Monday, August 22, 2016

The Big Move


The decision to move from New Jersey to North Carolina, was not an easy one, although in the end and after much discussion, it just made sense.






Early summer 2015, my grandmother made the decision to sell her beautiful, 2000 square-foot home in North Carolina, because she simply could not manage to take care of it anymore. Living alone at her age, it was just too challenging and she needed to downsize. 2 years prior to that, she had said the same thing, and various members of our family had travelled to her home to help her pack and clean-up the place, a tad disappointed when she did not end up selling.

There was nothing wrong with the house per se, however, most buyers who were looking for their new home at the time wanted something more modern and updated, and my grandmother’s abode, although very well maintained, is not that. So, after having it on the market for a brief period of time, she pulled it, thinking she’d cut her losses and try to ride it out a little longer. She spent more time out of the house and visiting family in the 2 years following that, so remaining alone in the big house would be less daunting.

The first time she wanted to sell, I remember feeling upset, not wanting to see my childhood second home become unavailable and enjoyed by stranger instead of my daughter, as I had enjoyed it growing up, and the rest of my family. But, there was nothing I could do. I could not afford to buy it from her, and she didn’t want to just give it away to any single member of the extended family, fearing the rest if her grandkids would deem it unfair. She wanted to sell it and use the money she received from it to live off of, and then put the rest in savings to dish out to us whenever she passed.

So when she didn’t sell, I was very much relieved. Over the next 2 years, I went from a struggling jewelry designer to a realtor, and real estate ended up looking like it just might be my calling. After laboring for so long to make ends meet with Paul after I lost my job in late 2013, I started making money again once I found I was doing okay with selling real estate, and we actually were able to have extra spending money for the first time in over a year! Soon enough, a big sale for me came under contract and my husband, Paul, was waiting for a sizeable payout from a retired pension plan, so when Grandma announced she would be putting her home on the market again, the gears and cogs in my mind started turning and the tiny flicker of a plan to purchase that home became alight.

You see, Grandma’s health was on the decline, so she was either going to get a small apartment or move into a 55+ community. She really could not be in that big house alone. Not only had it become a struggle, but a risk as well. So we worked out an agreement for my family and me to move in with her on a rent-to-own contract, and she could either stay with us for as long as we were able to take care of her, or move out on her own to wherever she chose to that made sense for a woman of her age. After negotiating and stewing on it for the next 6+ months, we ironed out the details, then Paul and I made the down payment to her the spring before we moved in. Everyone who had been worrying over her in her wide circle of family and friends were thrilled because now the responsibility of looking after Grandma would be on our plates instead of theirs! They were also very happy for us to finally have our own house and not continue renting. In the current NJ real estate climate, it is very difficult to find a decent affordable house with a mortgage, and unless we saved for a few more years, there was no way we’d be able to do that anytime soon in an area we’d like to live in.

After packing for weeks, we still weren’t quite ready the week we got the U-Haul. Luckily, we have amazing family and friends who came to help us finish up at our “packing party”. We got the truck on the 1st of July, and had planned to be on the road by the very next day, however, things do not always go according to plan, and we ended up getting on the road early July 4th afternoon, our tearful dear neighbors waving to us as we hunkered down the road in a hulking 20’ U-Haul with auto transport attached to the back, pulling my silver PT Cruiser behind it.




The journey started out surprisingly smooth, but that smoothness didn’t last: after about an hour and change into our trip, a heavy down pour hit, and didn’t stop until the wee hours of the following morning. Another part of our moving plan that we feared would now get foiled was camping somewhere in Virginia overnight. We’d imagined finding a nice shady spot near a lake or river to relax by the morning we woke up on the second day of our journey, then leisurely continue our trip to our new home, not getting soaked in the rain while trying to set up camp in the middle of the night. After discussing it, Paul, and I decided that even though it was raining and we were very weary, we would find a camp spot anyway, seeing as our tent was waterproof. The next morning was supposed to be sunny, so at least we could wake up to a beautiful post-rain sunrise the next day.

We found a rest stop with a camping area after realizing that the camp spot we had made a reservation for was still nearly two hours away when we were ready to call it a night. My darling husband set up the tent in the rain while Lily, Ogum (our malti-eski-poo pup), and I waited in the truck. After running to the tent and getting more than a little damp, we all snuggled under a blanket and soon fell asleep.




Unfortunately, it turned out that the tent wasn’t 100% waterproof; the rain was coming down so hard, the tent started to leak…right above me. And, I was starting to feel dampness beneath me. Lily and Paul were knocked out, but I am not such a heavy sleeper.

After tossing and turning and searching for a drier spot to no avail, I literally broke down in tears from exhaustion and agony. Paul awoke and I told him I couldn’t bear it and would be sleeping in the cab of the truck where it was dry. Luckily, Lily was in the only spot that wasn’t getting wet, and she was so sound asleep, I left her with her daddy and slept in the U-Haul alone. I got maybe three hours of sleep before the blaring sun in the windshield woke me up.


At least we woke up to sunlit wildflowers

We cleaned ourselves up, let our chickens out of their cage in the trunk of the car for a bit, then found a Denny’s to have breakfast at. Afterwards, we got back on the road, started making good time…until it started raining. Again. We were almost to NC by that time, but on top of driving a heavy load while navigating hilly roads, the rain slowed us down tremendously, and we arrived at our new home about 2.5 hours later than expected.

My thoughtful, sweet grandmother had been thinking ahead once she realized we would not make it there in time for supper, so she had ordered pizza for us which was waiting there when we arrived. Hallelujah!

We hit the sack after showering, then spent the next 2 days unpacking before getting the truck back to U-Haul. Fortunately, they gave us the rental for 2 more days at no extra charge due to a mix-up on picking up the truck in NJ. We are truly blessed and looked after.


It’s now been 47 days since we moved in, and adventure abounds each and every day. I started this blog to document that experience, I hope you’ll stick around to find out how a Yankee family’s move to the Country changed our lives and those around us for good.



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