Finding a Place to Live
Okay, by far one of the scariest decisions we'll need to make in the coming week is where to live. We reached out to the Wagoners last week because we were in a panic. We couldn't seem to navigate through all the leasing web sites without a sense of overwhelm and dread. What if we can't find a place with our availability dates? Who is reputable? What if we absolutely hate the place once we get there?
And when our email to a real estate agency went unanswered, we panicked. How are we going to get a lease for a place, sight unseen, in Barcelona?
I sent an email to Alan that night, a very smart move. He responded to us very quickly and sent us some results from his research. He also reassured us that it would be one of the more difficult tasks to complete.
This reassurance alone was worth its weight in gold and helped us dig in and tackle the situation with renewed confidence over the weekend.
As of today, John has been able to connect with a real estate agency who gave us a few listings to look at. We also found another agency that has an overseas friendly vibe, they even convert meters to sq. feet for those of us who have forgotten our standard to metric conversions.
With a renewed amount of "can do" attitude today we have completed a couple of our application forms and book marked some of our favorite apartments. Our next step will be to call the agencies and ask them about availability.
Ah, availability will be an interesting conversation to be had because while we have to demonstrate to the consulate that we have a place to live in Barcelona when we see them on August 1st, we have no idea when we will actually be there.
Our best guess is October 1st but we could be approved for our visas sooner or not approved at all. So what does one do when deposits must be paid and leases signed?
Well, we take a deep breath and make the best decision we can with the information we have. And then we hope everything times out appropriately.
But my linear mind says, "What!?!" Yeh, self, this move to Spain is not for the faint of heart. There is financial risk in paying for a place you won't be able to see until you get there.
On the upside, though, there are enough pause states built into this visa process that gives one a chance to review and recommit to this type of move. That is probably a really good thing. You don't want to uproot your family on a whim.
Today, we have asked ourselves, "Are we still in?" And, yes, we are. And so many checklist items are complete. Today we can celebrate the fact that the first round of our documents are being translated into Spanish by an official translator, we have a medical application ready to fill out and a list of real estate agencies to call first thing Monday morning.
Not bad for a Sunday morning's worth of work, eh?