Now that I am in Retirement

My days are dedicated to:

Riding my bike

WRiting

Relaxation

I have managed to combine these activities into my daily routine but that all came undone recently when we decided to sell our home and move to another house

The process of preparing a home for listing, vacating for showings, dealing with agents, viewing properties to buy, home inspections, signing contracts, buying, selling, packing and moving became a full time job for an entire summer

There was no time left for Riding, wRiting or Relaxation

Thankfully we managed to survive all the stresses of moving and we are now in our new home albeit surrounded by unpacked boxes

I have started Riding my bike again and its amazing how much fitness you lose after a two month layoff, it will probably take me a good six months of training to get back to my my normal fitness level

Not much time for Relaxation yet but I do hope to get back into my wRiting routine

So here are some of the things we have learned from this housemoving adventure

Its impossible to live a normal life while your house is going through showings

You cannot cook meals and generate cooking smells which might put off potential buyers

All of your normal ‘stuff of life’ has to be removed from every surface so that buyers will not be distracted by clutter

Buyers want everything to be perfect and move-in ready so you have to do that overdue remodeling before listing it for sale

Finding a house to buy is mostly a virtual activity by browsing through listings, looking at photographs and videos to draw up a shortlist of potential purchases

Buyers agents basically just show up at the houses for sale that you found yourself on the internet

Buyers remorse can quickly set in after signing a contract, fortunately there are off-ramps to cancel a contract providing your agent guides you diligently through the process

Packing up for moving is a painful process as you quickly discover all the crap you have accumulated and hidden away for decades.  Then you become emotionally re-attached to stuff you had forgotten about and refuse to part with it. It all gets packed into boxes that sit unopened after the move until you get tired of looking at them so you put them into storage for another decade or so

However much you like your newly purchased home, you will inevitably set about changing it by decorating, remodeling, etc in a subconscious effort to completely eliminate the style of the previous owners

Whatever budget you set for moving and upgrades, it will never be enough so just double it