November 1st is moving day! We found a really cute condo in Paget which seems to have two of everything. It's a 2 storey, 2 bedroom, 2 bathrooms, 2 patios (one off the master bedroom, the other off the living room). We have air conditioning in every room with reverse heat for the winter???
It is in immaculate condition as our landllord has been living in til now and is moving to a new house. Its like a showhome and has great hardwood floors, wooden blinds and is very tastefully decorated and has tons of closet space. The rooms are all a nice size too. The landlord was initially planning to sell all the furniture giving us first dibs on it, and now has graciously decided to leave it all and rent to us our new place fully furnished, at no additional charge which is terrific. We also have a swimming pool and all appliances including a washer and dryer. I can hardly wait to do laundry at home again- we have been going to laundramats since July and/or doing laundry in the bathtub. We also have an assessment number so when one or both of us get our drivers license we can buy a car. (Only allowed one car per household and that is only if the landlord allows you to use the assessment number) We have heard rumours that the government is planning to ban the sale of used cars so we want to get our license fast and buy used while we can. There is a huge second hand market for everything here as people come and go all the time when their work permits expire so you can get anything you want in almost new condition for a lot less than buying new. Cars especially are expensive here with the 25% import duty on them and most used cars do not have a lot of miles on them as its an island, 21 square miles. Really you don't even need a vehicle here for the most part but we plan to use it mostly on the weekend to explore.
Scooter is out of the question for us, due to the large number of accidents we have seen and /or heard about through people we have met. We are old and our bones don't heal as quick! Scooters are great but the people driving them here are darting in and out all the time to get out of the traffic jams and even driving a car is going to be a wild experience watching out for the scooters all the time. Before we arrived we were sure that we would get one but now neither of us really wants to take our lives into our hands. When you are stuck in traffic and moving at a snails pace or not moving at all, I can understand why they do it but its annoying and dangerous. We may rent a scooter ( don't need a license to rent one, only to buy one as the rentals are 50CC, the ones you buy are up to 125cc) Another reason its scary- all the new residents and all the tourists who have never driven on the left before are let loose on the streets of Bermuda without licenses- just have to be over 18 I think and you need not have a valid license from the country you came from.
We will be going for our learners permit in another 2 weeks or so and then not sure how long it will take to do our driving lessons and get booked in for the road test. First we have to get a doctor to certify that we are healthy enough to drive. Even if I pass my test I am taking the ferry to work- it is 1KM walk from our new home to
Once we get moved in and our stuff arrives by ship we will post some pictures of the new digs.
