Home again…

Well, we have been back in the UK for almost one month now and to some extent it is as if we were never away. A round of dinners and parties has welcomed us back and everybody seems well and happy.

We were out in the allotment straight away and were surprised how little work was needed to get it back into order. Seeds are now planted and germinating and we are even enjoying some crops that have over wintered.

One thing that was immediately obvious when we returned was how busy and noisy it is outside our house. After having the peace and quiet in New Zealand it came as a shock to us. So we have decided to move. Our house is on the market with a local estate agent and we have been browsing the internet for possible places to move to.

We want to find a place that gives us an opportunity to enjoy the good life without forcing us to spend the next twenty years paying for it. For the same price as our small two bedroom terrace cottage in the suburbs, we can buy a three bedroom detached house in a rural location with enough land to grow our veggies on. The only thing we need to decide is what rural location to choose. We still want to be accessible to London and our family and friends so we would only be an hour or two away and preferably near a main line station. If we are canny we might be able to get all of this and not have a mortgage to worry about, thus freeing up more time for us to try and capture some of the quality of life we are striving for.

Although my first attempt at a novel was rejected by everyone I sent it to I am trying to be optimistic. I have some new ideas for it and I will make some changes, hopefully improving it, before trying some UK publishers. I also have ideas for several other stories that just require me getting some ‘brain space’ to start on them. Sue and her mother have bought me some more paints and canvasses so that I can also continue with my painting.

We are looking for jobs in the meantime too, as we still need to pay the bills, so Sue has started back at her old job on a part time basis, and I have been knocking on doors of companies in my old industry. I think I will have a few options open to me in the next week or too including my old job. Some of the opportunities are further a field, in Bath, Northampton and Middlesex, and if any of these come to fruition they may dictate which county we end up moving to.