househunting woes of a mad white woman

yesterday, lee and i went house-hunting. we are awaiting a response from Struck, where lee is currently interning (word?) to see if this mess is going to turn into a job. i hate the waiting game. i need to plan. i mean, where are we going to be for the holidays? how can i buy decorations if i don't even have a home to use them in? when can i stop unpacking at the in-laws & pack up for our own home?

anyway, lee and i were discussing the order of items that should take precedence when looking for a place. what is most important? price? location? space? after all, we had just looked at, in my opinion, 3 heinous places and 1 i could make-do. he could probably live in some sort of upscale crackhouse and call it good. he lived in the philippines for hell's sake. but me, on the other hand, i have needs. he asked me what was most important and all i could muster on the spot was, "i just want something that doesn't suck." that is my way of saying it's ALL important. everything is number one. i then went on to say "i want a place where our kids can run around, in a yard, in a nice (read: not crack-whorey) neighborhood, on the east side, within the boundaries or close to the BEST school. that is my number one." he was not too pleased, i must admit. i think this only made things worse.

i understand i have to sacrifice something, here. but how do i do that? it's all important. we have never lived in a home with a yard. wait. i take that back. we lived in a most lovely, somewhat renovated, tudor-style home (dubbed "the blueberry palace" by it's owner)in minneapolis with a smallish yard (perfect for the girls though)but financial circumstances took precedence, and after 8 months it was ripped from beneath me, leaving my heart an empty, black hole. so yes, a yard is a must. next, we went from that lovely palace to the 2 bedroom apartment. we have 5 people in the family. must i go on with this one? i mustn't. so, naturally, 3 bedrooms are required. moving on to location. that same 2bedroom apartment was decent. the building was older but nice & well kempt. it was, however, located right next to a po-po station, a factory-type thingy and the place where all the snow plows reveal themselves to clear the roads after major snowstorms. AT ALL HOURS OF THE DAY/NIGHT, mind you. it just was not aesthetically pleasing, you know? so, yep, you guessed it, location is a huge priority. plus, who wants to be next door or in the same neighborhood as a murderer or a rapist? (reading "the lovely bones" is not helping any, btw). next up, schools. london attended one of THE best public schools in minneapolis. it was voted "best school" in 2007-2008. her teachers were amazing, the curriculum challenging enough, and it was a beautiful building. dillworth, in SLC, is an amazing school. my nephew attended & his parents were very pleased with it. dillworth made #5 on the top 100 utah schools list. of course i would like my children to attend, right? in order to do so, we need to be fairly close to the school, as i will have to drive there 3 different times a day. its located on about 2000 s. & 2000 e., right in the heart of the most beautiful areas of slc/sugarhouse.

so i ask you, am i expecting too much? what takes precedence when searching for a home for your family? what do i tell lee? and most importantly, how do i spin this in my favor?