Future house

We don't really know when we'll return to the USA, but it’s still fun to scheme about our future home there. As mentioned in the previous post, we still have a house in Houston that is currently rented out. We could always return to live in that house, but we are also considering purchasing another property as we’d like a more sustainable and relaxed lifestyle in the country when we return.

Ideally, we'd be able to find a property with some acreage, maybe 3-10 acres, that has lots of trees, wildlife (ideally edible species like wild pigs and deer), some topography, a water source, and definitely no HOA or other restrictions. Of course, it would still have to be close enough to commute to work, decent schools for the kids, and not be crazy expensive. Now, that is asking alot of the Houston area (assuming we return there), so I don't know we'll be able to find such a property.

In the event that we did, I'd like to build an earth sheltered concrete house. I found out about this building technique about a year ago from my Mom as there is a builder in her area that specializes in it. Their website is here: www.earthshelteredhome.com

The benefits of this home construction method are so obvious that I am surprised that more homes aren't built this way. It offers excellent energy efficiency, resistance to natural disasters such as hurricanes and tornadoes, reduced pests and mold, and many others. The cost is a bit more, but you'd make it back over time with reduced energy costs. I think it could also be designed to offer more security in an end of the world scenario than a traditional wood frame and brick exterior house could.

It would be of modest size for our family of 5 (2000-2500 sqft), have a big porch (maybe even elevated), and a generous garage/workshop area. I would likely tie it to the grid initially, but I’d like to eventually have it be totally self-sufficient with: water well, septic system, rainwater collection, gas generator, solar panels, and maybe even wind turbines.

In the spirit of my previous post, I would first pay off the rental property (if possible) and then use the rental property to help pay down the second property.

Makes me want to go search har.com. :)

Thoughts on house debt

I have been thinking deeply about debt and finances off and on over the last couple months. I find it an interesting topic, but I am certaintly by no means an expert in it.

Today, I had lunch with a co-worker who is from India. We discussed how buying a home in India is drastically different that in America. In India, getting a mortgage through a bank is underheard of. If you can't afford a house, then you save money until you can. Maybe you could even convince some friends or family to loan you some money, but the bank doesn't get involved. You can even pay your lifetime of property taxes all at once. Just that simple.

In the US, it is the opposite. My friend just couldn't understand why you would agree to pay almost all of the mortgage payment on interest, pmi, and property taxes (in escrow) while only making a small dent in the principle. I must admit that I just hadn't thought about how crazy it sounds because it is standard operating procedure to get a mortgage when buying a home in the US. The banks certainly like the way it is set up as you end up buying your house several times over if you take 30 years to pay down your mortgage or better yet that you upgrade your house every couple years.

He did, however, did see the value in me continuing to rent my house in Houston while we lived abroad as at least someone else was paying the bank. I often wonder if keeping the house and renting it out was a smart move. I hope I don't regret not selling it down the road. Time will tell. At least I am working towards increasing my assets...

Today's conversation renewed my conviction to work towards truly owning my own home and enjoying the peace and security that that brings to those so fortunant to achieve it.

Trip to Taiwan

We took a two week long family trip to Taiwan over spring break. Ok, so it was a little bit long than the usual one week spring break, but the kids going to school and me going to work is over-rated, right?

Anyway, we met up with Julia's parents in Taipei and the adventure started.

We walked around Taipei 101 (at one time the tallest building in the world), and ate way too much delicious food, while visiting Julia's extended family. We also visited the Taipei LDS temple.

Then we traveled to Taichung and more family, ate more food, and visited the scenic Sun Moon Lake (where we rode on the cable cars). We also cruised around the lake in an express boat. I always enjoy a boat ride, but Julia and Joseph tend to get seasick. :( We capped off the day having a snack at a ritzy new hotel that Julia's family member owns. Ohh, ahhh.

We also went to the National Science museum where we saw dinosaurs and tons of other exibits. We also watch one of the original IMAX movies about flight. I love how your stomach gets turned with the camera!

Then, we rode back to Taipei and visit yet more family and eat even more food and visited the Taipei Zoo. The zoo was great in that it had some real hard to find animals like koala bears and panda bears. Each bathroom had signs about feces, which was kinda weird, but funny.

Like a flash, two weeks were up and we were waiting at Julia's new favorite airport terminal gate to return to Jakarta. We loved how the Hello Kitty theme extended beyond the store into the waiting area. Each gate had its own theme.

Lots of great memories and time with loved ones! I miss the food and great people of Taiwan already. :)

Time Flies

I had no idea about how quickly time really does fly until moving overseas.  We have been in Jakarta for a little over a year now, and it literally seems like we just arrived yesterday.  I think time feels like it is flying by because we do so much.  In the States, we hardly ever went anywhere other than the usual…to work, to school, and to visit family. Most weekends we stayed at home or close to home. Here we are doing so much more. The kids have more after-school and extra-curricular activities. We are also traveling a whole lot.
Last year we arrived at the end of February.  In March, I took the kids to Balikpapan to spend Spring Break with DH.  He was sent there for a 4.5 week assignment just after we moved to Jakarta.  In July, we went back to the U.S. for 3 weeks to visit friends and family.  In October, we spent a week in Bali during Fall Break.  In November, we took the kids to Hong Kong over Thanksgiving break. 
In between all the larger trips, we took short trips in and around Jakarta to see the many sights.  It seems like a rare thing for us to stay home on the weekends.  Although we did not fly anywhere during the 3 week Christmas break, we still did lots of fun things around Jakarta.
This year is also blowing by quickly.  In March we took a 2 week trip to Taiwan to meet up with my parents.  This last weekend (Easter weekend) we went to Singapore for a few days.  Next month we are headed to Malaysia for several days.  Then the day after school lets out in mid June, the kids and I will be off to Texas for 2 months!  By the time we get back, more than half of 2012 will be over.
DH and I talked about all the things that we have done in the last year.  Mostly the reason we have been so active going places and seeing things is because we do not know how long we will be living overseas.  This might be our only opportunity to live in a foreign country. We are definitely trying to make the most of our time here.
Our kids are still so young.  We have wondered how much they will really remember.  Still, I am glad that they are having opportunities to go new places and experience so many wonderful things.  We feel very blessed to be able to spend so much time together as a family and to have so many positive experiences. Life is good.

Future cars

Even though I have a car in Indonesia and two cars in USA, I am still always daydreaming about buying more cars. Especially for when we return to the US in the future. Generally, I am thinking about one of two catergories: 4x4's and alternative energy / energy efficient cars.

I have always been a fan of 4x4's. I even spent a lot of my youth reading magazines and anything else I could about the subject, and yet I've never owned one. But I am pretty committed to getting one when I return to the US of A. I really want to get back into hunting and other outdoor projects. I generally like buying new cars (although our Indo car we bought used), but the trouble is that I just can't get over how much a new 4x4 truck or suv costs as it would not be a primary vehicle. So, I'll likely get a used one. Some of my personal favorite 4x4's are the Toyota FJ-40, Ford F150 4 door, and Toyota 4 door trucks. Sometimes I even think of going all out and getting a 3/4 ton Suburban / Expedition, but that's a lot of car. So far, my practical side has won out, and I've bought just enough car to meet my needs.

Recently, I've been doing a lot more research into high fuel efficiency vehicles. I guess its the nerd in me coming through. I've been in love with the Ford Fiesta (picture from autoblog.com) and Focus (especially the electric version) ever since they've been redesigned. Finally, America is getting refined, gorgous compact cars. I am also excited about other cars just now coming out like the plugin Prius and the Ford C-Max cars (even though they are missing the critical third row. Come on Ford!). 2012 should be an excited year for cars. :)

A couple years ago, I came fairly close to buying the Honda Civic CNG powered car. I really like the idea of filling up at home whether it is natural gas or electric. My commutes are generally well below the 100 range of CNG and electric cars, so I think they would suite my commuting needs perfectly. The main reason I never pulled the trigger is that I currenlty own a perfectly servicable Pontiac Vibe that gets great gas mileage (34 on highway) and is paid off. It is impossible to beat the economics of a paid off, reliable, fuel efficient car.

What I am really waiting for is the high efficiency family hauler. I would love to buy a 7-8 passenger car that gets 30+ mpg. Currently, for whatever reason, such a car has yet to be avaiable in the US. I currently have a Mazda 5 which is a fanastic car that seats 6 and get 30 mpg in the real world, so that may have to do for now until something better comes along.

We'll just have to wait and see what happens when we move back (whenever that is)...

Toyota Kijang update

I've always had an interest in cars, so I'll probably start blogging more about them in the future. Now that we've had our 2001 Toyota Kijang almost a year, I'll take a moment to reflect back on car ownership in Indonesia.

We bought the SUV from a friend at church that was moving to India. We got a fair price for the Kijang and the opportunity to hire our friend's driver, Hartoyo. Hiring Hartoyo has been great as he has lots of experience driving expats in Jakarta, and he is honest and reliable. There are many fantastic things about having a driver, but one of my favorite is that I have yet to see the Kijang dirty for more than a few hours. Even in the rainy season, Hartoyo keeps the inside and outside of the car immaculate. He reminds me of routine maintance, and is always willing to work late (for over-time, of course) when we need it. It is a pleasure to pay him each month as he has become an integral part of our life here.

As far the car goes, we pretty much bought it after a quick test drive, and I must say that so far the old Kijang has run like a champ. The car only has about 100,000 miles on it, but no telling how many hours on the engine as I am sure 90% of the gas we buy is burned up in idling in traffic. Whenever we are lucky enought to get out of Jakarta and up to 50+ mph, the car gets about 30 mpg (although I've never done a proper calculation).

As far as I know, the car has the original engine and transmission, and both work very smoothly even after 10+ years of bouncing down Indonesian roads. We have done some work on the car (with cost including labor): 2 oil changes (50 USD each), fuel filter replacement (20 USD), new shock absorbers (100 USD), repad the seats (100 USD), rework the A/C (200 USD), new seat belts (200 USD), replace a door lock motor (20 USD), new battery (80 USD), replace a headlight fuse (2 USD), and replace the radio power cord (20 USD). I may have forgotten a thing or two, but really the Kijang has treated us well and has yet to leave us stranded on the side of the road (knock on wood). :)

One year in Indonesia!

On 23 February, we celebrated one year in Indonesia. We had a nice dinner at Samy's Curry restaurant which serves Singapore style Indian food. It was delicious, but as a co-worker pointed out, a bit ironic that we didn't have Indo food. Oh well, LOL.

It's been crazy fast as we've done so much in so little time. We've many new friends and had so many amazing experiences. Most mornings I wake up and can't believe we live in SE Asia. Its like a dream come true...for me at least.

The family has done remarkably well at adapting to life here. I think that is largely due to my previous experience of living in Singapore and Malaysia, our family trips to Belize and Taiwan, and our even living in another state (Oklahoma) from our native Texas.

Really, life is very similar (with a few notable differences). We still have to get the kids out the door to go to school in the morning and I still do the same job (although I walk here instead of drive). The main differences would be that traffic dominates any decision of what activities to participate in and we live in an apartment instead of a house.

All in all we are enjoying our stay here and are looking forward to another great year in Jakarta!