For those of you who didn’t know, I lived in Atlanta for a short time after my husband finished his residency. He was offered a job at Northside Hospital, and we decided to leave sunny San Diego and head to The ATL.
I imagined my new home would be my dream home—and you bet I made a detailed list of everything it HAD to have. It wasn’t a short list either! When I shared it with my husband (who lovingly smiled and nodded), I was already dreaming of that perfect house.
When we arrived in Atlanta, I found a Realtor and eagerly showed her my list. And that’s when reality set in. She gently asked me to narrow it down to my top five must-haves. Top five! I was horrified. To me, it felt like she was suggesting I’d have to settle.
Fast forward a few weeks, and we found a house we loved. Did it have everything on my original list? Of course not! Did we make updates over time? Absolutely. Was I happy while we lived there? Without a doubt.
The biggest lesson I learned? Sometimes, “settling” isn’t really settling at all—it’s a chance to make a house your own. The features you thought were deal-breakers start to matter less, while the feeling of home becomes everything. And funny enough, in time, I did end up with everything I wanted—just in ways I hadn’t expected.
If you're in the market and feeling the weight of a long wish list, know this: the right home will speak to you, even if it’s missing a few of those original boxes you thought you had to check.
Don’t be afraid to let go of perfect. It might just make room for something even better.
