This Could Be Home...

Our contract for working in Tunis, Tunisia is for three years. Since this is our first ex-pat assignment, I don't know if that is a long posting, or average. I know a lot of the families get shifted around more often, so I shouldn't expect to make it that long in one place. It will be less disappointing if they move us and I know to expect it, up front.

Today, I am taking DH back to a house I looked at with my native guide, Dalenda Sabri. I think this might be the house for us. We'll look at it with the goal of leasing it for our home away from the states for the next (possibly) three years.

DH is very circumspect about this. He wants ME to be happy and keeps saying if I like it, it's good enough for him. I want him to be okay with the location, since it sets up a commute that he'll have to face daily. We both want each other to be happy there. We'll see if this house is the place.

I have to say that the relocation people did very well setting us up with Dalenda. She's a native Tunisian who taught school for years. She's my age, was raised right in the city, and speaks three languages fluently. She took our list of 'requirements' which really was more of a 'wish list' and searched local properties. In case you are wondering, in third world countries, they don't have an MLS.

All of the houses that she showed me hit every wicket on my list.

That's a first for me. I'm used to giving realtors my price range and desires, then spending the first full day seeing houses way outside my price. It seems like the US personnel take the list of requirements as a jumping off point and then pad it. The Tunisian took it as an actual goal to shoot for and hit the mark every time.

She was very honest about neighborhoods that were sketchy, or busy. She listened when I said what was important to me. Today, we're taking DH back to the FIRST property she showed me. She kept saying she thought it was the best one for me. It satisfied all the needs on my list...

But it was kind of like putting on a wedding gown. If the first one takes your breath away, you're kind of scared not to try on a few more, right? I made her take me to four more houses. Even though I was pretty sure that the first house was the one for us. I didn't trust that first feeling of "ahhh..."

Hopefully, DH will take a look around, decide the house is perfect and we'll start the paperwork. I'm hoping to get an address and give the moving company some place to shoot for when they get my household goods into the same hemisphere.

Either way, I think we'll be living in a hotel for a couple of months. But, this house could be home.

--Sandee Wagner