Warning long thread! I wrote earlier that I was coming out of semi-retirement and going back to work. This job is overseas in Germany and will last 3-5 years. The process for applying and obtaining the job has been rigorous and long (6 months), but I am now down to my last week in the USA. Listed below is what I've been doing for the last few months in preparation:
1) I had to make a decision whether or not to sell my house or rent it out. I spoke with a few property managers, but in the end decided to sell as I knew I would probably not return here but go live near my father across the country. Moreover, the last time I did this, I did rent out my house and came back to tens of thousands of dollars of renovation due to renter abuse.
2) My move is paid for (sort of), so I did not have the overwhelming space or weight constraints the FIRE'd had (thank goodness!!!). However, I used this opportunity as a purge, store and move exercise. It can be discouraging to realize how much you have accreted over the years - and how some things can be quite sentimental. Marie Kondo aside, I realized that I had surrounded myself with items that reminded me of my accomplishments and experiences and that I didn't necessarily want to rid myself of those just yet. However, I also noticed that many things I thought I had wanted to keep, I was able to purge.
The frugalista in me tells me not to get rid of things that are perfectly serviceable and of good quality and yet a move like this can be an ordeal with thoughts of lighting a match and starting over at the other side
. In the end, I am storing a few things and am anticipating that in five years when I re-look at that stuff, I may purge 80-90% of it.
3) Next was the car. I could have shipped mine, however, it was 11 years old and had become expensive to maintain. Had I stayed here, I had already planned on replacing it with a 1-2 year old used car. I ended up selling it to the dealer I had used for service and am grateful they took it as well as made it easy. I did not have the bandwidth to haggle too much with strangers. I did negotiate with the dealer and got more than what they first offered.
4) For logistics on the other side, I have already started looking at houses for rent and for cars to buy. Still trying to decide on whether to just buy a beater car, local specs for the time I'm there, or splurge on a newer car (not absolutely new). I want reliable wheels, so it's a case of doing the balancing act of price up front versus maintenance costs. On the house front, I am looking for a similar square footage as what I have here in some very specific villages near my place of work. So far, I've been fortunate to get in touch with two possible houses and hopefully another one to see when I get there. I will have to wait until my stuff gets there to enter into the contract, but I'm hoping that being a single person with no pets will be a good thing in terms of tenant desirability.
5) It has been weird emotionally with this move - I've moved many times and every time there is a bittersweetness to the process. I have been surprised by how many people have told me they would miss me here - I did not think I had made that many friends, and yet, I had. I have been transient all of my life, so have kept friends from all over the world. I do not have to be co-located geographically to stay connected. In any case, it is nice to know I have some more friends to add to my list
6) My plane leaves next Monday and I will have three duffels, a carry-on and backpack with me. I'm reminded of my first move to the same location when I was in the military 18 years ago. I had three duffels, a carry-on and a backpack, only this time the duffels don't have uniforms and other military stuff....I've come full circle....
1) I had to make a decision whether or not to sell my house or rent it out. I spoke with a few property managers, but in the end decided to sell as I knew I would probably not return here but go live near my father across the country. Moreover, the last time I did this, I did rent out my house and came back to tens of thousands of dollars of renovation due to renter abuse.
2) My move is paid for (sort of), so I did not have the overwhelming space or weight constraints the FIRE'd had (thank goodness!!!). However, I used this opportunity as a purge, store and move exercise. It can be discouraging to realize how much you have accreted over the years - and how some things can be quite sentimental. Marie Kondo aside, I realized that I had surrounded myself with items that reminded me of my accomplishments and experiences and that I didn't necessarily want to rid myself of those just yet. However, I also noticed that many things I thought I had wanted to keep, I was able to purge.
The frugalista in me tells me not to get rid of things that are perfectly serviceable and of good quality and yet a move like this can be an ordeal with thoughts of lighting a match and starting over at the other side
. In the end, I am storing a few things and am anticipating that in five years when I re-look at that stuff, I may purge 80-90% of it.3) Next was the car. I could have shipped mine, however, it was 11 years old and had become expensive to maintain. Had I stayed here, I had already planned on replacing it with a 1-2 year old used car. I ended up selling it to the dealer I had used for service and am grateful they took it as well as made it easy. I did not have the bandwidth to haggle too much with strangers. I did negotiate with the dealer and got more than what they first offered.
4) For logistics on the other side, I have already started looking at houses for rent and for cars to buy. Still trying to decide on whether to just buy a beater car, local specs for the time I'm there, or splurge on a newer car (not absolutely new). I want reliable wheels, so it's a case of doing the balancing act of price up front versus maintenance costs. On the house front, I am looking for a similar square footage as what I have here in some very specific villages near my place of work. So far, I've been fortunate to get in touch with two possible houses and hopefully another one to see when I get there. I will have to wait until my stuff gets there to enter into the contract, but I'm hoping that being a single person with no pets will be a good thing in terms of tenant desirability.
5) It has been weird emotionally with this move - I've moved many times and every time there is a bittersweetness to the process. I have been surprised by how many people have told me they would miss me here - I did not think I had made that many friends, and yet, I had. I have been transient all of my life, so have kept friends from all over the world. I do not have to be co-located geographically to stay connected. In any case, it is nice to know I have some more friends to add to my list
6) My plane leaves next Monday and I will have three duffels, a carry-on and backpack with me. I'm reminded of my first move to the same location when I was in the military 18 years ago. I had three duffels, a carry-on and a backpack, only this time the duffels don't have uniforms and other military stuff....I've come full circle....
