Summer Most Heat Moon
Where to live? It’s not a question most of us ask very often over the course of our life. Kate and I have the luxury of asking it right now. Having settled on a general area, a 40 mile radius of Denver, give or take, we now face the next task, deciding on a particular lot and a particular house.
Knowing that no one site will have everything we want, though it must have everything we need, criteria have come and gone. Broadband, air conditioning, good insulation, room for our creative sides, space for the dogs, enough water privileges for a garden, access to emergency health care, at least a fire wise lot (at best out of the wildfire redzone), a decent house, those are things we need. Whether we purchase them with the house and property or install them soon after doesn’t matter.
The wants have been in more flux. A new want that may transition to need is living around 7,800 feet. This altitude decreases the high temperatures in summer and ensures cool nights. A single story home, which could become a need, too, seems the wisest choice. We would prefer more isolated over less. Mountain or water views add appeal. Having our own well and septic system is desirable, too. An architecturally interesting home with a balcony overlooking forest, mountains or water. Reasonable driving distance to one of the Denver light rail lines.
A pleasant surprise adds something, too. I found one home, for example, that already has a steam bath. Not a need exactly, but I associate a steam bath and the end of a workout. Our one here been a good, immediate reward for staying with my routines.
Yes, we’re open to unusual housing solutions. This one is called a no-shadow home. We saw a geodesic dome we liked. A passive solar home with the capacity to generate our own electricity would be a plus.
How our new home integrates with the land, our lives and the future needs of mother earth, that will determine which place we choose. Oh, and how much it costs.