Moving Update

I thought I owed everyone an update about now ....


My last post about moving was on May 31st.  At that time we knew there was about a 90% chance that we would be moving back to California but I was afraid to talk about it too much ... afraid it might not happen. California is the place I call home ... the place I have spent all but 2 years of my life ... it seemed too good to be true.  So I waited until we had an offer in hand and a new start date.  That happened around June 7th and the new start date is JULY 5th ...

So everything has been kicked in to high gear here.  The packers are here Monday.  This will mean that we will have no refrigerator, no washer & dryer, no TV's until we get to California on July 4th. 

The "For Sale" sign went out in our yard last Friday.  I can't tell you how much fun it is to keep the house in order while I'm trying to organize this move.  And it irks me to no end the amount of time I spend each day cleaning only to have no one show up to see the house. 

The thing that is presenting the biggest challenge is ... where will we live?  When we first get to California we will be in "Corporate Housing".  This will be a 3 bedroom, 3 bath apartment that is about 900 square feet ... with 3 kids, 2 adults, and two medium size dogs.  The up side?  Not much cleaning.  The down side?  We can stay there as long as needed until we buy a house ... for $146.00 PER DAY !!!  The company pays for the first 30 days.

Our situation is this ... We own a house about 2 miles from the apartment but our renter in that house has a lease that is not over until August 31st.  He has been a HUGE pain in the ass since day 1.  We offered him a multi thousand dollar incentive to get out early but he won't even return a phone call. 

So we are stuck with moving at least 3 times ... probably 4.  First, from Texas to an apartment.  Second, 30 days later to another location (not determined yet).  Third, to our house sometime after September 1st (we don't know what condition the renter will leave the house in so we can't plan to move right in).  Fourth (and hopefully last) to a final house we decide to purchase and live in.

Just typing that is overwhelming.  The only thing that will save us from all the moves is if we sell our house in Texas fast.  We have priced it aggressively ... we are going to lose money ... it's really just a matter of how much at this point.  The house hunting in California can't even start until we know how much equity will be remaining after the sale.

So that is basically the long and short of it at this point.  Our scrambling here is now about making decisions on what we will need for the next 6 months and what will go to storage ... we may not see our belongings for that long. 

I figure if we are really lucky we will be in a permanent residence by Christmas.

On a really good note ... we will be just minutes from most of my family ... something that hasn't been the case since 1998.

On another really good note ... my mother dropped everything and flew here to help out.  I'm sure the kids and I are driving her nuts ... not to mention the heat (it's been almost 100 degrees every day since the beginning of June and she really dislikes the heat).  As much as anyone loves their grand kids, the noise level of 3 small kids is a bit much to take.  And, I wouldn't be honest if I didn't mention that I'm a real pain in the ass.  I don't much care for anyone telling me at 48 years old how to raise my kids.

So ... at the start of the 4th of July weekend .... if you see a caravan along Interstate 40 with the drivers and passengers whooping and hollering and barking ... give us a wave.  I'm sure I'll be chucking out anything that reminds me of Texas along the way and I'm also sure I'll be singing "California Here I Come ... right back where I started from ..." until my family hits me over the head for being so obnoxious ...

My next post will be from California ... I'll be leaving behind yucky weather and tornados for sunshine and earthquakes ... and I couldn't be happier ....