My wife found out last week that her (Fortune 500) company was moving operations out of Ct.

As she makes > 1/2 the income in our family, we won't be able to pay our mortgage come Sept., so will have to 'short sell' the condo.

Fear not for us! , Her sister has a rental house in Maine that we can move into
Now, I've lived in NH and know that the pool business, in that area, is 'not something one can make a full time living doing'

The current plan is for me to work out this season with my current pool company, then move up there. My wife may have to 'go on ahead of me' for a couple months whilst I'm finishing out the pool season.

To be quite honest, I'm not sure that there is a real reason for this post I just need to 'work out' this whole thing.

I'm worried about:

1) Finding suitable work for both of us

2) Packing

3) The financial implications of all of this.

4) Not having a pool job (while I have a couple of few other skills I can fall back on - pools are what I love)

5) Moving to a whole new place, with no friends or connections (yes, my wife has her sister, but, for me - it's all gonna be new)

6) I DON"T LIKE MAJOR CHANGES!!! (yes, it's human nature to change, but it's also human nature to resist change)

7) The things I (we) need to do over the next 6 months seem overwhelming at this point!

8) I always thought it would be our choice on when we left this place.


Sorry to bother y'all with my personal BS! I was hoping for a little input on packing up a house (condo), any thoughts on the 'short sell' and making the transition to a new place.

Thanks for reading this!

Ted,
As one who as been there/done that, and am still looking for the other end of it, I feel your pain. I cannot offer a lot of help, but I will extend my condolences and offer thoughts and prayers.

I'm pretty sure that you guys will come through OK.

Best wishes in your transition. I am sure you can rise to the occasion and find the possibilities in any situation.

Ted,

You know that we are thinking about you and your family and wish you the very best.

Things will work out - maybe even amazingly better than anyone could imagine!

.....when one door closes.......

Perhaps we have some Real Estate/finance pros here that can advise you about the sale.

p.s. I hate the packing part, but love the industrial strength saran wrap stuff

Oh Ted, I feel for you. Best of luck and hopefully everything will work out for the best! <hugs>

Sorry to hear that Ted. Sometimes unwanted change can turn out to be a good thing, and I hope it works out for you.

Oh, Ted! I'm so sorry to hear you will be moving under these circumstances but please know, we will always be your friends and we're just a click away!

I hope you will be able to find a job that you love doing just as much as you loved building pools. That would be heart breaking for me too knowing I couldn't do what I love.

Please keep us updated. We all care about you! And even though my build has taken a back seat to my edumacation, I still need you to help me build my pool!

Good Luck Buddy!

P.S. I hope you will not be leaving us.

Best Wishes Ted. Change is sometimes unavoidable, but hopefully nothing but good will coe from it. Hang in there - good things happen to good people.

Sorry to hear that Ted. Lots of folks on here pulling for you and keeping you in their prayers though, and you can count me as one of them!

Hang in there; you'll be fine and it might be a huge new opportunity that is just waiting for you!

Fear not, my friend! Hot tubs will save you! Do you do much with them now?

To echo the sentiments put out already, unexpected change can be very scary but so often leads to great experiences. All it takes is a good attitude and you've got that in spades. Onward!

I've had three big moves and two small ones just since moving into a place with my wife (a year and a half after getting married, why rush things) and did not appreciate any of them. But did not resist any of them, really, as the goal is to get to the point where she's earning the big bucks. Which thankfully we have now achieved.

Moving boxes: Look into online sites, for our last two moves we used both Craig's List to find used boxes (and now to get rid of the empties!) and an outfit that sells new boxes that couldn't be used for their original purpose (e.g. the printer screwed up).

Regarding movers, we used DeLancey Street the last two times but it looks like the closest one to you is in New York, might not be practical. They show up early, work efficiently, and come in under budget, so it might be worth talking to them. Online consumer review sites like Yelp are your friend.

Hope it all goes well!
--paulr

Sending loads of good energy your way.

Online FreeCycle is a great place to get free moving boxes. Nothing is sold; all recycled between people. I've even had takers on old motorized and electrical yard and house equipment from people who want to tinker with them or repair. Most of the people are great to deal with. It is all online until you contact whomever you want to give things to or email someone giving something. You just simply post a request asking for moving boxes.

DH was "released" from his 28 yr job, a few months ago, without much notice or any severance as he was not an employee but on contract. It was really scary, especially for him. He's very much a creature of habit and 74 yrs young. We went through most of our nest-egg and I sold some things. He secured employment, working with fabulous people, who love and appreciate him more than he's experienced in many years. He's very happy with his new conditions and frequently ask, "why didn't I leave years before?" He does have to fly out of town for 2-3 days each week and he HATES staying at hotels, but he is adjusting well. Once he gets there and starts working he's all healed up. When I pick him up at airport he's especially cheered by the puppies, who all come along. Another thing that helped was getting him a really nice Netbook, that he can use on the plane and in the hotel. I put in an old original Slingbox, so he can control and watch our satellite located here at home. He, also, does Netflix in the hotel room. Where he stays they have a recliner in the room that he likes even better than his at home. That is the cherry topping.

The very same thing happened to a med. school roommate of DH, 73 yrs young, this past summer, who had to move to Galveston from Dallas. He's just secured an ocean side Condo, after living in a tiny apartment and his DW is moving down there soon. They will be able to keep their old house, luckily, for when he retires. (Both will probably work till they drop dead though. In our case DH has to work if we want to live here.) He's thrilled with his new job and all the people. He, also, is experiencing more appreciation in his new position. We are looking forward to spending even more time with them by making weekend trips down to visit.

DH and his friend are pretty much loners and depend very much on their wives and families for their social fulfillment. But one thing both of them have done in the past few years is reestablish contact with old friends and classmates via Internet. DH has even made the to effort to met a few, for drinks, when they are in town; after all these years of no contact. This has been great for him (and his classmate friend mentioned above - that's how the two got back together a few years ago and its been great for all of us).

One thing I found out when researching becoming RVers was that many people have the issues about what to do with their houses if they can't afford to maintain RV and house with the possibility of not selling house. Especially during these difficult times, many people are leasing out their houses.

Three years ago a very good friend, on very fixed income, and her DH, moved into a gated "active" retirement facility, apartment. Both are somewhat disabled. They couldn't sell their house (another story) so had to move back in to house a year later. It was very costly for them supporting both places. She kicked herself for a long time because she did have several people who wanted to lease her house. But that's not the main reason I mention this. (See next)

She hired a woman to come in do do a "moving out" estate sale. The woman came with a few good references but my friend didn't check her out well enough. The whole experience was a horrible, stressful experience and woman possibly cheated my friend out of a lot of money. So if you do anything like that, research the "estate sale" people out very well.

Your "ordeal" will be scary and stressful, but as others have suggested, the outcome may be surprisingly good. For you and DW be especially kind to each other and yourselves. Do a few little extra kind things for each other. Take a little extra time to do something that is "bonding" for you both. It doesn't take much time to do these things.

You will be in my thoughts.

gg=alice

This may sound very simple(not meant to). Sometime it can help me to take everything back to basic when I'm stucked with negative thoughts or facing problems.
We all walk this earth a very short period of time. Thats a fact! How serious we take ourselves with that in mind is up to each and everyone of us. I try to see things that way and that helps me to get things into perspective when I'm tangled into problems that wears on me.

I do not want to belittle your situation in any way Ted but I belive it can be good thing to take it all way back every now and then, so we can appreciate what we have. That is easy to forget sometimes.
I wish you all good luck with this and I'm sure you willl come out on top of it, all you need is time.

//Mats

THANK YOU ALL!!

I 'know' that this will probably be a great opportunity for us, but I'm still a little afraid of what the future will bring

Again, I'm sorry to burden y'all with this, but a problem shared is a problem halved

You folks are my first resource for friendship and guidance!

I KNOW I'll get through this, just gotta 'tighten the belt' , suck it up and deal with all this

What the H*LL, we've got 6 months to deal with it -- of course, I'll be trying to pack all our stuff into a P.O.D.

Again, thank you all!! I just have to get my head in the right place to accept this 'challenge' and new situation.

If anyone thinks that I'll leave this site when I go up north, guess again

I don't have any good advice, or much to add to what's already been said, but just wanted to say that one of your admirers (I read anything I see your name on!) is wishing you the best. Hang in there buddy ... Cheers, Gary

6 Months... You can certainly do it in that time.
I had a company owner come in on the 30th of October one year and tell everyone that she and her husband "just don't want to do this anymore, and decided last night to close the company." We were cut loose that morning. Everyone had exactly one day of insurance left, and I lost all my vacation.


Keep us posted on your progress.

Best of luck Ted. Things have a way of working themselves out when you aren't paying attention. I'm sure y'all will come out on top!

That what I like to hear! We need you here!

Good luck to you. Everything will work out. As my very insightful four year old daughter would say..."Don't worry, you'll find your treasure."

Packing house and moving is no fun under any circumstances. It can be really stressful when the move is involuntary.

I don't know anything about short selling a condo but I do know a little about packing house. Maybe some of it will make it easier for you.

* Boxes with lids from the liquor store are excellent for packing stemware, cups, and knick-knacks. Plus: they're free!

* Ask your local newspaper whether they'll sell you fresh news print which is great for wrapping. If they don't, use newspaper. It'll make your hands dirty but it, too, is free. If you don't subscribe to a paper, ask your neighbours to save theirs for you.

* If you have access to an old solar cover you have free bubble wrap.

* Pack plates upright standing on edge rather than stacking them. You can fit more in a box that way and it almost completely eliminates breakage.

* Spend the money on a cardboard moving wardrobe or two. They really do make moving clothes easier.

* Write the contents, in general terms, on each packed box and also the room where it'll go when it arrives at the new place.

* Pack anything you don't need first: books, wall decorations, knick-knacks, linens, kitchen items and dishes. Keep out only the essentials you'll need to get by with.

* As you're sorting through your belongings set aside what you've always meant to get rid of, haven't used in a long while, forgot you even had. Sell that at a garage sale or donate it to a charity.

* This is a good time to make digital records of all your important papers: birth certificates, declaration sheets of auto/home/life insurance, rabies certificates if you have pets, etc. Scan them, save them to a disk or stick, remember where you put them.

* Set aside a box for the paper copies of those records as well as for print photos you can't live without, jewelry, anything else that's irreplacable. Take that box with you in the car, don't give it to the movers.

* Ask your professional service providers for referrals in the new area: physicians, dentists, accountant, vet, insurance agent, etc. Gather up everyone's business card and keep them with your records. If you need to call them for information you'll have their contact info right at hand.

There's more but this will get you started

The good thing is that you have the luxury of time. You can start now with the sorting, going through absolutely everything, handling it, remembering where you got it and why, deciding what's a keeper and what needs to go. It's an emotional process which will help your brain deal with the stress of the move. Really.

Ted,

Things will all work out in the end and moving is HARD and stressful no matter what. Change in general is hard but can be worth it.

We have moved twice in the past 1.5 years and I resisted. We have 2 teenage girls who changed schools 3 times due to this (talk about emotional nightmare) and I have a now 2 year old who was still nursing during both moves and not sleeping at night. My husband travels and works a crazy amount so I was left to deal with everything with no help, no friends or family.

In the end we are now so happy we made the move even though it was incredibly hard and I had days where I wanted to run to a deserted island all by myself.

I will be praying for you and your wife. Change can be very good!

BTW... I lived in Maine before moving to Cali. I was forced to move to Cali (parents house) with my daughters due to a divorce. The people are great in Maine!! I'm sure you will enjoy living there.