Que sera sera...........

Whatever will be, will be.  The future's not ours to see, que sera sera.

I find myself repeating the lyrics to this song often these days.  It gives me a little peace of mind, because I know that as much as I want to be able to anticipate our next move, and to know what the best course of action is regarding whether or not to buy a house, and where we should buy if we do go that route, ultimately, the choice will become clear in time.  I asked my husband today if he wanted to hear my thoughts on the best course of action, and his response was, "Sure, go ahead, you will change your mind tomorrow anyhow."  He knows me well.  I have been spending a lot of time looking at homes for sale in Northern VA.  And getting information on school districts.  To my dismay, the best school district for special ed is reportedly Fairfax County.  Which is also the most expensive area to live in in Northern VA, with an median income of $119,000.  It is the county closest to Washington, DC, and where Tim is likely to work next.  I also have enough experience with schools and with teachers to know that you can have a great school and a crummy teacher, or a less than great school, with a good teacher, and a child's experience in the same school can be very different from year to year.   Yesterday, I was totally leaning towards buying a home in Fairfax,  so that our kids could go to the "best" public schools, and then today, I realized that our quality of life could suffer greatly if we end up in an area we cannot afford.  We are pretty "regular" people.  I know Molly has been saying she doesn't want to move to VA because "everyone there is preppy and snobby".   I would hate for my kids to feel like outsiders because they might not have the same means as some of the other kids at school, and might miss out on some opportunities because we could not afford the lifestyle.  While I have no desire to "keep up with the Jones's" it can be hard on the kids to stand out.  And, while those county schools are highly rated, none of my kids are Princeton candidates, so maybe that is not as important as I was thinking.  

More affordable houses for sale are available in Stafford and Prince William counties, which are south of Fairfax, and would mean a longer commute for Tim.   Traffic there is notoriously horrendous, and he might have to resort to "slugging" it, which goes so completely against his nature, but I am sure he would come home with some interesting stories!  I have good info from a friend about good schools in Stafford (not sure about the special ed part, though), and the community they live in might be more suited to our income.   But, it is difficult to know, because there isn't anyone in those areas who we can compare costs of living with!  No one else is feeding a family of 11 (10 when Katie goes to Denver), or driving a 15 passenger gas guzzler, on my husband's salary level.  I'd venture to say that not many people do as much laundry as I do, and buying a home means paying for electricity and water!

A very good option for us (at least I think so, but my husband still thinks we should buy) is to move into base housing at Ft Belvoir.  They have brand new 5 bedroom housing.  There is a hospital on base (Mick's been admitted 4 times for asthma attacks needing supplemental oxygen), and a commissary, where our food dollars go furthest.  While there are no DOD schools there, there is an elementary school on the base which is a Fairfax county school, and our big kids would go to Fairfax county schools off base, so they would be in the best district, but we wouldn't have the high cost of housing if we lived on base.  We would be living among other military families, so our kids would attend school with their neighbors, with whom they have at least that in common.  Tim would be a lot closer to the Pentagon than he would if we bought a home in a more affordable county.  The clincher is that we aren't guaranteed base housing, and the wait for housing can sometimes be up to a year!  We are driving down to VA in April to house hunt, and we also have an appointment with the housing office at Ft Belvoir to see if they can give us any idea if we might be able to move onto base this summer.  They've already told us they might not have that info till 30 days out (since residents aren't required to give more than 30 days vacate notice), but it is my hope that my incredible charm and charisma might just cause them to make us a priority.  Ha.  I will not mention how hard we are on a house, or how many times Mick has clogged the toilet.  I will make us appear to be the picture perfect family, and convince them that it would benefit the entire community to have us as residents.  Wish me luck! 

Que  sera, sera.  Maybe we will get down there and fall in love with the perfect house, and it will be well within our price range, allowing for the additional electric and water bills, and taxes, with money left over to order pizza now and then, in a great neighborhood with great schools and easy access to a commissary.   That would be a good investment.  Stranger things have happened.  Whatever will be, will be.