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Where Should We Go? Part 2

| Sita

If you didn’t start at the beginning of this series, you can read the first part here: Where Should We Go? Part 1

Option 2: Bucharest, Romania

Pros

  • Cost. The cost of living difference between our current location and Bucharest is huge.
    • Indices Difference Info
      Consumer Prices in Jacksonville, FL are 93.26% higher than in Bucharest
      Consumer Prices Including Rent in Jacksonville, FL are 106.27% higher than in Bucharest
      Rent Prices in Jacksonville, FL are 153.02% higher than in Bucharest
      Restaurant Prices in Jacksonville, FL are 99.60% higher than in Bucharest
      Groceries Prices in Jacksonville, FL are 132.39% higher than in Bucharest
      Local Purchasing Power in Jacksonville, FL is 156.42% higher than in Bucharest
    • See the full comparison chart here.

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Where Should We Go? Part 1

| Sita

The decision has been made about going Overseas.  We know we are leaving the states.  What we haven’t decided yet is where that will take us.  Some of the contenders will be highlighted in the next several blog posts.  We have a pro and con list for everywhere we have considered and that will (hopefully) help us narrow it down.

Option 1: Barcelona, Spain

Prosspain map

  • Romeo speaks Spanish.  It’s important for our kids to learn another language and what better choice than a language that embraces their Latin American roots?  It’s the third most spoken language in the world.  MamaSita needs to learn Spanish, too.  Spain seemed like a natural first choice.
  • The Beach.  We are beach folks.  We live about 30 minutes from the beach and we love to be able to dip our toes in the ocean whenever we feel like it.

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Selling the House: Renovations

| Sita

A big piece of the puzzle when it comes to the move is selling our house.  We bought a property as an investment 2.5 years ago and now we are getting ready to sell.  We’ve lived in the house and fixed it up over time, knowing that it was not our “forever” house and that we would make some money on the resale.

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Obtaining Passports: Take 2

| Sita

Photos

We decided to go to CVS and get passport photos before going to the passport office.  I rounded up all the little people and dragged them with me to the store.  It was busy but the manager took us over to their pull-down screen and took care of us.

While waiting for the photos to process, I got to hear about Manager Mike’s travels.  He wanted to know where we were planning to go.  One thing led to another and he told me about some of his favorite places.  He lived in Spain for 3 years.  His kids speak Spanish fluently (although he does not).  He lived in Iceland for 3 years.  He said it is the best possible place in the world to go if you love nature.  He was there when the volcano erupted under the ice and broke part of the glacier free.  But my favorite bit?  He talked about new foods.  Being married to a foodie is turning me into one, so, of course, I wanted to hear about the food.  The two best meats he’s ever had in his whole life:

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Obtaining Passports: Take 1

| Sita

Obtaining passports is a vital first step in preparing to leave the country.  If there were only ONE thing we needed to do before leaving, this is it, folks.

Romeo’s passport is up to date. √

MamaSita’s passport has her maiden name on it.  Yep, that’s how long it’s been since we were out of the country Passport(except a cruise, which allowed the birth certificate instead).

The Bigs (the two oldest kids) have passports.  In fact, KK used hers just last summer on a life-changing missionary trip to the Dominican Republic.  But Goose’s is expired.  The Littles (the two youngest kids) do not have one at all.

We embarked on a mission to the passport office to attempt to secure permission for international travel.  MamaSita dug up birth certificates and filled out lengthy forms.

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