Outside Space Changes Your Life...And Other Revelations
It took me almost all day to put the table and chairs together. I said I wouldn’t put anything together ever again but I did. I wanted to start on the outdoor space even before I got everything inside ready.
I’ve got the flower boxes and hanging baskets and hopefully by this weekend, I’ll have my little heaven outside ready for living.
I never realized how much I would love and needed this space to help my attitude and well-being, and it’s been money well spent. Speaking of money, I never really thought through how much as an expat I would need to start my life back in The States.
I literally went through thousands, yep thousands, over the past few weeks. I do love my new little home, but having to buy a car, furniture, kitchen stuff and renting a new place completely depleted my bank account.
I’ll have to put financial planning for the trip back to your "roots" into the eBook I’m writing about living abroad and making it work. I really miss my Slovak family and will go back to live in Europe again at some point. But right now I’m enjoying my life in Salem and especially having a glass of wine on my new porch!
That looks like such a nice little escape! We recently closed on a condo here in Canada and are excited about our private balcony and communal roofdeck. We're in kind of the opposite scenario, having sold/donated most of our belongings and starting fresh in a new country (as opposed to returning to our roots). For the first few months we lived in furnished rentals but now that we're setting up our own place, it blows my mind the number of things we need to buy (basic kitchen stuff, furniture, ironing board, new tires so the car would pass inspection and could be registered in Canada) and their cumulative cost. Yikes! Glad you're enjoying your new home! And I look forward to reading your ebook. There are so many little adjustments to make when moving to a new country and I'm sure your ebook will be useful for many expats.
ReplyDeleteHi Susan, It is so good to hear from you and I'm glad you have a wonderful condo. I loved being an expat but I had furnished places. Have you found an expat group yet? I know several. Try InterNations. They have groups all over and have monthly events. You also need to connect with expatblogs. Find them on Twitter. They posted several of my blogs and articles. You would be a perfect fit. I'm going to enjoy the summer here (if summer ever comes) and start the book this fall. Take care and please keep in touch!
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