Good location near stores and a ten minute door-to-door drive from Mr. TPG's new job. Largest kitchen I've ever had with granite countertops, clean and mostly updated home. Two car garage. Large backyard with a cement brick patio area and space for me to have a vegetable garden. A lot of windows and great light, with views of the mountains. $950 per month.

Our first HOUSE! (albeit a rental)

Not too shabby of a deal! There are definitely benefits in going from a big, popular city with high cost-of-living to a small city with low cost-of-living - more bang for your buck. We will definitely miss our place on Capitol Hill, as I love the Eastern Market neighborhood with its classic brick rowhouses and sidewalks. But our new city offers us tons of space and relaxed "country" living. I saw some cute little antique stores on the main street and can't wait to check out some of the historic buildings downtown. One of the landlords we met called me a "city girl" but told me that Carson City offers a great community and he was certain I'd like it (eventually). I don't doubt it, and now I can't wait to settle into our new home.