It has been a very productive week for getting things set up for Belgium, and back here in the US.
Temp Housing on the southside of Brussels
In Belgium, we now have a place to live for the first month. We’ll be in a temporary apartment on the south side of town, very close to a big park. I’m not sure how well this hour-long commute will work for Thomas in the long run, but we figured we’d try it out for the first month. I have a feeling that we’ll end up with our permanent apartment closer to his office for the shorter commute, but I’m feeling much more comfortable with that idea now.
Other than spending two hours on the road each day, the challenge is that Thomas will be limited to train and bicycle for the first two months. His office is a little out in the country, so he’d have to ride the train an hour, then bicycle 30 minutes. He’s hoping to get a motorcycle over there, but he can’t register one until we get a permanent residence (possibly end of February). He has found a way to ship his current motorcycle over, but it would probably take even longer to arrive.
Media Mail
Fabric Mail
Things at home are winding down too. We’ve continued selling our stuff through Amazon, Ebay, and Craigslist. Amazon is definitely easiest – did you know you can use media mail for a reduced rate of sending books and other media? As you can see, I’ve been visiting the post office pretty regularly.
We’ve finally found a rental management company we’re happy with, and scheduled painters to paint the interior and decks this week. There’s still a few things to do – get estimates from yard maintenance companies and steam clean the carpets. We’ve been working on making a master list of every item we’re shipping over for Customs and Insurance – not a fun task. Our movers ship off our stuff in just over a week, and then we’re off to celebrate Christmas with my family. We’ll arrive in Brussels on New Year’s Eve.
