The Foreign Service Journal, June 2018

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2018 41 Would You Do It Again? “We’re extremely happy with our decision to buy,” says Pernal. “Our first home leave cost us $6,000 to rent a house for four weeks. That was just the rent. Last summer, a home leave in Eastham, Massachusetts, would have cost at least $2,000 a week, and we spent 10 weeks in the Cape in our home—that’s $20,000 just for rent.” The only negative consequence, he says, is the fact that they won’t be able to buy in D.C. if they are ever posted there, so they’ll need to find a place they can afford to rent. “We figured we could get a really nice beach house that our 9-year-old son could call home for about the same price, if not less, than a shoebox in the District.” Skeirik is also happy with their decision. “My perspective has really changed since we bought this place,” she says. She’s been moving around as a federal employee for 27 years. “You spend that time with no place where you can see yourself in five or 10 years,” she says. “Now I have a place, and I can picture myself there in my house. We’re even planning to look at boats! Something small; nothing fancy. We’ll buy a small Buy where you want to be, but don’t expect family members to rush to see you when you come into town. sailboat before we retire. It can sit in the garage and wait for us to get there.” Another bonus of owning a home is “having a safe haven when bad things happen,” says Shannon. “When Hurricane Matthew came through Haiti and we went on authorized departure, we just came home. We didn’t have to even think about where to go. The house was waiting; we didn’t have to stay at a hotel or with Mom. We just went home.” Plus, Shan- non says—and this could seal the deal for many of you—her home in Texas has not a single piece of government-issue Drexel furniture. It’s all hers. n