House find

And so we were back in good old Singers, admiring our very large apartment with very open eyes. Palatial in comparison to the postboxes our meagre budget could afford. 

We had the weekend to make our decision. It seemed that we had definitely picked the building close to school, the one with all the outdoor and indoor facilities, the shuttle that would take V to work, the one with rooms in proportion to each other. Now we just had to pick an apartment from the 3 we had seen.

Our first pick was the highly over budget one. It had been renovated and was ready for someone to move in within weeks. Suited us as we were about 4 weeks away from move day. It was a bright and airy duplex, perfect in every way with a largish kitchen and all new fittings. The only problem seemed to be that there was no bedroom on the ground level of the apartment and this would mean visiting parents would have to take the stairs multiple times a day. 

Our Second and Third choices were slightly smaller than the duplex apartment but all on one level and manageable if we stretched the budget. 

After lots of to-ing and fro-ing it turned out that pick One would not work. They were unwilling to budge on price and realistically the duplex would have been a pain for the parents. So we agreed to disagree and instead choose between Two and Three - which were identical in every way but on different floors. Now, the beauty of this building is certainly the sea view. Three was being renovated and Two needed renovating. Choice Two was on a higher (but not by much) floor but even if they began renovating immediately it would not be ready till mid September. Choice Three was on a much lower floor but would be ready earlier as they had already begun and we could be in with a minimal hotel stay. 

In my making of many plans I would have liked to have been in our apartment before the start of school. Certainly our sea shipment could have been there within a week of our arriving in early August. But after much discussion we decided we would rather wait for for the higher floor for it was a view we would have to live with for years to come. The long game as it were. 

An entire month of legal wrangling to get the contacts in language both parties could agree to. So while we packed up our lives and divided it into Sea, Air and Suitcase shipments, while we said goodbye to our family and friends and everything now so familiar, we still had no confirmation of where we would eventually live. 

And all this time I couldn't help but think of how First World our problems were; deciding which apartment would suit us more, having a CHOICE, agreeing to wording and commissions and filing paperwork. All while watching the news of a different part of the world where people were being forced to flee their homes and everything they held dear, to flee countries and regimes for no fault of their own, to cling to plastic dinghies in choppy seas, to walk for miles and miles, to pray someone would let them enter a safe place and most of all show them some humanity. 

I find this world strange beyond fathom in so many ways. The state of the world has made me yet more thankful for what I have, being less of a complainer, more appreciative of the luxury of freedom and choice. It certainly put this move in greater perspective than the ones before.