Needle in a haystack....a BIG haystack.

I admit. I'm picky.

And I'm probably even pickier when I don't want to do something. Like move.

We've known we would be moving to the DC area for a little over a week now. It hasn't sunk in, we haven't quite accepted it, but we've tried to research and prepare on the when, where and how and all that crap.

I think we are setting ourselves up for disappointment though (wait, I'll stop fooling myself...we're already disappointed). Let's just say housing in this area is not cheap and for our needs - and we have a lot of them, they are downright expensive.

Call us high maintenance, but with four children and two large dogs, we will need 4 bedrooms, a spacious yard, family friendly neighborhood, a house that accepts two dogs, great schools (so if we choose not to homeschool, we will know our children will go to a good school) and probably the biggest hurdle, a three year lease....Oh yeah, and we don't want to move until July/August. Oh, and another thing, the house can't be a dump. Oh, wait.....a commute that won't kill my husband? You know, less than an hour? I know, that's asking a lot for the DC area. Didn't you know they were just rated to have the 4th worst, yes, worst traffic in the country. Think my list is too long? Yeah, so what if my list keeps growing? I already admitted I am picky!

We've already had one realtor tell us we probably will not find what we are looking for, especially looking for a long-term lease, but come on, I do not want to move more than once while we are in DC!!! This particular realtor suggests we buy.......Um, no. Purchasing a home is out of the question unless we want to spend more than $500-600K++ and let's be real, we don't have that kind of cash, and we are not planning on selling our current home here in Maine. So, renting it is.

We've been told to look in Maryland. We found a nice sounding place that sounds too good to be true (Calvert County Maryland for anyone familiar with the area) - there are beaches! Ah, that word is like music to my ears...but, of course, it would be too easy to have it all, so what would we have to give up? Shopping! And this girl loves to shop. Packing up four children for a 30-40 minute drive to a mall or better yet, Target! would be pretty dreadful...what would I do without a quick trip to Target??? So......is it the metropolitan area with great shopping, pools, expensive housing, fairly good schools and everything to do.....or living out in the country, with beaches, good schools, a lifestyle that is more our pace and no shopping. I guess I never realized how here in Maine we do have it all - beautiful family living, great schools, awesome shopping, awesome restaurants, beaches.......Oh, and a house we love :)

So, for now, we are searching for that needle in a haystack. A house that will suit our needs and make us feel a little more at home. Are you out there?