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Location, location, location

One of the things that the hubs and I are lucky enough to choose, is the location where we will build our new house.

We have some special considerations to make though, due to the nature of our lifestyle.

Currently we live in the middle of the feedlot. Literally, we are surrounded by cattle pens on three side of our house. It lends a less than aromatic lifestyle 364 days out of the year, except for the one day of the year when the wind blows from the south where there are no cattle pens!

My other major complaint is with two little kids around, it is very nerve racking having large equipment and trucks and pickups and generally a lot of machinery going by less than ten feet from the house, dozens of times every day. It doesn't exactly lend to a child friendly environment

It's the country equivalent of living on a busy highway.

For these reasons, I want to get out of the middle of all the action when we build the new house.

My husband on the other hand loves the where we live now.

He drives by the house twenty some times a day, making it convenient for him to stop in, for supplies, a drink, bathroom, hot water to thaw frozen water tanks, vaccine for sick cattle, dry clothes on a rainy day, warmer clothes on the cold days, a place to cool off on the hundred degree days; you get the idea.

My concern is that the farther away from the feedlot we build the house, the less convenient it will be for him.

With that said, we are deciding how far away to put the house.

We have a location in mind that is only about a quarter mile from where our house currently sits, which would cut down on costs since we will be trenching, water, electrical, cable, everything, from the current house to the new location.

The first choice already has a nice established tree belt and would require building only a short amount of road. It is removed enough from the feedlot to please me and still close enough for the hubs too.

Basically it is the perfect compromise for both of us to get what we want.

Here's, the conundrum.

When I very first moved here, I rode around with the hubs to check on cattle and saw this...

I fell in love. Irrevocably, intensely, immediately in love. I knew someday I would live here.

(If you look close you will see a dancing three year old on the horizon!)

Yeah, pretty much amazing. Could you imagine waking up to this view every morning? Amazing.

Imagine sitting on the back deck in the summer, barbecuing and watching the sun set with a drink in hand.

Imagine the trees, in all their colorful splendor during the Fall, the orange and red and yellow.
Imagine the river frozen over at Christmas (like now), snow covering the hills and a roaring fire in the fireplace.
Imagine, imagine, imagine.

The catch?

This location is around three miles away from the feedlot. Wonk, wonk, woonkkk. (Insert, sad music sound effect here.)

This may not seem like much, but when you think of all the times the hubs stops in the house to get things, that would be a lot of extra driving for him. And then there is the added expense of building a road and getting all the utilities to the location.

So does practicality win out or does, beauty, serenity and all around awesomeness win?

I'm curious to here what you guys think? I'd love some feedback. Thank you all in advance!

P.S. I know I am the luckiest girl in the world, just having the opportunity to have a problem of choosing one great location over another. I just want that noted. I am not taking it for granted!

P.P.S. Update. I am receiving some great feedback on Facebook. Thank you all. I just want to make it a little more clear that although the Hubs loves the practicality of the closer location, he too really loves the place with the view. We both do! That's why we're hoping to hear other people's experiences and points of view! Thanks again!

 

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