well, it's official

We had decided that we would give it a good 6 months...just to make sure we were certain. We simply did not want to make a rash decision...after all, we were both so busy at work, who had time to really think about it.

In the end, we agreed. We are moving...again!

Before you gasp for air, pick yourself up off the floor, or have a stroke, let me qualify that last statement. We are moving...to a different place in London. In all truthfulness, we have not yet finalized an agreement on any new property, but we have looked at around 20 properties in the same area of Chiswick that we are living in now. We like the area...it is just the house and street in Chiswick where we currently reside that we are not keen on.

"Why?", you ask? It is alot of reasons and really no one reason in particular.

(1) The constant neighbor issues next door (Trivia question: how many times in a given month can the metropolitan police and/or ambulances be called out for domestic disturbances? Answer: too many). The fact that next door is designated as a council house (translated: government housing) where 4 of the 8 family members have criminal records that we know of was the first of many factors leading to our decision.

The good news is that it appears the 2 youngest children have been removed from the home as best we can tell. The screams we would hear late at night would stand the hair up on the back of our necks.

(2) The pit bull puppy factory has seen its second litter this year (Excellent...I love hear the sound of pit bulls fighting next door from inside the comfort of my own bedroom).

(3) The 16 year old next door neighbor's attempted burglary into a few of the neighbors' house, including ours. How do we know...he left DNA behind at the scenes of his crimes and well, his DNA was already in the system. Fabulous! A repeat offender.

(4) The two signs that alternate being hung from the inside of the next door neighbor's front room window.... Sign 1: "The witch is in" or Sign 2: a picture of a unicorn. The signs are never there at the same time, and we aren't sure what unsavory message the signs are intended to convey...drug deal going down? "lady of the night" action? or some dark black magic? Who can tell?

(5) The repeated home repair issues on our house, such as plumbing, carpentry, and electrical, that are supposed to be managed by the current landlord's family...but not. My night job appears to be property manager.

So, we decided to delay any final decision through the end of summer and finalize our plan "post - Spain" vacation. When we returned from 2 weeks in sunny Spain to find the entire electrical system in our place had been out to 2 weeks (despite our attempts to have timers on the lights to ward off further burglary attempts), only to find a fox had eaten through improperly laid electrical wires...well, it was a sign from above. The fact that the property manager was unable to assist with the situation b/c he lives 2 hours away did not help matters.

Let's just say, we've had enough. I'd even gone as far as not to even write about it in the blog because I'd hoped the situation would improve.

"When?" you ask? ASAP....the trick is finding a place we like.
After sadly not getting the first property we put a rental offer on in early October (yes, that house was next door to "Tim Dalton's pad"....a.k.a. "Bond, James Bond") because the landlords changed it into a bidding war on us mid-stream, we said our goodbyes and moved on. And while we have not yet put in an offer on a second property, it is only a matter of time. From our mouths to God's ears.

In a perfect world, we'd loved to be moved before the Christmas trek to Texas, but only Santa knows whether we "have been naughty or nice" this year and if we'll get our Christmas wish. We do have a possible property in mind but since we have had such bad karma in this regard, let me not jinx it until it is a done deal.

"Where?", you ask? Same area...Chiswick. We like west London, and it is convenient to both our jobs, Heathrow airport, and the area has a great feel, good transport links, and nice restaurants and shops.

While the prospect of moving for the 6th time in 8 years about sends us over the edge, a man's "home is indeed his castle", and we really need our home to be a sanctuary not a stressor. What is so odd is that Chiswick is really a family-friendly area...we were just super unlucky with this last rental.

So, we'll keep you posted, and let you know how things progress. Please keep your fingers crossed.