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We looked at a few houses today, something that seems to take the entire weekend. One was a brand new duplex that is move in ready and the only one we actually got to go inside, the other two are built in the 50s and 60s. The new one was soulless, the other two need *a great deal of work.* We are leaning toward the ones that need the work done, as even though we don't really have the time or money to renovate, we want to build a home, not just somewhere to live. 

We are on a budget and we have to make some compromises in pretty much everything we do, but the new one is at the outer edge of where we can be, and the others would take a lot of work and money to repair, but can be accomplished over time. I am leaning toward one over the other as while one has a great location and potential for sale later, one has a lot of potential for living life now. 

https://i.imgur.com/cLBiTNR.jpg

Since living in Finland one of the things I have really missed is *space* to tinker with various things, space to paint a large canvas or get hammering on some old bits of wood. A space to create. One of the properties provides this kind of space. When it comes to the actual renovations of a house, I can manage the surface tasks and that alone might be something therapeutic. 

I like the process of creation and it is even better when I feel what I am doing is useful and adds value to experience. I think that this is a large part of why I like Steem so much as it gives me the sense that what I am doing has a bearing on improving life in the future in many ways, and not just for myself. Do you get that feeling from what you do in life?

Perhaps you do, perhaps not. But I wonder how much of what we do actually does add value, and how much of it we justify as value adding when in reality it is more meaningless than important. I consider most jobs as relatively meaningless in many ways, busy work to occupy our time and generate an income without considering if it is necessary at all. 

It is likely that a lot of the stuff we do on Steem is not overly important in the grand scheme of things, but I get the sense that the many things in combination could compound against each other to be very valuable to many people. Ina distributed community like Steem, every action has an effect on the whole ecosystem, though probably usually only very slightly. 

But, small things matter and this is why I am leaning toward what might not be the better investment option, and toward the better life option. I don't want to make another 10 or 20% in ten years from now while living for those ten years missing out on that creative space. It would be much like working a dead end job for a slightly better salary, than doing a job I love for a little less.  I think this ties into my thoughts on content creation and being authentic.

One of the benefits of the old house over the new and being able to renovate and repair over time is, it gives a chance for investments to mature and to use them to make a significant difference. If we bought a new place there would be very little we could do to change it that would really matter much, and therefore, very little we could do to add value to it. Buying new is like buying a stable coin - it should only fluctuate a little, unless it is SBD.

Buying the old is different however, as there is a lot more uncertainty in it from the get-go, and precious gems can become worthless and the seemingly worthless become valuable pearls. I am hoping that luck is on our side and we can find a pearl and turn it into a home that we love and, a home that someone else might love later. What I do not want to do is pay for someone else's renovations and sentiment, especially since from a taste perspective - *I have some, Finns don't.* :D

The other reason I would like an older house is that I like modern design, minimal design - and these houses give a lot of push back on that yet allow for a blend of styles. There is a lot of texture in these places, surfaces and patterns that do not align yet seem to work under the circumstances while still able to accommodate the sharpness of technology. It makes for an eclectic mix of design features that individually might not be considered able to stand together, but when combined, create a diverse set of components that belong.  

One of the things that most people on Steem do not know about me is that I am quite interested in the design of things and have a pretty good imagination to see potential. When it comes to houses, I can see off the floor plan the flow of the space and can mentally create a walk-through very quickly. Once in a house, I am able to then layer my imagination over the surfaces in a kind of augmented reality. 

I can do the same thing with clothing too, which is why I can shop for my wife and to date, there hasn't been one thing I have chosen that hasn't suited her. I am much better at doing this for women than men, but I think that is driven by interest and incentive :)

The more I think and write about the chance to not only design, but also get my hands dirty making, the more I want to get started on this. We have to sell our apartment before we can get the loan required to move, and that is going to take time, but hopefully it won't take that long that we will miss out. Of course, there will always be other options that come up, but will they be pearls?

Tomorrow we will get a chance to go inside both of these places and see if either are what we are really looking for or, have we built them up in our head and the tour will bring us back to reality. Eaither or, I enjoy the process. 

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]

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