Out in 30 days

In March of 2016, my husband Sam and I took one of our many trips to Ireland, with the intent of looking for possible places to retire and enjoy our hobbies of writing, photography and fishing. We talked to residents, realtors, accountants, and the local Immigration Officer to learn more about the opportunities and process for moving. We were thoroughly surprised to find a perfect home, which however could only be held for thirty days and so we made the snap decision to go for it!

With only 30 days, we hurried home to make the necessary arrangements. Giving notice at our jobs on day one, we then began the process of weeding through what stayed and what would go. We had the help of many good friends and family who came to our aid as week by week we carted truckloads to Goodwill, the Food Pantry and our soon to be over-packed storage shed. Piece by piece we cleared our house of furnishings until it was ready for rental and the listing went online. We owe a special thanks to good friends Mandy, Ruth, and Bob who put in hours and hours helping us clear out!

Meeting with accountant and financial advisor - check
Meeting with bankers and insurance people - check
Notifying condo assn, utilities, and creditors - check
Post office address change - check
Gathering and scanning important docs - check
Medical and dental checkups - check
Travel arrangements - check
Gathering contact info - check
Packing up items for shipping and carrying abroad - check

Now it was time for the long goodbyes. We enjoyed seeing most of our family and friends at a couple of big gatherings and hit the road to see others.

In a flurry of  last minute lunches, dinners, and visits with co-workers, friends, and family our 30 days clicked away.









We love you all and miss you and look forward to future visits here and there and online.







It was especially good and also sad to have our daughters JoAnne and Barbara, come to visit and help with our move, as of course we knew we would miss them both the most, as well as Mandy and Joe.

Thank you Skype and WhatsApp for making it possible for us to stay in touch. It's not the same as being there, but it is a good second best.











And of course we miss our 16-year old cat Skiddles. Luckily, our daughter, Barbara and her partner Mandy agreed to adopt her and care for her so we are comforted that she has a very happy home while we are away.

Well, that's it then. We're packed and ready to go.  Bye bye America! We're off to Erin's Isle.