Let me introduce myself

I’m not originally from Baltimore, I only moved here because my Husband “the Funny Man” is from here and I was able to find work here right out of college. So I moved to the west side of the county after getting married. I’ve learned quite a bit since moving to Baltimore, some I’ve learned on my own, some from my very outgoing husband (which I wasn’t when younger) From him I’ve learned that Baltimore is the biggest little town ever (smalltimore). We are always running into people he knows or has known. He’s also taught me that if I’m going to make friends in this state, I need to talk to people I don’t know (Strangers). So after several years of working and living in Smalltimore, I gradually grew more confident talking to people, and we were ready to buy our first house. We wanted to start out with a single family house, in a good neighborhood, and here’s the kicker, it had to be for under $200,000. Impossible you say? Not in the magical place called Nottingham, and I don’t mean from the movie Robin Hood. It is in the sort-of NE part of Baltimore county, near the city line not in it, and right near where 695 and 95 meet, on the top end, so very accessible. Our house is a single family, although kinda small, and pretty old, House. We have our own yard (without driveway) and it needed a lot of work (still does but what old house doesn’t). The neighborhood is great, and the elementary school is walking distance. Even in the height of the housing boom it was still under $200,000. At the time I had no idea what a great part of the county this is. After getting settled in and getting a puppy we were ready for kids, and that’s when everything changed. We made the decision when our 1^st was born for me to stay home. The economy tanked and with being an Interior Designer (a luxury commodity) work would be unreliable. Hubby has a reliable job, and I didn’t want to miss the baby growing up, but it also meant we would be a one income family on a budget. So I had to learn free or cheap things to do, eat, etc. So after almost four years of being a stay at home mom and one more baby later, I’d like to share everything I’ve learned so far, and I learned these things by talking to strangers.