Our friend and Realtor found us a home that
had many of the characteristics of perfection.
At least for us.
But alas, as usual, M and I were completely
aligned in our decision to not put an offer on the house.

We are back to our search but we know better what we do not want,
and that is a beautiful house that is broken up
into small, unusable (for us) rooms.

But it was a stunning home.

And if you are not a Californian, and I told you the list price, you would think it was the Taj Mahal.

I have no idea how people afford things here, but they do, and in vast numbers. Sure, there are “have-nots”, but there are so many “haves” that I can’t help but wonder (repeatedly) where all this money came from.

For example, the owners of this house are trading up
to a home double the price of the one they’re selling. Who can afford to do this?
And you should’ve seen the killer sports car in one of the three garages.

Ah, the agony of living in a desirable location. The Bay area is not only beautiful, but it’s got tons of culture, sports and things to do. And it costs a small fortune to live here. Make no mistake about it

My husband loves it here. I asked him (originally from Rochester, NY, like me but a longtime Florida resident) what he liked best about it:

“The weather,” he said. “It’s the weather.”

(Scratch a Floridian and you find someone who hates heat and humidity. Give them a climate like the San Francisco Bay area’s and they think they’re in heaven.)

It’s more than the weather for me. It’s the total package.
I’ve tried repeatedly over the past 15 years to stay away and I couldn’t.
Even now, I try to think of where else we could live and come up
empty-handed because everything we love and want is right here.

This area reminds me of the Eagles song, Hotel California:
You can check out any time you like,
but you can never leave.