It’s been a whole lot of years—like 20—since I’ve moved. But that’s exactly what I’m doing. Moving.
I’m going to another state and finally going to live my dream of living on the coast! I’m excited for sure.
And a little scared.
In the meantime, I’m making lists. And the lists keep growing. Today we start our first official packing day. You’d think this would be relatively easy. Well, not easy—labor intensive—but not involve a bunch of stupid stuff.
You need boxes to pack, right? Right. Well, finding boxes isn’t that easy. I guess if you don’t mind spending a ridiculous amount of money it’s easy—but not me! I called a couple of moving places about boxes. It was going to cost me $300.00 for boxes and packing tape. HELL NO! I looked in Walmart. Half that price but still a big HELL NO from me. I went online and found a couple of sites that sell used packing boxes. Used packing boxes? Man…this was getting complicated. Those boxes were about the same price as new ones at Walmart.
So what did I do?
I decided that I deserved FREE boxes. Yep, I did. So I went into my local grocery store and asked for them. Took them about a week to get them together as they realized I’d need different sizes, but they did it. Now these boxes aren’t quite as sturdy as the REAL packing boxes, but I don’t care. They’ll do nicely. I’ve got packing tape to reinforce them, and I can manage. I’ve still got to rent a big truck to the tune of $250.00 a day. I figure I’ll need it a total of two days. Basically, I’ve got the packing and moving part solved. But I’ve got a problem.
No place to live yet. LOL
I’ve been online to every site I can find in the area where I’m moving. I’ve written down the particulars on probably a hundred different houses. And boy did it take a lot of work to find those houses. I never realized so many people were against having pets! But they sure as hell are. LOL And if you do have a pet, be prepared to pay a ridiculous non-refundable pet deposit. Yeah, I know why they do it. Not all animals are the kind you want in your house. Hell, sometimes I don’t even want mine. LOL But they are house broken and they don’t chew. My dogs are the kind that just couldn’t survive outside. They each have their own doggie beds but sometimes you’ll find one in a bed, head on pillow!
The other problem I’ve had with finding a house is location. I don’t want to be on the beach. I’m afraid of storms and flooding. But I don’t want to be more than a few blocks away—within walking distance. Then, of course, there is finding a “good” neighborhood. That takes a lot of research. I’ve even made phone calls to the local police to ask them about particular streets/areas.
There’s one thing for sure, though. I’m learning what is overpriced, underpriced, and spot on. Any time anything is below market value, I wonder why. So I mark those with questions about condition and area. If something is overpriced, again I want to know why. For instance, there is a house I’m interested in because it’s exactly what I want in a house. Hardwood floors throughout. Simple floor plan. Big kitchen. Four bedrooms and a sunroom. Two baths. It even has a nice size yard. In the back there is a huge live oak complete with Spanish moss. Gorgeous!
There are three problems. It’s farther away from the beach than I want to be. Ten blocks. And the yard has NO landscaping. Just a bare yard. But the biggest problem is price. Because of its location and the lack of landscaping I think it’s overpriced. So it’s doubtful I’ll be getting that house. We’ll see.
The worst problem I am facing with this move is cooperation from my kids. They are supposed to be helping me do things. They aren’t. It’s like pulling teeth to get them to do a damn thing. I’m sick of it. So this morning I had to pitch a fit. Now I have a headache. They are working—just barely. I’m not happy. There is just no way I can do everything alone and I shouldn’t have to. But it’s not right I have to beg and finally lose my temper in order to get anything accomplished.
Anybody got any really good suggestions on moving in general. AND…on getting the kids to move their asses!!!!
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