Offer on the Condo

I got an offer on my condo last night and we accepted it today. The offer was a full-price offer, meaning I will hold the record for selling my condo for more than anyone else in the history of the building. I bought the condo 2 1/2 years ago (at a then-record price) and it has appreciated 63% since. At the time I bought it, I was afraid it was the top of the market! I think it is the top now, at least for the short term.

It's a 30 day escrow with very few contingencies from a pre-qualified buyer.

I have someone coming out next week to give me a quote on all my furniture. If they come in too low, I'll sell everything individually on Craig's list and through an estate sale.

Yesterday I made all the arrangements for my enrollment in the Spanish language school, and have secured my housing in Barcelona. I have opted to take the "super" intensive course which is six hours a day! I then will have a two week "vacation" during the Christmas and New Year's holidays staying in a student flat in the L'Eixample (gay district). There's a good chance I'll have the flat to myself since most students will leave for the Holidays. I hope to have a new Spanish boyfriend by then to share the Holiday's with! If not, it may be a lonely time, as it will be the first time in my life I've not been at my Mom's house for Christmas. But I'm believing it will be a time of happy and contemplative reflection that will be good for my soul.

Three days of work left before I retire!

Goodbye to Mom

It's partly because of Mom's untimely death a couple months ago that I'm able to do the retirement thing. Thanks Mom.

And so this past weekend the family finally spread my Mom's ashes and said our final goodbyes. I don't have much to say about it right now, except that it was a nice send-off, and I took pictures.

Open House

We had open house this past weekend and there was a LOT of interest in the place. My realtor called me last night to tell me I'm about to get an offer already!

I confirmed with my niece and her fiance that I can store a few things at their place, which is a relief. I will attempt to take Kitty over to their house one day after I retire to see if he will be able to adjust at their place with the other cats, and if so I can leave Kitty with them.

Five days of work left. But who's counting?!

Am I Crazy?

I guess it goes with the territory to second guess yourself when you quit your job, put your house up for sale, sell the car and all your possessions and run off to another country to live.....

The condo is listed, and I've given notice at work. I have about seven more days of work left before I'm on my own. Am I crazy?

I just found out there is no way to get a resident/retirement visa once I'm already in Spain with a tourist visa. And it supposedly takes 3 - 6 months to get one here in Los Angeles. So my only option it would seem, is to go to Spain and return to the states within three months. And so that is what I'll do. I took care of my airline reservations yesterday and tomorrow I will put the deposit on the Spanish language school which includes a month of living in their student housing. If I like their housing I'll stay the whole time, otherwise I'll look for an apartment to lease short term until I return. When I return to the states I'll need a place to stay, so in the months ahead I will be researching my options for that. I could stay with family, rent a motor home and travel around the states, get an apartment in San Francisco. The possibilities abound....

Later today I'm heading over to my Mom's house to meet my sisters and to make decisions about the distribution of Mom's estate.

I haven't told my sisters yet that I quit my job, so wish me luck!

I'm Selling My Condo

I signed all the papers with the realtor yesterday, and today I shampooed the carpets to get things ready for the realators open house Tuesday. I have two more weeks of work left with my J O B and I am really looking forward to that ending. Even if my condo doesn't sell for a while, I don't care, I'll just enjoy my time off and get to know my city of West Hollywood while I'm waiting!

Wow, am I really retiring? This is so great!

What is an Expatriate?

"An expatriate (in abbreviated form expat) is someone temporarily or permanently in a country and culture other than that of their upbringing and/or legal residence. The word comes from the Latin ex (out of) and patria (country), and is sometimes misspelled as ex-patriot, owing to mispronunciation. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expatriate" - From Google