It's been a long time coming and I have been halfway searching for a new apartment for over a year now. When I say "searching" I should say that I was merely open to the idea of moving into a new place, I wasn't really putting my boots on the ground and actively searching because that process will frustrate you out of trying pretty quickly in Da Nang, Vietnam.
The issue is that almost all apartments are the same here and there is going to be some level of crap involved with all of them.
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One of the major factors involved in me dragging my feet as far as moving is concerned is that it seems that almost everyone I know here is searching for a new place and nobody is really content with where they move to. The furnished places for rent here are abundant, and the owners of these places have got themselves into a pretty wonderful predicament because there is always more demand than supply and what this results in is that almost all of the condos and apartments are not very good because they don't have to be.
I like my current landlord because she lived in Canada for 10 years and therefore speaks English, understands the notions of foreigners, and does a very good job on things that can't be bought, such as being attentive to things that simply break in apartments and does something about it. There are a lot of people I know whose landlords are basically slumlords and don't repair anything or try to accuse the tenants of breaking these things and tries to make them pay for it.
My landlord is the opposite, and will often apologize when something happens such as a light bulb burning out - which we all know is a completely normal phenomenon.
Part of the reason why I wasn't "all in" as far as moving is concerned was because of the fact that I really hate moving: It takes a lot of time regardless of how little possessions you own and even though I try to live my life "light" I have once again managed to accumulate a bunch of crap over the past 3 years of living in the condo that I am currently in.
Thankfully, I am moving inside of the same building that I currently live in and the only real "moving" I am going to be doing is into the elevator and up to the top-most floor.
The move is going to consist of me heading to the elevator with 2 large suitcases as many times in a row as it takes to get all of these things from floor 3 to floor 9. When I was packing up the first case last night, I came to the conclusion that I have, despite my promise to not do this, managed to accumulate far too much crap over the past 3 years.
When I first moved to Vietnam from Thailand, it was essential that my entire life fit into two suitcases and of course a dog carrier. I thought I had been making strides to ensure that this is the way that it stayed but after packing up the first case yesterday and then looking around my apartment, I realize that I have at least double that amount of stuff now and we haven't even gotten to the really important things like my computers and video game consoles.
While I was packing the first suitcase, which consisted of me simply taking everything out of the wardrobe, I quickly realized that almost everything I was putting into this case (which would barely close) are almost exclusively things that I never wear, have never worn, and will never wear. I wasn't feeling up to the task at the time and just packed it all anyway but seriously, once I get settled in the new place I need to do a quite serious inventory of my belongings - especially the amount of shirts that I have - and get rid of most of them.
Heavy cotton shirts don't get used in this country outside of a few months where the weather can turn cold (but mostly doesn't) and it is just crazy that I have probably 20 heavy cotton t-shirts. These just sit in a drawer and get musty. I also have at least a dozen "funny" t-shirts that I bought because they were silly but would feel like a weirdo if I were to actually wear them.
Other things I noticed that I have too much of, was stacks of papers, most of which have no relevance in my life anymore as well as packaging of various items that I have purchased over the years. I also encountered two phones and a laptop that I no longer use, and am not going to use. These things are a little more difficult to let go because even though they are not useful to me, they likely contain personal information about me and I can't simply toss them in the trash. I would need to destroy them.
It is now 0630 and I am waiting on the landlord to give me the green light, as well as the keys, so I can get started. This will be a pretty easy move because I have as much time as I need and there is not going to be a vehicle involved. I'm moving from a 45 sq meter 1 - bedroom apartment to a 100 sq meter 2-bedroom on the topmost floor of this building. I joke and tell everyone that I am moving into the penthouse but I already know that is not what this is.
The move up to the higher floor will put me further away from street and construction noise and bring me closer to the gym and the pool, so that is a good thing. The only downside I can think of is that I will be a lot of stairs away from the outside world on the days that the elevator is being worked on.
I'm not relishing this day, but it likely isn't going to take as long as I fear it will. Once I get up there, I am going to take stock of what I have and make some not-so-difficult decisions about what to toss out. Even with the extra space, I still want my life to fit into two suitcases. Honestly, even that is too much.