The long slog threw one apartment after another, weighing the potential upsides and downsides of every single aspect of a house is finally over. We bought a house! This is one of those tremendously important things that happen in someone’s life, but the ramifications of this purchase have yet to sink in because until I step foot in a bare apartment and place my stuff there for the first time, it won’t feel like it’s ours. Right now, it’s just a very expensive dream that I’ll be forced to pay for over an extended period of time.

This is partly because while we put down money for a down payment, and we have a moving date, we still aren’t any closer to really living in the apartment than we were when we signed the contract. There are still loan negotiations and the process of actually moving in that sort of hamper any sense of accomplishment gained by signing and stamping a paper to agree to buy an apartment. Sure, the apartment is eventually going to be ours, but it’s not like I can kick my feet up and play some Wii at the new place now is it? Until we move in and figure out where we are financially, all other plans are sort of on hold.

The place we ended up purchasing is literally ACROSS THE STREET from our current apartment block. We’re moving MAYBE 300-500 meters (I suck at long distance metric units), yet now we have a debt to worry about, logistics of a move, and the responsibilities and worries of people that now own a small piece of real estate. To be fair, 90% of the burden of all the work falls to my wife since she handles most of the Korean language work. I’ll pack boxes and carry the entirety of the apartment over on my back if it would make it easier for her though. This is work I want everyone to consider a success.

All of this worry for an apartment to call our own. There are definite upsides to knowing you own a place, but I haven’t really wrapped my head around those yet either.

There are certain milestones in my life that I never expected to happen while I was in Korea. Getting married? Getting a dog? Buying a house? The longer I stay here, the list of things I’ve done in Korea keeps growing. I’m tremendously happy that we can accomplish our goals to improve our lives, and that we were successful in finding a home almost in our price range where we wanted to live.

Once we move in and start paying off the loan, there will be this huge sense of relief that we accomplished our goal for this year. Sure, being in serious debt for the first time in my life will probably be a new experience that I won’t enjoy, but risk versus reward, you know?

Plus, my friends visit Korea the week after we move into the apartment. That’ll be one hell of a housewarming party.