House Decision Made

My next decision was the house. I spent lots of time looking at the real estate websites getting a feel of what's available and where the prices sat. On one of my drives down to St. Leonards I drove around the area where a new housing estate was being built. After a bit more searching, I came to the conclusion that I could get a house and land package for a lot less than an established house. I realise there will be a lot more work setting up the outside but I wouldn't be buying someone else's problems (if any) and I could get exactly what I want. At 66 I'm way past the whole renovation/repair thing. So, then I started looking at the house/land packages which was huge. 

At the beginning of this whole process I had decided to really listen to my intuition. 

So as soon as I saw the one, I knew that was the house for me. 

The house I chose is a Hotondo Home, so I contacted the company and set up meeting with Richard Barton the salesman. Prior to the meeting I did a lot of surfing the web checking all the feedback people had given on Hotondo Homes. I probably read in excess of 50 feedback notes and out of that there were only two negative ones. So, I thought that was a pretty good track record. So, I have now started on this journey, I was/am pretty much just travelling blindly at that moment. 

Live Life

Today (Tuesday) I had an experience that has really made me think about life, death, the stuff in our lives, our loved ones, friends and just how important it is to cherish and make the most of each and every second we have on this earth. The experience that I saw was a man around my age, collapsed on the ground being given CPR and electric shocks by regular people and paramedics trying to bring him back to this world. I did look at his face and could just tell that he was no longer with us. I looked at his bag of shopping he had just bought laying there discarded. His clothes that had been cut off him thrown aside so he could be treated. It made me sad to think he probably had loved ones that had no idea of what was going on. He may have had plans to do something else later today, this week, this year but will no longer have the chance to do it. He may have had something he had put off and thought "I should do that", but now the opportunity is lost. I have never seen someone be treated this way in real life before and it has really affected me. It reconfirmed to me that we just don't know when our time is up. We really need to live every moment to the fullest. If you have something in your life you are not happy about, get rid of it, change it. Don't store your best dinner set in the cupboard, use it. Above all tell the people in your life just how much they mean to you, give out lots of hugs and "I love you's". Throw away the "I should's" and replace them with the "I am's". I really hope this poor stranger made it but in my heart I don't think he did. RIP stranger. ❤️❤️

Location, Location, Location??

Now that I have decided to move, the next question is where to????

How did I pick the location I'm going to move to? For a number of years, I toyed with idea of moving but had no idea of where that could possibly be. I have really enjoyed living in my current town but my house is old and even though in good condition will soon need maintenance, that as a 66-year-old woman I can no longer do. I thought about staying in the area but financially I just couldn't afford to get what I want for the price I want. So, I started looking further afield and I started asking myself some questions. 

1.     I really don't want to be any further than 2 hours from my daughter Rachel and her family. My son lives a full day’s drive from me so I'm always going to have to drive to him. The village I have chosen is 2 hours from her. ✅

2.     If I'm going to really challenge myself and move away, why not move closer to the water. Whether it be ocean, beach, river or lake? 

So off I went on a bit of a reconnaissance mission to various townships to see which ones sat comfortably with me. The township I decided on sat well with me straight away. While driving around, I took notice if people kept their gardens and houses neat and tidy. I think that says a lot about the type of person that lives in a village. I checked what facilities were available. How far was it to drive to major supermarkets, Doctors, hospitals? I felt really comfortable there and on each subsequent visit I felt more comfortable. Right from the beginning of this journey I have been consciously listening to my intuition and my intuition was telling me this is where my next home would be. OK, now that the location was decided do I buy and established home or do I really challenge myself and build a new home? 

This will be the pier I sit and fish from.

This will be the beach I paddle in.