Home Sweet Home? Home Sweet Condo? Home Sweet Apartment?

We have been dabbling with the idea of buying a place for a while now. We actually started looking while we were engaged but I had to take a hiatus for that whole wedding thing that was going on and keeping me oh so busy. But now that we have been married for a few months, we are revisiting the topic again and people, it is so hard to know what to do.

Pros: Owning our own place would built equity, we could make a place our own, we could really settle down and stay in one place for a while, the prices are lowest they have been in almost a decade, etc.

Cons: Being strapped into a mortgage is kind of scary, the economy isn't particularly stable at the moment and if one of our companies shut down we would be in BIG trouble, home loans are harder to attain, we really would need to fairly certain we weren't going to up and move in a year, etc.

And everyone we ask has a different opinion: "It's a fantastic time to buy!" "It's the worst time to buy EVER!" Newspapers and news reels tell the same conflicting story and most of our conversations end with us looking at each other, shrugging our shoulders and saying, "I dunno."

But as confusing as the entire decision is, we have come to a conclusion of where this mythical home could possibly be: in sleepy, seaside Des Moines. Every time we go out exploring the different burbs, we somehow end up in Des Moines. Last week, we went to explore Georgetown (Seriously underwhelmed by that one. Next!) and somehow we end up 20 miles away in Des Moines. Again. It's quiet, on the water and seems very family-friendly. On our last trip, I counted 3 baby strollers and two dog-walkers on one street. I love it there, but the question remains, is now the right time and is it the right place? It means the leaving the city, which is bitter sweet for me- I get tired of the lack of parking, the crazy traffic and the sirens, but I also love downtown movies, living within 2 miles of a Tom Douglas restaurant and the awesome shopping.

Suffice it to say, if someone all-knowing and all-powerful (hmm... I know this guy I think, he's awesome) could hit us over the head with a clear-cut sign we would really appreciate it. And if the Mariners could win the pennant that would wonderful as well.