House Hunting

So, with 57 days now left in our countdown, I am looking more seriously at what our housing options are going to be in Hawaii. I really like the idea of having a home pre-rented and ready to move into when we set foot on the island. But that means renting it somewhat blindly, perhaps having a friend over there check it out for us in advance. Part of me would prefer to walk through it myself before signing on the dotted line.

This brought us to our next idea, which is to find a vacation rental on VRBO.com and rent a furnished place for a month. This would allow us to have our own space and give us a few weeks to perform our house hunt in person, which the potential landlords we have spoken to so far seem to prefer. I stayed up until 12:30 a.m. last night going through the listings at VRBO.com and sending quote requests for the month of January. I have received three responses so far. 1) $3000/month for a 2-bedroom. 2) No vacancy. 3) $9500/month (after a 30% discount, believe it or not). Hmmm, so far this plan is not working well. We may be on to Plan C.

Right now Plan C is to spend a few days living in the converted school bus at Jenny & Sully's with Alex & Aaron while we house hunt. This is a more economical approach, for sure, but potentially more stressful for me. I know myself and I am going to be eager to nest. Being 5 months pregnant will only add to that. Our 1st priority when we arrive is going to be getting through the hoops required to get Alex in school by the following Monday. TB testing, paperwork, etc. I don't know if I will feel up to living in a bathroomless, kitchenless bus with my 2 little ones for 2-3 weeks at that point. I would prefer not to.

Back to Plan A. We do our best to secure a rental BEFORE we arrive! I think I will give it a couple more weeks and then start putting calls into the few property management companies I know of and see what they have available. This house hunting from across the ocean is a challenge, to say the least. But, I have to believe that "our house" is going to be ready and waiting for us and that the doors to it will be opened at just the right time.

I feel better already. See, now this is why blogging is great. Chances are no one will read this but me and 1 or 2 others. But it really is helping me process this transition and the potential stress involved. And if anyone wants to know the details of what we're thinking and feeling, here it is. :)