Category: Before leaving the US

Before leaving the US

Holiday home for home

Packing crate
Bill put the puzzle pieces together.

For many years we have rented a variety of accommodations for vacations through one of the online booking services for homeowners who rent out their places. It’s given us the chance to spend time in a riverside cabin, a lakeside bungalow, an oceanfront condo, an Irish castle, and a couple of French chateaux. For the last few days we’ve been in Atlanta at a house with a theater, a British pub, a gym, a steam shower, and lots of other amenities that really made it feel like home. Oh yeah, it IS our home…or rather it WAS. Continue reading “Holiday home for home”

Unknown's avatarBob3 Comments
Before leaving the US

Go!

Visa application
Visa application

Coming up with the name for today’s post was rather fun for a couple of reasons. The first was the choice of titles since it has to do with getting a visa. Since the French consulate in Miami accepts credit cards to pay the 99 euro fee, it could have been “Visa for Visa”. A takeoff on the expression “easy-peasy” since this whole process went very smoothly once we got to the consulate brought to mind “Visa(y)-peasy”. And of course the original French vis-à-vis that we’ve adopted into English meaning, among many things, “face to face”, would have certainly worked since we had to apply in person at their office that looks out onto Biscayne Bay. Instead I chose this one word that at first glance might not seem to have anything to do with today’s topic, but that’s the other reason why naming it was fun. Continue reading “Go!”

Unknown's avatarBob
Before leaving the US

And then there was one

One key
Only one key remaining

When Bill and I were working we both had a pocketful of keys: the house doors, the cars, the Club security bars for the cars, our work building doors, various office keys, locker keys, etc. Bill had to repair more than one pair of pants that didn’t hold up to all the extra weight. Last night we sold our one remaining car and now we each have just one single house key on our ring. It’s really a burden lifted, figuratively and literally. Continue reading “And then there was one”

Unknown's avatarBob
Before leaving the US

Tons o’ fun

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Over a ton of trash in the back of our rental truck

Earlier you may have read Bill’s post about coming to the conclusion that we were going to need more than a trash can to get rid of years’ worth of accumulations. This morning we rented a 15-foot truck to haul things away. Yep, we’re still in the purging process although what went into this 10’ X 15’ foot metal box on wheels was never destined to make it to France in the first place. In addition to the cost of renting a truck and driving it to the municipal landfill (aka county dump), we had to pay 38 dollars for leaving just over a ton of mostly leftover construction materials behind. Continue reading “Tons o’ fun”

Unknown's avatarBob
Before leaving the US

Riding the roller coaster

Georgia house after a nice rain. Thanks to Pat, our realtor.
Georgia house after a nice rain. Thanks to Pat, our realtor.

Last Monday evening we met with our realtor. Three offers were on the table for the house and they were all very similar. Selling this house was a lot different from most home sales. I actually was the one to show the house to the buyers and their agents. The storms and floods managed to work to our advantage during the process. When there is that much rain and the basement stays dry then everyone is happy.

I do have to back up a bit for you to understand how it all happened so quickly. First we offered the house to the neighbors who expressed interest from the beginning. The timing was wrong for Michael and his family but another family was very interested but really did not know the value that a dry, finished basement adds to property. They could not understand why the home was appraised so much more than others in the neighborhood without basements. Continue reading “Riding the roller coaster”

Unknown's avatarBill4 Comments
Before leaving the US

Lesson learned

100_4128Each morning for part of the time that I’m on the treadmill I listen to a French language instruction course. Lesson after lesson, repeated time and again, it all finally starts to fall into place. At the end of the main course there is a review of the verb tenses that the instructor has taught you so far–all 18 of them. Ironically the verb they use is “to sell” and the object is “a house”. Today not only can I say in the abstract that the house is sold (was sold, would have been sold, etc.) I can also say it and mean it. Continue reading “Lesson learned”

Unknown's avatarBob2 Comments
Before leaving the US

Love (and laugh with) thy neighbor

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Talking animals Teddy Ruxpin and Grubby

We have some really nice neighbors here in Atlanta. Some were here before we moved to this house 14 years ago while others arrived in the past 6 months. This weekend we got to celebrate with many of them: a birthday, a delayed Christmas dinner, and an early goodbye. Continue reading “Love (and laugh with) thy neighbor”

Unknown's avatarBob1 Comment