Three months and counting. (Knoxville, Columbia: fit in, apartment, rentals)

[MomsTn]

I really can't believe that its actually going to happen.
We are really moving.
This forum has been a great help.

It seems like we have had a lot of delays. I guess that's just life.

We'll be down in August to find a house, and then back up here to pack up.
Everything is moving at a very fast pace.
Instead of my hubby transferring out there, he will be retiring instead.

Doesn't school start there in August?
It doesn't start until September here.
The retirement date will be in September, so we thought we would put our daughter in school here for a month, and then transfer her.
We thought it would be a much better transition saying goodbye to her friends in September instead of just moving during the summer and not saying goodbye.

She is looking so forward to moving and very excited to be within an hour of Grandpa and her best friend.

I'm looking forward to connecting with all my cousins that I've never met, and my aunts and uncles that I haven't seen for such a long time.

Boy, it's going to be so good actually coming home after such a long, long absence.

Do you think I'll get my full accent back?
Funny thing, here in the midwest they think my accents "cute".
A little midwestern with a southern twang.

[skinem]

Welcome back to the South!

Yes, school starts in August.
Yes, you'll get your accent back.
As a fat old (retired) teacher with 25 years in the business I couple of thoughts occurred to me concerning your daughter and school. If at all possible, you might consider getting your daughter here at the start of school. It will give her the opportunity to bond with kids from the start of the school year when many kids are jockying for position and trying to figure out who they want to be with. It's always a harder adjustment coming into a school with the school year underway, with the routines set and with kids kind of settled in place (not that there are ever any cliques among kids--no, not that! Especially, the girls!). Not to mention the (sometimes big) difference in where the classes are academically and the adjustment that can take. If she's in high school, sometimes credits can be an issue with mid-term transfers.

You could have a series of farewell parties/get togethers over the summer with her friends.
Of course, you know your daughter better than anyone and her age makes a difference in how easy the adjustment is. Don't misunderstand me, it's definitely do-able. I was a military brat and transferred school multiple times mid-year/term, but it was always preferable for a kid's perspective to start a new school at the beginning of a school year. Either is tough; mid-term is tougher.

I can tell you're excited, and I don't blame you!

Where are you moving to?

[hiknapster]

Hey, I know you! Didn't you change your name a couple of times because you kept having to move? Your daughter is in beauty pageants, same age as mine, and your husband is a postman, right?

I think this is YOU!

Congrats!

I bought a HOUSE in Knoxville about a year ago!

Things are going great!

I am so happy to see that you finally are making it to Tennessee! Woohoo!

[MomsTn]

Our daughter is 10.
She's a Singer/Actress. It will be nice that no one will know who she is.
She's quite the little celebrity here at her school.
She's very social, and can fit in anywhere.
She's used to being taken out of school (because of a play or some other kind of performances), so, changing schools won't bother her.

She's also a kid that likes to tie up loose ends, thus the getting to say goodbye to everyone.

Funny thing. We're coming down first week in August to find a house.
My hubby and I were just talking about packing up the Penske or some other rental truck, and bringing our stuff then. We can put it in a storage place.
Then come back next month with just the two cars and the two kids.
Our other "child" is an adult. I've already checked out the schools, and I believe he will be attending Columbia in the Spring of 2010.

Yes, I am very excited. I will be closer to my Daddy. I will be able to connect with those cousins that I have never met, and the ones that I did meet when I was a teenager.
We can all share the old, bald and fat jokes. Except, well I got one over on them because I've lost weight, so no fat jokes.

I went to my hubby's 30 year reunion. When we walked in the door I turned to him and said, "Hey there's a bunch of Grandma's and Grandpa's in here."
He turned to me and said, "I know, Grandma."
I'm a young Grandma, with a 10 year old that is 2 years older than my oldest grandchild.

Originally Posted by skinem

Welcome back to the South!

Yes, school starts in August.
Yes, you'll get your accent back.
As a fat old (retired) teacher with 25 years in the business I couple of thoughts occurred to me concerning your daughter and school. If at all possible, you might consider getting your daughter here at the start of school. It will give her the opportunity to bond with kids from the start of the school year when many kids are jockying for position and trying to figure out who they want to be with. It's always a harder adjustment coming into a school with the school year underway, with the routines set and with kids kind of settled in place (not that there are ever any cliques among kids--no, not that! Especially, the girls!). Not to mention the (sometimes big) difference in where the classes are academically and the adjustment that can take. If she's in high school, sometimes credits can be an issue with mid-term transfers.

You could have a series of farewell parties/get togethers over the summer with her friends.
Of course, you know your daughter better than anyone and her age makes a difference in how easy the adjustment is. Don't misunderstand me, it's definitely do-able. I was a military brat and transferred school multiple times mid-year/term, but it was always preferable for a kid's perspective to start a new school at the beginning of a school year. Either is tough; mid-term is tougher.

I can tell you're excited, and I don't blame you!

Where are you moving to?

[MomsTn]

Yep, that would be me.
Only since then, my daughter has graduated from beauty pageants to the stage.
She discovered her love for acting and we have gone from Community Theater to the Professional stage.
She just finished playing Lee Bouivier in Grey Gardens.
I believe Drew Barrymore just played Edie Bouivier in the Hallmark movie of Grey Gardens.

When we get to Tennessee she will be incognito, kind of like that new Hannah Montana movie. No one will know who she is.
She's quite the little celebrity here, especially at her school.

Hubby and I were discussing this morning that maybe we ought to just go ahead and rent that Penske, pack up our stuff and drive it to Tennessee in August. We can then rent a storage unit and unpack the truck.

Well I think I just found a flaw in that plan. I was thinking we would save ourselves money with the transport, but I guess we would have to rent the transport too, in order to drive around Tennessee and then drive back to Minnesota to finalize everything.

Hubby's retirement date is the 25th of September. Of course, he could put it for sooner, but it would mean less moving money.

I am so happy you bought a house.
We'll be renting. Hopefully a house. If we can't find one when we come down in August, then, we'll just rent an apartment.

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Hey, I know you! Didn't you change your name a couple of times because you kept having to move? Your daughter is in beauty pageants, same age as mine, and your husband is a postman, right?

I think this is YOU!

Congrats!

I bought a HOUSE in Knoxville about a year ago!

Things are going great!

I am so happy to see that you finally are making it to Tennessee! Woohoo!

[hiknapster]

Yep! I'm the older mom, too, remember? With the adult kids, too!

Don't rush it, but try to find a house this year so that you can get that fabulous $8,000 tax credit. Mine was $7,500, but I have to pay it back!

Lauren would just love your daughter. She's our drama queen, but it kind of drives me crazy!

[MomsTn]

Yes, I remember now. I believe we have the same age kids. Older ones and then our young ones. My youngest is that surprise blessing that you aren't expecting when the older kids are moving out of the house. No empty nest for me.
LOL.
In October it will be 30 years that hubby and I will have been married.
We just had our anniversary when we met.
So, we've known each other for over 30 years.

We won't be able to buy a house.
In fact, we can't even sell our house.
The bottom dropped out in the housing market here.
We owe a lot more on the house than what the market value is now.
When we first put it on the market 5 years ago, the market was good.
There was always a lot of interest in our house, but no one ever made an offer.

So, we are forced to make financial decisions that we normally wouldn't have had to make.
Thus we join a lot of middle income Americans who have had to do the same thing with their houses.
Bummer.
So, we will just look for a house to rent for awhile.
Maybe in a couple of years we will buy another house.
Who knows?

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Yep! I'm the older mom, too, remember? With the adult kids, too!

Don't rush it, but try to find a house this year so that you can get that fabulous $8,000 tax credit. Mine was $7,500, but I have to pay it back!

Lauren would just love your daughter. She's our drama queen, but it kind of drives me crazy!

[hiknapster]

I got remarried and wanted another one so she was a planned blessing! She's my husband's only child so you can just imagine how spoiled she is!

The silver lining is that you will have plenty of affordable rentals to choose from and even some rent-to-owns. Your area will start to pick up, so who knows, you might sell and be surprised!

Welcome home to Tennessee!

[MomsTn]

Thanks for the Welcome home.
We decided to bump it up to two weeks earlier than planned.
I had already reserved the rental truck, but they said if we change the date there's no problem.

The only bummer is that Tennessee starts school the first week in August.
That's when we are coming down to find a house.
We thought about just taking the rental truck down then, but you know, that would be like moving blind and we really don't want to do that.

So, we will stick to our 1st week in August coming down, scoping out the area and renting a house or apartment.
This way we will know what school our daughter will be in.

Hubby will put his retirement date as September 11, and we will be down there by the 13th, and our daughter will start school by the 14th.

I will just homeschool her the month of August and get her records from her school here on the 7th of September.

Originally Posted by hiknapster

I got remarried and wanted another one so she was a planned blessing! She's my husband's only child so you can just imagine how spoiled she is!

The silver lining is that you will have plenty of affordable rentals to choose from and even some rent-to-owns. Your area will start to pick up, so who knows, you might sell and be surprised!

Welcome home to Tennessee!

[hiknapster]

Do the best you can.

When we moved, our daughter started school in Florida in August, then missed two weeks while we moved and found a place. They didn't sweat it when we enrolled her here in October. There's also some sort of a homeless law on the books that says they have to take her and not say anything. They understand that you are moving and in-between places.