Good gravy, this could just turn into the most expensive vacation ever - we're considering buying a little chunk of the forest on Vancouver Island. Somebody stop me!

I must be a nutcase. I've traded the stress of sitting on my hands in the office for the stress of possibly making a big real estate purchase. It's a big one, too. It would one day be the spot where I would watch the sunset on a deck as my teeth soak in a glass beside me. I've got ties to the Island from my past ... relatives (two aunt 'n uncles, a sister- and brother-in-law) and I used to live out here as a kid. Jenn's got the plan of someday living by the water and figures now would be the time to buy. She reasons that as the baby boomers get older, they will likely head for a temperate place to retire. I'm so distraght, I'm writing run-on sentences.

My head is just swimming with alarming thoughts.

am I stretching my finances too thin? I will be unemployed soon.

am I sure that I want to be on the coast? What's wrong with Calgary?

is this just a whim? This hasn't been a lifelong goal.

is the property I'm looking at really a good deal? Am I getting taken?

what if this place turns out to be a money pit? Have I got deep enough pockets to keep it going?

how much work is having two places (Calgary and Vancouver Island) going to be?

who is going to take care of the Vancouver Island place?
This all came to a head in the last two days. Jenn and I had been talking about getting some property in abstract terms for the last half-year. When we planned this summer's trip, we decided to look at some places we had found on Vancouver Island. After actually being out here and driving a few, we found one we thought was a good price, arranged to view and then toured the inside, and are now thinking of putting in an offer when we swing back through the area (Willis Point, near Victoria) on our way home.

I'm petrified that we might buy it.