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Sea change Completed

Forestwood

The wind in your hair, the smell of salt water in one’s nostrils, and the laid back lifestyle. That is what we think of we most of us think of living at the beach.

Four weeks ago, we moved to a home by the sea, after more than 35 years living in the suburbs but that wasn’t the original plan.

The key to the Door

After selling the house my husband had built with his own hands, we went looking for a minimalist low maintenance lifestyle close to family and friends. We were, for quite some time, set on re-locating to a townhouse in the inner city and having a weekend flat at the beach. The Minimalist Inner city lifestyle. Close to restaurants, all kinds of services and facilities and unfortunately, the sort of place, workers and commuters all love to live. So it is busy, too busy for us now that we are nearing retirement and the quieter lifestyle that provides.

Sometimes, the universe intervenes. We searched and searched to find the right townhouse for us. It wasn’t there. Or, if it was, someone else got there first and outbid us. I must admit we had a contract on another, but it didn’t feel right and there were problems so the contract was terminated. We decided the townhouse hipster lifestyle wasn’t for us. All the time, the universe was sending us here, to the sea, where we wanted to be.

The city life Millenials love

The adult kids moved out, as there was no way that they were going to live up near the beach, some 20 kms away from the trappings of work, friends and the inner city lifestyle.

So it is quite a change – a sea change to move in to the house we have been designing and building for the last year.

There have been frustrating times, and some problems along the way, but overall the building process was a lot of fun. And we made it. Yay!

The Moving process, of course, is not at all fun. Most of our old furniture didn’t fit into a townhouse – so we disposed of it. We had so many boxes packed away in storage, and a lot of new boxes for the new furniture. They all had to be unpacked and removed.

But that is all behind us now. The boxes have been recycled, the packing materials dumped and we settling into our new routine.

The Universe was right, and we were lucky to find the right piece of land, negotiated with a builder at the right time and voila, now our house is our home.

Now we are ensconced in our new house and we are happy. We’ve met many new neighbours, many in the same stage of life as us, and travelling to work hasn’t even taken near as long as I thought.

The MOTH is busy with little tasks around the house, and happy again, and the Schnauzer is thrilled she has a yard to play in once more.

Would I build a house again from scratch? Yes, most definitely.

Would I move again? No, definitely not.

So here we stay! We are putting down roots.

Us

Published by Forestwood

A philosophic Aussie writes here at StPA, one who will readily admit to loving Scandinavia. I'm interested in global politics and what drives us to be who we are. Scratch the surface and you'll find a practical Environmentalist with an egalitarian bent, trying to unleash a little creativity via the written word. Scandinavian culture, literature and traditions are close to my heart, even though I'm Australian. Travel and courteous discussions greatly broaden the mind, so I travel if I can and am always up for a vigorous, respectful discussion. I'm an avid reader, a writer and I enjoy photography and crafts, particularly traditional art forms. I hope you'll find 'Something to Ponder About,' in my WordPress Community.

31 thoughts on “Sea change Completed”

    1. I am not sure my house is a palace, Snow. But it is my palace! I guess ou are right, that even though I classify myself as a winter person, I would have to agree that I do like the light and sunshine in the cool early morning. Then I am no fan of it in the middle of the day when it is so hot and glary, until it gets cooler, in the late afternoon. And you have to remember that we do not live at a surfing beach. Yes it’s the beach, but because the islands are off the coast it’s more a stillwater beach with only minimal waves. Just the kind I like. Of course there is a lake as well, that is closer than the sea, so no surf there! My old house ease very dark and cabin like, so now we have a light and bright house! I guess that accounts for me waking up at 4am!!

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  6. It’s funny how many obstacles the Universe puts up to move us in the right direction. So happy to hear you are happily ensconced in your new home. There is always something that will need doing there but you can be content with the overall completion of the move and the final home. Happy Christmas in your new digs.

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    1. We are close to the side of a lake which then has a line of houses – yet to be built- between it and the ocean. So we are close enough to the water, but not right on it. Even though being on waterfront property would be lovely, living on the ocean here means harsh winds, sand and salty surf spray, which rusts anthing metal- like fridges, garages doors and cars. I guess it has its downside too, which is why we opted for living a few streets back from the water’s edge as I don’t want to spend my life cleaning windows!!

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      1. Hahah, I guess I only thought about the ice and freezing winds, but I can see how the sand and salty water (the water salinity in the Baltic Sea is less than in the oceans) can be a huge problem. Sounds like your house is located in the perfect spot!

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