We had no idea how all-consuming and exhausting this process would be. - Jodi
I have wanted to give an update to everyone for weeks. And I’m sorry I haven’t. I know many people have been cheering us on, curious about our progress. We had no idea how all-consuming and exhausting this process would be.
I’m not even sure exactly where we’ve left off. So let me start by saying that we sold Orchard House to a very excited young couple who plan on running the business as an events venue. Our closing was 2 weeks ago today and we gave immediate possession and occupancy.
Knowing that was our timing, about 5 weeks ago we moved the short list of things we are bringing with us into a storage unit – 12 storage totes, some nostalgic furniture, a few appliances, and a bunch of hand and power tools. We really had to think about what we needed, what we could live without, and what could not be replaced in Bocas del Toro. We also wanted to do things in a sustainable way, so donating and gifting things took a lot of thought and effort.
We’ve learned over the 8 visits to the Panama, and from friends who have moved there, that the quality of certain items is just not the same as what we are accustomed to. Tools and appliances specifically are not top rate. It has to do with the presence of the Canal and the influence of Chinese trade. This isn’t a generalization or ethnic slur, it’s fact. The Chinese have established themselves as the country’s retailers, suppliers, and importers. This unfortunately means that the quality of goods is often at Chinese standards.
Another thing we had to do was sell my 2007 Audi. We got a rental car for the last month, luckily. And Ruediger made it just thru the finish line. Two weeks before we closed, we used it to move the final items into storage, pulling the garden trailer. We went to unhook the trailer and move the car when we were finished, and the steering column locked, breaking the security pin. With a quick internet search, we found out that it was an $800 repair plus a $150 tow to the shop. We’d planned on selling it for $1,000 so that repair just didn’t make sense. However, I was able to sell it to a junk car buyer for $400! It was sad to watch my Rudy get hauled off – that car was the first car I purchased all on my own.
Once we closed, we moved into a very cute Airbnb in Granville. It was perfect for us for the days before we left. In those 10 days we had a lot of administrative stuff to do – wrapping up accounting, meeting with bankers, investment advisors, and our lawyer, having several going-away gatherings, meeting-up with friends and family. I flew up for a long weekend to Northampton, MA to see Spencer and Mickey. We did a quick overnight to Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti/Detroit area visiting Angela, Sasha, Brandon, and Maya, with Helena and Joey in-tow. AND Dean and I celebrated our 10th anniversary by going to Las Vegas for 36 hours and seeing Tiesto and Deadmau5 in the clubs! Once in a lifetime whirlwind!
And then there were all the hoops we had to jump through for the dog. This was by far the most stressful part of moving out of the country. The timing of the vet visit, the vaccination updates, the transfer of records, the certifications, the apostille at the Panamanian Consulate, the coordination with the airline, the filing of forms with the department of animal health in Panama to avoid quarantine, the final visit with pet cargo shipping. Mind blowing. There was a major delay created by the administrator in the vet’s office, which postponed us leaving by a day and left us panicking and scrambling the following day - Friday - before starting the drive. Evidently the admin was not trained in how to complete the international travel certification online filing process with the USDA. This created so much stress for us. I have never been so mad in my entire life. Dean’s writing a letter to the vet, once he’s not so angry.
I think I have mentioned before, our Florida-based shipper, Bill Krueger, who loads a shipping container every 3-6 weeks with items and equipment for his own projects, and then sells the remaining space to folks who have either purchased larger items that need shipped to BdT, or people like us who are moving there. He’s been great to work with. We loaded all our processions from the storage unit into a Uhaul and drove 3 days to Stuart, Florida, then on to Miami. That part at least has gone super smoothly.
As I type right now, we’re on the flight to Panama City. FINALLY, we are on to the next part of our lives, which we’ve planned for over 8 years. It’s surreal. And it’s not for the faint-hearted or weak headed. We’ve repeated this mantra over and over the last weeks, “If it was easy, everyone would do it.”
Now we’re here and have all that craziness behind us, I’ll be able to do more short quick updates!
A HUGE thank you to all of you who have supported and believed in our dreams. We could have not done this without you.