• May 19th, 2022
• Life
• By Steve Shead
• 0
• 0

The only constant is change - and boy, have there been some changes.

Life update - we moved! Yep, we no longer live in Los Gatos, CA - we now live in Vancouver, WA. What prompted the move you might ask? A number of things. One is, we needed a change. Much as we loved the weather in California, the cost of living, conjestion and wildfires (for instance) were getting to us. Having started a new role in January for a credit union based in Yakima County, we thought it was time to make a change - so here we are.

Why Vancouver, WA? Well - there's no income tax, our mortgage with property taxes and insurance is half our mortgage without property taxes and insurance in the Bay Area; gas is $2 a gallon less; there is no sales tax across the river in Oregon ...the list goes on. One thing on our minds is that we want to retire in the UK, and that means acclimating to the weather. Since we're about the same meridian we thought this was as good a place as any. Still, acclimating isn't going to be a breeze!

Right now we're on day 6 and it's been a ride. From false promises about internet speed to failed primary and secondary internet installs to the TV folks saying service is not possible, even to the bed collapsing on the first night after the furniture turned up - we felt a little overwhelmed - but - we are not quitters. The primary internet install worked second time around (secondary is still ongoing) - we got a better deal on the TV front and that all works now - we found the missing legs for the bed so that's no longer a thing. I guess our take is riding the wave and seeing the good in things. It was/is a challenge, but we are getting there.

Our pup is a little out of whack - too much change for her, and yesterday was a tough day for her. She's doing a lot better today though. Eating four metal nuts from the chair probably didn't help - yep, she did that. There's been too much change for the poor thing, but it feels like she's coming around.

The only other constant is that we are all mentally and physically exhausted. I took three days off work and spent most of it on the go - yeah,  my brain is hurting right about now - again, this too shall pass. Both days back at work had me painfully tired mid afternoon - and even then, after finishing work it was back to unpacking.

I have my home office coming together now. I've mostly unpacked and have the technology up and running. I installed a wireless router in the 'shop', which extends the home network, and that works swimmingly. Through put is not quite as good but still within usable tolerances.

We are turning this into an adventure - learning a new city, a new area, essentially a new lifestyle and much as it feels foreign today, it gets more familiar each day. As we continue to unpack and get things in their place so we will feel more glued to the new normal. The last part of that will be putting up pictures - that's the last piece of familiarity that will further draw us into this being our new home.

One thing of note is that we purchased this house sight unseen. We have a life long friend up here who is a realtor, and she guided us through the process. It was another tough ride, but here we are in a beautiful house on an acre that we are going to continue to grow to love.

There is the house and a 1600sf shop on the property. The shop is fully insulated and heated, and has an office in it. We painted the office of the weekend, which is now going to become my home office since I'm a remote employee - actually it will become the music room as well. It has a network port wired to the main house so I can get the primary internet circuit there. Once the secondary works it will become a backup. We've also purchased gym equipment since we had a home gym at the last house, and will install that in the shop also.

There is still a lot of of work to be done. We need to build a fence around the yard - install an electric car charger (though the circuit is already there), do some landscaping, install a steam shower and replace an old hot tub - all part of personalizing our new home -  there's possibly some painting to be done, but I don't want to say that one out loud. As each project gets done so we will feel more like we are home - looking forward to that feeling.

The upheaval has meant no real time for coding, though I did manage to solve a few code programs last week whilst at work HQ - that was gratifying. My brain is too tired right now, and there is still too much to do. That being said, the ecommerce project is almost complete. I need to tidy up a bit ...at least I think that's all I need to do.

Anywho - time to get ready for bed. Tomorrow is Friday and I know I'll have a weekend of unpacking to do. Onwards and upwards.

As always let me know your thoughts, ideas and opinions - always open to feedback.

Happy coding!

Cheers

~Steve

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