Welcome to my new home

Over the last several months my partner and I have been deliberating around the possibility of moving home again; it's not that we don't like our current home, just that there's things we have and don't need and things we don't have and would like (and need) moving forward if we are to move closer to our goals. We've been looking at it from various angles and while we're finding answers are not really any closer to a decision.

We moved a short while ago and have been happy in that house and, like I've said before, it's not the house itself that makes the home, it's the people in it and how we make the house feel like our home through our personal touches that truly matters...but the house itself needs to have the right feel as well and that's become an issue because we haven't been able to locate a property that ticks that box.

Some have most of the elements we need, and the right feel, but aren't quite in the right location, and some feel really great but don't have the features we need, the space for my vehicles and things for instance.

We're not being picky, or precious about it, but when one spends this amount of money and is intending to stay for a long time it's important to get it right - mistakes are costly. I'd also like to move away from the city, say an hour or so out, which would put me in a quiet location, a smaller town; The Barossa Valley fits that location need: Tanunda, Lyndoch, Nuriootpa, Williamstown, Angaston, all small towns dotted around the lovely Barossa Valley region...but the house has to be right and they can be difficult to come by. It's been frustrating.

I'm looking forward to opening the door to my friends and saying, "welcome to my new home," to inviting them in and celebrating a new stage of life but I can't do that without the right home and that's been elusive. I suppose the good thing is that there's no real rush; I've had to move homes quickly, make rapid decisions, in the past, and that's not the best way to do it so we'll slow it down, take our time and work towards finding the right place...and deal with the frustration of not finding what we want.

Have you ever been house hunting? I know @ksteem recently did it then moved and all at a time when things were in turmoil in other aspects of his and his wife's life...it can be stressful and very disheartening if things don't come together quickly, it's important to keep focused, and Kris certainly did that but I guess we all handle it differently and maybe you've done it well, very badly or somewhere in between yourself. If you've got a house hunting, buying or moving story and want to share it in the comments please go ahead.