The Next Chapter…

My last blog post was in December and it is safe to say a LOT has changed since then!

If you read my last blog post “Where It All Began” you will know that I handed in my resignation at work due to stress, with no new job lined up and with my house on the market, safe to say it was a stressful time.

I felt so burnt out at work that I was looking for other ways to make money including the hopeful option of selling by house within the next 2 months and ‘living’ off the interest. I just couldn’t imagine going into the same high pressure job I was trying to escape. I was desperate for peace but also seeking security financially, not sure the two always go hand in hand.

My 3 month notice period at work was quickly passing by and I decided I needed to get another job lined up as a backup, even if it wasn’t what I wanted to do, after all I have a mortgage and bills to pay. I was going for interviews for Property Manager jobs and being offered second interviews in London and instead of being excited, I was quite the opposite, deflated. I wasn’t leaving my current job to do the same thing else where! But I went with the motions, I needed to have the income. One evening I was looking on Indeed.com where I came across a job for a charity that manages public green open spaces, from country parks to ancient woodlands. They were looking for a manager to oversee the management of their service charge sites nationally (as far down as Dorset and up north as Manchester), working fully remotely. Erm… have I just come across my dream job? Combining my 13 years of knowledge in residential service charge with my passion of nature, the environment and being outdoors? “I NEED THIS JOB” I told myself. I lay in bed eagerly applying for the job, reading my cover letter over and over to ensure it all looked perfect. APPLIED. Done, now we wait to hear back. The next day I get a call from a number I don’t recognise and immediately my heart starts racing, I answer the phone and it’s the charity! “Hi Jodie, I hope you’re okay? We received your application on Indeed and we are really keen to speak to you. Are you free tomorrow for an interview?” AHHHHH, screaming, crying, throwing up! “Yes I am free for an interview tomorrow, I look forward to speaking to you more then”. Later on in the day the recruitment agent I was working with on the other property management jobs I DIDN’T want called, to set up two more second interviews for tomorrow as well, so I have three interviews in one day, fantastic.. Two interviews sandwiching by dream job interview, tense times. I spend the evening and the next morning doing all the research I can on the charity, absorbing every word on their website, analysing their accounts and annual reports, I needed to be fully prepared. Interview one, completed. Dream job interview, completed and seemed to go well.. interview three completed, now we wait…again. 4 hours go by and my phone rings, it’s the manager at the charity!!! ”Hi Jodie, thank you for your time earlier it was great talking to you. We have had some internal discussions and we would love to offer you the position at the salary you requested due to your experience and knowledge in the industry. We feel you could bring a lot to the charity” I GOT THE JOB!!!! Of course it was an immediate yes and sign straight on the dotted line, ready to start in the role at the end of January.

It’s a good job I didn’t rely on my plan to live off interest from selling the house because it’s now May, I am now 4 months into my new job and my house STILL hasn’t sold. I am travelling all over the UK with my new job, mostly to get to know the sites, Essex one week, Yorkshire the next, then Dorset the following, but I love it and those that know me know I love driving and don’t mind the travelling. But naturally it got me thinking how would this work if I lived full time in Cornwall? I am in Surrey so fairly in the middle of all the sites, it would be a lot more driving if I lived in Cornwall, but Cornwall has my heart and I will find a way to make it work…when the day finally comes that is!

Its now June, my house has been on the market for nearly a whole year and it’s become stagnant, it needs a break from the market but that just feels like I am getting further and further away from my dream. The estate agent calls to delivery some feedback from a viewing ”They liked it but it wasn’t for them” same old same old. He then said ” I know you are itching to get on your ‘travels’, have you thought about renting? It could give the house the break it needs from the market as well as giving you some additional income to allow you to be more free” It isn’t the plan I had in mind but you know what, there was something about it that excited me, I could save, I could stay away somewhere a month at a time if I wanted to, Cornwall? Maybe even the Lake District? Who knows, but I do know that it would give me so much more freedom.

The same day the agents put the property up to Let with 15 viewings set up over the next two days! It’s fair to say the rental market is totally different to the selling market. Within a week the tenants were secured and set to move in on 9th August! It was time to get my arse in gear, packing up, painting, gas certificates etc. There was a lot to think about, this wasn’t the the plan but I am so excited for what is to come. Sadly those tenants pulled out the day before signing the contract so it meant having to find new ones and perhaps a slightly delayed move out date but it is still all systems go!

I was 25 when I bought my house, I have lived here 8 years! A lot of highs and a lot of lows and soooo many memories. And whilst I haven’t yet sold the house I know I will never be moving back in so it still feels like the same goodbye. Ralph my cat, my very first pet of my own, I got him just a few months after moving in. Then came Shadow, my first ever dog of my own. It’s seen breakups and heartbreaks. COVID and Lockdown. Girly sleepovers, my house was always the ‘getting ready for a night out’ house so naturally also became the hangover house. Boxing day hosting. Picnics in the garden, the list of memories goes on. I love my house but I am also ready for the next chapter.

With my house now being rented for at least the next 12 months I will be staying at my parents whilst I get underway with my next project, we can call it Plan B…. Let’s just say Van Life incoming…. let the van search begin!

Stay tuned…..