Hi everyone!
Greetings from Christchurch! Hope you are all keeping nice and warm. It has
been incredibly cold and frosty up here, and something no one really talks
about is how windy it gets in Christchurch. It sometimes feels like we are
in Wellington!
Anyway, I email with some updates for everyone regarding our situation that
has changed.
*Update on our move to Sydney*
Just prior to the level 4 lockdown, I was offered a research scholarship in
Sydney. This came about unexpectedly through my previous supervisor in
Dunedin. With Covid-19 and the uncertainty we have all been through, I
didn't think the scholarship would actually eventuate. However, now we are
a few more weeks on, the research group have confirmed they would still
like to have me and to start when they had originally planned -- in July
-- if possible.
Given the rare opportunity that found me, I have decided to accept it.
Adelyn and I have put in our resignations here and spent the last 2 weeks
trying to figure out another move. The main difficulty has been trying to
navigate the travel restrictions, and we are preparing ourselves to be
quarantined for 2 weeks if the trans-Tasman bubble has not merged by the
time we travel.
*Update on our unit in Toiora *
With our move to Sydney, we won't be returning to Dunedin at the end of
this year as planned. So we have also gone through the different options we
have with our unit. Our preference is to rent our High St unit out when it
is completed, and we will be planning for that. However, there is a chance
that we might have to sell the unit if we are unable to find tenants keen
on cohousing or are unable obtain finance to settle on the unit once it is
completed.
As the last thing we want to do is hold up everyone's settlement, we are
likely to look at selling around October if rental and/or mortgage
arrangements don't work out. I have checked and there are people on the
waiting list keen for our D unit type, so there hopefully shouldn't be
trouble there. To save on the hassle of paperwork for UCOL, we will also
probably just hold on to our loan guarantees with Kiwibank until settlement
where the new owner can come in. I guess we will have to work out the
details as we go, but as mentioned, our preference would be to continue
being part of the community with our unit rented out for now.
Anyway, I will continue to keep everyone updated on how we go. At the
moment, we are just trying to take things one step at a time. It would be
nice if I didn't have to take up an advert in the newspaper to get in touch
with Air NZ as well!
Warm regards,
Dennis