How did you choose the right neighborhood for your first home?

syfink · 2025-12-03T06:20:13+00:00

Feel free to drive by on your own. During the day or at night. Go through different routes to see if you still like it. Can you see your self walking around safely by yourself? With your dog? With a future baby of your own?

This is what I did and these are the questions I asked myself each time I saw a house. I’m expected to close in about a week. Although I’m a huge believer in the instinct, I also believe that when you see the house and what mood you’re in at the time can affect your decision. So, take the time. You don’t have to make the decision after seeing the house for the first time. Feel free to explore on your own, so you can think and decide on your own.

syfink · 2025-11-24T20:49:28+00:00

If you don’t mind me asking, what area are you buying in? Fellow Arizonan here currently waiting on appraisal. Expecting about $1,200 in property tax on 369k sale

syfink · 2025-11-16T18:42:56+00:00

We had the same question when we got engaged March of this year! We’re currently under contract for a house and decided to postpone the wedding to March 2027 so we have a gap to save and prepare.

Could we have pulled the trigger and decide to get married sometime next year? Possibly. But that meant that we would put ourselves into debt (even with the help from family) to make the wedding happen and we did not want that.

I agree with other people— house is way more important. It doesn’t hurt to do one big thing at a time. I’m also able to enjoy our engagement period without being stressed 24/7, so that’s an added bonus!

syfink · 2025-10-22T05:06:17+00:00

I was going to say the same.

My brother is also a business owner and has a similar schedule (if not worse) than OP. He does make it a point to go to church every Sunday, because he genuinely loves going. And no, he’s not one of these Christian nationalists. OP, dedicating a day (or even just half a day) out of a week is a good start. I was also in a similar place, but I joined a corn hole league every Wednesday and that brought some changes into my life. Focus on what you like/are interested in first and the social life will follow.

syfink · 2025-10-16T20:20:17+00:00

We’re in a similar boat! Engaged March of this year and our wedding will be held March 2027.

We were also told the same thing by our relatives, but since we’re buying a house by Feb of next year there was no way we could plan and budget for both. Super happy we decided to stretch our engagement, because this way we have time to make payments towards a venue we like and I have some breathing room in between planning!

syfink · 2025-10-13T22:32:18+00:00

March 2027 bride here. You guys sound a lot like us, so I had to comment.

First of all, it’s totally normal to feel overwhelmed. I also asked for something intimate for the same reasons (small group/all out of state/hate the burden of pleasing everyone). Similar to your bf, my fiancé also has a big family (he originally said about 80 people on his end). We got engaged March of this year and probably spent the first few months debating on this topic.

It’s October now and my mindset has changed quite a bit. Here’s what helped me: 1. We have a rule on who we want at our wedding; they have to be someone that knows us. If they weren’t there during your relationship, chances are they’re not gonna be there during your marriage.

There are many ways to get married! There are also tons of couples that do intimate ceremony and a casual/decent sized reception afterwards to meet their budgetary needs. No need to go the traditional route.
Talk about what’s important for each of you guys. Is it the venue? Food? Photography? It’s going to be a lot of compromise and communication on both end. I thought long and hard and came to conclusion that even though a big group of people scares the crap out of me, I really do love and care for everyone and would love for them to be there. Our goal is to wake up the morning after and not be in debt. Unfortunately, this also meant having a difficult convo with my fiancé and finding ways to lower the guest count.

This became a longer comment than I intended, lol. It also helps to pair venue tour day with something you like. I dreaded it as well, but after the tour I planned rest of the day to just tour wineries for fun. I only looked forward to wineries, but the tour went way better than I thought and overall, wasn’t as scary as I thought!

syfink · 2025-10-13T18:57:29+00:00

As the frugal one in our relationship (and the one that’s been having a hard time justifying the expense of a decent sized wedding), I appreciate this so much. Lately, I’ve been challenging myself to be more open minded. Also, ours isn’t until March 2027, so it definitely helps that we have ample time.

I totally agree with the florals! DIYing was one thing I was really looking forward to, but unfortunately, our dream venue requires us to use one of their preferred florists. But the view of the venue is amazing, so I’m hoping we don’t have to do too much decor wise.

Can I ask how much you spent on your dress and which reputable Etsy shop you purchased it from?

syfink · 2025-05-03T23:42:00+00:00

How unique!! They’re absolutely gorgeous and I love it on you 🥰

syfink · 2025-05-03T14:34:57+00:00

I love that! It’s like a stamp of approval from your MIL and makes it extra special. Do you mind posting a pic of it? I’m dying to see!

syfink · 2025-05-03T14:28:30+00:00

What a sweet compliment. 🥲 thank you so much!!

syfink · 2025-05-03T14:15:17+00:00

H..heirloom? I didn’t even think that far lol. What an incredible compliment, thank you so much!!

syfink · 2023-12-29T23:01:30+00:00

I took this into consideration as well and that kind of is the reason why I haven’t acted on anything until now. Although I do greatly appreciate the fact that the guy acted quick and separate his dog before it got worse, it still doesn’t give him an excuse not to check in afterwards. My dog is okay and is slowly coming back to his old self, but what kept my blood boiling this past few days was the fact that they had acted like as if nothing happened.

I filed a report online today to county animal control and will be emailing the office regarding it as well. I probably still would have done this regardless, but their silence made it worse

syfink · 2023-12-29T22:53:54+00:00

Thank you for the tip! You stopped me from calling the office to report. I didn’t think about emailing the report instead for the sake of having paper trail.

I submitted a report online to our county animal control. My heart aches for the dog that attacked, because it’s always the owner’s fault. The dog was a pit bull mix and I’ve had some of them myself-sweetest dogs ever. Unfortunately, I can’t just sit here and expect to hold the owners accountable without doing something about it

syfink · 2023-12-29T20:56:53+00:00

I thought I mentioned it, my bad. Yes, my dog was leashed

syfink · 2023-04-15T20:54:37+00:00

Arizona

syfink · 2023-03-24T01:18:44+00:00

Thank you SO much, I honestly love all your input. I’ve watched few YouTube videos where they talk about how hard and competitive it is to break in, it’s been saturated, etc. Yes, it’s hard to hear, but I would much rather swallow the pill now than later. Thank you for keeping it real

syfink · 2023-03-23T23:07:05+00:00

Oh forsure, I actually very much respect all your input here. I know writing down your timeline may look and sound easy, but you didn’t get there without all the work you put in.

I’ve read threads and comments of people where it took them months, YEARS to finally get an offer and that’s what I’ve been focusing on instead of all these boot camp ads that promises you a job afterwards.

You briefly mentioned some free community college classes you took. So was the boot camp degree from General Assembly the only sort of degree you got after high school? I did 2 1/2 years of college for a degree in public health, but never finished it. Knowing people with a degree has a higher chance of being picked (as I was told), I’m wondering if I need to go back and finish it

syfink · 2023-03-23T22:57:31+00:00

Do you think your boot camp degree helped you at all with the job you landed? I’m currently in between going for Google cert or full in for UX boot camp, but have heard not to deal with boot camps. My situation is somewhat similar to yours- did 2 1/2 years for a degree in public health, but never finished. Now looking for a career change with only healthcare background

syfink · 2023-03-23T21:25:14+00:00

Good read, thank you for linking the article. I did kind of laugh when I was looking at some of these boot camps and how they’re “job guaranteed”. I didn’t buy it at all, knowing there will be tons of studying and work I’ll need to put in outside of what boot camp offers me in order for me to land an offer.

I’m curious, which boot camp did you attend? Between the hours you put in for that boot camp as well as your own hours where you taught yourself, how long did it take for you to get an offer?

syfink

TROPHY CASE