How I House Hunt
I'm a former military wife who moved to a new duty station every two to four years for a long time and typically lived in at least two different residences at each duty station. One of my takeaways from that experience is you eat different if you move, even if it's a local move, so trying to figure out how to move someplace where I can stay adequately fed has become a huge focus of my moving check list.
American kitchens are atrocious and not designed for a household of one to three people. When I got divorced and the husband moved out, we began storing all sodas in the humongous fridge so the milk wouldn't spoil.
I've lived in Germany and read up on Japan. I know not all countries feel you need a giant kitchen with a giant fridge and a full-time homemaker chained to the stove.
I haven't had a functional full-service kitchen in over a decade. I've camped in a tent or lived in poverty housing or stayed in hotels with more space and amenities than the poverty housing in question or visited family.
I live without a car. No one in my household drives.
I need a full service grocery store within a 15 or 20 minute walk and reasonable access to an affordable general store, like Walmart or Target.
I like being within walking distance of a few eateries.
Pizza:
Domino's, Pizza Hut and Little Caesars all work for me. Domino's and Little Caesars both use corn meal to prevent pizza from sticking which makes the pizza less acidic, so I can eat frequently at either of them. I like having two to three pizza places nearby, by delivery is okay, and at least one ideally should be either Little Caesars or Domino's. I've had no trouble eating occasionally at a wide assortment of local or regional pizza places.
Burger King is a must have for my kids.
Denny's and IHOP are places all three of us will eat.
If money were no object, we also like more upscale steak places, such as Outback.
My kids eat at fewer places than I do and I tend to eat one more meal a day than they do and I usually go out to do it. I will eat occasionally at Wendy's but I don't go looking for it in specific. It's nice to have a few places I'm willing to eat. I like Asian and Mexican options, including Panda Express, Taco Bell and Chipotle. And I've tried assorted other local or regional places and will get food from the deli at the local grocery store.
I'm a potato fiend. Wendy's and steakhouses serve baked potatoes, which are otherwise not commonly available in the US. I also like potato soup. I can't always eat fries because they are too greasy.
My kids will eat at Chipotle once in a while but do not generally eat at any of the ethnic places I frequent.
I loathe Chik-Fil-A, Arby's, Jack in the Box and In and Out Burger and would rather go hungry. I have an incurable genetic disorder and I misprocess oils. Most likely, they use oils I don't tolerate. I also don't do sea food because I'm allergic.
My two favorite homes were both around 1200 to 1300 square feet at a time when I had a four person household. My household is currently three people and we've lived in much smaller spaces in recent years, though not comfortably.
I probably would be fine with something under 1000 square feet if it's got adequate amenities.
I like wood, tile or other hard surface flooring and minimal curtains, upholstery or similar. Ideally, no carpeting.
I'm hoping to start a clothing line and am considering a live-work space or within walking distance of probably industrial zoned or mixed use space appropriate to making clothes and shipping them out.
I'm currently researching where I might wish to move with a goal of living someplace under 1000 feet ASL. I like dry climates or coastal climates.