Home for Sale.

Does anyone want a house in a family friendly community? If so, our house could be yours! It is official. Our house is for sale.

It seems pretty surreal, and maybe more so since the sign is up for the whole neighborhood to see. Robert has been talking to a lot of the neighbors lately since he has been busy with the yard. I'm sure the sign will likely bring up sparks of new topics in which will allow us to get to "know" our neighbors better.

Actually, we do not know our neighbors. I could count the number of times on two hands that I've spoken to our neighbors...four of those times were neighbors that live about a block away and another was when a neighbor was trick-or-treating with her son last Halloween dressed as a witch. She introduced herself as the "neighbor down the street."  It will be interesting to see whether the sign changes anything, particularly with Halloween right around the corner.

We are still waiting to hear back from the FBI about our fingerprints, however, that has not stopped us from continuing our own process with what we can do in Arizona. Nothing new has really occurred since the last blog. Just more of the same stuff with making sure the house looks clean and organized.

That means I am mopping, dusting, and vacuuming at least three times per week. Prior to the house being put for sale I would do all of this one time per week. This is definitely brand new to me and at times I feel it is over excessive. I believe that with this "excessiveness" will come discipline with other habits that I have yet to master. Ask any of my old co-workers about how my work desk used to look.

We had a family who rescheduled on us several times to look at the house. I believe they came yesterday, but cannot be for certain. Robert and I left the house around 4:40 so we were away from the house when they were supposed to show at 5:00. We took the dogs for a longer than usual walk and came back about 40 minutes later.

We checked to see if we saw any cars in the driveway to explore whether the walk needed to be extended. There were no signs of anyone being in the house. It was kind of an eerie feeling that I have not experienced yet. I was not worried about anyone taking anything, but it is also a strange feeling to be uncertain on whether or not somebody, a stranger mind you, has been in your house. Does that make sense?

It is a weird feeling indeed and one that I believe I am going to have to get used to if we want to sale the house before we leave for Panama,  for which we still do not have an exact date. I also know that this uncomfortable, eerie feeling will not be the last time I feel this way any time soon. This is a new adventure and with new adventures comes a new world of feelings.

~Natalie

One Crazy Weekend

This has been yet another busy week for our family. I am not quite sure how we could have done all of this if we still had our jobs in addition to what we accomplished. I know people do this all the time and have jobs, kids, and the like, but this week has flown by. In order to move to Panama, we are having to sell pretty much everything, including both vehicles and our house.

We haven't put the vehicles up for sale yet but we did meet with the realtor in order to begin the process of selling our house.  Our house is not officially on the market yet, meaning that there is no "For Sale" sign in the front of the yard. However, our realtor informed us that somebody within his agency has a client that is interested in looking in this area and would like to come by Monday to check it out. Many of the things we expected to do were going to happen eventually including sort through/box things up, landscape the yard and do odd and end projects that we were planning on doing anyway. The fact that somebody is actually going to be looking at the house makes the process of everything done perfectly even more dire.

The master bathroom is ready to go!

The person who lived here did not install everything properly. Luckily this lovely
towel holder came off the wall right as we start doing things around the house. 

We went plant shopping and stayed under our budget, which made Robert and I both very happy. The people are the nursery were also very helpful and managed to get the plants delivered the next morning. 

Robert dug holes along the front and back yards. Normally the dirt is so hard that professional landscapers use jackhammers with spades on them to dig bigger holes. Although this could have been an option, it was not needed. I think the rain in recent weeks helped soften the ground enough to make these holes "easy" to dig. 

The holes are covered and ready for the plant delivery in the morning. 

Because of the high mineral content of the soil in our area, it is generally a good idea to fill holes with water first. Not only does it soften the ground, but it also pushes a lot of the minerals down to the bottom of the hole, which can have a layer of nice, nutrient rich soil.

Water in a hole.

Our yard before the holes and new plants

Our yard after landscaping.

In general, Robert did a lot of the outside labor while I did a lot of the inside stuff. I vacuumed and shampooed the carpets. Because of our team effort, I know the house will be ready to go for tomorrow. We still need to do some final touches on organizing. This has been a tiring weekend, but Robert and I got it done. We make a great team and I am glad that I get to go on this journey with him. 

Stuff, Stuff, and more Stuff...

I have one question for everyone: how does one accumulate so much stuff? There are only two people living in our house and although we felt like we had a "big" yard sale, I am quickly realizing that we did not even come close to selling/giving away things. Many of the things I am coming across now are things I have forgotten about.

Case in point, I came across my graduation gown from Arizona State University. Honestly, I kind of forgot that I had it. I'm not sure where this will end up, but for now it is tucked away in a box in my closet.

For those of you wondering, the red shoes are an inside
joke from when I graduated Oregon State University.

This is what will be donated to a local food bank. Some of the stuff is non-perishable food, while others are gently used clothes. There is also a nice stock pile of hotel/travel sized hygiene products.  I love to collect soaps and conditioners from hotels and donate them.

I did not put the boxes in very good so I had to put the seats down. Obviously my Tetris playing skills could use some work. This is what my car looks like after reorganizing some boxes.

Although I am no longer working, I feel like there is plenty to do. I know now that this is what I'm supposed to focus my attention on, despite missing my families and co-workers. We still do not a definitive date of when our move will occur, but I'm sure we'll continue to stay busy as we narrow down what we want to bring to Panama.

~Natalie

Saying Work Goodbyes

For those of you who do not know, I am an early childhood therapist. What does that mean? It means I provide therapy for children typically who are between the ages of newborns to 5 years old. Many, but not all are involved with Child Protective Services, aka, Department of Child Safety (since we are in Arizona). I have been very lucky to have wonderful co-workers who have been willing to take on some of my clients, particularly some of the more challenging ones.

In the past week, I have spent much of my time working from home, primarily checking emails to see whether anything urgent comes up. Luckily nothing has. I thought I would be busier at this point. I thought I would be busy putting out emergencies or having to testify in court. Work has quickly come to an end for me and it is a very bittersweet feeling. I was not been as busy as I thought I would be at this point.

Instead, I have been saying goodbye. I have been with my current agency for roughly 18 months and have grown very close to some of my clients and some of my co-workers. I have little need to have to drive 51 minutes south to go to my office. Lately I have chosen to work from home. I will miss a lot about my job because of my office I work at. I probably have the best office staff one could ask for and I am going to miss all of the special traditions we've had. These traditions include things like going on breaks for junk food, inside jokes, and celebrating events and birthdays in each other's lives.

I've said goodbye to many of my clients. I've grown so much with them and they have shared things with me that few are privileged to hear. Saying goodbye is something I'm accustomed to with my clients, however, it is something that is still hard to do, especially when you feel like you've been through a lot with them.  Luckily, I feel that all of my kiddos are in good hands.

I have had to say many goodbyes in my lifetime. It is part of being a social worker and a therapist. I may not always remember faces, but out of the 500+ clients I've worked with, I can say that each of them and each of my collegues have a special place in my heart. To all of you that fall into this category, I thank you.

Yard Sale

We had our yard sale today and woke up very early to get everything ready for it.

We managed to sell a lot of things. By the end of the day everything we had left fit into two boxes, minus the books. We had a lot of books. Today was a success, and we will not have to sell what is left tomorrow. The remainder of the stuff will go to charity.

The surprising thing? The stuff people bought first. I thought people would buy things like the bookshelf, Legos, and a filing cabinet we had right away. We were wrong, way wrong. Instead, people bought things like the reindeer decorations for your car, and a knife sharpener that we were actually selling with a knife as a "set" (they did not want the knife). It was actually a good feeling selling it and knowing that this is one step forward to moving to Panama!

Oh and just as a rivalry joke back home...nobody wanted the Ducks mug that was for sale. And yes, surprisingly, there are a lot of U of O fans here so I do not want to hear "well you're in another state" stuff. I see cars with U of O memorabilia more frequently than I see ASU or U of A logos on cars. There is a game tonight so I have to say...Go Beavs!

~Natalie

So Much To Do, So Little Time

We have been busy with so much lately. Moving has always been a lot of work, but moving out of the country, owning a house that you are hoping to put of for sale soon, and figuring out what you can live without and ship to Panama is a lot of work. This comes from somebody who does not find organizing very relaxing.

We've gone through every room of the house packing what we want to keep and what we are hoping to sell. While we know we can always store things, I think Robert and I are both realizing stuff is just stuff and a lot of what we are getting rid of, we either rarely use, or have little emotional attachment to. It is amazing how much "stuff" a person can have and yet, do we really value it? At the end of the day, there are just some things that we both feel like we can live without and it turns out we have a lot of it.

So alas, a yard sale is in the works and we are pretty much including everything we do not use on a regular basis. Goodbye griddle pan that is awesome for cooking pancakes. Goodbye to a lot of our planting pots, and adios to the random filing cabinet that I got in college as part of another desk set.

Some of the items to be included in the yard sale.

We've also been cleaning the house like crazy. I've been hand scrubbing the linoleum to make sure most of the dirt is out of the nicks and corners of the floor so it looks somewhat presentable when the realtor comes by (which will be be at a date not yet determined). The pantry is wiped down and looks as organized as possible. We'll be donating the non-perishables since we seem to have accumulated a lot of random food since the last time I cleaned out the pantry, which was less than six months ago.

I think one thing I've learned so far in this process is learning about what is really worth value and items that people can live without. At the end of the day, it is all about perspective.

Baby Steps Forward

Panama is a relatively easy place to get a visa, at least for people from Canada, United States, or other countries they consider Friendly Nations. There are several different passport options, including the tourist visa; various investor/business visas, which each have unique requirements including how much you need to put in a bank account; and a retirement visa, aka the Pensionado Program, which I have read is one of the world's best retirement plans.

What is an expat? It is a shortened term for expatriate and is the term used for somebody who resides outside of their native country for any given amount of time. When we move to Panama, we will be part of the expat community, along with others around the world. What is the difference between a migrant worker/immigrant and an expat? After "heavily researching" on Wikipedia (perhaps the Oxford Dictionary have been a more credible source), the difference between an expat and migrant worker is a skilled/professional laborer versus manual laborer. In essence, it is all about perspective. I might consider myself an expat when I move to Panama, but Panamanians may see me as an immigrant or migrant worker. It is an interesting concept. Immigration reform is such a hot topic in the United States. If Immigration reform were a hot topic in Panama, this topic would directly affect us; because yes, at the end of the day, we will be immigrants of Panama.

As a whole, you can have a varied amount of options of what your goals are for living in Panama. We have spoken to people who live in Panama and have visitors visas. We have heard that many people will drive up to Costa Rica and turn back around, so they can re-stamp their passport and stay legal for the amount of given time allotted: up to 90 days.

Another visa option, which is apparently very new is called the Executive Decree 343 for Work/Business visa. This visa requires that you are able to put $5,000 in a bank account, plus $2,000 more for each dependent. You also have to show proof that you have real estate, an employment letter/contract from a business for work, or proof of ownership of a corporation that is licensed in Panama.

The next option for one wishing to get a visa in Panama is the Forestry Investor visa. This visa in essence, is to help with teak (a type of hardwood) growth. You can apply for as a large or small investor, which either requires an $80,000 or $60,000 investment. The large investment, from my understanding can eventually allow you to gain citizenship after 5 years of residency, whereas the small investor does not.

There is a Self Economic Solvency Visa, which requires you to invest at least $300,000 into a CD at a Panamanian bank, into real estate in Panama, or a combination of the two. If you maintain this investment for three years, you are eligible for permanent residency.

The last visa is the Pensionado Plan, which I have read is one of the best and most appealing retirement plans in the world. In order to qualify, you must prove you have a pension of $1,000 per month. Those who wish to obtain this visa do not have to purchase real-estate. Benefits include discounts on many things, including but not limited to hotels, health care, airline tickets, and energy bills.

There are two common currencies in Panama: the Balboa and the US Dollar. While people have Balboas and Panamanian money, you can easily pay for something with a US Dollar and will not have to convert anything. If a coconut costs one Balboa, you can give the vendor $1 USD. Sometimes you will get USD as change, other times you will get Balboas, or a combination of both. They covert 1:1.

We recently got our finger prints done and are now in the process of sending them to get checked by the FBI. I am not exactly how strict the Panamanian government is with your criminal history, such as whether you can have a drunk driving charge and how long it has to be since that charge was on your record. Luckily for us, there should not be anything to worry about. Once we submit our payments and fingerprints to the FBI, we should hear back from them within about 30 days.

Once we hear back from the FBI, we will proceed with the next steps of the visa process. Some of the process depends on us. We will have to be available for at least 11 working days in Panama as part of the process. Once this is complete, we will have a better idea on when we will actually move down. We will provide more in depth details as we get closer and become more familiar with the actual steps.

~Natalie

Disclaimer: these pictures were found off the internet and not ours.