House Hunters International-Okinawa edition

Before we arrived on island (that's how they say it here, it's "on island", not "on the island" :) we knew that we would prefer to live off base because we had heard from several people that they had fabulous experiences living off base. However, our sponsor had heard that we would probably be on (you have to live on if they are less than 95% occupancy). So, I tried to have a positive attitude about which ever situation we found ourselves in (and there really are several pros and cons to both). When Grant checked in we were notified that they were 100% occupied and we would have to live off base. Yay! So...the house hunting began. 

On Tuesday afternoon our rental agent picked us up at the hotel and said she had 3 houses in our price range to show us. Grant sat in back with Rowan so this was the first time I had really been up front paying attention to where we were going, etc. It was a little bit helpful in familiarizing myself with the island. So, we went to each of the 3 houses, and then in hearing us talk about what we liked and didn't, we saw 3 additional houses. However, the 3 initial houses were really the ones we were most serious about. Our discussion on the way home sounded EXACTLY like House Hunters. Here were our options:

House #1: Gorgeous ocean view, walk to the beach, 3 years old, detached garage

House #2: New construction, partial view over some trees, utilities included in rent price

House #3: New construction with upgrades, beautiful exterior and interior, farthest from the beach

Which one did we pick???

#1-the ocean view with a 2 car garage. We got spoiled in Oceanside and thought if we had the opportunity, we couldn't pass up the view and proximity to the beach!

It is not truly Japanese styled, it is very Americanized, but there are still some fun Japanese touches that I like. One of the Japanese touches I don't like is the small kitchen. However, after putting most everything away, it's not as tiny as I thought. However, a pantry would be REALLY nice :)

We do have a small yard, a little bit of grass and a large cement patio that I think will be so much fun when Rowan gets a little bigger.

 Master bedroom

 And the master bedroom view... LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION...

(and when living overseas, even if you live somewhere under your housing allowance, you don't get to keep the extra, so we made sure to maximize our allowance, but were still able to get this place without paying any extra!)

 Aside from the view, one of the biggest selling points for me was this amazing path that goes along the ocean just steps away from our house. I need to get back in shape and this is the best way I can think to do it :)

It's such a different beach than Oceanside, but still beautiful and fun. Once the crazy summer humidity dies down I think I'll like it even more :)

We are grateful to be able to live here and have this overseas adventure with our little family. We have already met some great people, and although I miss everyone at home so much, I am hopeful that this will feel like home very soon.