 Our
New Home
This is our new home in Julian, California, a small town located in the
mountains of San Diego County.
We are still hanging out on Tanegashima island in Japan for the entire month of
June and pretty much packed up already. Then at the beginning of next month we
will travel to Nara to stay with family for a few days and the return to
America. Still a lot of stuff to do. Moving, especially internationally and with
pets, is a bitch to say the least. Anyway looking forward to establishing our
new home and doing a ton of farming up in the mountains. |
June 1, 2017 - The last month was a bitch to say the least. I was
able to pull off the sale of my condominium in San Diego and the purchase of our
new mountain home in Julian, California from Japan, thousands of miles away.
This seemingly impossible task was only possible thanks to a lot of help from my
friends who moved my stuff out of the condo to their place, a kind and
accommodating seller who hung in there with us, an escrow team who dealt with a
variety of issues in a professional manner, and our real estate agent who
believed in us and worked his ass off dealing with a number of obstacles to make
this work. We were very lucky he was the listing agent on the property we liked.
This came after being literally ignored by other SD county RE agents who did not
even bother to contact us when we requested property information.
This was a month which often included days of being online for 3-4 hours with
all involved, trying to coordinate, and often fighting with them, in an effort
to get things to run smoothly. All things considered, the situation worked out
fantastic.
Condo Sale - This turned out to be quite a hassle
thanks to numerous title transfers amongst family members over the years which
resulted in title issues which needed to be satisfied before the place could be
sold. In addition, I needed to work out a plan to get my stuff moved which
eventually worked out thanks to the help of our close friends. We were fortunate
to get a cash buyer who was able to expedite the sale.
Embassy Trip - In order to facilitate the sale, we
needed to get three pieces of paper notarized which could only be done at a U.S.
embassy. To do this we needed to drive an hour, then take a 3.5 hour ferry ride,
then drive an additional 2 hours, then take another ferry for 14 hours, and then
drive another 2 hours....and then do this all again for the return trip to the
island. This trip cost about a thousand bucks not to mention the 150 dollars for
three signatures.
Mountain Home Purchase - This side of the
situation proved to be much easier thanks to the seller who was willing to take
a chance with buyers who were currently in another country. Many concessions
were made on both sides and eventually everything came together.
June 1, 2017 -
Facebook Post -
A party with friends.
We went to the park to watch another rocket launch today.
June 2, 2017 -
Facebook Post -
We bought a home up in Julian California. A few visits to the building supply
store will be enough to spiff this place up.
The farm is doing fantastic again.
June 3, 2017 -
Facebook Post -
Now with the wifey and kids asleep relaxing with some wine and a beautiful star
filled sky tonight.
Now in the tent and ready for bed.
This is where we are camping for a couple of nights. A few minutes walk to the
unisex hot spring.
A native monkey from Yakushima in the tree and watching.
A bit of lunch before our adventure begins.
Now on board and ready to leave.
This is going to be our ride to Yakushima island. Gonna be really fun.
YAKUSHIMA VACATION
We are headed to the neighboring island of Yakushima to get away from house and
packing stuff for a few days. Gonna be total beach camping and relaxing in the
UNISEX natural geothermal hot springs on the coast. The locals use these and get
really pissed if anybody tries to go with any clothes on at all. No place for
embarrassment. lol. This is also a world heritage site with trees thousands of
years old. We went before and wanted to go to this incredible place again before
leaving Tanegashima. Gonna be a lot of fun.
June 6, 2017 -
Facebook Post -
Another really nice place.
Another beautiful view location.
A couple of days hiking and carrying the little dude with the baby carrier a
hernia and a torn bicep. This was a fantastic four days and three nights though.
Now riding on the ferry and returning to Tanegashima. This thing is all over the
place and was almost cancelled due to strong winds today.
Came up on the car with a little guy.
A beautiful scene from Yakushima.
June 9, 2017 -
Facebook Post -
MONSOON SEASON -
Yup it looks like the monsoon season for Tanegashima will begin on Sunday. Gonna
be hot and humid until we move from the island in a few weeks. Nice the packing
is mostly finished up. Returning to Nara for a bit and then home to America
again.
June 10, 2017 -
Facebook Post -
UPDATE
種子島引っ越しセール
もうすぐアメリカに戻るため、種子島から引っ越すことになりました。引っ越し時持って行けない家具等があるので、もし欲しいなあという方、是非ご連絡ください。
アキコ 080-4029-0486
SOLD 中古車 Suzuki アルト
SOLD 冷蔵庫（3ドア 問題なく使えます）
\3000 オーブンレンジ
\2000 掃除機（一般的なもの）
\0 掃除機（スティックタイプ）
\5000 シングルマットレス（ショートタイプ）
\3000 ジュニアマットレス
SOLD ガスコンロ
\5000 石油ストーブ
SOLD 洗濯機（問題なく使えます）
\1000 デスク椅子
\1000（7個合わせて）プラスチック収納箱
\2000 キャノンプリンター
\0 ベビーベット
\0 ベビー椅子
\0 ベビー用お風呂タブ
\1000 筋トレ用ベンチ
\1000 カーボンヒーター
\1000 加湿器（未使用）
\500 ケトル
\1000 スタンド式ライト
4つ合わせての場合 \2500
\1000 鏡
\0 エリアカーペット
\0 アイロン台
ご連絡お待ちしています。
June 19, 2017 -
Facebook Post -
NOW 12 MORE DAYS UNTIL LEAVING TANEGASHIMA -
Yup sent out a bunch of packages today and almost totally ready to leave. Making
a party this weekend and then off to Nara and then America and our new home in
Julian California. This was certainly quite a ride. Really looking forward to
being home again.
June 24, 2017 -
Facebook Post -
And the party was a lot of fun.
And more friends came.
And even more came.
These are a couple of friends who could not make it tonight. They brought a ton
of food for us today.
We are minamilists for sure. This is our existence for the last couple of weeks.
The cardboard container located in the middle is our dining room table until we
move from this island. Very nice.
Yup went storm chasing with the family. Now monsoon season and getting about
half a foot of rain per day now.
We found this beautiful trail on the island which leads to famous pine trees.
Us in front of the oldest Cycad tree in Japan.
Spending this week like tourists and seeing a lot of cool stuff on this island
before we leave. This is a famous house built during the Edo period of Japan.
A really nice couple.
A nice night with friends again.
And this is our oldest son with friends going crazy.
A pic from a week ago when friends brought lobster they caught off the coast of
Taneagshima.
Harvested a shitload of tomatoes ahead of the monsoon rains recently.
Another really important parenting moment. Teaching oldest son to blow bubbles
with American gum.
June 30, 2017 -
Facebook Post - THOUGHTS ABOUT BEAUTIFUL TANEGASHIMA - I am now sitting
on the tatami floor of this empty house drinking wine and reflecting on our days
in Tanegashima. I am leaving this island with mixed emotions. Happy to begin
anew with my family in California. Sad to be leaving this beautiful place and
the absolutely wonderful people who reside here. Not since growing up in the
small town of Kenmore New York has a place given me such a strong sense of
community. The people of Tanegashima were incredibly kind to me and my family.
They are much more our family now than simply friends. Already many came to see
us these last couple of days bringing food and gifts. This is the way it was
from the beginning. I WANT TO THANK ALL OF YOU FOR YOUR KINDNESS. We are looking
forward to seeing all of you again either on the island or in America. Until
then.
GOODBYE TANEGASHIMA FOR NOW - Getting close to midnight on this beautiful island
and we are all either sitting or sleeping on and off in this now empty house.
Tomorrow we will be leaving this house at 9 am on our way to Nara Japan. We will
be riding on 3 different ferries for a total of over 16 hours and driving an
additional 7 hours to reach our destination. Then we are heading to Tokyo and
then to America. Then we will be moving our things up to Julian California and
our new home. This has been a crazy ride and we will miss Japan.
THOUGHTS ABOUT BEAUTIFUL TANEGASHIMA
I am now sitting on the tatami floor of this empty house drinking wine and
reflecting on our days in Tanegashima. I am leaving this island with mixed
emotions. Happy to begin anew with my family in California. Sad to be leaving
this beautiful place and the absolutely wonderful people who reside here. Not
since growing up in the small town of Kenmore New York has a place given me such
a strong sense of community. The people of Tanegashima were incredibly kind to
me and my family. They are much more our family now than simply friends. Already
many came to see us these last couple of days bringing food and gifts. This is
the way it was from the beginning. I WANT TO THANK ALL OF YOU FOR YOUR KINDNESS.
We are looking forward to seeing all of you again either on the island or in
America. Until then. |
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