It’s been a while since we last gave you an update on this platform and a lot has happened in the meantime.
The lockdown got extended for another two weeks. By the time we got out of lockdown, the Netherlands got in. But we did manage to get ourselves a residence permit, and with that, we could apply for health insurance and import the car. We were warned about the Romanian bureaucratism, but the residence permit was given to us rather fast, which gave us (idle) hope for the health insurance. Remember Asterix getting permit A38? I’m pretty sure this is where they got their inspiration. But we managed to pull through and apparently we have insurance now.
We also went back to the house in Blăjeni, but the owner didn’t want to sign a pre-contract. She already started with getting the paperwork and she expected everything to be ready in March, so it would be a waste of everyone’s time to sign a pre-contract. She trusted us, and gave us her word for it, that the deal was set. We were going to be her new neighbours.
Then we had Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Christmas was very intimate, with just the three of us. But we skyped so much, that I think we had more actual conversations than during a more usual Christmas. And with New Year’s Eve we went to Runc, to celebrate with friends and friends of friends. We hadn’t had such a good New Year’s Eve in years, which probably has something to do with expectations.
Shortly after, we started to actually explore the surroundings of Sibiu. We went to Cisnădie, which has a nice Saxon vibe, and to the Astra museum. This open air museum gives you insight in how different regions each have their own building style and shows how people used to live in the old days. OK, cross that last part, because there’s still plenty of people living like they used to seventy years ago. However, you get an idea of what kind of house would fit in into the surroundings and how to restore or adapt a house in style. We sure had a lot inspiration and a nice walk to go with. If you ever visit this region, this is worthwhile.
Last week we also went to see our future house again, to take some better pictures of the barn. However, things aren’t too clear anymore whether the woman actually wants to sell her home at the designated price to us after all, so we started looking around again. There is still so much for sale in the surroundings, that we’re quite sure we’ll find our dream spot after all. However, with a next house we will make sure they will sign a pre-contract, promising us to sell to us without raising the price last minute.
So there’s a lot going on, and we have no idea where we’ll find ourselves in two months. However, we managed this far, and we’ll get through this just as well.