When I used to go on holiday I always felt that a week wasn’t long enough but at the end of 2 weeks I was ready to go home; check the mail (this was long ago in that fairy tale time before email had been thought of and when mobile phones that worked anywhere, let alone roamed, were a novelty), see the house was OK and find out what had changed in my world. We discovered however that if we stayed for 3 weeks we never wanted to go home and that the mail, just like the “real” world stopped being important. I made that discovery by the way because we owned our own holiday home so we could afford to stay longer than 2 weeks, even in the highest of high seasons!
We see a similar pattern with people who move to a new country. To begin with, it’s an adventure, everything is new and exciting and people enjoy themselves enormously. But then reality sinks in, the struggle of dealing with a new language, new laws, new bureaucracy new ways of doing things and so on seems never ending and a huge proportion of expats return home around the 2 year mark. And that’s a pity because, for those who stick it out, a miracle happens. Life starts getting easier, the difficulties disappear, the language somehow seems more manageable and you find your way around the systems. And then you remember why you moved in the first place; better weather, better lifestyle and less stress adding up to a better quality of life. And when that sinks in people never want to leave! 
There are a few factors that make getting over the 2 year barrier easier. People who sell up and move lock stock and barrel rather than keeping a bolt hole “back home” manage better, as do people who buy rather than rent a home. They have burned their boats and psychologically committed themselves and that makes a huge difference to how they settle in. People who don’t make that break often find them selves caught between two stools and find themselves like the Grand Old Duke of York; neither up nor down and very unhappily in the middle!
My best advice therefore is to commit to your new home, wherever it may be, don’t look back and be positive and you will reap the rewards of getting over the 2 year itch.
To make taking the plunge that little bit easier we will be listing a large number of repossessions in coming weeks. They come from the banks, prices can be negotiable and we have access to many more such properties than can be show on the net. So if you want to know more drop me a line, tell me what you want and when you want to view and we will make the appointments.
