Not quite as easy as we thought...

House hunting in Boston. It's about as epic a challenge as our friends said it would be. Before now, I always wondered what the big deal was. Determine what you want and what you can afford, see a few places, pick the best compromise -- or luck into your dream house -- and buy. Simple, right?

Maybe in Akron, Ohio, where I used to live and houses were both plentiful and cheap. Not so much in the Boston area. Since we started haunting open houses in February, we've traipsed through at least 100 homes. We're not being prima donnas, honest -- but we're still looking. Now we know what our friends were talking about. It's a roller coaster and marathon all rolled into one.

But it's exciting too, and sometimes even fun: dreaming about what we want, and seeing how others live. We've both rented all our adult lives, including the last four years we've lived together in a Cambridge apartment. The urge for a place of our own finally coincided with softening home prices and workable personal finances. We decided to take the plunge.

So, from that unworldly mismash of heaven and hell inhabited by the Boston homebuyer: Welcome. And stay tuned - I'll keep you posted as we pound the pavement in search of our first piece of real estate.