10 Years Ago...

Do you know what you were doing 10 years ago today? I know exactly what my husband and I were doing. That was the day we first looked around the house that we bought 10 years ago tomorrow!

Have you ever had a "What the heck! Let's do it anyway" moment? Going back 11 years to 2012, I started looking online at houses for sale in Llandudno. It was a matter of daydreaming, really. I had always intended to go and live in Llandudno one day, but at that point I assumed the move was still several years away.

But there was one house that I kept looking at online. We had singled out three roads as being the best places to live and this house was in one of our chosen roads, a handsome, south-facing 1920s semi with a big bay window that was perfect for a Christmas tree. I loved it, but it was out of our price range. And anyway, we couldn't possibly pack in our old lives at that point ... could we?

That didn't prevent me from returning over and over again to 'my' house, just to see if it was still there. And it was. And I loved it. And we couldn't afford it.

Then a friend encouraged me (thank you, Alice!) to whizz up to Llandudno to see another property and I was happy to be persuaded. I booked a hotel and made the appointment with the estate agent. My husband knew how much I liked the 1920s house and we decided to look at it even though it was too expensive. I don't know quite what we were thinking.

What can I say? I went online to get the estate agent's phone number. The previous evening, the house had been full price. That morning, the price had dropped by a whopping £13,000 - and we could afford it.

That Sunday, we drove to Llandudno. On the Monday afternoon (10 years ago today), we went round the house and made an appointment to view it again the following morning.

On Tuesday morning, before our appointment, we stood by the cricket ground at the bottom of Lloyd Street and had our "What the heck" conversation.

What about getting jobs here? What about money? ... But what if we wait until it's an appropriate time to move? Who's to say what will be on the market then? ... But what about jobs? What about money?

And that was our "What the heck? Let's do it anyway" moment.

We bought the house. We moved. Everything fell into place. A lot of people have said to me, "It was meant to be," and while I don't believe in fate, I can see what they mean.

As for the "what about jobs?" question ... well, now I'm an author living by the sea. I believe that's what they call living the dream!