(no subject)

[donnalotus]

Michael and I have been in serious discussions this past weekend. Thursday or Friday I mentioned to him that maybe we should consider moving to Bairnsdale because the houses are on average at least $100-150K less than we're looking at around here. There's a couple of little downsides to that, one being there isn't likely to be as much work, and the girls are not there so I wouldn't be able to go to Lodge as much, but over the weekend we have been weighing up the pros and cons of moving to Lakes Entrance (a place we both love), which go like this.

 

CONS

* Less full time work available
* Public transport practically non-existant
* No Lodge

PROS

* Nearer to my brother and his fiancee, and their daughter (which is good for the baby because they can grow up together)
* Closer to Mum
* On the beach!
* Houses are $100-150K less so we would only need to borrow $150K max vs. $200-220K
* Plenty of casual and part time work if you're willing to do stuff like waitressing, shop keeping, etc - which we don't care about.
* Less people in general - (I am so over high populations right now)
* Slower pace of life
* Ability to buy a bigger house than we can afford here, and have some land to grow our own food and be a little more self-sufficient
* Did I mention it's by the beach?

I can still visit Lodge once a month if we budget for it, so I could go back and forth, it's only about a 3.5 hour drive to M's from Lakes. There's lots of little touristy type shops around where I could find p/t or casual work in, and I can get back into my craft and maybe sell stuff at these places. Michael says he'd be happy doing anything if it's only 20 hours a week anyway, which is all he can do on the carer's pension.

We talked to his Mum about it last night and she's quite keen to do it. We did the math and on the carer's pension alone we can pay our share of the mortgage and still live off the rest plus the Family Tax Benefit and Carer's Allowance. That doesn't even take into account any part time work we pick up.

Michael has been really stressed about borrowing even the nominal amount of $200K because it's not like we'd be earning anything more here than we would in Lakes, and there's no guarantee of work here any more than there is down the line, like Mum says, the only difference is there might be more a variety of work where we are now, and I already have contacts with my current workplace. But that's no guarantee of work. I also have contacts with the people I used to work with in the Bairnsdale Library, in fact one of my co-workers from back then is now the head Librarian... so yeah.

The most important thing about it is, I believe, that we are no longer anxious about buying a house and Michael is actually bouncing off walls he's so excited and happy about it. Talking to Mum about it last night and she'd been thinking about it on the way to my brother's last night and she said "it just feels right somehow", she REALLY doesn't want to move down here, even if it is to care for Grandma.

Michael talked to Grandma yesterday when he was hanging out the laundry and told her what we were thinking. She agreed that Mum definitely wouldn't move down here if we go to Lakes, and Michael said she should sell up and move to Lakes with us too. She loves the beach, she'd be near family who care about her, and Mum could care for her then.

She initially was all "no, no - I couldn't do that" but then the next 30 minutes when she saw him, she'd been giving it considerable thought because she was quite excited as well, and considering the move - so who knows what's going to happen, but we are pretty much 99% sure we're going to Lakes now, and so it's just waiting until Michael's mum's house sells, then we can get to making an offer on a property and going from there.

I already have my eyes on a couple of homes which look really fabulous  but we can't go and make an offer on them just yet because we really need to wait until her place sells. I hope it's soon, because if it is, we can move quickly and get one of these places. There's one that is a four bedroom house (used to be run as a B&B) with three bedrooms and main living area downstairs, and a self-contained bedroom/living area upstairs which sounds ideal for Michael's Mum. It has a pool and a little area by the pool that is enclosed, I could put up curtains and do outdoor massage! It also has an already established orchard.......... omg what I wouldn't give for an orchard that is already in place!

I had a dream last night where I told the girls we were moving to Lakes Entrance..... it was surreal.

Change is definitely afoot!