Nobody Told Me This Was The Hard Part....
One thing I did not expect in this journey would be that getting a visa would somehow be the easy half of my 12 week journey to living in France. Looking back, I am longing for the simpler time when I had one check-list. Now, as I attempt to wrap up my life here in San Francisco, I feel like I have 5 lists going. Since I have been a little M.I.A. the past four weeks, I thought I would give you a status update on all of these things:
1) Packing & Sorting My Belongings: Having already downsized from a single family home to a two-bedroom apartment this year, I felt like such a minimalist. Boy was I wrong! It really isn't until you have to fit your entire life into 4 suitcases that you realize how much junk you have. The past couple weeks I keep asking: WHY DO I HAVE SO MUCH STUFF??? WHY IS IT SO HARD TO GET RID OF THINGS? It has felt like a true existential crisis at times, but thanks to a variety of systems (blog post to come) I have gotten everything down to 3 suitcases and 2 carry-ons, and 150 square feet of storage here in San Francisco. I will keep this storage a minimum of 6 months until I figure out my next move.
For storage I opted for a fairly new start-up called ShareSpace. I really couldn't beat the price, and since I do not need access to the few furniture pieces I am storing, this felt like a great fit. So far my experience has been really positive - if you are interested in a more extensive review, let me know in the comments below.
2) Wrapping Up Work: Crazily enough, work is winding down and will be 99% complete by the 16th. All my grant writing contracts have currently wrapped, and my event contracts end next week. As my identity is often completely wrapped up in my work, this is a really weird feeling. While I look forward to taking January 2018 off, I WILL be taking on new clients and contracts beginning in February 2018. Be sure to visit my HIRE ME page for me info!
3) Saying Goodbye to Friends and Family: This is going terribly...there are just not enough hours in the day! While I had toyed with a big going away party, it just logistically was not possible. I know I wrote about this in an earlier blog, but saying goodbye properly to everyone in my life feels like an impossible mountain to climb - and there is a large part of me that is just trying to come to terms with it.
4) Renting Out My Apartment: I have never desired to be a landlord - but selling my apartment was not in my best interest. Nor could I afford to just leave it empty. As a result, I have opted to lease out my apartment through a management company. Why a management company? Well, not only do I have no desire to be a landlord - I also do not want to be a landlord from thousands of miles away. Working with them has allowed me to find some highly qualified tenants and allowed me to have expert advice for a 6.5% monthly fee based on the rent charged.
To help save on costs, I hosted all open houses. In the process I learned a lot about my apartment as people really do not hold back their opinions! The first day was incredibly tough, but I am learning to have a thicker skin.
5) Resettling My Dog: This can only be captured in a dedicated blog ....
Overall, I would say things are moving along as they should. I am sadly emotionally drained and exhausted by the whole endeavor, especially with the holidays occurring at the same time. While I am excited to spend time with family, I am losing about 2 weeks of prep time between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
I will write more on all these topics (they each deserve their own blog) but I wanted to get back to writing at a regular pace! Expect one to two entries again beginning today!
