Our Humble Abode

Several months before we arrived in New Zealand we discussed our best plan for finding a place to live here. We emailed a few people and got the same answer from everyone. "You should live at the beach. It's an extra 15 minute commute to the hospital, but it's the beach!" So, we decided we would probably live at the beach. We perused a few listings just to get an idea of what was available and price ranges. We also decided we would hold off on committing to a place until we actually had the chance to see it and check the commute times, school and grocery store distances, etc.

Now let's fast forward to the day after we arrived in town. We had four listings we thought looked great online. They require you to drive by and fill out an application before you can see any property here. So we did. However, we had no telephone number, no address, no previous rental experience, three children and no New Zealand references which made our application look less than desirable. I definitely got a few eyebrow raises when I turned those baby's in. At that point we were told to check back tomorrow after they had had a chance to check if the owner's would even allow us to see the properties.

The next day I called back on all four properties only to find out all had been rented.....the day before. Seriously!? What are the odds that those had been on the list for months and the day we show up they rent? So we were back to square one. This went on for 6 more days. I did manage to see three properties in that time period. And, the only one that was even remotely a possibility was rented by the lady who saw it 15 minutes before me. Bummer! At this point we were getting seriously down. The kids were a mess and just totally out of sorts. I can't say that I blame them...I was a bit out of sorts as well....I may have even looked at place tickets to come home one night. We were desperate for a routine. Finally, I was able to see a property that had become available on the morning of day six. It definitely had some quirks and wasn't the most convenient, but it was AVAILABLE to move in ASAP. So, we took it. Signed all the papers that afternoon and moved in the next day. Insert huge sigh here! :)

All in all it really is a great place. It's probably the most secure place we have ever lived. There's a code, electronic button, and key for everything. We can look out our living room window and see Mount Maunganui hillside and the pool. Out our bedroom window we can see the beach. It also has some heating which is a major bonus around here. Most places don't have any heat.

The living and kitchen area are nice and roomy especially with three little people roaming around. The decor is not tacky 80's with run down furniture like most of the other places I looked at. It's really quite tasteful and comfortable. We can walk out the front door and be on the beach in seconds. There are all kinds of cafes below, hot pools across the street, an awesome park down the street and trails all over the Mount. It really is a great spot The only downside it is school as your can possibly be.. It really is a great spot. The only downsides are mostly retirement people live here and it's as far as you can possibly be from Katie's school. But hey, at least we have a nice place.

The sleeping arrangements have taken some getting used to. Katie and Joey are sharing a room that's pretty tight, but they seem happy with it. We haven't really had any major problems with them together other than Joey doesn't sleep-in like he used to and sometimes that makes for trickier mornings. John is sharing with us which overall has not gone well. The first few nights he was waking up every few hours just screaming. We couldn't really ignore him because we were worried about neighbors and he can see us. So, he spent several nights in our bed which meant neither Todd nor I slept well either. As time has gone by he is doing better. He's only waking up once and I can just stick his pacifier back in and he's back to sleep. It's been really hard for me because I have had to break most of my sleep rules with him due to the circumstances. It's also painful because he used to be a good sleeper.

All things considered, we really did luck out. We go "swimming" in the hot tub and sometimes the pool, to the beach and on walks around the Mount on a regular basis. Now if it will just warm up a bit....