Sometimes you get what you need… :)

It’s funny how sometimes life – and especially those hella awesome friends of mine – can give exactly what you need when you need it, even when you didn’t realise what it was you needed in the first place.

Yesterday we decided to completely change our search area for a new (rental) home when we move to the Boston area. Arlington’s gorgeous and the people I met were lovely, but realtors have been a bit challenging and unfortunately, the rental market in Arlington seems to mostly comprise duplexes made up of one accommodation on one floor and separate accommodation on the second floor (if we have to squeeze into a duplex, we’d rather not have that format, thanks). Realtors keep suggesting places that don’t fit what we’re looking for, and we don’t want to try to crowbar ourselves into somewhere that doesn’t suit us with poor transport options or living quarters that aren’t what we hoped for. Looking online, it seems that there are many more single-family houses for rent in Quincy than in Arlington, and a good few apartment complexes as well (to Arlington’s one).

Of course, this means we have to go back through the whole rigmarole of searching rental listings, checking proximity to public transport and shops, and contacting realtors again. Yesterday evening I was tired and felt like it was all getting a bit too much- every time I turned around there was more to do and I felt like I was getting nowhere fast. The end of my rope seemed to be rapidly approaching (never mind fraying), and I was worried that we might not be able to get accommodation sorted when we go over in just over a week after all, and we can’t afford for that to happen.

Adding to that, a few people have expressed concern that we’re going over without me already having a job. Unfortunately, there’s just not time for me to get one (never mind the difficulty of attempting to arrange interviews from 3000 miles away, etc) – but we’re lucky that my mother has an excellent pension (start saving now, kids!) so we can afford for me to be job-searching for a bit when we get there without panicking. Plus the fact that, while the economic forecast isn’t great, Massachusetts unemployment is only 7% (by contrast to Ireland’s whopping 14+%) and I think it’s one of the states that are doing reasonably well at the moment, comparatively. It does freak me out a bit that I’m not going into another job straight away, but I know that this move is the best thing for us, and I’ve never had trouble getting work – but it is adding to my stress levels.

Then this morning I checked facebook quickly while having my coffee. My friend Ali, who’s been one of my best friends since high school, had posted this:

“Listen to the mustn’ts, child. Listen to the don’ts. Listen to the shouldn’ts, the impossibles, the won’ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me… Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.”
― Shel Silverstein

Suddenly I feel a helluva lot better…