Exciting viewing

I like the house! Tan-y-Foel, Pentre Castell, eat our heart out! I went to see the house at the river. I like it because it has these lovely river views, and it is just commutable by bike. The disadvantages I knew of were: it's too big, it's the most expensive one I've viewed, and it's right next to the river with all associated climate change risks involved.

I went there, knocked on the door, and was accosted by a lady who walked around from the kitchen door. That happens all the time too with my house! I don't use the front door. Anyway. She was nice! And she showed me in. And I liked the house! The kitchen is quite new and quite nice but nothing all too special, but the lady told me it had been the beer cellar of the pub this building had once been. And it was only accessible via a hatch, but now it had a staircase. That came up in what had been the bar (of course). Which now had stairs! This means it was a strange space. I like strange spaces!

She showed me the rest of the house. Yes it is big! But the individual room aren't, really. The master bedroom is about the same size as the one I have now. The rest is smaller! And the lounge is small and snug. And there are two fireplaces!

There also was a cat. The lady explained it was  a stray she had taken in a few months ago. It had never left. Maybe it'll stay with the house! I'm not sure if she would want to take it with her. It is a cute cat! A big-eyed lady tabby with a stumpy tail and a plaintive voice.

The not so good thing about the house is that only one room has a good view. The rest looks the wrong way! The river side is lovely, but on the opposite side is an old chapel that is now a music venue, and the garage. The garage comes with the house; it had been public toilets! That's quite funny. To the side is a wall and above that is a parking lot. I was hoping to do things like cutting cabbage and brushing my teeth with a view, but then I have to do it in the bedroom! Not very practical.

Another thing is that it needs a bit of attention. An outside wall needs a coat of paint, the garden is half dead, some of the kitchen cupboards have the outer plastic layer coming off the hardboard underneath. And I'll have to find the balance between coughing up as big a deposit as I can, while having some money left to sort that sort of stuff! And I suppose I need to be ready for unexpected expenses. House owners have those! And I will want a slightly speedier bike if I want to do this long commute on a regular basis. And moving house is not free. I think the time has come to empty my Norwegian bank account. I have a permanent job now, it's not likely I'll move back to Norway!

Anyway. After the river house I went to see a house higher on the hill. It's fine! It has a great view from every window. And it costs as good as nothing. But that hill! I will never commute on bike if I have to battle my way up there after biking all the way to Bethesda. So it's nice but not equally nice. And of course it's a nice thought I would be able to pay off that mortgage in less than ten years, but cheapness isn't really a reason to move somewhere. Not unless you have to. If I buy the river house I will finally have something that I can spent that rather comfortable lecturer's salary on!

And I will see another house in the weekend. Also dirt cheap, and this one is extremely cute! But not so practical; it's not even on a road. Parking will be awkward! And it may be very cute itself, but the view might be less so. We'll see! In the meantime, I'll ponder mortgages!