A couple of days ago Chelsea and I were sitting in the living room. We were both stopped by an odd noise that sounded like it could be outside the window. I looked but couldn’t see anything. We heard it again and this time is sounded like it might be coming from the floor air …
Bad news. We closed on the house Tuesday, March 29. The movers picked up our stuff in Atlanta and put it in the house on March 30. There was torrential rainfall on March 31 and we discovered a leak in the ceiling when water drops started hitting the floor. Good news. The seller had agreed …
Significant issues we know need to be resolved sooner than later: Roof replacement Basement seepage issue during heavy rain Replace two wooden floor supports with brick and masonry Replace rotten wood on the exterior Paint exterior Projects we want to finish sooner than later: Complete remodel of the kitchen Backyard fence Get at least one …
We had been trying to determine where we wanted to settle down after being recalled from Mexico. Chelsea had put together a spreadsheet of all the things she wanted. It included items like: sidewalks, mature trees, walkability to locally-owned restaurants, an international airport, etc. From there we whittled down the larger list of possibilities to …
Last week we found out–due to employment constraints–we have to return to the U.S. six months earlier than we planned. That’s half of what we intended. Half of our lease. Half of our anticipated adventures. Half of our time to rest and reset. No whale season. Zero of the “high season” months, which earn the …
Representative pricing for groceries is difficult. Just like in the United States, various brands or speciality items will carry wide-ranging differences. We shop at about three different grocery stores to find everything we want: a Walmart, a Sprouts-like chain store called La Comer, and Costco. Where possible, I selected brands that are available in the …
How do you find a place to get a haircut when you are in a new place – ask for recommendations, choose by proximity? I just randomly chose a place while walking through a part of town I had never been in before. Maybe not the most informed way to do things, but I needed …
Chelsea wanted a palm, jute, or wicker basket dedicated to clothes with special washing/drying needs. She also wanted some rectangular ones for the closet shelves to better organize odd-shaped smaller items. We checked the various department stores around the area and didn’t find anything that wasn’t plastic. Even then, the prices were high ($50 or …
Driving our route from Atlanta to Bucerías is 2231 miles (3590 km). Other than snow, we drove through just about any type of terrain you can imagine – forests, swamps, mountains, low desert, high desert, and tropical rainforest. By the time we got here, our white Subaru Ascent was filthy inside and out. A few …
We did our research from a couple of thousand miles away and based on Puerto Vallarta rental websites, felt like we could get most of what we wanted for around $1500 a month. Here is our original list: MOST IMPORTANT: Reliable/fast internet (150 Mbps or faster)3 bedroom/2 bathroom or 2bd/2ba with enough space for a …