It’s official: I’m a resident of Chilton County. My new house (I won’t say where it is lest some local sports fan, upset over a perceived shortage of coverage of his or her team, pays me a late-night visit with toilet paper rolls or eggs) is my 10th residence in about as many years. I hope I last a little longer in this one.

The last roof I slept under was my parents’ house in Columbiana. As much as I loved their culinary skills and their willingness to use those skills, the basketball goal in the spacious driveway and taking our yellow Labrador retriever, Molly, for a walk every morning, I succumbed to the temptations of a low interest rate, a reduced list price, an $8,000 tax credit, a shorter drive to work and having my own place.

In Columbiana, Molly has much more freedom, a lake, and someone able to spend time with her during the day, so I’m settling for weekend visitations.

As most of you probably already knew, buying a house doesn’t happen overnight. I looked at probably 20 houses before finding one that was appealing, fit my needs and was in my price range. And that’s just the beginning. There also is the price negotiation, the loan application process, walk-throughs, closing, and moving in.

Even after all this, I wasn’t done. I had to get the house homesteaded and a new appraisal turned in at the tax assessor’s office at the county courthouse and the water put in my name at city hall. Already tired of the whole process and dreading the inevitable conversations that would go right over my head, these trips could have been frustrating. Instead, everyone I worked with was as friendly, knowledgeable, patient and helpful as anyone could hope for.

Though it doesn’t seem to be my nature, maybe I’ll settle in and stay awhile.