Boarding

We drove up to Big Rapids today to box up my few things in my cubicle. Then I ran upstairs to see my dept. chair. I asked her if she knew anyone who took in boarders, and she did. In fact, the woman works in our department. So I called the woman tonight, and we're driving back up there on Sunday to check it out. The house is an 1879 Victorian, with six bedrooms. Apparently, I would share a bathroom, possibly with the owner herself. The board is cheap, only $25 a night, or $300 a month. That beats Holiday Inn Express's $100 a night. And with gas heading upwards toward $5 a gallon, road construction that will continue as long as the weather holds, and then snow and ice on the highways to deal with, boarding with someone sounds like a plan.

I would be there from Monday late afternoon each week until Thursday, when I'd drive back to Grand Rapids to teach the night class downtown. Then home again for a few days. It's not perfect, but it would be better than trying to sell our house right now. The market is still horrible. There are hundreds of foreclosed properties for sale (if not millions), and while living apart from my husband is not an ideal situation, at least I could be on campus more and get more done up there than I would at home. I presume there would be no television to watch, and if I needed to work on the computer, there will be one in my office, only 8 minutes away from the house. Of course, I could drive up there and find that the place is horrible, rundown, and smelly, but I doubt it. She's already got a couple of other professors there. [By the way, the photo with this entry is generic, not really of her house.]

Unfortunately, she also has a dog, but as long as I'm not expected to share my bedroom with it, no problem.

Anyway, we'll see how it goes for a semester or two, and maybe the housing market will recover, maybe gas prices will return to something more akin to normal, and maybe I'll win the lottery. S.