I don't really know why I'm posting this here, or what I hope to gain, except that I feel like I need to get all of this off my chest and maybe commiserate a bit I guess.

So anyways, for the past year or two, my parents and I have been talking about moving to another town, either the town I grew up in or somewhere close. It was all kind of just...fun talk, not really anything serious and I really didn't think anything would come of it because my parents are famous to me for talking big but then never actually following through. But then just two or three weeks ago, we were all talking about it again and we all kind of decided that this was it, that it was time to actually move. I got kind of excited, but then kind of depressed and I've been riding that rollercoaster ever since. So when we decided it was time to move, Mom asked me to take pictures of the house and post on a couple of real estate sites (I'm the resident techie as both parents are NOPE when it comes to technology lol) so I did and the very next day after I posted, someone called to see the house. So we're all like 'yeah, okay, the first one won't be interested' so we set up a viewing and a couple came over and they loved the house. Made an offer the next day and asked for a second showing so their son could see it. Fast forward a week after the second visit and we have a contract. Our house is all but sold. I think we're all kind of in shock right now. It's moving so fast and we're all scrambling, trying to figure out wtf we're supposed to do now.

We decided early on that we're going to go with a modular home (what would also be called a manufactured home, some people call them 'trailers' but they're really not) because of the fact that you basically just pay a lot fee and the taxes are included in that, so no paying a huge chunk of tax every year and they're basically just cheaper. So on a realtor's advice, we went to check out this community in a small city not far from us and toured a few homes and eventually decided to build because we didn't really care for any of the homes we looked at. We were literally like, a day away from calling and getting the home to be built when I was thinking about it and asked my parents if we could give our original hometown one last shot and see if any homes were available in the community there. They're both really busy, so I said I'd stop by and see about it after visiting my best friend last Thursday. I went to the community office and she said there was one home available, brand new, just built, and she handed me the layout print of it. It's the exact same layout as the home we were going to build in the other town, but almost $15k cheaper. So I asked for a showing and my parents and I went to see it the next day and decided then and there we'd take it. That quickly. Granted, the lot is much smaller than we'd have had in the other town (which is one reason that's still causing me concern and worry) and the neighbors' houses are closer (another worry), but it's fifteen thousand dollars cheaper and it's in our original hometown, where we all kind of decided we'd rather be.

The thing is, though, that my parents are basically leaving the decision up to me where we move to, because they're older and they're preparing for...you know, the end of their lives, which is kind of morbid and depressing, but an overall intelligent thing to do. We'll be able to pay off our current mortgage, my parents' car, and most of my student loans. We'll be in an area that's closer to their doctors and good hospitals and things like that. We already have friends in this town and our church is literally right across the street from the community. There are more job opportunities close by (we were in a fairly rural area before and this is more like a small city) and my best friend (who lives in the town too) is working on getting me a job where she works. We'll have less bills here and more disposable income and we'll be able to take vacations more, to places we've been wanting to go. There's a lot of things to do in this town, a Curves for me to join or a gym maybe, lots of stores and restaurants and we're about 8-10 miles from a bigger city and tons more to do. And the community has a pool which I'm excited to swim in and lay out by this coming summer.

However, the lot is small. The house is maybe...20 feet from the houses on either side...or about the width of a normal road, maybe a little wider than that. We'll have room to build a screened-in porch on the side, and a deck, but probably not for a while because at first we won't have a ton of money. There's no garage, just a cement pad, but my dad wants to build a garage asap. There's also no storage/garden shed, but we have to build one within 30 days of moving in. The houses immediately around ours look neat enough, although the one next to us needs some garden work done (which I will do if they want me to because I like doing it) and the house next door on the other side we were told has an older couple and they have a shit-ton of toys for their grandkids laying around (this is actually against the community rules and is something I'm going to bring up in an anonymous letter maybe to the management). The couple of times we've been over to look at the house and look around the area, it's seemed very quiet (both inside and out) which I hope is how it always is because my hearing is extremely sensitive. I have something called misophonia, which makes me very sensitive to certain noises, to the point of extreme irritation and anger if the noise doesn't stop. The walls are thick though (2x6 and drywall instead of the normal wallboard these types of houses normally have) and the layout inside is such that my parents' bedroom and the living room are separated from the other two bedrooms (which will both be mine) by a dining area and foyer, so I'm praying that will keep the sound down. I can't use a white noise machine because that sound annoys me too, or I'd do that. I also can't use earplugs because I have an ear condition that makes them swell and hurt if I put anything like that in. I'm also worried because our current house is over 2,000 square feet of living space and storage and this house is 1600 square feet total. I don't know where I'm going to put everything. We're going to have to get rid of so much, things that I'd much rather keep. There's also no basement, and that kind of worries me because I'm not that fond of storms.

Part of me is worrying that not choosing the other town we were looking at is a bad idea though. I really, really liked the lot there a lot better. And the house too, honestly, because since we'd be having it built, we'd get to choose the carpets, tiles, etc. There'd be a lot more room on our lot and between the houses. But the community there is near a major expressway, close enough that when we visited at night, I could hear it clearly outside. But with this community, there's the possibility of a basement, which would mean more storage space so I wouldn't have to get rid of anything, and we'd have a space to get away from each other if we wanted. The community here also seems more strict with maintenance rules and neatness, which really appeals to me. However, it's not closer to the other town, which is what we originally wanted, and it's not that much closer to anything else, so we'd still be driving a lot. We also don't know anyone there or really anything about it, other than a few shops and restaurants that we like. There's also a marsh on one side of the community and when we were looking around the houses one night, there were tons of mosquitos. I hate mosquitos. The only reason that I'm really still thinking about this other town is that the lot is bigger. Really, the biggest reason why I'm saying no to this town is that we'd have to have the home built and in the meantime, we'd have to move into an apartment somewhere because our house is all but sold. That would be a huge pain in the ass. But would it be worth it to have a bigger lot? That's really the only big reason I'd want this town instead.

So reading all of that back, I guess my decision to go with my original hometown is the best bet since my only real problem is the small lot and the less space...those are big negatives, but...the location is really what I want. And I guess in a couple of years I could always leave if I hated it. I just keep second-guessing myself and I know I should just calm down and be content with my decision, but the truth is I am so fucking stressed out, that if it weren't for getting the Destiny game and having something to zone out with every night, I would be in a straight jacket right now. It's just such a big decision and investment (even though the investment part is on my parents' side) and I don't want to mess this up. I've been praying about it every day and I feel like I'm being led toward my hometown being the right decision, but I just don't know. I'm so worried about the space issue and the noise issue.

Then of course, there's the couple who are buying our house. Or the couple who I hope are buying our house anyways. Their first offer was our asking price, plain and simple. But now they're having an inspector and assesor coming in and we're hoping that this person doesn't say our house is worth less that what our own assesor said. Because we really can't take less than our asking price, or we won't be able to get the house and still be able to build a garage, pay off bills, and other needed things. This is probably my biggest stress right now. I just need this offer to go through correctly and for things to be finalized and then hopefully I'll feel better about everything.

Also, and this is a really hard part for me, I have to say goodbye to the people in two choirs that I'm in. My church choir and a community choir. I hate this part, because they're like a second family to me. Even though I'm the youngest member in both groups, I'm a very good singer and I have some very good friends in both groups. And the community choir...I've never enjoyed singing under a director as much as I have under this lady. She's just...an amazing singer and an amazing person. I feel like crap that I have to leave both groups and I am going to hate telling them. I'm going to miss them so much. I hope I can find another choir or two where I'm going that I'll enjoy as much, but it's not easy for me to put myself out there and befriend people. This part is going to suck so much.

Yeah, I realize that was a text wall. -_-;;;

tl;dr: I'm moving to another town. It was my decision to choose between two towns. Stressed out. Freaking out that the one I chose is going to be too small, both house and lot size. Wondering if I should have chose the other one. Praying that things are going to work out with the buyer of our current house. Really stressed out. Hating that I have to leave two choirs I'm in that are like a second family. Sooo stressed out.

Think about it this way. If you move away for any reason from your parents would THEY be able to upkeep the yard work and house work on their own? I think the smaller lot is the best bet for many reasons. 1- close by neighbors if something happens 2- this is a NEW home, sure things might not be colors you guys want, but they are new so you guys can replace them with new patterns/colors as they wear down 3- closer to shops and doctors is big, even more so if your parents have a hard time driving for longer times 4- saves you guys 15k which can be used to build/ layout things or take care of anything last minute 5- you can rent a storage shed for like $30 a month for things you guys want to keep but have no storage for

Thanks for actually reading. ^_^ You have some good points. And we actually are going to rent a storage shed at first, so we can slowly decide what we need and what will fit and what we can get rid of.

It's okay to be nervous about big life changes, especially when there's potential physical concerns in the form of hearing issues or comfort with one's surroundings, but I think the hometown residence sounds a more suitable fit with what you've described. Everything you said really sounds like the smaller lot home is the one you're going to be happy with.

If I have any recommendation to make, it would be to avoid starting off the neighborly relationship with the anonymous letter to the management to scold about the toys. So long as the items aren't in your yard, driveway, sidewalk or street, are they really that much of an issue for you? Maybe the times you've been around, they've recently had them visiting and just hadn't gotten them tidied away? I know if I had a new neighbor and the very first thing they did was complain about my yard, it would set up some ruffled feathers that might never quite soothe. Give it a little time.