A year in our home

Today is exactly one year since we collected the keys to our home.

Buying a property together has been a life-changing event for us. The journey was not without challenges, but well worth it. I've always wanted a place of my own. I greatly value the freedom and privacy that comes with it. Not financial freedom (hopefully one day, but I'm definitely feeling the weight of the mortgage now), but the freedom to live life my way, and having my own private space where I feel safe, comfortable and can look forward to going back to after a long day.

Finding our home

It was mostly me who wanted to get a house initially. However, as an unmarried couple, our options were limited. We evaluated our finances and the available units, including several new launches and the resale market. Michelle didn't have many opinions, while I had a few boxes to tick. We went for multiple viewings, saw a unit we liked, consulted our parents, and went ahead with it. I'm fortunate to be able to afford it, but it was the biggest purchase of our lives, and I still remember my hands slightly trembling when signing the OTP.

Making it ours

As difficult as the purchase was, that was just the beginning. After that, it was comparing the different IDs, shopping for furniture, hunting for appliances, kitchenware… it could get overwhelming at times, especially as neither of us is very decisive. Sometimes we were happy to have scored a good deal, but often I wondered if I would regret my decision. I'm grateful to Michelle for being patient with me throughout and teaching me to stop overthinking and just make the best of every decision once we have committed to it.

Living together

Both of us have always preferred staying in to going out, so we spend most of our time together at home. There are now more routines in our life, such as cooking dinner, cleaning the house, and working out. Spending a lot of time together in a private space has also let us learn more about each other, including our living habits and quirks. Overall it has been a fun experience and has brought us closer. Interestingly, I feel that over time we have somehow influenced each other and our habits have slowly converged, like how I now always shower in cold water, and how Michelle is waking up earlier to start the day.

We're happy to finally have a place to call our own, and we look forward to building our next phase of life together.