The New House

Megan and Denis (my daughter and son-in-law) were living in a rented tri-level townhome in Grayslake, IL.  They grabbed it three years ago because it was move-in-ready, and they needed a place, fast, having both secured jobs in Illinois that started immediately.  Their personal effects, arriving from California, were not to arrive for a week or two, so they had to make do with whatever I could muster to send up with them.  It was like camping out for a couple of weeks, but they got by...and dreaded the fact that they might want to move to somewhere else in short order.  When their stuff arrived, we got the townhouse put together, and they stayed longer than anticipated.  Soon enough, however, new-US-citizen Denis and native-born-citizen Meg decided that they wanted to invest in the American Dream of owning their own home.  This early spring, they started their search...and found...wonder of wonders....a house that was move-in-ready with a "motivated seller" who wanted a delayed closing so her children could finish school.  (That worked well for Meg and Den because they still had some time on their lease to worry about.)  The seller accepted their bid right away, and my kids got the house!

The home is in a really nice neighborhood in Lindenhurst, IL.  Lindenhurst is what would normally be called a Bedroom Community because it has only been in existence for 50 years.  There is no downtown...just strip malls along the main drags.  It has the feel of being out in the country with all of the conveniences of fairly close shopping for everything one needs.

The houses on Robincrest Lane seem close together, but the charm is all in the back.  The back yards are extensive, and since it was established in the 90s, there is mature landscaping all around.  Meg's house has a HUGE deck in the back, on one level, and a cement patio at ground level, with lovely shade plants all around....and birds.  Lots of birds.  Just off to the left in the back is a pond that attracts egrets and herons and ducks.  Many a day while there, I stood on the patio and leaned on the rail just to watch the little nesting wren that sang her heart out on a tree branch only a few feet away...and ground squirrels and gray squirrels all around.  I am told (although I didn't see any) that deer frequent the yards. There is a line of evergreens that cuts off the view of the neighborhood on the street behind theirs. (That's a good thing.)

The house is a bi-level.  There are stairs, although not as many as there were in the townhome.  It is obvious that the previous owners did much to maintain the home.  All of the internal doors and baseboard trim has been replaced.  The kitchen has new (painted) cabinets.  The kitchen counter tops are quartz--something that was not available when the house was built.  You get the picture.  It isn't perfect.  It isn't even luxurious.  But it is nice.  Very nice.  Meg and Den were smart enough to understand that the perks of a more lavish home that they could probably afford just means more money on the mortgage that could be spent elsewhere.  I'm proud of them for being so practical.

The neighbors are friendly and the "hood" is regal.  The house has four bedrooms and a bonus room, living room, family room, formal dining room, kitchen with a lot of amenities (like many more cabinets and drawers than they are used to), huge utility room, two full bathrooms, and a lot of charm.  Plus a dual garage with a lot of built-ins.  This can work for them!  I'm happy that I could be a part of it all.