Moving

I don’t like moving. I love moving around, but the place I call home has been the same for 20 years (has it been that long ??)

I kept thinking I’ve been here for 15 years, but time does go by, and it’s been 20 already!

Soon after changing newspapers I bought this place, and have never moved. I’d been a regular in the neighborhood by then, some friends lived here, but the place welcomed me, and soon I was feeling at home.

I’ve said it before, but this place feels like a small village inside a city. We have a fish place, a butcher, cafes, grocery shop, pharmacy, restaurants,… all in a small area.

Every time I had to go up the street to the nearest big one, it felt like I was going into town.

And, obviously, we get to know the people, and after a while start to appreciate knowing their names, greeting them every day, the postal workers know you already, the shopkeepers know your preferences, … the list of things I love here is endless.

I thought I’d never leave.

I lived here for most of my years at the paper, going away on assignments and, on the later years, having a regular desk job, but always had this place to end up at. My safe haven.

Then movieStar moved in.

We traveled quite a bit, and spent months away in Príncipe, but always came back to the same place, the same people, and the same cosy feeling.

tinyMovieStar was born, pandemic struck, we moved with my in-laws for a little while. Ended up staying there for half a year. It felt good having all that space, along with the amazing support they provided, but when we got home again, we both felt we were home at last.

The apartment is on the smaller side, soon enough it was feeling tiny, and there’s no pause button on this. The baby will keep getting bigger, and the place that was perfect for two is not big enough for three. Turns out babies are quite small, but take up an incredible amount of space!

We were looking for a unicorn place: in the same area, bigger, but within our price range. This year has not been a great one regarding work, so that price range was more limited than we’d hoped.

Also, the area where we live has seen housing prices skyrocket. Airbnb to blame, tourists are more profitable than locals, and most landlords and home owners aren’t in it to help people. Money is their motivation.

In the end, thanks to movieStar’s relentless search for the right apartment, we found one that is as close to perfect as we could hope for. Still overpriced, but close to home.

We’ll be paying rent from now on, also a strange feeling for me, since we own our place. It’s odd and taking a while for that part to sink in.

It’s only an eight minute walk from the new house to the old one, but it still feels like a world apart. We’ll be closer to the big supermarket, closer to the subway station, closer to a few other things, but in my mind it’s far from everything we love about living here.

I’ll get over it, I’m sure, and we’ll still spend our free time in the same square and garden. But…

I really hate moving.

This is day 029 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. You can find out all about this project at 100daystooffload.com.