Location + Square Footage= $$$$

Welcome to East of the Five! The 5 freeway, that is. My name is Annie and, along with my husband Drew, I'm a first time homeowner. Why east of the five? Because we live in beautiful Southern California, where the weather is gorgeous and the property values are sky high. Going to college in this beautiful area and having grown up somewhat spoiled in my world property view, I boldly declared at a younger age that I could never live east of the five. Ten years later, I not only live east of the 5, but of the 805 and 15 freeways as well. I learned a hard, brutal lesson in our property search: Location + Size= $$$$.
So my husband and I wound up with a 1947 fixer-upper with a quarter acre lot (which, for southern California, is unheard of), right on the edge of our budget and slightly over our DIY skill level. This blog is an attempt to provide a humorous and realistic view of first-time home ownership and "do it yourself" remodeling. It's also a way for me, a notoriously failed journal-keeper, to have some accountability in chronicling our journey as newlyweds and homeowners. Together we'll see if that journey leads me to love where we live or if it sends me running back to the other side of the five!

A map of our area. 

Note the 5, 805, and 15 freeways we do not live west of.