We viewed a range of apartments before we found “the one”.

There was a nice brand new build in North Hobart, large with a balcony, but views were of rooftops.

The next apartment was closer to the size that we had in mind, had views over the valley, had a small courtyard but was up a very steep drive and split level.

We then went bush, literally. We viewed a loft studio in amongst the trees. The estate agent commented that the burnt trees across the road resulted from a controlled burn by the government. This property was basically a tin garage, with tank water, and septic tank. One of my priorities before we even arrived in the country was mains water and mains sewerage. I don’t want rain water or a “poo man”. Natural bush fires would be a concern in this location.

We viewed two city apartments in Battery Point. The first was big, with a balcony overlooking a park, but it was bland. The second was more compact, with a tiny balcony but was dated and had white furniture. Not a good idea with our red wine and chocolate habits.

Then we saw a two bedroom apartment online, which had an “absolute waterfront”. The description and photos looked ideal but we had to wait two days to be able to view the property. It was a nervous couple of days.

The apartment was unfurnished but it was the perfect size, great location and had the most stunning views, so we decided to rent it anyway. We saw it on Thursday, signed the lease on Friday and moved in on Monday, with a hectic few days in between organising electricity, internet connection, a bed, some lounge furniture. The owner was happy to leave a dining table and chairs. It has a walk in wardrobe and bedroom unit with drawers, modern kitchen and bathroom.

We spent days out shopping, laying on beds, sitting in sofa’s and armchairs. We chose a bed that could be delivered on Monday but other furniture had to be ordered. The bed base could not be manoeuvred in our hall way, so as we are on the first floor, it was man handled up and over our balcony and moved into the apartment that way.

As with any move, we had a few hiccups. We bought a tv, to fit on the wall mounting. Aussie Mate has no tools or collection of “man stuff” here, nails, screws, washers, etc. So we made a trip to the DIY hardware store for screws and a screw driver. He has three tool boxes of man stuff in our storage unit in the UK, but that was no use to fix our new tv to the wall. He unpacked the tv and noticed that the screen was damaged. So next day, back to the shop, upgraded the tv, which then needed different screw size to fix to mount, so another trip to the DIY store.

We bought bedding, towels, toaster, kettle, crockery and cutlery. We got a starter pack of 4 setting crockery and mugs. We then decided that we did not require a fifty six piece box of cutlery. Why do we need eighteen knives and forks if we’ve only got four plates? We finally found a starter set of cutlery that we liked, so added that to our purchase pile.

It has been fun to set up a home again after so many years. To choose new colour schemes. As we overlook the water, we chose blues, greys and turquoise, a contrast to the colours of our previous home.

Another hiccup was the kettle. We chose the last one in the store, which had been on display for a few days. So yes, we were happy to take that. The assistant found the box and packed it. When we got it home we did not have the base, just the kettle jug. So another trip back into town.

We have blank walls with six picture hooks in the lounge, so that will be fun, agreeing on art work to hang up. We will get a couple of picture frames so I can print and hang some of my photos.

Now, we are chasing Telstra for our home phone and internet connection. There seems to have been a delay in processing our order.

Things I’ve learned …

~ To me, Manchester is a city in the north west of England. Here it is a term for household linens and “Manchester” is the name of such department within a big store or when shopping online.

~ Telstra Customer Services are based in Manila, Philippines. Phone and media companies are as frustrating here as they were in UK.

~ I don’t want to work in a DIY hardware store. How many different tools, sizes of screws does one person need?