Summer-Caitlin

It’s not that I don’t want to go to Canada, I do and I know deep down it will provide my husband and I (and our future children) a better life than we could ever hope for here. But and yes it deserves to be at the beginning of a sentence, I am beginning to get a bit scared I guess.

We have just renovated our kitchen from top to bottom, had our hall replastered, new interior and front door fitted and we are going to be papering/painting the rest of the rooms and putting in new carpeting. I know we are doing this so we hopefully manage to sell for a better price, but (and I know this is childish) but the house is looking so nice, and it has never looked this nice before! I keep telling myself I can get a nice house in Canada, but I know for the first 2 years or so we will likely be struggling as I am going back to University, so we will definitely be renting for those years and even then, the rents in North Vancouver are pretty high, so we will be looking for something on the cheaper side. I know this should all be irrelevant, as I am going for the better life and all these things will come in time, but I guess I’m just getting nervous.

Did anyone else feel like this as the time to put their house on the market drew near? We were aiming to put our house up before Dec 1st (new survey reports come into effect in Scotland then) but we really do need to get the living room decorated before we can do that, so I am thinking of waiting until Feb or so and sucking up the extra £800, plus our garden is in no fit state to market!

I just wondered and this is also aimed at gibsonslanding in particular, as I know you decorated the house to make it more attractive to buyers, but did anyone else feel… I don’t know…in two minds? Please tell me I am just going through a phase of being unsure and the fact that my house is looking great (for the first time) is clouding my judgement!

I know as the move draws closer, I am thinking more and more of the family I will leave behind and my grandparents are trying their best to encourage me to do more to the house, in the hopes that I will love it so much I won’t want to leave (nope, that doesn’t help). So is it just cold feet? Am I looking for excuses to put off the move?

Thanks for any advice you can give.

albertabound

Hi Summer-Caitlin

Please read the thread "frightening reality".
This was exactly how I felt and not just me.
Hope it make you feel better
Tina

mclauchlan35

I would imagine just about everybody has or had second thoughts at some point, I think its only natural when you are leaving all your friends, family and the only life you know behind. On the flip side you have a lot to look forward to also, new experiences and possibly a whole different life style.

I just kinda think if we go and it's not for us we can always come back, with risk comes reward i'm sure you will be fine.

BristolUK

I painted both bedrooms, landing, stairs and hallway. I had waited ages for my brother to install the new bath and build a cupboard around the immersion heater.

I also waited for new carpets in the bedrooms, hall, stairs and landing. I'd never had fitted carpets before - just 'remnants' that I'd cut to fit.

Originally I had planned to wait for the house sale before moving over to join my wife who is Canadian and had always been resident. I had returned to England after the wedding/honeymoon to carry on working until the sale.

But she missed me and I had to bring it forward, leaving the house sale to my mum.

Some of he carpet was fitted about a week before I left and the other things were done after.

In one way I was lucky that second thoughts didn't come into it; after all, I was joining my new family rather than moving with them.

But I never really got to enjoy my "new look" home. I had to make do with photos of what it was like before the sale.

Emmjay

Hi Summer Caitlin

I know exactly how you feel. I just sold my home, which i had spent all of last year decorating and making nice and it was hard to let it go and move into a rented place. I still pass it, as it is near where my parents live and i still look at it with regret and sometimes wonder whether i am doing the right thing by giving everything up to start again.

As for leaving family here in the UK, do not get me started!!! I am sooo terrified, as i am sure you know from some previous threads i posted. I think leaving your family has got to be the hardest thing ever, as they are all you have and always there when you need them, especially if you are close to your parents, like i am, leaving them is giving me so many butterflies and doubts, and even though they will still be there, it is still hard thinking about it. It is very scary

When you move over, if you do. Get a computer, broadband package, webcam and Skype, and ask then to do the same, that way you can phone them for free and see them as often as you like, this is what i am going to do, if i ever make it over there. Also let them know that no matter you will always love them and if they need you at anytime you will be there for them, next flight out etc...but that you have to follow your dreams and take the chance and see where it leads to...

I think , like some have said on here, give it a try and if it does not work out you can always come back - the door does not shut. I am also going to be in the same boat financially, i do not have too much money to take with me and will need essential items like car, apartment, furniture and computer/Skype etc straight away and will need to look for a job too, which is going to be hard. So you are not on your own in this.

Keep your chin up and just follow your heart. What's the worst that can happen, it does not work out, then you come back. You only get one life, take a chance and see where it takes you... Keep smiling

Emmjay

gibsonslanding

pm'd you.......x

username 34

we bought our house in mid 03, was literally derelict, spent the next 9 months living amongst building works (total renovation, kitchen, bathrooms, flooring, painting etc etc) and landscpaing, got the job here in April 04, moved out in August 04 just as the final touches went on the house (lovely new expensive windows).

every time we go to the UK we visit the house - we rent it out - and feel a pang that we'd bought our 'dream family home' only to never really live in it and our rentees reap the rewards of our hard work and vision for the property!

well - at least it looked bloody good when it got rented and was snapped up straight away.

dh still goes on about the fact he'll never live in it having hand laid the relcaimed wooden floors he put down throughout the downstairs!

It sucked, but our life here more than compensates LOL!

tinytears

Yes me me me me!!

Like you we have redecorated the house, it is on the market and it looks fab for the first time in ages.

I've been getting cold feet - no make that they have turned to icicles but we had a timely reminder the other day when some little brats ransacked our garden smashing it to pieces.

That is why we are moving - the kids that did this were under 8 years old and cannot be touched by the law - they told me this themselves.

I want "better" for my kids and my grandchildren in years to come.

I probably won't ever afford to have a house again, but this move isn't for me, it is about giving our kids a better chance in life and that is what I have to remind myself.

I know lots of people will disagree with that and that the grass isn't always greener, but, in our position we feel that apart from our family and friends there is nothing left here for us.

mumof2

OH YES & a great big one at that

We arrived Sept 07 & spent the first 6 months living with relatives, no house and no jobs.
I cried every day for about 3-4 of those months until I found a job & house.

Now, just over a year later & 1 visit back to the UK I do NOT want to go back.
There are days, when you miss family and friends BUT that is all you miss & when I look at the space, freedom and what life has to offer my kids in Canada - I know we have made the right choice.

It is harder than you expect but sooo worth it if you just stick it out.

Go for it - worse case you do go back - at least you have tried it

Summer-Caitlin

Thank you everyone for your replies.

I have a feeling it is just cold feet, well that and the fact that I am seeing my house nice for the very first time! It has been bearable, but I had no idea how much difference a decorated house would make to my moodI have been online looking at the different houses in Vancouver that I may eventually be able to afford, once I qualify and that has cheered me up somewhat. I guess the fact that I have been living in, what I had always seen as a house, rather than a home, hasn't helped. For the first time in 10 years, we have made the effort with this house and it is looking really good. I have to remember though that I can do that anywhere and I have learned a lot from this experience.

Thinking about it, I know that I will miss my family, but to be honest, I only ever see my grandparents (dad's parents) and mother often. I hardly ever see my brother anymore and my father passed away years ago. My extended family are all in Australia. I dislike this place enough to have only a few things I will miss.

As for children, I thought a lot about that yesterday and although I would love to have a child, the thought of them growing up here doesn't fill me with joy. I think that is another reason for getting cold feet really, I will have to wait at least another 4 years to have kids as my university course doesn't start until Fall 09, it's a 2 year course with an added 6 month paid internship. By then I will be 31 and I know that's not old, but I guess I always thought I would have been settled by then.

I am glad to hear that I am not the only one that has went through...pangs of regret I guess! Looking at the bigger picture, I know I would have a much better life in Canada, our prospects are certainly much better and I would be working in the area I have always wanted to work in.

I guess I should just suck it up and put the house on the market, I will call round for some more quotes I guess. So is the advice to still stick it on the market just now, despite still having to redecorate the other rooms, or should I wait until Feb, when they are all done? Our aim is to have the house sold (i.e. money in hand) by August at the latest. Oh and I am not dropping the price, if it doesn't sell for what we ask for, it doesn't sell ,as there is a strict minimum we can go with. I am being realistic, if anything it is underpriced, but I am putting it in for offers above (lower figure than we need) to bring the punters in!

Thanks again for your helpful replies.

tinytears

Nothing is selling right now, it is a terrible time for selling a house in a "normal" year but this year it is even worse (just got off the phone to my estate agent lol).

I'd say, enjoy Xmas, do up the rest of the house and get the house on the market mid to end of January.

We are just putting in to place contingency plans in case the house doesn't sell.

littletwinkle46

I also just had estate agents in yesterday,
I was advised waiting for the survey to start is an advantage as buyers will be expecting it after dec and it really does help the buyers take an interest.
Its not known how much it will actually cost, some think it may be as little as 300 depending on the house.
You should also note Scotland is not in the same state as England and houses are shifting, just not with the massive profits they would previously have got. They are in my area anyway.

fimgers crossed for you. im going home to my immaculately tidy flat that never been so lovely either!

Karen

Emmjay

I guess i got lucky in the sense that i sold my one bed town house, although, i did have to drop the price by £10 grand for it to sell, which means not as much funds to take with me, as i had hoped but at least it sold, considering current market conditions.

Do not give up hope yet, houses are selling, albeit slowly. Estate agents usually recommend all decorating is finished prior to putting on market, however, the people who bought my house, moved in and started redecorating straight away, so i would suggest just putting it on market as it is and maybe tell any potential viewers that this will all be done before any sale completes.

Emmjay

moondevil

Yep knowing the feeling well

when we bought our uk house i was never selling it, loved it, did ever room like new and more, put the best kitchen in, bathroom totally re-did ever room.

i hated people coming in looking at it and hated the fact that i couldnt move it brick by brick with me :curse:

but now i am here, ok in rented, i would say it is the best thing that i have done, i dont miss my uk house, as i dont try and remember it and the houses here are so different

Good luck on the house selling and fingers crossed for a speady sale.
wobbles are so normal in the process....good luck

Moggiemiss

Hi
I can understand second thoughts. The removal guys are in. Second day today and I have just a table, chair and bed not packed and a few things in Kitchen and bathroom. Tomorrow they finish the packing and the container is booked for 1 pm.

Not been able to sell house, have had to remortgage to release capital to move, as yet no tenant.

Exchange rates are dire so everything is going to cost more on the other side!

Moving seems to empty your savings pretty fast at the best of times but when moving across the ocean even more.

i haven't got any work lined up yet although I have a small UK occupational pension which means I won't starve.

I haven't had second thoughts as such about the move although I do feel jittery about the finances - all due to not being able to sell the house.

Keep the faith ....