It occurs to me that with so much moving experience under my belt, I should blog my experience and perhaps others will find nuggets they can use for a future move in their lives. So, here goes!
You really moved 35 times before in your life?
Yes, its true and I might have even missed a few small ones from one apartment to another. I have a dizzying list of former addresses and phone numbers (from the days when we only had landlines). When I had to apply for a security clearance with Boeing some years ago (about a dozen moves ago) I had to add extra pages to their list of prior addresses. Ha! Bet those Security guys had a heyday with that one!
Were you in the military, or was your dad in the military?
No, I wasn't and he wasn't, at least not while I was growing up. My dad worked for the State of California for many years, first as a Building Inspector, then later as a Superintendent in the Department of Water Resources. So we moved where California had construction jobs going on. This included the World's Fair in Sacramento in 1968, the Oroville Dam, the Snake River Aqueduct which took us from Northern California all the way south as the project progressed, the Chino Women's Minimum Security Prison, and a host of other projects I have forgotten about now.
We didn't start moving until I was between 3rd and 4th grade and from then through my Senior year of High School I attended 14 schools in 10 years My family always had the wanderlust and I continued in that tradition after I left home. Maybe in one post I'll list all the places I have lived, but for now suffice it to say that I have "I've been everywhere Man".
What were your moves like?
Well, when I still lived with my parents, they were full household moves including the kids, pets and tons of junk. Believe me, it doesn't take too long of moving that you get tired of packing and unpacking stuff and you start to get rid of stuff quickly. When you have boxes from the last move you never unpacked, that is a sign you need to get rid of some stuff!
Some of our moves the State of California paid for, but even with that they had weight limits and guidelines on what they would move. Sometimes we had packers, sometimes Mom and I did it all. Usually Dad had to start at the new job right away, and we stayed behind to pack and move.
Some of my moves during the University years were small where all I had fit in my Opal or my Fiat but that always included my faithful Siamese cat and at least a radio and a file cabinet and some clothes and books. If I was lucky my friends let me overflow into their vehicles as well.
Later as I graduated and acquired more stuff, the moves got bigger and bigger. Mostly I moved myself with the help of friends. A case of beer and some burgers usually was the only pay required and we got it done. I helped plenty of them move as well. Some of those experiences are for another post later!
I always did my own packing as
I am the best packer I know. Not bragging, just fact. I have lots of experience! We never had fancy dollies or moving boxes, usually leftover boxes from the grocery store and newspaper were my only packing materials. That changed over time as well and I was able to purchase better specialized moving supplies.
Later in life when I moved with Boeing, they paid for the movers and packers so I was back to having someone else do it for me. Those were full blown household moves as well. I had one international move as well; that is a topic for its own post later.
Now where are you going?
Move #36 is from Everett, Washington to somewhere in Kansas or Missouri or maybe even Arkansas. Who knows? That place is to be determined. The main key is to get my "country boy" husband back closer to the country and to our kinfolk but to a place I can breathe without aggravating my allergies and asthma.
Our second house hunting expedition will commence in a couple weeks. I haven't known where I was going many times in the past. You find temporary housing in the general vicinity of where you want to be, then look around for a while before you settle. This is really the best way to do it but my husband feels uncomfortable about not having a place to go, so this time we'll try to find a place a head of time. More later about the house hunting experience do's and don't's.
