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It's been 6 weeks...

 I haven't posted in about six weeks! What have I been up to?

I officially retired on June 30. That's the same day I sold my home and became (voluntarily) "houseless."  I don't say "homeless," because I've had places to live. Thus, I don't use that term lightly, and without honoring the struggle of people who are houseless without choice.  I have options. 

I used the entire month of July to consider options as to where I wanted to live. In my mind, as a person who feels that God calls me, I thought of where I was "called" to live. I know it sounds weird to people who are not of that persuasion.  However, for me, a calling and purpose have long been part of my vocabulary. 

The strongest pull was factoring physical proximity to my uncle and aunt in Los Angeles. That still left a range of places to live, including San Diego County, Orange County and the Palm Springs area. Near the end of July I decided to take a few days away - a retreat, so I went to the desert to think about next steps. 

I found clarity over those few days away and decided to look for housing in Orange County. 

I got on it right away, by contacting a lender, who, in turn, suggested a real estate agent. I had a narrow window of time to secure a home because there were other things I wanted to do in the short term. Ideally, I had hoped to start the hunt on August 2, and have a contract by the end of that week.  Clearly, I hadn't factored in the "hot" market and my financial limitations.  Like everywhere else, inventory was limited, and homes were subject to bidding wars, yada yada yada. 

However, things went well.  I made an offer on a home at the end of the first day of looking.  That didn't work out.  I'm not sure what happened, but we didn't get a response from our offer.  I saw several other homes on the second day and fell in love with one of them.  My agent put in an offer on that home, and it was accepted.  So, my goal of having a contract by the end of the first week worked out. 

The process is on-going. I hope to be in my new home in about a month. 

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