Having not moved cities for thirteen years (or even just down the road for the past eight years), we have accumulated a lot more in that time to have to make decisions over. It seems crazy to think that thirteen years ago we arrived from the UK with 3 tea chests full of stuff and now we have 4 bedrooms and a garage full of 'stuff' to think about - not to mention two extra little people and a cat! And that's after a couple of rounds of fairly vigorous decluttering too I might add!
These are the kinds of things that are consuming our every day right now:
On the cat:
- How do we get Murphy to Cambridge? Fly or drive
- Should he fly or drive - what will be less stress for him? We don't know so decide to ask the vet
- How much does it cost to fly him up? $125
- Will we have to buy a new cat cage if we fly him up? Yes - his one won't be accepted by the airline
- What does the vet recommend? He recommends driving and giving Murphy some anti-anxiety pills to keep him calm on the long 7-hour journey
- Should we get him microchipped before we move and how much does it cost? Yes it's a good idea - $65
- Where will Murphy go if we can't find a rental that will take a cat - he'll have to live at Nana's for a few months which is not ideal (Noah will be a bit heartbroken)
On the kids:
- What school will they go to? We are hoping to have that sorted pretty soon - we think we know which one, just waiting for enrolment forms to be sent. Even though we don't have a rental lined up yet, we have made the exciting decision to build a new house - but that's a story for a whole other post!
- Will they have to wear a uniform? Yes - which will be a completely new experience for them
- When will their last day of school be? Does it make any sense to go back to school for a day or two after our Rarotonga trip? Yes - they want the chance to say goodbye to their friends
- How can we give them a proper farewell with their friends - we have arranged a farewell (in-lieu-of-a-big-birthday party this year) for them and a few friends each at Mission Inflatable
- Does it make sense for them to drive up with us and do we have the space for them with everything else we need to take up in the car? No - so we have booked them as unaccompanied minors (first time for them!) to fly up the afternoon before we leave to stay the night with Nana and Poppa
On the stuff:
- How do we get our stuff to Cambridge? Hire a removal company - that much was obvious!
- Should we pack our stuff up ourselves and save some money? Realistically for both sanity's sake and the fact we will have limited time what with working full-time and a week's holiday in Rarotonga right before we actually leave - ummmmmmm I guess the answer to that would be no!
- Should we pay for the extortionate transit cover insurance available through the removal company or hope that our contents insurance will cover us to the level of risk we are happy to take? We are still exploring this one.
- Will we be able to move our stuff straight in to a house at the other end or will we need to pay for storage and stay with Nana and Poppa for a while? We still don't know!
- What can we get rid of before we go? This is a work in progress - even though much decluttering went on before the house went on the market - this is now round 2 and we are being even more ruthless - it feels good! Many trips to the Sallies, the rubbish skip and a few more things on Trade Me.
- Shall we offer our dining table and chairs (which aren't likely to fit in a new house) and outdoor pots to the new people coming into the house? Yes and they have accepted - so that's a couple less things to take!
On us:
- When should we finish up work? Before or after Rarotonga? After - so we can have a final tidy-up day when we get back and also ensure a decent length handover takes place
- Who will replace us in our role and how will that handover work? I've been busy recruiting for my Accountant role replacement and hopefully have a new person starting in two weeks so I can train her up for a couple of weeks - fingers crossed!
- When will we start work at Evo Cycles? Realistically not till 15 June as Sam and Alesha aren't back from Rarotonga till we are and then Sam will be busy with Fielddays the next week. This gives us a week to get ourselves organised when we get up there which will actually be quite nice!
- Should we invite the new buyers to a neighbourhood drinks meet and greet before we go? Yes and these are being arranged by our neighbours
- What can we do for a proper farewell to our time here in Welly? An open invite for all our friends to say goodbye at the Southern Cross Bar on Sunday 24 May is the plan just before we shoot off to Raro for the week for Sam's wedding!
So just a few of the million and one thoughts running around in our heads right now!
37 days and counting.......!
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