A Room with a View

I am excited about filling you in on a few major things that have happened this week. Rick's employment pass was finally approved! PTL! That means that we can now open a bank account, sign a lease on an apartment, get a credit card, etc. Now all we have to do is to fill out the dependent application (for me) and send it in. There should be no problem in mine being approved since Rick's was.

The second bit of news is that we finally have an apartment! As you know, we looked at several apartments all day Monday in three apartment complexes within walking distance of each other. Although the other couple here with us didn't find anything they wanted, Rick and I narrowed the choices down to two by Tuesday. Our real estate agent was able to negotiate a good deal for us and yesterday she informed us that we had a deal!

The two bedroom apartment is less than 1000 square feet (good thing Rick and I were planning on downsizing!). There is already some furniture in the apartment and the landlord is willing to move out a few pieces to make room for our own things. I have to tell you that the apartment is gorgeous! I will post pictures of it soon. The complex is very resort looking and includes several swimming pools, a tennis court, a gym, and a small 7-11 type store right on the grounds.
Now that Rick has the employment pass and we have an address, we can proceed to have our things from West Africa shipped here. No one knows how long that will take so it is good that we are walking into a furnished apartment. I will still have to buy a few kitchen things (dishes, a few pots and pans, towels, etc.) to get us through until our things do arrive.

Now that we have an address, you can start making your plans to come and see us!