A moving sensation....

So - the day is here. The removal men are packing boxes with speed & efficiency while I'm relegated to coffee maker.
It feels so surreal - and I'm not sure how we will fit everything in at the other end! Why is is that when stuff is in boxes it seems so much greater than when it is in cupboards?
I just wish it was all being taken off to Fontevraud and we were starting afresh there! One day.....

A moving week...

In more ways than one! This is it - the week of the move. If I can get through it without tears it will be a miracle! I even got emotional when sorting out the electricity supply!! The poor chap on the phone asked if I was looking forward to moving and I almost started blubbing as I said, 'No'.

Looking at the boxes and boxes of things to be moved, and the distinct lack of any storage space in the flat, I'm in danger of just putting my head in the sand and hoping it will all go away. But it won't.

Of course, as we move things to France it will be easier - but at over £200 a time for travel alone, that's an expensive thing to do! Roll on this time next week - at least then the move will be over and I'll HAVE to face it all.

Signed, sealed and ......

So the answer is purely self-indulgent (and from the awful spelling in the last post, slightly the worse for wear!).

The 48 hour dash to France was great - though the Notaire was an eye-opener! Not quite up to speed - but we got through the hour and a half of reading through & signing documents!

Next deadline - the 7th for exchange on Roman Rise with completion on 11th. And we move to a tiny flast on 10th. GIN GIN GIN!!!!

So - we head for 11th DEcember.I can't put my head in the sand any more. I 4 weeks trime my journey from work will be very different. And we'll have boxeseverywhere.
Is ANYBODY out there following this? Or is it purely self-indulgent??

And now the end is near...

At least, the end of 12 very happy years in my current home. In the week since we returned from holiday, a survey has been done, contracts signed, many tears shed, hours spent poring over finances, rent agreed and the countdown to moving has begun.

Two weeks - too fast!

Back from holiday tomorrow - but in two weeks we've had an offer (accepted!) on the house; started making wills; probably have a place to rent......

When did we find time to holiday??? Actually it's all been very stressful (not helped by a family situation that has throw things into a bit of a financial mess).

I would SO love to find a way to move and live in France straightaway. Sadly the reality means that income is needed and as my french isn't up to the standard for being employed (unless someone just wanted English conversation and I can't imagine there's much money in that) we are going to be in the very weird situation of owning a beautiful house which we can't afford to furnish, in a place we can hardly afford to visit (and which holiday time would AT THE MAXIMUM mean only 6 weeks a year)  - and it'll be like that for the foreseeable future. And all the time we'll be paying out vast sums of money to rent!!!

Even if we took into account the 'savings' on holiday accommodation - and the possibility of earning a little income from the house - we're sort of thousands of pounds a year down on the deal. I don't quite understand how on earth we think this is a good idea.....

I can feel some more sleepless nights coming on.......

Too many things at the last moment...

...so we're off on holiday tomorrow. Why does today have to be the day that we hear about a possible rental, get details from a solicitor that need urgent attention, and yet still have no sale (oh - and all my packing to do!!!)??

For the first time I can see how all this might work out - and I can begin to imagine letting go of possessions (that might be an enormous relief....). But we're on a plane at 2.30pm tomorrow... Thank goodness for email.

If you do read this and you could send a prayer (or positive thought...) upwards, please do.

To no one in particular!

Thank goodness no one is actually reading or following this because it's becoming rather repetitive! Another sleepless night - my head couldn't shake off the fact that the exchange rate is dropping, that we may not sell, that we could face all sorts of complications....
But this afternoon a family came round for a second viewing. It's not that we need lots of people fighting to buy the place - just one, at the right price.
But I also worry about the sense of owning a pricey place in another country, whether we'll be able to afford to go there, what will happen if there's a problem & we don't know about it, whether we'll be able to furnish it sufficiently to allow friends to use it (and us to stay there).....
But my fearswill now turn to flying - we head to the States on Thursday!

Just so complicated...

Wills, finance, opening a French bank account, not selling the house (OK - still early days!), inheritance concerns - oh, and real life to live! It was a sleepless night again - but I have to remember it WILL be worth it!

And of course it will - hopefully this time next year we will have forgotten the hassles!

Today R & E wrote - they are such delightful people to buy from! I can't even begin to think of halting everything because I couldn't bear to let them down. So we go on.......

Into a pattern...

Another viewing, another defeaning silence on the offer front!
We're going to France in just 5 weeks time to sign the vente a compris. That'll wipe out our savings - and mean we are committed, but it buys us time.
Each time I walk back in here I wonder how many more times I will do that. And mentally I'm trying to prepare myself for letting go of stuff! Even if 50% went I'd STILL have more than most people dream of (and I'd be doing a favour for whoever will have to sort outr my possessions eventually!).

Going.....

We received our first offer today - but it's 10% less than the asking price! We're on a tight (possibly too tight) budget as it is, so we can't accept it.
So the dilemma will be - will we get an offer that is closer to what we want? To be honest, the property is pitched at the very top of the range (though as we've done so much work on it there won't be any outlay for roof, repairs etc etc for at least 10 or more years!). However it must be worth hanging on for a while (after all it's less than 2 weeks since we placed it on the market), especially as there isn't a massive rush to sell.
Fingers, toes, kneecaps - all crossed!

And the neighbours know...

Not that it's a secret - but all this has happened so fast (and in many ways seems so illogical - to sink so much money into a property that we won't live in; to rent; to move from where we are comfortable) that it is hard to explain.
So on Friday we will share a takeaway and I'll have to face the start of letting go.

Make me an offer!

How long does it take to get an offer on a house? It's only been a few days so I shouldn't be too anxious - but it would be nice to have the audible gasps of admiration when people view the place to turn into firm offers of buying!
And my mind is turning to decluttering. There are no children who will pour over my trinkets once I'm dead - so can I prise them out of my grasp now? Do I really need to take decades of photographs (which I only look at when I move house) with me? And the boxes of crayons, paper & craft material? Surely I don't need to hang on to them (but they're SO useful for those odd occasions when a felt tipped pen is called for!).

Reality kicks in

The last week (is it really that long since I posted??) has been hectic.

3 or 4 people have been to see the house - but no offers. But tonight the people we're buyig from emailed. We need to go over there in November to sign the 'compris de vente'. This brings the anxiety back to the surface. How will we finance the 10% if we haven't sold? Will we find a nice place to rent?What if I lose my job???

But it's beginning to feel an acheivable goal. I just hope I live long enough to enjoy it....

Quart into a pint pot

I woke up this morning and started to think about how on earth the contents of a 3 bed house + loft could be squeezed into a 2 bed flat. And the € is still dropping :(

BUT I must remember that a lot of the house contents can go to France - there'll be a 4 bed house to furnish & there's NO WAY (unless I buy that lottery ticket!) that we can afford to buy all we need.

Hips

Hooray! I managed nearly another whole night's sleep!!!
The HIP (what a waste of money!) has come through so now everything can start moving faster. And if it doesn't? Will I just feel fed up? Cross? Will we get what we've asked for the house??
Too many questions - pass the wine!

In the public domain...

The estate agent has made our house look great! It helped that it was sunny when the photos were taken. It'll be in the public domain from tomorrow!
The good news is that I am sleeping all the way through the night! For the moment the awful anxiety has subsided so I'm trying to make the most of it!
A bientot!

The first call

No sooner had I finished the last post than I had a call from the estate agents with the first person who wants to view our home. (Must stop calling it home!) She hasn't seen any photos, nor any plans, her house is under offer - this is moving too fast. And all the time the Euro is dropping like a stone. If it drops too far we won't be able to afford it. More stuff to worry about!

On the market

So - measurements have been taken, floor plan drawn, photos taken and asking price agreed. And I did it all without sweating, getting tearful or screaming 'Go away! I've changed my mind!'

This afternoon sums up everything I will miss about living here - space, light, quiet, garden. BUT France will be great! Just got to start the business of finding somewhere to rent....

Talking to myself

I'm pretty sure no one is reading this - so it begs the question why I'm blogging? Is 'Because I can' a good enough answer???

It's Sunday. My contribution to getting the house ready is to go through my wardrobe and get rid of the clothes I will never fit into again and take them to the charity shop. R is beavering away in the garden making it ready for tomorrow's photographs.

I'm still into reality avoidance - so bread is baking, supper is in the oven, and a cursory throwing away of magazines isn't really that helpful. The wine supply ends tonight - so I have to get through all this without a % proof crutch!

I just have to keep reminding myself what it's all about. But is it worth it if we only get to stay in the place for a maximum of 4 weeks a year? I wish I could win the lottery (memo to self: start buying a ticket if that's what you want) or that our premium bonds would come up - I'd grab the chance to move there straight away.

Day 3

Curled up on a comfy sofa, I can't quite believe this won't be the scene for much longer.
I've been out of the house for most of the day - and i's just so nice to come home to the familiar.
But I must remember how much I hated this place when we first moved here - everything seemed to break down and we haemorraged money! They were bleak days and I don't want to go through that again.
Maybe, just maybe, I can sleep easier tonight.

Another sleepless night

4.45am and my mind is racing. So many anxieties, such an enormous decision, so many uncertainties. Will I look back this time next year and laugh at these fears - or .....
Anyway, perhaps the best thing is to make a cup of tea and surf the net for a while. Maybe I'll get a couple of hours sleep before the alarm goes off.

Peter - not Anthony!

Got the name wrong - but the estate agent came anyway. How do you put a value on a home? And how do I now start untangling the many threads that bind me here?

Waiting for Anthony

That's the name of the estate agent's valuer. I'm not sure I want him to come.
As I walked down our road, I thought how much I like it here - the views, the feeling of space. Opening the door - knowing what would be inside. It's rather sentimental, but I just know how hard this whole process will be.
And yet - can I feel just the slightest stirrings of excitement? Of an adventure creeping over the horizon?
Part of me desperately wants to be free of the sense of attachment to this property. I ought to find my security elsewhere. All I need is somewhere to live, and I WILL have that. But my fear of returning to the poverty I grew up in is deeply rooted. It will take a lot of careful hoeing to remove it and allow me to be replanted, and flourish, elsewhere.
So for now I'll sit and wait for Anthony.

2am, 4am

It was a sleepless night - my mind has churned over the possible things that could go wrong. We could become homeless; no one would want to buy our house; we move to a noisy area (my WORST nightmare!). I'm waiting for the 'this is exciting - let's follow the adventure and have fun' thoughts to kick in!!

The estate agent comes tonight to value our home - and then we're really on the move.

Did I REALLY make that phone call?

So - the original plan was to one day buy a wreck, do it up, and have somewhere for holidays. One day - future tense. But that's not how it's turned out!

This is the bed & breakfast we stayed in - this is the property we're going to buy! The story will unfold but today's the day reality kicks in. We received the email with the proposed time scale - and I've made the call to put our house on the market.

By Christmas, we need to sell, find somewhere on a long term let, make our wills (French Inheritance laws make that a necessity), sign the deeds, move - oh, and write some Christmas cards.

I'm terrified - and hope that the terror will give way to acceptance and then euphoria! And along theway I have to learn to let go of my attachment to our current home. You're welcome to join the journey - and if you have advice/tips about how to make it all easier, then please share them. This is the first day of the rest of my life - eeeeeekkkkkk!