Two Weeks In

27 January 2026

Exactly two weeks ago the hubs and I, along with our three Spinoni, hopped on a plane and left behind the country we have known for new horizons. We were as prepared as possible and anxious for the new views, both literal and figurative. We were already most of the way through the process of buying a home, only seen online. We knew we would have a couple weeks before the sale was complete and we could move in. We were OK with that. In hind site we are grateful we left when we did.

Fisherhaven, South Africa

Two weeks later here I sit in Fisherhaven, South Africa. We have spent the time since landing in a dog friendly guest house less than a half mile form the property we will soon call home. Deed registration is scheduled for Friday, 3 days from now. Prior to leaving the US I had all these grand ideas about how we would spend this time. Traveling and exploring, after completing the needs list; car, bank account, insurance… Instead life happened as it should. We are still in the guest house working on our needs list. So much to unpack in that comparison between plans and actuality. And a lot of it teaching us exactly what we need to learn as we make this transition.

I will try and avoid throwing all Americans into this bucket, but I truly believe many of the things we, Tom and I, see as hurdles only appear as such due to our American roots. A manufactured ‘need’ for instant gratification over connection. And of course the drilled into us since birth sense of America’s greatness. Even though we aren’t strong believers in the American way is the only way ideology, it still fogs our expectations. 

So, what were the first two weeks as an American relocating to South Africa like? 

Freshly off the plane

I was very shocked at the length of the jet lag/adjustment period. There are probably a couple mitigating factors. My guess for one, is that unlike a vacation where your brain and body knows it has a limited amount of time to “see it ALL” when moving that urgency takes a back seat to adjusting. And maybe had we transitioned in fall or spring it would have been a bit easier, but going from below 20 degrees Fahrenheit to above 20 degrees celsius was intense! One day it was 15 degrees, 25 hours on a plane and all the sudden it is 77 (I still think in Fahrenheit it will be a hard habit to break).

Then there is the internal stress leading up to and into the move. Within a few months we sold Tom’s hunting land and his house (and the home sale came with lots of baggage of its own), and purchased a home on the other side of the world we had only viewed online. The plan that we would be retiring in South Africa had been hanging out there for a while, but speeding up the process and actually taking the leap…. For me, not nearly the leap of fate that I imagine my hubs is going through. I can’t even recall all the places I have lived and the number of times I have moved in my 55ish years on this planet. While Tom has traveled, he has never, until now, lived more than 10 miles from his childhood home. Add to that, I lived in this area briefly once before. Tom has visited north western South Africa and I chose south western, an area he had never been. That had to take some serious trust! Yet, here we are. No regrets at this point.

Not sure which is scarier, leaving everything you know for the complete unknown, or being responsible for totally uprooting another human being and throwing them halfway around the world. Our mantra for the last few months, gentle as she goes… think well before speaking and be mindful of each other in this endeavor.

The political climate, that has been a whole other stressor. Not so much now, but it was the catalyst for the speed at which we made some pretty huge decisions!  Somehow it feels the timing was as it should be. I fear that soon it will get harder to leave. Unless the current regime is kicked to the curb, eventually they will begin to restrict movement. We both were worried every step of the way and did not breath easy until our flight was over international waters. And DANG! That took FOREVER! We thought they would take off and head directly east. Didn’t stop to think that probably for safety reasons they keep close to land as much as possible. So we worked our way up the coast into Canada before making the big turn. Followed quickly after by a huge sigh of relief from both of us. 

Our estuary <3

It has all worked out quite well so far with a few expected hiccups along the way. The home is everything we were hoping. The community is just what we were looking for, maybe a little more rural in its culture than we expected (the gossip spreads like wildfire in these parts), but the alternative was not for us. Being only 10 minutes away from the smaller yards and hectic pace of the larger seaside towns is plenty close enough. Since we went under contract two months ago the property values in our area have continued to rise, and a change in that trend does not seem to be on the horizon. Good on us!

So for now here we are in Fisherhaven, South Africa. Hoping to be in a place to call home by the end of the week, but if not it will happen as it should. Just Now…