The first steps

OK so we have decided – we will be moving in 2009.  Yes we probably are mad – but this is the direction we have chosen.  So what now?  No doubt this is the question that every person that decides to move asks.  The first thing is to agree on is where are you moving to – we have limited this to 2 areas. Then you need to go and look at exactly what you are getting into.  The first question, as always is where do we live so we start with looking at houses, but almost immediately next set of questions follow – how do you pay for it, what are you going to do, what do you need in order to be able to do this?  Whilst this is the very concept behind andrics.com, it is good to remind me that the actual decision to move is never easy, and whilst it is not our first move, it does not get easier but it does get less intimidating.  So we update the list – a document I keep that has all the questions we have just to keep track of them.

So where do we start.  Well we have started by hitting the internet, and finding agents with property on there books that we are interested in.  Then you need to arrange viewings.  We have 2 areas to look at, and we have set our budget booked 2 viewing trips, one in the south of Spain, and one (part of our regular holiday) in the Canaries.  This means that by the end of January we should have decided exactly where our next move will be.  Then we will start the big wheel of change.  Once we have decided exactly on the location, we get to look into the details.  If we assume that we have found our house (a big assumption at this stage), then it is time to look into the details of the purchase, jobs, registrations and decisions about where we currently live.  If I cannot find a job – do I keep working here in nala land until I get a job – or move on the hope of finding one on arrival.  What do we need to do in order to get work in Spain – where and how do we register?  What about the language?
The advantage of the list, all this is captured and recorded – the disadvantage you get to see how many decisions are outstanding.  So our dreams are alive, and our progresses has started.  The first steps are in place, we will be moving so check back often to see how we manage.  As always you can drop me a line at andrew@andrics.com