The Search...

Oh the places you'll go...when trying to buy a house in Chicago. We saw it all. Don't let HGTV fool you: there are more unkept homes than upkept homes as we often found. Our eyebrows were often raised at one thing or another such as a the house that distinctively smelled like pee, another that smelled like it was heated with cigarette smoke, a kitchen that not only needed updating but needed just cabinets at all, a 2 car garage converted to an apartment space that had a four foot puddle in it...the delights of house hunting! Hardly regulated to the 3 tidy choices in House Hunters.

Soon, there was a terrible snowstorm in the Chicago area. The result of the storm was that it took me three hours to drive home from work. Not one of my shining moments. I didn't want to be miserable every night as a result of the commute, and I didn't want Jill to be miserable from living with me. But we wanted a place where we felt there was a sense of history as well as a community with unique shopping and restaurants to satisfy our Chicago sensibilities. All of this led us to Barrington.



In Barrington, we found a beautiful town near forest preserve, lakes, small businesses and even a hot dog hut. Jill found little beaches to hit on hot summer days and we're both intrigued by the prospect of nearby bike paths. All of this AND golf courses galore!