As nightlife and concerts come to a halt, and dining at your favorite restaurant means sitting at a picnic table in a parking lane during January, their decision is accelerated.For those who left, the city was just a stop along the way.

in Portland the restaurants have been devastated as they still cant have in door dining many have closed for good.. 

(dining/living=465sqft, foyer 70sqft, bedroom 1=130sqft plus closet, bedroom 2=110.5sqft plus closet, kitchen 150sqft, sunroom 100sqft) - all hardwood floorHere are the numbers I'm working with in my head right now:- $1,300/month with $1,300 security deposit- Unsure if month-to-moth, 6 mo. lease, or 1 yr. lease (what is your advice?)

In my head, this is an elegant situation: as long as the numbers work out, my income is irrelevant to a bank since they are guaranteed to be default-free via the escrow account long enough to sell the loan if they wanted to, and over time the value of the house and my income should each be substantially higher.It's not without risk, and it's unorthodox, so it will probably be a struggle to find a lender comfortable with this scenario.  

Assuming you can't go to college completely for free, it's not a bad idea to at least do community college courses, which will cost you less than most people spend on dining out in a year and count toward an eventual bachelors degree somewhere (if you can go for free though, via scholarships, you should take advantage of it for sure).

I am looking to reorganize my kitchen and open a wall to turn the adjacent room into a dining room.

Living & dining room combination at the front of the house & a kitchen with family room at the rear of the house.

@Kevin Ivey posted a nice modern looking one above which is certainly "in style".That said, recessed LED can lights are the most modern and most used here in Southern CA these days with a nice chandelier for the master, dining, living, stair case, etc.

In the early 80s, a large kitchen+breakfast dining was added on, as well as a large sunroom (30'x40'), mother-in-law kitchen, 3 bed/1 bath, and a large downstairs living area.

Scottsdale has a lot of world class golf resorts and dining.