Do You Hear That?

It's me breathing my very first sigh of relief in this move back to the States ... and I'm not sure what to do with all of this extra oxygen.

I found a place to live today. More specifically, I e-mailed the owner of the house I'm going to live in, and agreed to the terms of the lease today. I'm beyond excited.

Do you see that? It' s my little happy dance.

Finding a place to live has not been as easy as I'd expected it to be. I have been looking for several weeks for a rental home in the Southern California area. Somewhere near family, definitely near the Synagogue we're joining, and with the attempt to do as little schlepping as possible. It had to be a three bedroom. It had to have parking directly attached to the place. It had to take the dog.

I originally planned to wait until I got to California before I started researching houses. I knew that I could stay with my in laws and my parents for a bit of time. I really didn't want the added expense of a 12-month lease of starting in either July or August, knowing that we'd more than likely be moving to D.C. next June... thus needing to break our lease, or pay double rent for a few months. The more I thought about it, I began to realize that by waiting until I got there, I'd be doing the same thing I do every summer... I'd be stuck shopping. Though instead of for clothes, toiletries, or consumables, I'd be shopping for houses. And I just didn't need the stress.

I contacted several real estate agents who dealt with rental properties. Most of the e-mailed me properties were all wrong for one reason or another ... too few bedrooms, second floor units, no yard, or no dedicated parking spaces. I was about to give up when I noticed an advertisement on Craigslist for a 9-month winter rental. Hmmm... I hadn't thought about that before. A rental just for the school year that's fully furnished. Hmmm... what a novel idea. So I started looking into them. Most of these rental properties are located in the Newport Beach area. A tad further away than I had planned on living from the Synagogue. But doable. And furnished. Double doable.

I e-mailed the owner's of a few properties. I had hope for a few different places. None of them seemed 'just' right. Some were too close to the pier. Others were sandwiched between places rented out solely to college kids. The rest were missing one of the key ingredients I needed to make our next year's place a home.

Until a few days ago. When my in laws met up with a neighbor in the dog park around the corner from their house. The neighbor knew of a property that would be available in the winter. Furnished. Three bedroom. Two bath. Two car garage. Ready for a family to move in in September. No problem to bring the dog. She mentioned that I should get in touch with her if I was interested. I was. Over the next few days we exchanged several e-mails and then talked on the phone. The place sounded perfect ... if she was willing to significantly reduce the price.

Long story short. The woman e-mailed me today offering up the house for the winter. From September - June. She lowered her price to fit within our budget... and even threw in cable and internet. It's an adorable little house on one of Matt's favorite streets on the Newport Beach Peninsula. A little Everybody Loves Raymond close to his parents. The ad describes it as a "Charming Cottage", which is a euphemism for the "ohmygawdthisissosmall" bungalow two blocks from the beach. A lot farther than I had planned on living to the Synagogue, though as my cousin/aunt aptly reminded me, everybody schleps in Los Angeles. But it's perfect for us. Large enough that we won't get claustrophobic. Small enough that I can keep it clean, as you can bet your bottom dollar that I won't have any help once I get to California, thank you very much!

It's one less thing that I need to worry about now. And I'm one step closer to mentally organizing our shipments. For a few brief moments I can carefully exhale... though I know it's going to be short lived.

Wheels up in just twenty eight days and counting ...