Finding a Place to Live

Every time we have moved I have been super stressed and extremely anal about finding a place to live.  There is always the new and usually much higher prices to deal with and of course figuring out which area doesn't just look nice but actually is nice to live.  In Denver, without having kids, the area was not as important as just locating ourselves between where we both worked and easy access to the mountains.  Pricing up there nearly made me stroke out, but I learned to calm down and we found a suitable place to live in a nice enough neighborhood.  Houston was a little different since we just had Zoe and were beginning to think about the schools and areas with playgrounds.  The actual house prices were the same but you got more house for the money.  However, we now had to think about the taxes and HOA dues and traffic into the office.  Ugh!  It just was one stress on top of another.

When we found out we were moving to KL, I began to start looking for places online (this is the OCD coming out) and figuring out how much it would cost us here.  Of course, another stroke was looming in my future before I realized I was looking at Ringgits instead of Dollars.  I found some places online that were nice and in our budget and then we spoke to David's boss who told us to check out their neighborhood.  Luckily, it happened to be in the same suburb I had looked at so that was a plus.  But if I have learned anything from our previous moves it is this, the pictures online are LIES!  They never look the same and you truly cannot find a home from those listings. 

With all that said, we gave the agent an idea of what size and type of community we were looking for and let them do the rest (that is what they get paid for anyway).  The past two days, David and I went out house hunting with our agent Manjit (woman).  Tony (my manny) and the kids just hung out here at the apartment so that we could concentrate and get through this quickly.  Side note: it was a good thing they did not go with us, it is freaking hot!  They don't typically have the a/c on in these places since they are empty so the sweat just rolls...and they were all 3-story places!  Not posting the attractive pictures of the sweaty mess I was, just use your imagination.

We looked at 3 different communities all in the same suburb called Mont Kiara. All these places would cost us the same amount so we basically just pick what suits us as a family and what will fit our furniture. 

•  Duta Tropika is a gated community that is a little older, but has a lot of advantages.  David's boss as well as another co-worker lives there and we all get along wonderfully.  The place is just a very friendly community of expats and has a great safe feel. 
• Serene Kiara is also a gated community that is very new and only about 50% full at the moment.  It does not have as much community green space and the pool and playground are a bit smaller, but the houses are all separate and you have an amazing view of the city from the hill it sits on.  You also have  a small yard for the kids to play and a gate to keep them in the yard (knowing my kids, this is a plus!)
• MK10 is a condominium tower that is brand new and absolutely stunning.  We would have an entire floor with a private lobby.  They have two huge pools, a large playground, indoor driving range and a putting green.  If you know my husband, then you know those last two items completely got his attention.  We can only afford the 8th floor, but the view is still breathtaking.  

Yes, I am so incredibly blessed.  I don't know how or why God chose me to pour out these blessing to but I will take them and praise Him for them all.  And yet, even with these blessings, we still do not have a place to live.  We finally decided today to go with Serene Kiara since the layouts fit our furniture and our lifestyle the best.  There is another coworker of David's who lives there and they can carpool.  It is closer to the school that the kids will hopefully get into and only about a 10 minute drive over to our friends at Duta.  An offer was made for the place we liked the most today, but there was also another offer made for that same one.  After the owners countered, we chose to not go with it just because we wanted it so much.  In the end, we still want a good deal and we need to be able to be comfortable with what we are paying and getting.  So we turned that one down and have inquired about another place in that same community with the same floor plan just a little further up the road. 

My prayer is that we have something finalized by the end of the day tomorrow.  It will take about 3 weeks for the place to be ready to move in and then we still have to wait for our stuff to arrive from America.  I am ready to be settled in a house instead of this apartment.  As nice as it is to have everything done for you, I still like getting into a normal routine with the kids.  This seems too much like being on vacation.  I am ready for play dates and friends coming over for dinner! 

Read the Signs

Just call me a troublemaker with a capital T! Anyone who is or will be travelling in the near future, my best advice is simply this…”Read the signs!” That’s right, I have done it again. Somehow I don’t think this will be my last run-in with the whistle. First, let’s talk about this whistle thing. A whistle, really??? What exactly are you going to do to me with a whistle? I thought I was good getting my bluff in with the counting, but these people are serious. And to top it off most of the security in the park were women. Which in hindsight I can see how that would be better in making moms more at ease, and I digress.

So after the park swing issue, we try to be more aware of what is happening around us so I don’t get into trouble. Clearly that is not working. Our outing Monday began early with daddy heading off to work right after breakfast. Puppa and I headed down to the playground first and then went on to try to see the towers. We thought we should take a short cut through one of the big department stores in the mall. I went for the door, but it was stuck. So of course, I do what any rational minded person would do, I start shaking it. About that time I notice three men sitting off the side of the door, who are now running toward the door shaking their hands at me saying, “no, no ,no!” What I had failed to realize, the places don’t open around here until at least 10am. Guess we better start reading those signs!

After lunch and naptime we went swimming. It was sprinkling a little, but nothing major and with the temperature outside we figured no problem! We got the kids ready and went down to the pool. No one else was in the pool...DUH! Yep, we got in anyway, I mean it was just sprinkles. We were having a great time playing in the wading pool with Zoe and AJ loving it. I took some time to take my own advice and read the signs while I was in the pool. Clearly, I am a brilliant person for reading the rules after you start swimming. I notice at the bottom is a rule that sticks out at me..."No swimming in the rain." Oops! I figured that was only if it is raining hard or lightning. About this time I notice a worker standing out by the pool watching us. I looked to see if she said something, but when she didn't I just went back to playing with the kids. Shortly after that, a manager looking person came over and asked us to get out because they had seen some "flashes."

Thank goodness for that man. We no sooner got back to our room than the rain began falling harder and the thunder and lightening came. It was definitely my first experience with a true monsoon downpour. And as my FIL says, another black mark on my record. He is convinced they have a file on me with photos and notes with all my indiscretions.