好歹終於利用一個天氣完美的週日，無需帶著孩子去看open house，
來到Marin 的 Stinson Beach, 好好把握一下這風雨前的清閒。
爸爸忙著搭beach tent, 兩隻已經迫不及待的與海潮共舞了。
去年冬天特價買的beach tent，今天第一次使用，覺得有了遮蔭跟私人小空間，
加州清涼的夏天空氣，即使暖暖炙陽，也可以在海灘悠閒的待上好幾小時。
準備了午餐與水果點心。
我喜歡加州海灘多於東岸或者亞洲的海灘。
我喜歡能夠穿著長袖的氣溫，卻有著暖暖的太陽帶著海風的清涼。
我喜歡不黏膩而全身舒暢的感覺，合適沒有晒人肉乾需求的亞洲體質，
西太平洋的海水溫度依然偏低，女兒們知道在安全距離戲水，無需擔憂他們衝下水去。
做爸媽的，可以待在帳棚裡閱讀或者閒聊，遠遠的盯著他們......
大女孩快要升一年級了ㄋ。
冥冥之中，像是給了我們一個答案～留在coast沿岸與它親近吧！
在接近一年半的積極的，順其自然的，參訪灣區不同的城市，
考量著學區，工作便利，以及生活方式型態，文化種族之下，
往內陸往南邊相對更好的學區探索，卻還是被這片藍藍大洋吸引回來。
之後沒幾天，落腳的地方便儼然出現。
有機會在慢慢分享這個房子讓我們中圈套的層層故事。
一個新來者（new comer), 許多不確定，卻在最後還是聽了心底求安定的聲音。
即使可能有更好的學區，更長遠或許理想的地點，
不想讓女兒三年換三個學校，明明是自在喜歡的第一個選擇的城市，
即使房子小的破爛，卻有著吸引人的綜合與平衡，
有著舊金山的都會感，有著柏克萊的學術與多元種族，
我們決定先把根紮下去。
一陣廝殺，打敗了七個offer，
找到這個坐落在我們最喜歡的Prime of Albany-接近公園，泳池，中學與高中，
卻是小而美，無法馬上進住的房子。
Offer被接受的隔天上午,送完孩子上學，
開在這過去兩年穿梭的市區街道，
突然放聲大哭，打給紐約的朋友，
心理清楚是準備紮根的時候了......
我有跟你們說，我們將有著家人的鼓勵與支持，
一點點的把這小房子加大加高，建構屬於自己的房子的新貌ㄇ？
我也知道，如果這樣將房子蓋起，
我們跟這城市，我們跟這地方，會更緊密的連結......
inspection那個週六下午，女兒們已經自在的在客廳沙發上，接受陽光洗禮。
The "love letter" to the seller has worked for my self-analysis.
Everything about your house speaks to the idea of building a
family. We picture spending time with
our kids in the spacious living room, enjoying (and sometimes enduring) their
child play. We see inviting our extended
families and friends over during the holiday season and entertaining them in
the connecting formal dining room. The
spacious kitchen with the eat-in area will enable us to watch our young kids
while preparing our meals. Finally, we
look forward to privacy and quiet afternoons in your refreshing backyard.
The location of your home is also what we have been hoping
for to be in the prime of Albany. We
often take our kids to Memorial Park on weekends, and have watched as families
from the neighborhood walk up and down the block to enjoy the park. My five-year old girl has exclaimed many
times, “I wish we can have a house near the park” after having fun with her
younger sister in the playground, chasing each other or biking. Some of our
friends also live in this side of Albany.
We have spent Sunday afternoons playing basketball in Albany high
school, and our girls now are just starting their first swim lessons in the new
Aquatic Center. We can already envision
continuing our current lives in your wonderful house.
We moved from New York City to Albany two years ago to be
closer to our extended family and a career opportunity. We decided to rent in
Albany given the reputation of the school district and its convenience to San
Francisco. Not only our children enjoy
Albany school but we also appreciate the parents’ participation. We very
quickly fell in love with the close-knit yet diverse community and know that we
want to raise our family here.
漫長的建立家園之路，才開跑ㄋ！！！
1 則留言:
Congratulations!! When are you moving?
張貼留言