Moving

A short note, for the fans. We're moving again. Yes, I know. After all the fuss I made about finding the perfect house and everything. But what can I say? After two months of orienting ourselves in the country, I have a better handle on our actual expenses and needs, and Wlm and I have concluded that although we love our wooden cabin with two bathrooms, two living areas and a sea view, and even after drawing up budgets and projecting expenses to the best of our ability, and even after I start working, our lovely house is costing us a little too much moola. And in a debt-free world of nest eggs and financial stability, even the most beautiful abode with the most stunning view is subject to new rules.

So we're moving to the bottom of our very steep hill (yay), closer to the beach (yay) but losing our view, our second bathroom, our second living area, and the warm, well-insulated comfort of solid timber (boooo). Why we are moving now is that we just happened to find a suitable house - and houses in our village are hard to come by. We love living in Maraetai, by the sea and out of the city; and the house we have found is quite respectable - newly renovated inside, rather ugly on outside, but nothing that some potplants and creative gardening won't be able to fix. It's on the main road, which is not great, but it's very close to the school (600m away!). And - here's the thing - it's $130 (R600) a week cheaper than we're paying at present. Quite a persuasive argument. But I must say, the idea of moving AGAIN just after we've unpacked is a tad sobering.

So we're gonna be moving on the 20th December - right before Christmas - shoot me now! We have really been lucky though: in our present house we were able to use the existing furniture and crockery etc until our container arrived, and in the new house, we are fortunate to be able to start moving our stuff slowly, because it is standing empty and the landlords have no problem with us carting stuff across before we actually take residence (as the crow flies, it's a whole 600m from our current place, but you have to go up and down the hill so it is quite an effort). I felt very bad for our present landlords as they have been exceedingly kind to us, but I am grateful that we were able to stay in a lovely place while we got settled and sorted out our actual (vs imagined) budget and expenses. I'm also very grateful that we managed to find another suitable place nearby, so the children and the routine won't be disrupted to much. Ah, the joys of emigration!

Anyway. Our NEW address is 109 Maraetai Drive, Maraetai, Auckland, NZ 2018. (Kerrin! Take note!) Will send juicy posts and pics later. But now, Willem has loaded Whale Rider on the DVD (good NZ fare and part of our cultural education), so cheerio for now!