Living space

It occurred to me driving home from the metro station yesterday that I just passed the 57 month-mark in terms of how long I have lived in the house I am living in Riverdale. It is significant because it is longer than I have lived in anyone place since 1989. In fact, since the summer of 1989, I have moved 8 times. (8 times in 18 years is not that bad considering the fact that 4 of those eight moves were in college.)

Northridge, CA                    15 months
Riverside, CA (UCR dorm 1)         9 months
Riverside, CA (UCR dorm 2)         9 months
Riverside, CA (Apartment)         24 months
Northridge, CA                     9 months
Studio City, CA (Arch Drive)      37 months
Studio City, CA (Tujunga Ave)     52 months
Riverdale, MD                     57 months

August 1 will be 5 years in Riverdale. If I had moved to Riverdale when I was beginning first grade, I would be entering the 6th grade now. In that respect, 5 years seems like a long time. It is, in fact, 1/7th of my life, which also seems like a long time. But I’m fine with that.

The house in which I live is not perfect, but I have an absolute abhorrence of moving. Furthermore, the only reason I can think of to move is to buy a house, but I am simply unwilling to pay the prices being asked for houses, even though I could afford to. The housing market has priced itself out of my range. (People think I am strange for this, but everything is relative. I would be willing to pay hundreds of dollars for a rare Isaac Asimov book on the one hand, but I would scoff at paying $200 for a pair of jeans. Why on earth would I pay $300,000 for a mediocre house that would increase my commute time and require ten times the attention of the house in which I live now?)

Ironically, moving signs are springing up all over my neighborhood. There are probably a dozen houses within virtual eye-shot that are on the market. Recalling my macro-economics class, this should indicate a lowering of price, but even so, it is more than I am willing to pay. I think all houses are overpriced. When the price drops to around half of what they are now, or my income doubles, then I would be willing to consider it. But not until then.

It is therefore very possible that I will break my all-time record for living in one place in the house that I currently reside. That record is the 82 months I lived in Somerset, New Jersey. All I need to do is stick it out through the end of the summer of 2009.