If You Want to Save Money, Live in a Garage (of Awesomeness)

6 Jun

Most Angelenos cringe when they have to admit to family and friends who live outside of Los Angeles how much they pay in rent. Or at least, family and friends cringe on our behalf. Los Angeles housing is expensive.

Our friend and comedian, Don Friesen, on Home Ownership in Los Angeles. WATCH IT.

Our first home was not cheap. Yet, we don’t regret living there, because for our priorities a year ago (a one bedroom place with a yard and dog door in the Silverlake neighborhood of LA) it was a really good deal and a perfect start for us. We even talked the landlord down $350 per month at signing.


When we made the decision to move to Buenos Aires, we knew we would need to move out as soon as the lease was up. We need as much financial cushion as possible until Maggie lands a decent job. So, this weekend we packed up and moved out of our home in Silverlake for cheaper rent as sub-tenants in Pasadena at the “Garage of Awesomeness.”

Living in the Garage of Awesomeness is saving us a good chunk of change. And yes, for a garage apartment the rent is still a bit outrageous to non-Angelenos.

BEFORE: $1650/month – One bedroom, stand-alone house in Silverlake
Add onto that normal utilities and internet and we were paying close to $1900 in basic home costs.

NOW: $775/month – studio Garage of Awesomeness
All bills are included, even cable TV, which we haven’t had before!


We’re saving an extra $900 or more per month for the next three months! That should afford us close to 6 months of rent in Buenos Aires if all goes to plan.

Thinking Too Much About Passports

31 May

As we plan our move to South America, one of the most annoying aspects we have to deal with is gaining permission to enter and eventually stay there. I wish we could just go and then people there could see us for who we are and welcome us based on our character or some other quality, like playing an oboe.


Instead, we have to jump through the hoops. When I stop and think about it, I get it. Despite my annoyance at the whole bureaucratic process, I understand why a Passport is a good thing.

Venturing into someone else’s claimed territory unannounced or without proper credentials is often a sure way to get into trouble. It’s universal.

If you don’t have the proper credentials, you can’t go backstage at a concert, you can’t walk into the Pentagon, and you certainly can’t just stop by to visit Donald Trump at his home(s). At any of these places, there’s a team of security ready to pounce on you if venture too far without proper credentials and clearance. Cain had to be “marked” as he entered into new territory so people would not kill him. Gabriel, in the movie The Mission, had to impress the locals through his oboe playing.

While I still find it annoying that people are unable to travel more freely, I can appreciate the value of a Passport given how fearful we all are of each other. A Passport is a decent answer to a universal problem. I am thankful that as long as we pay the dues and pass through through all the hoops, we’ll be welcomed upon arrival and not tossed out. This is a good thing.

And so, Maggie and I have updated our Passports. That’s step one to making sure we have the proper credentials. Now we need to look into immunizations and visas. Those are much more time-consuming.

Details:
Passport book renewal fee: $110 x 2 = $220
Process length: 6-10 weeks
More info at U.S. State Department website

Before We Age: Preventing a Mid-Life Crisis

23 May

Why we entitled our blog “Before We Age.”

From a young age, I remember hearing enough people voice a wistfulness for not doing something while they were still young and able. Those voices have shaped me. Their wisdom to “seize the day” and “do it while you can” have been a guiding factor in many of my life transitions.


For example, I left a corporate gig in Houston to study Family Therapy at Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, California, even though I didn’t really want to be a Family Therapist. Many of my fellow students and professors rightly asked me with the most confused facial expressions possible, “Why?”

Eventually, I learned to half-jokingly tell them I was preventing a mid-life crisis.

“One day I’ll want to go to grad school to study this stuff, but won’t be able to because I’ll have bills to pay and kids to feed. I just thought I’d get it out of the way, so I don’t go crazy later.” No one ever seemed to walk away satisfied by that!

But that’s it. I still think that way. I don’t want to be wistful about my life when I get older. I want to live a life of as few regrets as possible. I want to love people, serve God, and enjoy this life while God allows me to.

Sometimes the decision is to stay put for a while and invest in people. Other times the decision is to go after the unique moment. For the past 4 1/2 years I’ve tried to serve well at SPCC, even though there were times I wanted to leave. If had I left with everyone else, I would have regretted it. I stayed and God blessed.

Going to Argentina is the same thing: it’s a unique moment that must be followed. It’s us trying to heed the wisdom of so many wistful adults and the wisdom of Ecclesiastes 12:1:

Remember your Creator

in the days of your youth,

before the days of trouble come

and the years approach when you will say,

“I find no pleasure in them.”

Moving to Argentina is about us taking these last few “pre-parent” years of our life to enjoy a unique opportunity. It’s about us enjoying the days of our youth since God only gives us these years once.

But if you ask me again, I’ll just tell you that I’m preventing a mid-life crisis.

A (Long) Detour through Buenos Aires!

13 May

Maggie and I met in November 2008 and were married in July 2010. Both of us were transplants to LA. Maggie arrived in 2006 through Teach for America to become a high school teacher. I drove out from Texas in 2005 to attend Fuller Seminary.

Before we met, both us knew that LA would not be home forever. Once engaged, we had to ask “when?” When should we pack up and leave this city that has been so good to us?

Both of us have stable and rewarding jobs. I have been the Senior Pastor at South Pasadena Christian Church for the past 3 years. Maggie has been an English Teacher at Locke High School for the past 5 years. We are passionate about our work, but in answering when to leave, we realized there was no better time than now.

Despite loving our life together in LA, four factors finally led us to decide to leave LA this summer.

  1. I have peace about where the church is, and that the leadership there will carry on the mission well. What I felt called to do there, I believe has been done. Now, it’s someone else’s turn to carry it on in new ways.
  2. Maggie’s school is closing down after this year. In fact, both schools within the Locke network of schools where she has taught over the years are closing after this school year.
  3. We want to raise kids around extended family and we have no family in LA. Our goal is to eventually move to or near Columbus, Ohio, where much of Maggie’s (large) family lives.
  4. Separately, both of us have always wanted to live in a Spanish-speaking country for a year or so to become fluent in Spanish. We know that this would be much harder if we already had kids running around.

With those pieces of the puzzle coming together we decided that now is the time to make the big move down south.

So, in October, Maggie and I will be moving to Buenos Aires, Argentina!

That’s right, MOVING. Our hope is to live and work in Buenos Aires between 10 months to 2 years. The length of our stay will depend on a variety of things such as jobs, income, health, comfort, etc. However it works out, this is going to be a long detour filled with adventure, many firsts, and unique stresses before settling down in the Midwest.

As you can imagine, moving across the globe isn’t something that can be done well on a whim (unless you’re ridiculously rich). We’ve already started planning for the big move and we have a lot more to do in the coming months. There’s a ton to share with you.

So keep up with us and our adventure here at http://www.beforeweage.com. We’ll post tips for others who are making similar moves. We’ll post updates and roadblocks. And once we arrive in Buenos Aires, we’ll post photos, stories, and thoughts about our new life.

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