Step 2: visit again, with the kids
Updated: Feb 12, 2022
So in 2013 we were on a road trip to Victoria and we had a little bit of time spare, so we thought we'd drive home the long way, via Adelaide. (If you look at a map you'll realise this was insane, but we are a road tripping family and very spontaneous, and had a YOLO attitude before that idea came and went).
We drove straight to Stirling where we had booked two rooms at the charming Stirling Hotel and put the kids in one and ourselves in the other, where the remote controlled gas fireplaces were the biggest entertainment ever. Granted we might have been starved for civilisation after a few days in budget motels, but the Stirling Hotel is still one of the most divine boutique hotels in Australia.
“Once again we were charmed by this Aussie-european city”
The very next day we rang up a few local agents and asked to look at properties for sale. This wasn't a new thing for us, we often did this when travelling, it's been our business for years and it's pretty logical to do this research everywhere you go (property people will understand). Did you know that in Cape Town, Sth Africa they think that skinny, knotted pine floorboards are desirable? This is NOT the case in Queensland. We learned that weird quirk by doing some property inspections in CT. We did a similar thing in Dubai but all i really remember was glitzy gold badges on Toyota Landcruisers.
Two days of property inspections
So we followed agents around for 2 days, looking at homes, dreaming really. We didn't really know where we should be looking, we had no clue about schools and other amenities, and the agent kept on showing us homes that were done, or in pretty good shape, or with amazing gardens which we didn't care for (how stupidly naive we were). "No, we want something really raw, something we can renovate, a bit of a shitbox in a great spot," we told her. "oh I've got just the place for you" she said.
And she was right.
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