*guest content*
If you are looking into obtaining a reverse mortgage you may have some trouble understanding how they work. For example, there are several words associated with such loans that you may never have heard before. Yet, you must have a full understanding of how a reverse mortgage can benefit you or hinder you before applying for one. The information below can help you navigate the reverse mortgage world more easily. View Post
It has been just over a month since my little family and I relocated to Hampshire. I knew when Oli got his new job that things were going to change, that moving so far away from everything we had known for the last 6 years was going to be hard. It has been hard, not as much as I thought but it still feels strange calling this place my home.
Every person I speak to always asks the same thing, ‘are you settled in yet?’. Be they friends, family or the new people I meet, this question is never far from the tip of the tongue. To be honest, I never know how to answer this question. If by settled in you mean have I unpacked, then yes I guess I must be. Or, if by settled in you mean have I found the nearest supermarket and registered with the doctor then, again, yes I have. But, if you mean by settled in that I have made friends, feel comfortable here and the house feels like home then ,unfortunately, I have to say no. No, I haven’t settled in yet. Instead of this move being the new exciting chapter to our lives I thought it would be, it is instead more of a dull prologue, hopefully leading to more exciting things in the weeks to come.
 |
| This one has definitely made himself at home. |
I am just struggling a bit. Oli is at work a lot and I have become full time mum again for the first time in nearly a year. When we were in Swansea I was only working evenings but it still gave me time out of the house and a chance to earn some money for myself. That time away from doing the mum thing and spending time with people my own age talking about everything but toddler tantrums and sleep deprivation was really beneficial for me. Now I don’t have that. I am a full on stay at home mum in a town where I don’t know anyone. A town where every face is an unfamiliar one and no one wants to talk to the new Welsh girl at the toddler groups. A town 4 hours away from my parents and my in-laws in Mid Wales and all my friends. Oli and I are getting no time out of the house together as we don’t know anyone who can babysit. I know in time we will get to know and trust people and Leo can be left with a babysitter, I know that all these things just take time.
 |
| Leo is getting very good at talking on the phone now I’m phoning my parents all the time! |
So, in another months time when people ask if I have settled in, hopefully I will be able to say yes. Hopefully I would have found some courage and started talking to more people at toddler groups, maybe I will have even got myself a little job by then. I didn’t know what things would be like when we first relocated here, just like I don’t know what things will be like in a few weeks time. Change is scary and change is hard but, most of the time, change is a good thing.
Have you recently moved somewhere new? Are you finding it difficult to settle in? Anyone got any tips for me? Let me know 🙂
As you all probably know by now, me and my family are moving to Southampton at the end of this month and there is SO MUCH TO DO!
For a couple of weeks now I have been hinting that change is on the horizon for my little family and I am now able to shout our news from the rooftops (or virtually announce it into the blogosphere) ..
WE ARE MOVING!
My brilliant, talented, amazing husband has been offered a job in a little town near Southampton. Oli will be starting his new job as a care home manager at the end of September. We are both very excited.
| Celebrating Oli’s new job! |
Swansea has been our home for the last 6 years but I am looking forward to starting a new chapter. I will miss so much about our lives here: friends we have made, my Nan, places we love, the memory box that is our little house and the familiarity of the place.
Although there is so much I will miss, there is so much I am looking forward to. Oli will be working a much more rewarding and challenging job and there are lots of job opportunities for me in Southampton too. I am looking forward to exploring and finding new and exciting things for me and Leo to do, Peppa Pig World is ridiculously close – we will definitely be buying a season ticket! London is only 50 minutes away on the train, I can’t wait for lots of family days off exploring the capital. My sister is only an hour away and I have lots of cousins close by so I am keen to spend lots of time with them too. Most of all I am excited for the future. If everything goes to plan, this time next year we could be home owners, I could have myself a nice little job and maybe another baby could be on the way. Obviously nothing is certain but I really feel like this move is a fresh start for us. We will be leaving behind our Welsh roots but hopefully we will find an exciting adventure waiting for us.
So over the coming weeks I am going to be super busy packing up the house and sorting out everything for moving, this I am not looking forward to! It is a scary, exciting time for us here and we are now counting down the weeks until we say a fond farewell to Swansea and a big hello to Southampton!
Have you recently embarked on an adventure somewhere new? I would love any advice on meeting new people and settling in to a completely new place. Oh and if any of you lovely bloggers live down that way let me know :).
