Our potential lives

We only have two more weeks in Australia before we move to exotic New Jersey for four months. While we are here in the greater Melbourne area, we are trying to find a good school for Jonathan to attend. There is a 2-year-old school that has a French binational program, and an accelerated learning program, both of which he might do well in. I found out a week ago that a colleague of mine had a brother with two sons enrolled in that school. We met with them yesterday afternoon to discuss. And it sounds like a great school, actually. Or at least it sounds like it has the potential to be great. Or definitely not terribly horrible. And that's kind of what we're going for.

If Jonathan enrols in that school (notice how I only spelled enrol with one L -- that's how it's spelled here -- and I know it looks really awkward, but it's still how it's spelled)...

If Jonathan enrols in that school, and we live right across the street from that school, then Google tells me it will take me 56 minutes to ride my bike to work every day. That's a lot of time on my bike. Maybe a little too much time on my bike, both ways. But if Jonathan and I split the difference, and we live another train station or two away, and it takes me 40 minutes to bike in to work, then for me 80 minutes each day is just good exercise! And it appears that there's a nice bike road near a creek that would take me most of the way there. Or alternately, the bike road runs the other direction all the way into the city along the river, avoiding roads with cars. That seems like a pretty nice path to live nearby! We have been looking at a lot of maps of neighborhoods around that creek.

But of course, it's all completely theoretical at this point. We haven't officially been invited to enrol at the school. We haven't found a house to rent yet, and we really can't even look until January, since we have no intention of paying four months rent on a place we aren't living in.

People have also asked whether we intend to rent or buy. For now, we intend to rent. That's because the median house price is about $1.2 million Australian dollars, for just a small three bedroom house. That means we'd be paying off the mortgage at $4000 per month, every month, for 30 years. But it seems we can rent a nice three bedroom house for only $2000 per month! Even if rent costs $3000 per month, because we're right on that bike road, it's still a win. Plus, we just sold our house in the western US for a loss. After all that yard work. We're not ready to go back to yard work.

Except then while walking around neighborhoods, I pass houses with lemon trees and clementine trees in their yards. And I think about how much I would love to grow a lemon tree or clementine tree. Maybe it's worth a couple thousand dollars extra per month to finally grow my own lemon tree?

Or maybe I can just spend a couple of bucks on lemons each week at the market instead. Practicality takes all the fun out of envisioning potential lives....