We are your typical run ragged family…too much work and not enough play. We never seem to have enough time for togetherness, exercise, outdoor adventure or visits with friends and family.
We’re making moves to change all of this. Literally.
Back in June, my husband’s career took a turn which provided an opening into the lives we’ve been considering for many years. Part of this new chapter involves a new city.
The Okanagan Valley has been a vacation destination of ours throughout our childhoods and then carried on (almost) every year of our marriage. We’ve talked about moving there since before we we married.
We love the valley for it’s focus on outdoor living, life and love. Whether it’s the weather or setting, you often find yourself outside enjoying life with your friends and family. Together.
Could we finally make our dream of moving to the Okanagan work? What about housing, what about work?
So, off on a reconnaissance mission we went. We spent a week in Kelowna talking with companies, scouting out communities and it seems likely that our passionate romance with the city could turn into a long term committed relationship.
On June 23 we decided to take a leap and officially list out house.
This is where the story gets a little bit nuts. Way before we knew we were going to turn our lives upside down, we had booked a summer vacation to Mexico for nearly 3 weeks. This vacation was to start on July 3. Believe me, we went back and forth on cancelling it, but for many reasons, it made sense to continue on with our vacation plans.
This made our listing date July 3, therefore, we only had a week and a half to get our house ready to list. We worked like crazy people getting our house in order. Man, we had a lot of stuff. We should all move every once in a while JUST to get rid of all the junk we collect.
We did it, and we did a fantastic job. Not just on the house, but our family worked together through that chaotic period with grace and patience.
Off to Mexico we go with our house listed and bags packed. July 4th (ONE day later), our house sells with a possession date of July 30th. Now, keep in mind, we were in Mexico until July 23.
Yes, that means we have ONE WEEK to pack up our whole house, connect with friends and family and push off to our new destination.
And, we have nowhere to live or work for my husband yet. We are headed to Kelowna on August 1 to see if we can change that.
Stay tuned for PART TWO where I share our best tips for packing up a house in one week (thanks to BigSteelBox.com and FROGBOX) and if we actually made our dream happen.
Fingers crossed for us?