Getting Ready to Pull the Plug

[Think Different]

Time's about up. My son was born on October 7, and he's healthy strong, and already looks like a future martial artist!

Anyhow, our house in Colorado goes on the market next week, so in between diaper changes and other "baby issues", we're frantically clearing out the house, throwing TONS of stuff away/charity and cleaning like madmen.

Not sure we'll be able to sell the house quickly, given the winter setting in, and the down economy, but we'll give it our best shot. Hopefully we'll be out of here and on our way to Europe by the Spring. Tough part is getting all the paperwork for the pets, myself, and my son in order. The target country's consulate is in Chicago, 1000 miles away, so that's a royal pain in the a$$ to get things done. To say that the consulate never answers the phone, doesn't properly inform in their emails, and are flat-out lazy is an understatement. THAT is going to be the hardest part of getting relocated.

I don't expect that the job market will be very good where we're headed, but it can't be much worse than here. Besides, I'm already in contact with friends in other European countries to help find employment. No luck finding decent work ANYWHERE in the USA, and I'm sick of sitting on my a$$ not being able to do anything. Even low-wage jobs, like at the supermarket are hard to get, since we've got so many college educated folks applying for them. I can't believe what's become of the US, and I fear it's going to get a lot worse.

So, it's time to get out of Dodge and refocus our energy. Wish us luck!

[jamesbond]

Good luck my friend! You may be leaving the US at a great time, before the shit REALLY hit's the fan!

[have2fly]

Good luck! You are doing an amazing thing by moving to Europe because your kid will have less problems with paying for college and seeing doctors.

What country did you pick? (if it's not a secret of course)

[gsjackson]

Best thing you can do for your son. Will he have Italian citizenship also due to his mother being Italian?

[wuxi]

I hope everything goes well for you, thats a lot of stress for any guy.

[momopi]

Anyhow, our house in Colorado goes on the market next week, so in between diaper changes and other "baby issues", we're frantically clearing out the house, throwing TONS of stuff away/charity and cleaning like madmen.
Not sure we'll be able to sell the house quickly, given the winter setting in, and the down economy, but we'll give it our best shot. Hopefully we'll be out of here and on our way to Europe by the Spring. Tough part is getting all the paperwork for the pets, myself, and my son in order. The target country's consulate is in Chicago, 1000 miles away, so that's a royal pain in the a$$ to get things done. To say that the consulate never answers the phone, doesn't properly inform in their emails, and are flat-out lazy is an understatement. THAT is going to be the hardest part of getting relocated.

I'm not familiar with the RE market in CO, but will say that the most difficult part with home sales is loan qualification (for buyer). Lenders are tightwads with their $$ right now and underwriters go through paperwork with a fine comb + magnify glass. My lender came back and requested 10-12 additional documentation on top of what I had already submitted. Royal pain in the butt.

Goodwill will usually come and pick up at your house. Cheaper to just have them come haul stuff away, than pay for disposal. Alternatively you can post items to Craiglist "free stuff" section for anyone to come pick up. I made the mistake of paying for movers + storage for my cheap Ikea furniture last time, the cost of movers and storage rental came out to be more than the cost of the furniture.

[Think Different]

Thanks guys. We're going to be moving to the north of Italy, at least to start with, until we catch our breath, after all this stress. The job market in Italy is never very good, unless you're in cohorts with the Mafia. I will be looking for work anywhere in Western Europe. Hopefully something good will pop up. We'll be living with the in-laws (good people, with a nice paid-off house and yard), so my wife will get more help with the child, the dog has a yard to play in, and we don't have to worry about mortgages.

The houses in my neighborhood have been selling after about 4 months on the market, so hopefully we'll get lucky. We have a lot of big advantages about our house that most others don't have, which I hope will push a quicker sale. We're putting it on the market now, in hopes it'll sell by March or so. Regardless, I will be sending my wife, son, and pets over to Italy ahead of me in March/April, and I will stay until the house sells, and then head over. As for the furniture, it's not IKEA cheapo stuff. It's mid-range to high-end furniture, and some antique pieces. I never thought I'd be having to bail out and leave the US, so I got in up to my neck in valuables, and now have to off-load it. I've tried Craig's List, and I find that people are incredibly fussy and nit-picky about stuff. They drive up in a Mercedes SUV and want to haggle a price off something by $1 or something. It's too much hassle. I tried the garage-sale route, too, but people are ridiculous in the same way. I'm going to the furniture to an auction house south of here, and the small stuff goes to charities. The auction house takes 10%, but I'll hopefully get a more honest deal out of these things. Eventually, we'll get rid of it.

Yes, my son is automatically a dual-citizen (US and Italy), which will give him a big advantage in the future (I'm guessing). I'm going to pursue to Italian citizenship, too, but that may take a few year to get all that done, even in Italy. I like the idea of raising my son in a more cultured environment with access to healthier food and free university education and healthcare. By free, I mean you're not left to fall through the cracks or get kicked to the curb, like here in the US. My family is totally in denial about the whole thing, and is trying to psychologically block/sabotage us. They cannot conceive of the idea of living outside the US. To them that wouldn't be "real life", "real work", but rather just "playing around". I've heard all those stories before, when I lived in Europe in the 90s.

I'll probably be posting a bit less for a while, as we get cleared out of here, but who knows, maybe the winter time will get really slow and I'll have more time on my hands.

[djfourmoney]

Thanks guys. We're going to be moving to the north of Italy, at least to start with, until we catch our breath, after all this stress. The job market in Italy is never very good, unless you're in cohorts with the Mafia. I will be looking for work anywhere in Western Europe. Hopefully something good will pop up. We'll be living with the in-laws (good people, with a nice paid-off house and yard), so my wife will get more help with the child, the dog has a yard to play in, and we don't have to worry about mortgages.

The houses in my neighborhood have been selling after about 4 months on the market, so hopefully we'll get lucky. We have a lot of big advantages about our house that most others don't have, which I hope will push a quicker sale. We're putting it on the market now, in hopes it'll sell by March or so. Regardless, I will be sending my wife, son, and pets over to Italy ahead of me in March/April, and I will stay until the house sells, and then head over. As for the furniture, it's not IKEA cheapo stuff. It's mid-range to high-end furniture, and some antique pieces. I never thought I'd be having to bail out and leave the US, so I got in up to my neck in valuables, and now have to off-load it. I've tried Craig's List, and I find that people are incredibly fussy and nit-picky about stuff. They drive up in a Mercedes SUV and want to haggle a price off something by $1 or something. It's too much hassle. I tried the garage-sale route, too, but people are ridiculous in the same way. I'm going to the furniture to an auction house south of here, and the small stuff goes to charities. The auction house takes 10%, but I'll hopefully get a more honest deal out of these things. Eventually, we'll get rid of it.

Yes, my son is automatically a dual-citizen (US and Italy), which will give him a big advantage in the future (I'm guessing). I'm going to pursue to Italian citizenship, too, but that may take a few year to get all that done, even in Italy. I like the idea of raising my son in a more cultured environment with access to healthier food and free university education and healthcare. By free, I mean you're not left to fall through the cracks or get kicked to the curb, like here in the US. My family is totally in denial about the whole thing, and is trying to psychologically block/sabotage us. They cannot conceive of the idea of living outside the US. To them that wouldn't be "real life", "real work", but rather just "playing around". I've heard all those stories before, when I lived in Europe in the 90s.

I'll probably be posting a bit less for a while, as we get cleared out of here, but who knows, maybe the winter time will get really slow and I'll have more time on my hands.

Good Luck to you, your wife and your son.

You should get your 15 mins - http://www.pietown.tv/Shows/hhintl_appl ... buyer.html

Be on International House Hunters! lol

Anyway again good luck!

[ladislav]

Can you place your house one some owner financed house for sale website?

[Jackal]

Hi Red Dog,

Yes, my son is automatically a dual-citizen (US and Italy), which will give him a big advantage in the future (I'm guessing).

Damn right and Italian is a romance language, so if a person learns it well, then he can understand all the other romance languages. This amounts to being able to speak with a huge portion of the world's population.

I'm going to pursue to Italian citizenship, too, but that may take a few year to get all that done, even in Italy. I like the idea of raising my son in a more cultured environment with access to healthier food and free university education and healthcare. By free, I mean you're not left to fall through the cracks or get kicked to the curb, like here in the US.

Yeah, I'm enjoying the benefits in Hungary. I just had a cavity fixed and had my teeth cleaned. How much did I pay? Nothing! Well, you might say that pay a certain percentage each month out of my paycheck for healthcare, but in America, the government deducts all kinds of crap from your paycheck which you never benefit from.

My family is totally in denial about the whole thing, and is trying to psychologically block/sabotage us. They cannot conceive of the idea of living outside the US. To them that wouldn't be "real life", "real work", but rather just "playing around". I've heard all those stories before, when I lived in Europe in the 90s.

Yeah, your family is mentally trapped in the US matrix. You can feel sorry for them, but don't let them limit you. Once you have your life set up in Europe, they can come and visit you and see first-hand why you're better off there.

Corporate slavery in the US is not worth it just to have the approval of other Americans. Living only for your job and American television is pathetic. But some people are so addicted to the conformity and mind control that they become worried if they have actual freedom.

I'll probably be posting a bit less for a while, as we get cleared out of here, but who knows, maybe the winter time will get really slow and I'll have more time on my hands.

That's understandable. Good luck.

I'm excited for you. It makes me think about when I first came here with only one suitcase and one backpack.

It also makes me think of the part in The Emire Strikes Back when the rebels are leaving Hoth and everyone cheers when they hear "The first transport is away!" over the loudspeaker.

(skip to 4:55)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUSOjCpq ... re=related[/youtube]

[Think Different]

Thanks for the votes of confidence, you all! Much appreciated!