HAPPY BIRTHDAY IAN!

Weather news: no rain yesterday (Friday) at least not by 12.30 when I am writing this. The sun is out, the air is cool, it’s pretty cold again in my front room, and the last of the drops is still coming through the living room ceiling into the big pan, but the kitchen has stopped doing what it does.

We are feeling a little bit up today because we’ve had some good news and we are kind of at 80/100 on the ‘suitable house’ scale. Thanks to a lead from The Symi Estate Agent (who have been very helpful in joining us to a potential landlord and answering our questions), we have another viewing of a potential house this afternoon. I don’t want to say too much as I don’t want to jinx things, not that I am superstitious. But, if all goes according to plan, and if nothing else leaps up before we sign a contract, we may have found a new place to live.

I say new, it’s old of course, and needs some work doing to it, which we will undertake once we have got everything sorted. But if it comes off it will suit us because it is in the village, close to work and everything, and a decent size and completely quirky, which we like. There is a little concern about the lane outside as it’s used by small cars and motorbikes, but it is not a main road and we reckon Jack will stay home anyway, he doesn’t do much wandering, he will have his own space and he’s much more of an indoor cat now. So, continue to watch this space and I will fill you in from time to time on progress (or not).

That progress will include the full details of packing and arranging to move the contents of a two bed house across the village; although there is a ‘road’ at the other end, there is no road here, but there is a pretty direct path on foot. But all that is for later. And I am thinking ahead and we’ve not double checked the property (doing that later) or signed a contract yet, not that contracts are particularly watertight anyway, not around here. In fact, I shan’t be completely satisfied we have been successful until we have the keys to the new/old property and it is empty.

We are looking at a timescale for roughly four weeks to take over the property, then two weeks to make it ready while still being in this one. Making ready also includes switching the phone and internet over, something we rely on these days. So, we are hoping to be moved by the end of February. That is how things stand as of yesterday.

What’s nice about a place like Symi is that when you’re doing things like moving house there are a lot of people around offering to help with stuff. We’re going to start packing things up bit by bit and have a sort out while we do so, but if anyone passes any empty boxes and then our house we’d be grateful for having then dropped off. You can always drop them in downstairs if we are out. As for moving, the aim will be to shift things bit by bit as we clean and paint up the new place (wherever it may be) and then have a day with paid assistance to move the big stuff like cooker, fridge, cat.

And there we go. That’s the house move update on day five. We have already seen or considered 10 properties, and this one is the most suitable (that is available) so far. Fingers are now crossed that all goes smoothly over the next six weeks.

Okay, it’s Thursday as I write and I am talking about Wednesday as I sit inside watching the British style rain coming down, and I’m wondering when it is going to move on to Turkey, as the Poseidon weather station tells me it is going to do.

So, house hunting, where are we with that? Well, we have considered a place by Lemonitisa that is a kitchen and a bedroom with an outside bathroom and, despite the terrace (which is larger than the living quarters) have decided that no, we can’t go from a two bed house to one room. Ditto a house we saw yesterday which was a one bed, house conversion with no view other than the neighbour’s front door. We have also looked at a house that is in the middle of renovation but which would not be ready in time, and a property which would do very nicely if: the rent is right, he takes it off the market, gives a five year lease and clears it of all the stuff in there within the next four weeks. (I am waiting to hear back on those points.)

We have also considered a holiday house that’s been offered, too small, another one near the road, also too small, one right on the road (not Jack friendly and currently has no bathroom and is not quite finished), and have asked about houses up near Sevasti studios, but these are also for sale and the owner wants only a short term rental.

And, with the help of Jenine –house-hunt assistant supreme – we have wandered the streets of Horio again, talking to people and knocking on doors. One problem we are up against is that a lot of houses have been converted into small units, like the one we saw yesterday. Two one bed flats in one property is fine for a brief stay, or a season, or if you are teacher, alone, an army officer etc. but not if you are a couple and living on Symi, as opposed to just passing through it.

Another problem is that a lot of people have their properties for sale and want to make money out of them. Fair enough of course, especially as one day a very wealthy person might come along and pay the (in my opinion) ridiculously high asking price. Prices that, as everywhere these days, put local people out of the buying frame. You might be able to get a let in a ‘for sale’ house but I would ask for a lease that stated the house would not be advertised on the market for the length of that lease. That’s going to be hard to find too.

But on the good-news side, we saw our landlord in Georgio’s in the evening and he has also been looking for us (as are many local people, Zoi, Nikos, Anna, the baker and at least two Yiannies). He also said not to panic about moving out ‘in a month’ as there was no rush. Well, you know how things work around here. And, while there, we had a very nice meal too, and without having to fuss about what to eat. ‘I have keftethes, salad, saganaki and pork chops,’ says Noufris. ‘That’ll do then,’say we, and very nice it was too – and so reasonable, $10.00 each, with wine. (Winter prices for the nearly homeless, I suspect.)

So, today (Thursday) Neil has already looked at another house – which would be perfect if not already occupied by someone who may want to carry on living in it – and has been out getting wet. The towels are drying on the balcony (not) and we’re rapidly running out of dry ones. Still, rain is due to stop this afternoon. Tha thoume. (We shall see.)

I’m not talking about our house hunting today, although that continues apace with another one to look at later today, but I wanted to give you some interesting facts about home.

For example, did you know that there are enough empty homes in China of everyone in the UK to have one each? Or that in Beijing, two million people live underground? As if that weren’t startling enough, the soil in your back garden is actually two million years old. Now how do people know these things? (I am ‘reading’ from a book of facts here and not making this up.)

That’s assuming you have a garden I guess, what if you live in a mobile home with no garden? And on that note, did you know there are more folk in the USA living in mobile homes than there are living in the whole of the Netherlands? Well, that’s something I didn’t know. (And why should I?) Oh, and apparently three quarters of Britons have a drawer in their house full off odds and ends. We would too, if we only had drawers in our house. Maybe the next house will have… No, I said I wouldn’t mention the house-hunting, not until tomorrow at least.

Finally on the home facts front, the average Briton passes 32 takeaway food joints between home and work. I am clearly not average. I pass through the bedroom to get to my front room where I work, and there’s no fast food joint there.

So, there are some facts about homes in general from my new book of astoundingly unnecessary facts. A few facts about Symi houses: they tend to be small, drafty, cold, expensive to heat and can be expensive to rent. They are often up for sale for many years (especially at the moment). They are mainly dowry houses, and the ownership of others is often ‘shared’ between several members of the same family. There was, I believe, a law in place several years ago where houses had to be officially claimed and registered (talking ruins here I guess) or else would fall to the local authority to decide who owned them – something like that. And, a lot of them still have outside bathroom, no mains drainage and no mains water, though this is now an option in most places.

There, those are a few random facts from the top of my head – they may not be 100% accurate, and this post may contain nuts, remember that your interest in a Symi Dream post can go down as well as up, and the management holds itself totally un-responsible for anything that may happen on its premises. Have a nice day. Thank you.

Don’t worry, not every day for the next X days will have the same title, I hope. I’ll try and think of other things to talk about.

So far though we are off to a good start thanks to word of mouth and helpful friends. I was making dinner in the kitchen yesterday, unsuccessfully dodging the rain drops every time I went to the fridge, and I reminded myself that the new place should be rain free if possible, at least to start with. I know that’s a tall order, but then so is the size of place we would ideally like. Still, later today we are going to look at a house near the Sunrise that’s not the one we already know (Little Blue = far too small), and this morning Neil is meeting with the estate agent in town who deals with rentals.

Meanwhile, we took a walk on Monday afternoon, between showers, and had a look out for any ‘for rent’ signs on houses in the village. We also looked of any old property that looked suitable and was clearly not inhabited. There are plenty around, but it’s a case of discovering who a) has them for rent, b) owns them c) is willing to give a long contract.

Meanwhile, meanwhile, Jenine and others have been putting the word out. We’ve told Sotiris at the supermarket, and Gabriel the drumming, kick-boxing ex-priest (whose cancer scare on his foot has now been given the all clear, he says, so that’s good news), the baker, and everyone at tap, aerobics and Pilates knows that we are looking for a place. Thank you to everyone who has been messaging in ideas too.

If it wasn’t raining so heavily yesterday we would have gone for another look around then too, but instead we stayed in and did some work, and started thinking about collecting boxes.

It was rather wet yesterday, to say the least. The current house discovered several news ways that it could let in water, but I’m not worried about that now, as long as it doesn’t drip on anything electrical I can put up with it for as long as it takes. The windows were all steamed up as I was boiling things in the kitchen and we’re trying to dry the washing inside; all the standard kind of Greek island/Symi winter living things one has to deal with, all good fun.

BTW, the weather forecast is showing ‘spotty showers’ for today (I assume adolescent ones) but sunshine from Thursday onwards, in fact it’s almost looking spring-like.

Well, the next few weeks are going to be interesting, both for us and maybe even for you if you have ever wondered what it was like to find, and move into, a new house, on Symi within four weeks.

Our landlady is getting married soon and needs her dowry house back; it was always a possibility of course, and not unexpected. We have, after all, been in this house for 11 years now. As Neil says, it’s the longest place he has ever lived in. Meaning, as I pedantically point out, the place he has lived in for the longest (‘length of time’ is implied).

So, from today (Monday) onwards we shall be house hunting. Funnily enough we saw a place in Pedi the other day and noticed it was for rent, though it looks big and cold and dilapidated somewhat from the outside. But we’d rather like to stay up here in the village, or as close to it as possible. We know of a house for rent on the main road, but it has no outdoor space suitable for Jack and he’d be squashed as soon as he went out for a wee as the only cat friendly place is across the road, and he is deaf So that’s out. Shame though, great view; but it also needs some work doing inside apparently as it was half built as a taverna.

We also know of the ‘Little Blue’ house where Rebecca Grant stayed when she was here filming. But as I remember it, it is too small for us. That’s going to be one of the problems. The house we have now has a conversion on the back which gives us the sitting room. So we have the saloni chock full of dining table, piano, desk, shelves and trunks; the bedroom full up, the moussandra now Neil’s office full of his stuff from the shop, the sitting room bulging at the seams with DVDs and other entertainments. Finding something as spacious (and as affordable) could be tricky.

We have already been offered a stop-gap house (thank you, you know who you are!) if we need it, though we’d have to store out things somewhere. And to think, when we first arrived here we had two rucksacks and a laptop.

Anyway, this tale could get boring or to could get interesting, but I will keep you posted as to progress. And of course, if you know of a place to rent, preferably in Horio (though we would consider elsewhere though probably not Yialos as we’d like to stay close to the village), that’s not a silly price and that would be long-term, and I mean years and years, then do drop me a line. Thank you. Right, off to make some phone calls now…