House hunting blues
The official notice to vacate our property arrived in the mail on Friday. As it seems so terribly unfair and I continue to have mortgage-envy, I was tempted to immediately go out and buy a tatts lotto ticket – but I know that you should only ever do that when you have a special “feeling” in your bones (actually I get kind of goosebumps on the back of my neck) and the feeling that you have when you know you have to move house is not the right kind of feeling at all. No one ever won tatts when they were feeling grumpy. Well, I certainly have never won tatts when I was feeling grumpy. Once I did get that tingly tatts feeling – and we won fifty dollars. Strangely enough, I seem to get that feeling when the jackpot is around 9 million. I think it’s really interesting that as soon as you buy a tatts ticket (unless you do it every week and then it might be different) you plan exactly how you will spend the 9 mill (14 million, 5 million or whatever), and when you don’t win you just can’t understand how that could possibly be. I always feel slightly outraged. “You mean we didn’t win?? How can that be possible? I bought a ticket!”.
There is a grey cloud that settles down around everything when you have to move house and every new place you look through is dank and depressing. We saw an absolute corker yesterday – the ceilings were falling in, the carpet was worn through and the bathroom smelt decidedly like pee. It was huge and had a cute 1940s kitchen but it was really incredibly awful for $350 per week (!!). Big-P has been feeling optimistic about the whole situation up until now – but that’s been because he has been at work and I have been the one walking through houses. After two minutes in this place I could see that grey cloud descend around his shoulders too. But in the words of my ever wise and taoist father – “you only need to find one house”.
Perhaps we should move to East St Kilda – then we might run into this guy on his segway!
On your search, I hope you find the perfect house. I’ll send my good vibes to you across the sea!
Sounds rough for you right now.I hope everything works out.Take care~
It is horrible to look for a new place – I did it with tiny baby in tow and saw such terrible dumps! And then…chin up!
hang in there clare, it will be alright. and your father is right, just one house 🙂
I’m sending you **beautiful house** finding vibes so you guys can find the perfect pad. it will probably happen when you least expect it.
Hmmm – not the best time of year to be looking for houses in any case – that grey cloud seems to like Melbourne.
Best of luck in your search.
I am so like that when I buy a tatts ticket. I buy one ticket about every 2 or 3 years and expect that to be the one.
Good luck with the house hunting.
East St Kilda rocks!(this is where I live…) Close to Glicks for Sunday bagels, The Wall for coffees and people-watching.
I thought I was the only one who did that with Tatts tickets! I have everything planned to the last cent and then I’m crushed when we don’t win!
Good luck with the house hunting, I hate dealing with real estate agents – ugh!
That is so true about the lottery ticket! I decided last week to stop buying them because I feel so betrayed and upset when I don’t win.Good luck with the house search. It is hard, but it’s not as bad as it feels, and you will make lots of new memories in the new mystery house!
Best wishes with the new house. My husband and I are hunting for our first house and keep running into frustration and disappointment. The right place is out there – it’s just too bad that you don’t have more time to look.
350 AUD is something like 225 USD, right? That’s only 900 USD per month!! Criminy…do you know we pay at *least* 1500 USD (2360 AUD) for a modest, one-bedroom APARTMENT here in New York City? It still shocks me to see how much less the rest of the world pays to live. Sigh…
But enough of that! Fingers are crossed that you find a spectacular place in no time. Dwellings have a way of sneaking up on you…here’s hoping your new place finds YOU instead. 🙂
Keep taking that adorable baby and people will soon be paying you to live in their beautiful rental properties, just so they could look at those eyes! Good luck to you; try not to worry. I’m sure you will find it soon!
Take heart! Be glad when you can say a resounding NO to a place you’ve just viewed… because every house that you pass on will leave you open to rent a better one, or maybe even the perfect one.
I used to work for NSW Lotteries and thought you might all want to know that Tatts and Lotteries have a favourite name for you: “Jackpot Jumpers”
Claire, sorry to hear you have to move. Before buying our place I moved 4 times in 5 years!! Before you fully develop you mortgage envy though remember it comes with its own hassles too.
Wishing you well,
Julie
I feel the moving woes.
And on a different note… I was walking to the post office on campus yesterday and some professor whizzed by me on one of those. What can you do but stand and smile?
One ticket one house =)You have already won the lotto in so many ways!
Remember and truly believe your next house may be even better than this one.
Light a white candle and an orange one and belive it with all of your heart.
~*~
I remember how excited you were about finding you little cottage. I am so sorry you have to move, but worse…you have to look at all those dingy nests. You will find the right shelter and you all will live happily ever after.
Thought of relocating out west to the burbs. Properties are still cheap even to buy and paying $180 a week for a three bedroom, LARGE house is not unheard of either, my mum was renting her other house out for $180 a week (until I moved into it). Try Werribee way!