WELLINGTON PART ONE

We haven't sold the house yet and, with winter well and truly here it's unlikely that there will be any interest until spring or even summer.

The plan was to, once we sold, rent a place in Wellington for a while to give us time to properly check out the market and find what we want within our budget. I had planned that the place (a townhouse ideally) we rent would have an attached large or double garage so that we could store all of our extra furnishings and goods until we bought an apartment or a townhouse. That was the plan ...

... and of course, things change. The Old Girl, after her couple of months stay in Christchurch, went to Wellington last week to stay with her cousin in Wakefield Street until August when she and the cousin are taking a trip to Melbourne. While in Wellington she was to check out likely locations for us to look to buy. I said that if she wanted to work out of the Wellington office for a while, she should rent an apartment in the interim. This she has done and we take possession of a Cuba Street apartment next weekend!

It's a great apartment - spacious 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom across 2 levels in an apartment building that is partly hotel accommodation at 233 Cuba Street. I think that's between Vivian and Abel Smith Streets and close to Lighthouse Cinema. It's a good location, handy to shops, restaurants, cafes, foodstores and entertainment.

The apartment is fully furnished which means we won't have to buy or rent furniture in the short term but means that when we sell our house all of our furniture will have to go into storage. The rental comes with a secure covered car park in the building but not a garage suitable for storage. When we finally sell I'll have to rent a storage unit somewhere in Wellington - the closest are in Newtown or Thorndon.

Anyway, she takes possession on Friday 25th July. I'll drive down that day with a car load of bedding, extra kitchen ware (the kitchen is currently stocked with plates, pots and cutlery), her computer gear, some of her clothing and, no doubt other things that she 'needs' like artwork, wine and stuff. No doubt I'll have a very full carload. I'll stop at Taupo for Friday night and plan to arrive in Wellington on Saturday 26th. I'll stay a couple of weeks to when she goes to Melbourne and when I have to be back home for Jury duty on 11th August. Busy, busy, busy, but, I'm used to it. We've done  a fair bit of shifting in our time. After that I'll pre-purchase Air NZ 'grab a seat' deals for September through December and try and spend two weeks each month in Wellington.

In Wellington I'll have the opportunity to catch up with Richard, Shelley and Robert, The Old Girl's cousin and her husband, my sister in Waikanae and other friends and family. I'll also be able to check out likely long-term living locations, storage availability plus things like a golf club and a tennis club to join.