Thursday, May 27, 2010

My New Home



I'm moving into my new home. Next Tuesday our things should arrive from Minnesota.

It isn't exactly what I was expecting for my next home. No, not at all what I pictured in my mind.

Two years ago, almost to the month, we put our "home" in storage, after selling our house in Minnesota, and moved to Tahoe, into our very small vacation home. Thinking everything would be a short time in storage, certainly not two years, we stored almost everything except for a few clothes. After all, the place at the Lake had all the other things we would need for our short stay. What we couldn't have anticipated, of course, was the economic meltdown our country would experience.

Two years later my husband has accepted a job right back where we started six years ago - my home town. Time to think about a place for our stuff things. The only problem? We have changed. No longer needed is the big home and all the trappings. We can be happy in a downsized environment. But we need a place to do that. A home big enough to hold all the stuff things until we can go through them to sift the gems from the chaff, such as the tiny silver container that holds my children's first teeth, or the gold-sprayed noodle "jewelry box,"made by my youngest in Brownies.  Or what about that Christmas decoration my daughter made in first grade of dough that looks exactly like she did at that age? No, I need time. Time to go through everything we've accumulated over thirty years of marriage, time to decipher what's important and what can move on.

Enter our new home: Looking for a home to lease has become rather easy in this economy. Who knew really nice homes would be available for less than our mortgage payment on our last house, without gambling the down payment, and being tethered to a mortgage? Who knew that we would be in a home much nicer than what we would have looked to buy, if we had decided to do that? Craigslist has many homes I was thrilled to look at, and contemplate renting. The only problem was getting the owners to take them off the market for 2+ years. (Our lease is for two, and a third at our request. By then, my husband hopes to permanently retire and we will move to the Portland area, probably buying our "forever" home.)

So this new environment of leasing one's home is new for both lessors and lessees. When we finally made a decision between three, all of which would have worked for us, the owner asked to meet us and Lucy, our lab. Obviously she was concerned about a big dog on her property and in her beautiful home. They had only cats.

Lucy passed the muster, and we were seated at her dining room table when we started to talk about each other and how we came to be at this place in time.

She said they had thriving business when they decided to take on a partner. This partner ran their business into the ground, severing long-forged relationships and basically ruining everything they had worked their lives to build. They had been in litigation and the result was that they could not work within 50 miles of the mutually owned business for five years. The severe downturn in the economy also hadn't helped.  They had decided to move to California and pursue other avenues until the five years was over, traveling back to the area for nine days every six weeks to keep an eye on the business.

Unfortunately the economy had not only wreaked havoc on their business, but had also left them unable to sell their beautiful home. They were stuck. At this point I asked what kind of business they owned,  and she said a hair salon and medical spa. A light bulb goes off and I ask her if it's @#$%$ Salon? She says yes, and I tell her it was the salon I frequented when I lived there six years ago, but had noticed it had completely changed since I had returned. And it had. It was almost completely empty when I made an appointment. It used to have about 25 hairdressers, often a six week lead time for my hairdresser, a full upscale spa, etc. Now it had about three people working. No one in the waiting area or spa. I thought it had been the economy. At that point I told her who my hairdresser had been and she was shocked! It was her husband! My hairdresser was now renting me his lovely home! He enters from the bedroom area and remembers me with a hug, telling the realtor that he needed to know no more financial background from us because he trusted me.

We feel so fortunate to have sold our home in Minnesota, just as the downturn was gaining momentum, that our intention was to help someone else out, if at all possible. A symbiotic relationship, mutually beneficial, was the goal. We have that and more. I have offered to let them show the house the last month or two that we are living there. Houses usually show better with furniture, and I've learned how to sell a house. Three houses in five years - I know all the tricks. (Washing machines are great places to put stuff from the counter when the realtor calls and wants to show in the next 30 minutes.)

We will live in a lovely environment with a view of the city, something I had always wanted. They, in turn, found a brand new condo on the ocean that was willing to lease, completely furnished. They will only move their beds and the rest will go into storage, until the next chapter. Which, by the way, she says will entail downsizing.

30 comments:

Expat From Hell said...

Wow. Your good heart and good intentions have found yet another family with needs. Funny how your story resonates so far and wide. Here's to your good influence even among those in your new "old" town. And certainly to your influence among all of us followers. Blessings. EFH

Anonymous said...

Great story...happy endings all around :D
~Victoria~

Natalie said...

That is so fantastic, must be a huge relief for all concerned.
Happy new home, Nancy.♥

Brian Miller said...

woohoo. hope the move goes well. sounds like you found a gem and everything fell in the right order to make it happen. i like it when that happens...

Rebecka said...

Synchronicity... amazing.

Congrats on finding your new home and moving into the next chapter of your life.

Leilani Tresise said...

Nancy now you know the REAL reason for the move =0D

DJan said...

Just a couple double WOWs for this synchronicity. I am looking forward so much to hearing how it all works out. They say, no door closes but another one opens, and this is a perfect example. Blessings!!

Anonymous said...

Wishing you all the very best for the future and a nice Friday as well.
__________
Please update your blogrole, as sadly the "barefoot navigation" had to be closed.

daily athens

Cloudia said...

The nicer you are
the sweeter the synchronicities!

Best wishes with


Aloha from Hawaii, Friend

Comfort Spiral

Simonbuc said...

A great downsizing story, Nancy - and an inspiring reminder that it can be a blessing, not a disaster. I think we collectively are going to have to do a lot of downsizing over the coming years. Just think - the average single-family American home in the 1950s was 983 sq. ft. (and the US was the richest country in the world even then). Less is more.

karen said...

Wishing you well in your new home. Nice how it all worked out for you. Things always have a way of working out...don't they.

Lori ann said...

welcome home Nancy,
it couldn't happen to a nicer person, wishing you all the best.

Kathy G said...

What a lovely story.

Whitney Lee said...

Synchronicity. There's no such thing as a coincidence, huh? That's wonderful for both of you. Enjoy the move and the sorting. It should be interesting to go through all of your things with an eye toward what's actually necessary. I imagine the memories will provide quite a trip!

Amy said...

Oh, Nancy, I love stories like yours. Trust me, in 3 years, you and your husband are going to LOVE retirement! In the meantime you can sort away. Congratulations!

Trish and Rob MacGregor said...

This sounds perfect for you, Nancy. May your move go smoothly!

California Girl said...

We also lived in our vacation condo in NH for 18 mos before buying our beautiful home (the one we sold last Dec). We also put our things in storage that long and when we moved into our house, we took them out and found how few things we wanted. Our home was large so it wasn't a downsizing thing but more of a lifestyle change from SoCal to the mtns of northern NH.

While moving in December, we knew to throw, give or sell at least 50% of our belongings. Yet, we still have more than we need. Solution? Big yard sale in July.

Quite a coincidence with your former hairdresser. That IS karma. Wow!

You sound very happy. Congratulations!

Midlife Roadtripper said...

The midlife jobhunter tale goes on and on. Here you are, beginning anew, yet, familiar territory. What will become of all of us? We never know how the cycle goes.

You sound very excited and very happy. I'm happy and excited for you. I also didn't realize you had ended up in Tahoe from Minnesota. Minnesota was my beginning - Austin as a matter of fact. The home of Spam.

Keep us apprised.

Delwyn said...

Hi nancy

It seems as if many of us are treading a similar path, with needing less and wanting more freedom from belongings and large homes to maintain and clean.

I hope that you enjoy the cleanout and sort through of all your stuff and you feel the same sense of relief I did when I recently moved and did the same thing.

Happy days

alaine@éclectique said...

A lovely story, Nancy. Happy times in your new abode and best wishes to your husband with his new job! I'll keep that "quick, into the washing machine" trick in mind when we have our house on the market! xa

CrazyCris said...

Great story Nancy! Sounds like you hit the jackpot there! Moving definitely isn't easy... and neither will be going through your "stuff" to reduce volume... I have boxes and boxes here from when I moved home from Belgium and still haven't gone through them. *sigh*! Must do that soon...
Good luck with the move! And enjoy your new home! :o)

Joanna said...

That's such a lovely story, Nancy. Good luck with the downsizing. It's tough to let go of those children's treasures. I've seen a suggestion that you take pictures of them them to keep instead of the real thing. It's not the same as holding them in your hand though. I've pared down a lot but still hold on to a blue clay kitty with black spots made by my son in 1982!

Marguerite said...

Congrats on finding a great place! Hope all goes well with the move and that your new home is filled with good times and happiness!

The Good Cook said...

I have to stop finding Synchronicity so amazing.. it is happening.

I hope your move goes well. I know what you mean about going through treasures. As I contemplate our next move I have started looking at everything we have accumulated over the years with a critical eye. It is astonishing how much we think we need, when really we need so little.

Congratulations on yet another chapter in your life. I can't wait to follow along.

Grandmother Mary said...

Synchronicity is when God chooses to remain anonymous! Blessings on everyone.

Kay said...

oh my... what a trip! always good to know people and it sounds as if you will have a wonderful home for now. Best wishes in the move!

Linda Pendleton said...

Synchronicity at work...hope the move in goes very smoothly.

Downsizing feels good but it can sure build up fast again. LOL

susan said...

I'm glad to hear all is working well for you and the people who are renting you their home. Bargaining and mutually beneficial trades may be the way to even greater success as people.

Pat said...

Funny how it all turned out. I'm glad everything worked out for everyone.

Good luck going through your things. That is REALLY, REALLY hard. Your kids might get a kick out of the things they made for you. I ended up giving my kids all the ornaments I gave to them as they were growing up. Now they hang on their trees each Christmas.

~JarieLyn~ said...

What a wonderful story and such a small world. It sounds like everything is falling into place. Best wishes to you.