It’s been 20 days since our move and in once sense we are still finding our feet and in another I feel like we’ve lived here forever.
A Struggle to find a place to rent
If you have followed us on social media you would have seen that our previous little beach flat was put up for sale in May and we gave notice as I couldn’t imagine staying in a home being bugged by viewings.
However,June arrived and we were no closer to finding a new home.
Our wonderful estate agent, Zeeneth and our flat owner were tremendous at offering us month to month rental until we could secure a new home.
It just so happened that 2 days after signing our new month to month contract, an offer was made on the flat subject to immediate occupancy.
My nerves !
I will not lie, I was dying inside. Trying to find accomadation in Cape Town is not easy. It’s even harder when you try find accomadation with any of the following:
-pets
-small children
-adult children
House hunting
The homes we liked were either far too over priced and way out of the budget that we were prepared to pay to rent a property or the bedrooms were horrifically small.
I remember, one house having windows on a second floor that were so low with no burglar guards that all I could imagine was Hamish playing and ending up crashing straight through before falling 2 stories to the ground.
We even started looking out of our home area and that proved just as fruitless. We eventually viewed almost 30 properties.
Plan B
As a back up, because we were having no joy at finding a new home, I started to look at long stay B n B accomadation…but what to do with Max the cat and how much would that cost us with storage as well because we would need to keep out belongings in storage.
We found a home
Then, by some miracle, exactly 4 days before the month end we viewed a little flat in a complex that I fell in love with.
We met the owner, who is wonderful. Together we negotiated our needs and started the process to get our paperwork in.
The agent was amazing and tirelessly pushed our application through. However, as Brent had moved jobs, we needed a document from his company, and it was now the weekend … we needed to move by Monday 12.30pm
A waiting game
I sat on egg shells that cold, wet weekend. Our house, by now, was fully packed up and we cleaned everything in the little beach flat.
Somewhere on Sunday morning I shared my nerves with you all on Instagram and half an hour later we got notice to say the document was recieved, all forms were approved and we could move in Monday morning.
Relief
I’m sure I shed tears of relief as we excitedly packed the last few items still lingering in bathrooms and the kitchen.
Brent and I are no strangers to lastminute.com but this one came pretty close to us freaking out just a little.
I’m always reminded at moments like these that we have a higher power looking out for us and no matter how impossible something seems, a little hope and a lot of prayer go a long way.
The move
The move went off without a problem. My boys are now seasoned movers and although none of my other children were avaliable to help us move ( they were at work) the two big boys and their friend Richard, together with a truck driver and laborer loaded and moved our entire home in an hour.
The truck arrived at 10am and was on its way to our new home by 11am.
I had sent Hamish with Brent to get the new keys and I stayed in our old flat with Ronan, cleaning and mopping to leave our old home clean.
By 12.15pm I phoned the agent to tell her the house was clean and we were ready for her inspection by 12.30pm.
And then I closed the door to our little beach view flat for the last time.
Bitter sweet
It was a bitter sweet moment packing my handbag in the car and closing the door to my beloved sea view flat for the last time.
We had a great stay in the flat. It was my healing space after the trauma I’d endured in Kommetjie at the hands of the Seef agent who teated me with such abusive behaviour.
It was my healing from covid and lockdown, after hardly leaving our home over the two year period because both Hamish and I had blood clot/ lung issues. It was my safe space as I once again began to trust the world around me.
It was our home, my sanctuary and the place were we made some wonderful memories.
I would work late into the night, in the semi darkness, listening to the waves crash on the beach and wake early, throwing doors and windows open to catch a wiff of the ocean breeze.
I watched the guinea fowl and the Egyptian geese each season bring their new young babies to the grass. I would stop Brent using the outdoor braai and allow the pigeons to breed.
We would walk through the dunes looking for the new ground cover flowers or pick the fresh lavender outside while collecting the post and we watched for the changing seasons on the aloes outside the gate.
Hamish learnt to ride a bike, make friends and swim here. He learnt to look out for boats on the ocean and take photos of orange/red sunsets.
It was a space where we learnt to slow down in a busy world and stop to enjoy the view around us.
We slept with our doors unlocked, our windows opened and as a women I could walk to the shop and beach safely With Hamish.
It was a small flat, the tiles took forever to dry and it was freezing in winter …but to me…it was home.
So, moving was hard. I felt and still feel, I’ve left a little of my heart right there inside the flat.
New home
Our new home is lovely. It’s an older flat and so much larger.
Hamish has a wonderful sky roof window and our bedroom has a small balcony.
I’m still adjusting to the stairs separating the living and sleeping areas but the yard and washing area are huge bonuses.
We have a lot more space here and once again have a garage, which Brent is greatful for.
The complex itself is fabulous. The neighbour’s have gone out of their way to welcome us and include us in the little community. For the first time, I’m not stressed over whatsapp neighbour groups as it’s messages are positive and friendly. Not prejudice and full of the judgements and non inclusiveness of the messages I witnessed on the Kommetjie group.
In my almost 13 years living in Cape Town, this has been the friendliest group of people I’ve ever met in a complex. I love it, especially as I never wanted to live in Parklands.
Hamish gets to ride his bike, play ball, and interact with all the kids. He loves the garden and I’m busy transforming it into a little play haven for him. A space where he is free to examine the bugs, plant his flowers and have a place to play with his toys.
Making memories
It’s only been 20 days, but we love our new home and although we are still finding our feet and I sometimes( especially in the early hours when I’m working) miss the calm, lull of the ocean as I hear the traffic on the road…we will make new memories here and I’m sure when we outgrow this home, I’ll shed a few bittersweet tears too.
I’m just glad you found a place to live in time. I know all about leaving things behind that I miss. It’s so hard.
Thanks Heather.