Welcome to the first post of The Semi-Alternative Lifestyler blog. I’ve been meaning to start this blog again after moving to our new home in Port Waikato. But I am not super familiar with building websites so I have been putting this off till I have a moment to breathe.
For those of you who do not know me I am Janine Blackburn, married to Andrew for nearly twenty years. We are around the age of 60 and have moved from my old family home in Browns Bay, Auckland . I loved my old home and it held many memories. Fifty five years ago, Browns Bay was an outer suburb. I can remember when the Auckland Harbour Bridge had only two lanes. We knew all the neighbours, the sections were big and the children played outside from dawn to dusk. The beach was seven minutes walk away. It had a small town feel.
Apart from brief trips flatting and overseas I had lived there all of my adult life. Indeed I intended to live there till I died. But areas change, become built up, retirement looms and everything changes. We began to think about the possibility of moving to a smaller town.
I started browsing listings in various places about six years ago. It seemed every time a place seemed suitable everyone else had the same idea and the prices shot upwards. Just before lockdown in 2020 we visited a friend who lived in Port Waikato. To be honest I had never heard of it and assumed it would be a bigger town with a dock. Actually I don’t know exactly what I thought. What I found was beautiful sections, the Waikato river and an amazing surf beach. I glanced across at the next door neighbours and saw a very large garage. “Perfect art studio” I thought. The house was for sale but we were not in a position to buy at that point in time.
Chance would have it that the very same garage and house was for sale in late 2023 In we moved on the 24th Of December 2023. We were fortunate in having a friend down here who was very kind and helpful to us as we settled in
It’s been a few months now so I’m not going to do a blow by blow chronological account. I hope to cover some of the highlights of our year as I continue blogging. It will become apparent we are not handy people types. “”Tim “ the Toolman”Taylor” “is not my husband’s alter ego. My inner gardener is in a coma at the moment.
One thing we have going for us is we can both be very resourceful around obtaining or creating employment for ourselves. My husband obtained a new job on the same pay before we moved in and I was fortunate enough to transfer to a relatively nearby city with my work.
Another strength is the ability to live very cheaply when we have to. I was a member of Simple Savings for years and we have attended 12 step programmes that have helped us with our fi
nances. While we can be good at spending money we have many handy habits that save us in many areas. I’m still remembering using 20 kilos of green tomatoes from a failed tomato crop. Not one of those green tomatoes went to waste. Green tomato pie, green tomato chutney, green tomato stir fry and green tomato casserole. I also know which vegetables and fruits to grow to get maximum bang for our buck. I make bread, yoghurt and even bagels and crumpets when I need to. We don’t go without. If there is a way to make it I will find it. I am the Queen of soups and casseroles.
I went for a year without any new clothes after watching the movie Greed. I had an amazing wardrobe from swap and op shops. I could go on but you get the idea.
But we now are more comfortably off and this is where the semi-alternative part comes in. To manage retirement we need to be frugal but we can choose to get help and have some nice things. However as we live 40 minutes from the nearest town, some of the things I used to do for frugality are now useful to avoid long trips to the supermarket.
Quite a few things need doing around our new home. Some we can do ourselves and others we need help with. While someone helps with the lawn the garden is huge. The snoring inner gardener pulls her pillow over her head and goes back to sleep when I contemplate it. I’m hoping this blog will motivate her to leave her safe place.
I’m a bit unmotivated with the home at times too but since being a part of “A slob comes clean.” that is a battle I am winning. Between part-time work, studying, painting and my art practice life is pretty busy.
Anyway that is enough for today but I would be happy if you come join us on our journey.
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