Hello again!
Welcome back! Did you find something to drink and a comfy place to hang out while we start catching up? Seriously, having a cozy place to snuggle with my coffee is a daily requirement.
Last week, I promised I would fill you in on everything that’s happened in the last year, but I think I also said I would take it in chunks. So, here’s the first big bite.
Once upon a time…
On March 14, 2021, I published what would be my last blog for 2021. At that time, we had just gotten our visa applications approved and had made an appointment to have a realtor come over and look at the house We wanted to know how much we should ask for the house and what steps she recommended for staging. Rebecca came over March 22nd and gave very positive feedback. We could ask for more than we paid; staging would be pretty simple; we are selling at a great time because the market favors the seller. On her way out the door that evening, Rebecca mentioned she had someone who might be interested in seeing the house. She asked if it would be ok to bring them over the following evening. As long as they understood the house wasn’t in “showing shape”, it was fine by us.
Like it was meant to be…
Little did we know that this prospective house shopper would not only buy our house but also, wanted all the furniture we were willing to leave behind. The buyer had no problems with financing and was happy to close on the date we requested. We could not have asked for a better situation.
Our worldly possessions…
One of the biggest decisions we had to ask ourselves before we made the leap is, “How much do I keep and ship to Mexico? How much do I get rid of?” Searching through ex-pat groups on Facebook, it’s easy to see this is a recurring question and responses range from, “Get rid of everything you can’t replace and only bring the most essential and/or precious items” to “get prices for moving your entire household and everything you can afford to ship”. The best answer I ever read was, “Only you can determine what the right answer is for you”. We landed somewhere in the middle. We packed and shipped art work, clothing, some kitchen items, and an embarrassment of electronics. It turned out to be a van-load of personal property. Everything else went to family, friends, buyers or donation centers.
Getting ready to go…
In three months, we sorted out our property and possessions, quit our jobs, cleaned out the house, and prepared for our move to Mexico. We started practicing taking trips in the car with our cats, in hopes of minimizing everyone’s stress, because, well, cats you know!
My biggest fear…
The one thing I actually lost sleep over was how we would get the cats through this move. I had nightmares about the cats escaping our grasp anywhere between Oklahoma US and Michoacán Mexico so I bought them tight-fitting harnesses. I worried about them clawing their way out of their soft-sided carriers so I bought airline sanctioned, ultra-secure, stupidly expensive carriers. I had visions of one or both of our cats dying of a heart attack from all the stress. I took them to the vet for checkups and got sedatives for them. (However, they would not prescribe any for the humans!) I read horror stories from cat owners about moving overseas with their cats so I talked to every cat lover we knew. We packed all the cat-records, vet approval letter, and everything else we could find.
The most terrifying moment for me was when we had to take the cats out of their carriers to walk them through security at the airport. You know… that noisy, busy, chaotic, everyone’s-in-a-hurry-so-get-out-of-the-way airport security. Fortunately, our cats were either too frightened or too tired to care and they did just fine. Me? I felt like I aged a decade in those twenty paces.
We made it!
Fortunately, the stomach-churning stress was over in a matter of hours. We landed in Morelia with everyone still alive and kicking. I don’t know how to describe the huge relief I felt knowing we had all survived our travels. Even better, we had arranged for a soft landing at a local B&B. The Casona Rosa was a magical, safe and comfy place where all four of us could get our bearings. The cats took to it immediately because there were lots of nooks and crannies to hide in and explore, fascinating smells, and lots of super comfy soft spots to lounge on. Actually, we humans liked it for a lot of the same reasons.
Overall…
Considering what a major move this was for us, it went surprisingly smoothly. I’m sure the days, weeks and months of research we did helped a lot. But every bit as important was the contacts we made before we moved. In the many ex-pat groups we had joined, we got all kinds of first-hand stories from people who had already made the jump.
Um, hold that thought…
Just one word of caution, though. Not everyone is an expert and what may have been true when they moved here 5 years ago may no longer apply. (Actually, the rules can change daily, and sometimes the application of those rules depends on which staff member you’re dealing with at the moment.) One thing we learned was to make sure we backed up all that well-intended advice with information from official sources. Fortunately, there are plenty of easily-accessible resources available.
Look at the time!
I’ve rambled on rather a long time to tell you the most memorable parts of our physical move to Morelia. I know I glossed over a lot of details and maybe went into too much depth describing other aspects of the move. If you have any questions or specific details you want to know more about, please reach out. I am always happy to answer.
I’ll stop for now and pick up this thread again next week. Unless there’s something you want to know specifically, I will fill you in on our first few months here in Mexico.
Until we get together again, be safe, be healthy, and be kind. Hasta luego!
