Quit..rest ..restart . Diary no.3

Gigervamp

It might work for the bank, but I'm not sure about the GP. As I said, check out Andrew Ditton, he did a video on living in your van. He says he doesn't "live" in his, even though the reality is that he spends most of the time in it, going around the country. But he uses his mum's for the official business and voting.

MrsPorridge

Thanks all - just did a few searches and the problem would seem to be the car and motorhome insurance - you need a permanent address. Also the GP and I suffer terribly with my teeth so would defo need a dentist.


I am loath to use MIL or DS as they both live in London and I suspect the insurances would be horrendous!


I think it might be the renting option as per AC.



I am worrying about dipping into the money though which we will need to do for renting and also storage for the motorhome if the drive isn't big enough - but if I know in advance then I can budget for it.

It won't be happing for at least 8 - 10 months, but I am starting to get our ducks in a row

another_casualty

MrsPorridge wrote: »

Hi AC


I think I'm almost there with persuading DH to quite work, sell up, move house and live off equity!


Just wondering about the best way to do it. Thinking about your option where you sold, moved into rented accommodation and then bought. Wondering if that is the way to go for us. We would be moving from one end of the country to the other (from Cornwall to Northumberland). We have the added advantage of owning a motorhome. So we could sell, put our stuff into storage, live in the motorhome and take our time looking at properties. It's either that or go the traditional route of being caught up in a chain. I'm thinking the storage option although I'm a bit worried about the storage costs and stepping off the property ladder.

Hello Mrs p
Wow! A bolt from the blue here. There are many ,many things to think about . Btw, please feel free to pm me at anytime .
I do think that, maybe you could post your own thread for clarity ( ie s.o.a etc) I say this as you need to be very thorough . Please don't be offended by the suggestion . I will always be there for yourself and all the kind people who have ( and still are) inspiring me .

Now, having said that I will ask a few questions here (some obvious ) and also point you in the right direction if I can in any way .

The great thing for you , is that you can drive and you have an 'other half .' That is a plus .
Why Northumberland ? Do you know anybody there ? Have you researched the place thoroughly ? Are there any other places that you would consider ?

The reason I ask you these things , is not to just go for somewhere to clear the mortgage and be debt free . You have to look at crime / the locals etc . I wouldn't go to an area " because it is a cheap area" or anything like that . No disrespect to Northumberland btw:o

I hope that all of you here don't mind me briefly going back to my big decision ( and my thoughts of how I'm doing ) ..

As you know , I was desperate and on the verge of a breakdown imho
I am pretty old school and believe it's best to ' man up' and just get on with it . Well, that did me no favours :rotfl:

So, I spoke to two close friends of mine on a regular basis whenever we could meet up for a beer . ( one mgt accountant/ one art director )
Meeting them was impossible at times as you know by my rants :rotfl:
I still think that the square mile is a dump and should be totally flattened. But what they could see: me struggling financially ,plus the other stuff which I'll leave for now .
We often talked about the future ,and about when to leave London as it is too far from what we know it in our honest opinions .
The ironic and funny thing was that my friend here in Poole ( we all know each other btw) didn't really believe or grasp that my flat was on the market and ready to be sold .:rotfl:

Why I chose where I am now : a group of us would all congregate once/ twice a year for a social gathering. Staying in b&q and one of us crashed at my friends. Poole is obviously cheaper than London .
I did briefly consider Newcastle ( South Shields actually ), as I know a few folk down there . I knew though it wasn't for me .

I could have chosen a cheaper part of Dorset and got a house.
I didn't and unfortunately for me have to pay service charges on a leasehold flat . Having said that , it looks like I've done the right thing in terms of location . I'm in the middle of 2 villages . Village idiot :eek::rotfl:
The pluses being that I'm in another affluent area and the doctors / dentists are good . I still have a way to go to fit in, but my friend is impressed and thinks I'm over worrying . He thought I finally lost the plot when I knocked on his door with no trousers last winter :rotfl:

Regarding mail etc . The post office do a box scheme which alrhough expensive ,may be the best option but I think that you can only use for a year . Could be wrong . I got all post redirected to my friends house for six months. It's all done online .

Not much else to say .. for now .

Looking forward to your thoughts Mrs. P

another_casualty

So, got up from a slightly better nights sleep . I opened the blinds and a pigeon moved away..but came back .
I decided to go to the gym ( 3 times this week ) and it was ok.
Did cardio, but 2 machines were out of order . Not impressed , but at least I've upped the cardio.

On the way back , I noticed in a side street that a white van belonging to some company had the side window smashed and that there was broken glass all over the pavement . I hardly saw anyone and was in two minds whether to call the police . I saw a police car and waved one down at the top of the road and told them what I saw .
The 2 wpcs listener etc . Then I stupidly said ' just thought you'd like to know incase you thought it was me ." :rotfl: then one of the wpcs gave me a look again . Well, I was wearing chavvy clothing I guess, and I had a bag over my shoulders

Now drinking a home made smoothie which I am not really enjoying but know it's supposed to be good for me ...

MrsPorridge

AC - thank you so much for that. I had thought earlier today that I would start my own thread


We have been thinking of doing this for the last couple of years and have been looking around various areas - and that is the area that we like the most. We are living in the middle of nowhere at the moment - 40 mins drive to nearest train station - one bus a day so really we cannot use public transport and taxis are extortionate (if you can find one)!


As we are getting older we want to move somewhere which has good transport links so if we don't want to drive we don't have to. We are in the lucky position of not having a mortgage. We would downsize to a bungalow as we are not getting any younger! We are both fed up in our jobs. DH has 4 years to go till pension and I have 12. We can't see ourselves doing the daily grind till then.


Lots to think about and I will definitely take you up on your offer of PMing you with questions as they crop up.

another_casualty

Thanks Mrs p:)
I'm not getting any younger either as you know :rotfl:
Having said that , I seriously think that if you can afford to retire now in your position , I'd jump at it . You seem to like Northumberland which is good . I seriously wish I could retire . I'm living a bit like a pensioner now :rotfl: When I decided to move , I knew that I could just about manage part time . Hopefully I'll get there in due course

I honestly have had enough of work though tbh, as I've seen so many changes and have been around the block like s boxer going into the ring too many times . I foresee a lot of part time work forced on people in the future due to globalisation / overpopulation / Robots etc
There have been a lot of changes in a short time .
People look at me ( unqualified / manual ) and scratch their heads when I point out that when I got made redundant from my best ever job in 2006 I was getting £10-12 ph when I went straight into temping .If I was living in London now, I'd be lucky to get that . Going on from 2006 ,surely I would be paid £18-20 ph ? No chance . Still £10-12 ph.I know living here in Dorset I will accept minimum wage and above if I'm lucky . I'm more myself now ,than I was when I started my first diary here. I think if anyone has the chance to escape from any form of hell , then do it .

Gigervamp

From what I've heard about public transport up North, it's not that great. (Well, anywhere that isn't London really!) You might want to look at moving to a small town, with shops and doctors etc, within walking distance.


AC, Aldi and Lidl pay well for jobs that are usually NMW, around the £8.50-£9.50 mark per hour.

another_casualty

Thanks gigervamp .
Just wondering , where would I find a disability adviser that you mentioned ? I'll have to put the wheels in motion soon ..

another_casualty

Just received an email from Poole hospital regarding a part time job I applied for . It was a rejection . I realised after I sent the appplication , that I forgot to enclose my cv. Not entirely lapse however, as there was no option to send it . On the application they wanted to know of my previous 10 years . I went back that far ,but assumed that they would check indeed where my cv is . TBH, the hours weren't specified and it sounded too much , but I had a go .

I emailed reactive advising them nobody contacted me . I received an automated response . It's Friday , so no point in replying . I expect them to contact me this week

Gigervamp

I got my disability advisor through a charity for cancer sufferers, as I have cancer, so you could have a look to see if there's a charity for your condition. If not, you could try Scope, or Disability Rights UK. Or even CAB, although the specialists in disabilities would be my first option, as CAB are a bit of a Jack of all trades.