A place by the sea

This is the story of how I said goodbye to my (relatively) roomy suburban house in favor of a two-bedroom condo by the sea.

Something I do pretty often is check Craigslist for rentals. At first, when I thought I wanted to go to Hearst, I'd look for places in Del Cerro. Then Benchley/Weinberger had me browsing through San Carlos. Sometimes, for fun, I search through neighborhoods that are way out of my league.

Except this one time, two days after I turned in my Choice application, a listing popped up. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, two parking spaces in La Jolla. And not, like, UCSD La Jolla, but right downtown, blocks away from the cliffs. It was only $100 more than what we pay and would definitely put us in the La Jolla Elementary boundary.

So I called. And when I got there, it was more ideal than on paper. Small, yes. But so close to the school, you can see it from the balcony. Close to cafes and restaurants and groceries, all within easy walking distance. Then Matt went over to see it even though he was sick, cranky and really not into it. And he loved it.

Before we knew it, we were signing a lease and putting money down. We did this one week before the charter lotteries, which I still am a bit nervous about. But it's official, we're moving. I've been in San Diego all my life and I've never lived by the ocean. It's exciting and scary and crazy and impulsive all at the same time.

It also means we've basically locked in the school. There are still some things I have to figure out regarding private school, or the one-off chance we get into Explorer or Museum.

But really. I am done worrying. Now it's time to concentrate on enjoying our new journey as a beach family.