Home, sweet, where?

As i am sure most of you know that i have been in the midst of a housing crisis. My rent at my fabulous townhouse is going way up and i have made the decision to move. Now it was hard for me to come to this decision. I have some wonderful friends that live in the townhouses with me and i hate to move from them. The bride and groom included. (BTW is it time to change the brides name or does it just stick? please give me your feedback) Anyways, after much deliberation i have decided that paying the higher rent plus all my utilities is just stupid. After all is said and done, at the end of the month, i am paying a mortgage payment. I could own my own place and make it fabulous for what i am paying. Needless to say i do have a few things that i need to do and prepare for before i go out in the the wonderful,or not so wonderful world of being a home owner. So i figure, if i move, i will move to a place where the rent is not as much, and i can start to seriously save for my casa. And, if the bride is reading this, i am checking into the lower for you and your loved one to move as well. I know that you are rolling your eyes right now saying yeah right, but i can dream can't i?!? I'll let you use my washer and dryer... :-). But lets not get ahead of ourselves. i still need to find a place, but i am putting my 60 day notice in this weekend. Yikes! My pre-requisites... major closet space/or whole other room for closet, and a great kitchen with storage. Oh and neighbors that aren't crack heads. Oh i haven't told you about the recent news of the addict neighbors have i? hmmm that's a whole other blog!