New Beginnings

It's July 1st and after only 10 days on the market our house has rented here in New Hampshire! Yay! Well it's not exactly mine but we wanted it to rent before leaving because we like our landlord and wished for things to work out for all parties. You see, he was kind enough to allow us to break our lease, technically we are signed to rent here until Jan 15, 2010 and legally we would have had to pay him for the time despite no longer living here but recently he decided that since he likes us and such that he'd not hold us to the lease and that he'd let us out as long as he could keep our security deposit.

It's actually to his benefit now, he is renting to a single lady and charging $200 extra per month for the rent and her heat/hot water will be considerably less that our usage (he pays for that) so I think it's good for HIM that we are leaving. In the end, I'm just happy everything worked out. We've lived here for 6.5 years and I'm ready to venture on -- I wasn't raised here, nor was my husband, so it never felt like home to us despite all the friends we've made and how many parties we've thrown and how many weekend trips we've taken in order to hit every single part of the state. It just never felt like a right fit. Do you know the expression, "You can't fit a square peg into a round hole"? No matter how hard you try to pound that square peg into a round hole it doesn't seem to work. Even if you do manage to hammer it in hard enough there are still gaps and it's not a comfortable fit. That's been my experience in New Hampshire. I think this state is made for people who want to be left alone, out of the loop so to speak, and who prefer a quiet way of life with their children and such. And that is great and perfect for them so I'm not knocking this at all. At all. And I want you to know this because I'm sure someone reading from NH is going to have some choice words for me in the comments section after reading this paragraph. I mean absolutely nothing bad by saying this. It's simply my personal experience. I'm really ready for this relocation and life change and Thorsten is REALLY ready to go back to Germany where he grew up and lived for 28 years. He loves Europe in general and we both enjoy traveling so we can finally really travel now. He'll turn 37 in October and he wants to start a family and raise our someday kids in Europe so they can learn German and English fluently from birth, and of course have the excellent health care and benefits that parents have in Germany which we just don't have here as contractors. But aside from family planning, we both want to "fit" in somewhere again. I did well in Boston and of course, in my native South Carolina and while he likes both (as do I), we're both ready to just give Germany a whirl and so why not go for it now while our health is still good and our energy levels are high (and before the kids come). Plus, I feel like the first 8 years of our marriage he has sacrificed by moving here to be with me, now it's time that I give living on his side of the world a try. Fair is fair. And I'm certainly not complaining - I can't wait. So, today our little home is officially signed over to someone else, another bird who will fluff this nest and hopefully enjoy her stay here as we have because despite it all, we really made a lot of progress living here "in the sticks" despite the lack of design/art and women to network with who are into the same things that I'm into. There are some but none of them live even remotely close to me (it's a large state!). Still -- I wouldn't trade back these 6.5 years for anything. I have no regrets. We grew into a strong married couple. Our finances are under control and all debts are paid (we owe $0 - and I mean $0), and we both started very successful businesses here due to less distraction and more time to live our jobs. But now it's time to live our life and our jobs, together, and I'm excited to give this next phase a whirl. We got married in our twenties and in 13 days on July 14 we will be celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary. I can't believe it! Most of these 8 years were spent here in this 1875 carriage house in nowheresville. But we had some amazing things happen to us and our life and I'm so grateful for this. Have you ever heard of those who run off and hibernate in some tiny town and write that best selling novel? Well there is much that can come from seclusion as my husband and I have learned. decor8 was born out of seclusion for the most part. I landed many a writing gig from living out here. My husband learned English fluently. And our expenses dropped after moving away from Boston so we were able to get our money under control since we downsized to a small apartment, less rent, tax-free state with no federal tax, cheap car insurance, have only one car, etc. Living out here has been hard in some ways but the sacrifice was totally worth it. And now the time has come that we've been building all of this up for, to relocate and enjoy the fruits of our labor. It's time to say goodbye. I CAN'T WAIT. {dancing in my seat} woot! woot! So July 1st I welcome you my friend. The month of my anniversary, the last month of my life in America, the month I will sell off the rest of my belongings, and the month that I will no longer live a life in a cage with clipped wings. I'm flying out - over - beyond and taking all I've learned and saved and found with me on all levels and I can't wait to enjoy what these past several years of sacrifice will mean for the rest of our life ahead. Have you ever experienced similar feelings? Can you relate to me at this point in my life? (image: holly becker)