Suburbia! Suburbia!  As our house hunt started, I would identify homes in zip codes outside of our target area just to branch out a bit and to consider areas we might be able to afford a little more. My wife would always start to sing a little diddy she made up, “Suburbia Suburbia!”  As soon as I heard it I knew I better just turn the car around there was no chance in hell she was going to even consider a house that might cause her to have an 18 minute commute.  Even if it was set on a bucolic 3 acres overlooking a scenic river.

Choosing Pembrey was perfect because the house really did meet all the requirements from our checklist, but there are many other items that we could not have identified prior to a move.  Now that we are settled in we are recognizing why this was a great choice all around and are enjoying the community more and more each day.  So to name a few reasons see my list below:

1. Friendly neighbors who wave or stop to chat everyday.
2. A neighborhood welcoming committee who stops by with a housewarming gift.
3. Neighbors who already offer dog and babysitting services.
4. A walkable community with easy access to dog parks, playgrounds, and walking trails.
5. Being able to see the stars and enjoy the sounds of nature.
6. Two minutes to a library.
7. Local farm CSA within walking distance.
8. Having multiple choice for conveniences such as gas stations, banks, restaurants, and of course Dunkin’ Donuts (we now have two to chose from).
9. Pretty awesome local businesses all within minutes.
10. Easy access to school and work.
11. Still close to many friends.
12. Good public schools.
13. Enjoying watching birds, squirrels, and rabbits playing in the yard.

Here are a few images of our new community! Some provide us inspiration while others just are here to give you a sense of what its like.

And while we have already identified all that was on our list of must haves for the house, there are a lot of items we didn’t consider that have made this move so perfect.  We had a detailed plan to be out of boxes and semi organized so our family would feel better about settling into the home in a rather short time.  When we started stalking the house before and after our appointment with our realtor we were astonished by how friendly the community felt.  As you pass-by everyone waves and stops you to say hello.  Believe it or not that was not staged to get us to buy the house.  This community is actually that nice!

One way we know we’ve made the right choice is walking the dog each night.  Each neighbor stops to introduce themselves and engage in conversation about the community. We have come to discover this is a very dog friendly community which is huge for Finley and his daily walk.  The Pembrey community association Welcoming Committee has already stopped by with a beautiful plant.  During their visit we discussed various gatherings throughout the year and our annual meeting.

Needless to say, we’re feeling pretty much at home here in Pembrey. The boxes are unpacked and the to do list shrinks more every day.

They say you buy a house, not a neighborhood. In our case, I feel like we managed to do both!