$pent Millennial

Dear Reader,

It is official.

We will be renting for another year.

After all the dreaming, scrolling through listings, imagining possibilities, and the excitement of open houses—running the numbers, signing with a realtor, and submitting offers—we officially renewed our lease for another year of renting. Another year in our run-down, out-dated, but beautifully located one-bedroom apartment.

If you are a little tired of the home-buying posts each week, don’t worry—we are too.

We are tired of our minds, our money, and our time (our weeks and weekends) being filled with home-buying possibilities and trips to see homes that would feel like settling yet require immediate decisions and above-asking offers.

So, luckily (for all of us), we are hitting pause on that for now.

What began as fun “practice” shopping all too quickly turned into rushed viewings and pressure to submit offers on questionable houses, all amidst a wave of increasingly competitive buyers moving quickly and aggressively through the market.

As we enter the busy season in what is (to our dismay) still a very competitive seller’s market, we recognized that this is not how we want to buy a house.

We have worked too hard, saved too strategically, and practiced patient discipline for too long to rush into a scarcity-minded decision just because the market tells us we should.

And so, with both gratitude and a little heartbreak, we submitted our signed lease renewal this week.

This decision holds a mix of feelings: disappointment, frustration… and relief.

While allowing all of those emotions to sit and be felt, I find myself leaning into gratitude.

Gratitude for the experience of dreaming, planning, and learning that this process has given us.

Gratitude for another year in a safe, sturdy home we have built that meets most of our needs in a place that we love—at a price point that remains affordable and fits within our financial framework right now.

We recognize how fortunate we are to have this. Increasingly, that kind of stability is difficult to come by.

And so it was in this spirit of gratitude that, after submitting our signed lease renewal, I caught myself thinking:

Now it can be fun.

With at least another year ahead of us to look at homes, explore towns and neighborhoods, and imagine possibilities, we have signed ourselves up for another year of dreaming.

We have bought ourselves time—and with that time comes space. Space to be thoughtful. Space to keep learning. And space for the process to be fun again.

We can take everything we have learned so far and continue to look, explore, and imagine without rushing into something simply because the market feels chaotic or pressured.

And as we continue to save, learn, and dream, we look forward to another year right where we are.

Another spring of Sunday walks downtown past the pond, watching the trees bud and the world slowly return from its long winter sleep.

Another stormy season of not worrying about weather damage.

Another summer with easy access to the on-site pool.

Another fall of beautiful leaves falling into gutters we don’t have to clear.

Another winter of heated garage parking and no shoveling required.

Another year of walks to the local cafe.

Another year of holidays—cooking, baking, and keeping traditions alive in the small, cozy home we have built together over the past six years.

Of course, I would be remiss (and honestly, a little inauthentic) if I didn’t also acknowledge the very real feelings of frustration and scarcity that still linger beneath the surface.

Because they do.

It can be difficult not to feel discouraged by a system that often feels stacked against individuals and families who are trying their best to do everything “right”—working hard, saving diligently, living well within their means—and still finding it incredibly difficult to get ahead.

And yet, we also recognize the privilege we have in choosing where we place our attention—both physically and mentally.

So, we are choosing gratitude right where we are.

Wherever we find ourselves a year from now, I anticipate an exciting year ahead. We still hope that one day we will buy a home of our own—one that we can care for, shape, and slowly make our own over time.

But for now, I am choosing to enjoy exactly where we are in this moment.

At a time (and place) when it seems everyone else is rushing forward in an attempt to outrun (and outspend) one another, we are deciding to slow down. 

Recognizing that sometimes the most meaningful progress isn’t rushing forward.

Sometimes it’s giving yourself permission to pause. 

Until next week—take care, be well, and don’t be afraid to move at your own speed – wherever you are headed, 

Everett