A Tale of 4 Moves...

In advance of my 4th move in 11 years I started to reflect on how different each were and what significant changes they represented ...




Move 1 - First Own Home


My parents must have let off great sighs of relief when I finally moved out of their home at the grand old age of 28! A combination of student debt and high property prices meant I wasn't in a position to afford a mortgage until 4 years after I left university. This was a low key removal affair - my dad and I with a large transit van doing a couple of shuttle runs to move my hand me down furniture and personal possessions the 10 miles down the road. It was only a 2 bed flat so I needed very little and got a good deal buying my new cooker, fridge/freezer and TV as package. The only brand new furniture was an MFI wardrobe.




Move 2 - Togetherness


This was the start of life with my fiance. He had just agreed the purchase of 4 bedroom house to make more space for his 3 children to visit. I only saw the house the week we moved in. This time as we were combining two 2 bedroom properties we hired a Luton Van. With the help of a couple of mates we spent a day driving from one side of town to the other. Between us we completely furnished the place and only needed to buy a larger family size fridge freezer.



Move 3 - Expanding Family


When I became pregnant my husband wanted to reduce the mortgage payments and still have more space to we moved 100 miles to a 6 bedroom Edwardian terrace needing lots of renovation. I had sold my flat a few months previously so we had the funds to pay for a complete removal service. A team of men spent several days packing up all our possessions and transporting them in a full sized removal lorry. They transported the seats from my car so I could transport 2 rabbits plus hutch and a tropical fish tank plus its inhabitants.




Move 4 - Family Breakup


This latest move is having to be very low budget as I am on limited income. I've hired a van and hopefully a mate is driving or I have a quick round trip! Packing is going very slowly around other commitments and is being done by myself, a friend plus my parents when they can visit. I am going to a house about 1/3 the size of the current one and so have to dispose of a lot of things from the house. Some things that moved here from the previous property should have been binned before that move!! Selling some of the items is quite disheartening as you get nowhere near what you paid for them but they have to go so getting something is better than nothing...




I will be in the new place for a minimum of 12 months as that is the length of the lease so will probably be moving again in a year! At least by downsizing our possessions now that should be a lot less stressful - well I hope so...