Remember when I wrote about the apartment my in-laws had in mind? Back then they were not 100% whether to buy it or not. They did not even know if they move into the apartment or rent it out in case they buy it. Shortly after that blog post my in-laws decided to buy it and keep it for a few years before selling it for some profit. Everything seemed so fine back then as I was happy that they wouldn’t move out of their old apartment. Well my in-laws are apparently changing their minds very often. Because they could not decide on a certain move I did not give any further updates as I hoped, nay prayed that they would change their mind again.
As the situation is right now (actually ever since the beginning of December) is that they buy the new apartment and move in! This is like the worst case scenario, it just can’t get any worse than that. I have no clue at all how on earth they got the idea to actually move to the new apartment. Not only is it on a very bad floor (nearly the top thus the water pressure is miserable) and the location is terrible as well. You might think that the area will be developed soon as so much is being build there right now but you are wrong. Sure it used to be an industrial area for half century but the factory workers actually lived right there. It is full of old apartment blocks from the 1950s-60s and never any supermarket or similar has opened there. According to the city planning there is nothing at all in the books for the near future so my dear parents in-law will have to take the bus for every little thing they need.
The only good thing right now is that they have decided to move into the new apartment towards the end of the year. Thus our trip to China in April/ May is saved and we do not need any terrible bus rides just to buy some snacks. I do not kid you the busses (at least in Xi’an) are terrible. They are always stuck in traffic, they are filled to the brim with people, they would definitely not pass any safety inspections in Germany (for what could you possibly need breaks or or mirrors?) and they are like a bad-smelling sauna during summer time. Yes there are also busses with air-condition but they are very rare and I do not really like to wait half hour for a certain bus in the terrible heat when the other scary ones are stopping every 5 minutes.
My dear parents in-law now want that we (my father and I) will go with them to check for the materials to use for the new apartment and make some basic plans. Sounds like tons of fun to do during your holidays. The best is that both MIL and FIL have completely different opinions and “taste” when it comes to refurbishing that place. While MIL has some crazy Italian materials and furniture all planned out good old FIL wants to keep everything more subtle with dark and light coloured contrasts (dark floor and cream coloured walls for example). I really do not know what I will do this holiday in China, enjoy my time there with great food or renovate an apartment I hate?
Do you know people who change their mind all the time?
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Yeah, I often cannot fathom my in-laws’ decisions. But I’ve gotten used to them doing the one thing I would never do so consistently that I feel like I’d be shocked if they made a rational decision.
I would have a similar feeling with MIL but then again it is very unlikely she will ever do something rational
You may want to break your legs or something before the trip…
I’m also with FIL, I just cannot look at those new tall flats in Hong Kong that pretend to be Versailles inside… 😀 the result usually looks cheap, while the apartment could look nice, simplistic and modern!
No no need to go because during that trip we will be also in Japan 🙂
Yeah MIL loves teh Versailles style…no idea what is wrong with those people as it is just so ugly
Really wonder what is going through their minds about moving far out to the new apartment. Since your in-laws seem to be flipping the idea around, maybe by mid-year they will decide to not move there…maybe renovation costs and the complexity of it will put them off. Personally I myself change my mind all the time, but usually take my time to think through each choice before carefully making a decision.
Don’t know why all these European interior designs seem so popular these days. Maybe to MIL, it seems high class, look good. Maybe she should try bussing it back and forth from her current home to the new flat and see how it goes…and maybe she will change her mind…
I don’t know right now if we mean the same European interior design 😀
What I mean are simplistic design without any kitsch. MIL wants to have the interior like from some palace or something like that, trust me it does look very out of space and that design seems very popular in China for the past decade
Maybe MIL wants a palace design so she can feel like a princess or queen. Then she can say she lives like royalty… Simplistic is best because in the end, it is always easy to clean and maintain – and it anything gets chipped or broken, it will be easier to fix.
I just hope for some very simple design, especially for FIL as he is doing all the cleaning multiple times a day
Dealing with other people’s timetables and whims are always a challenge, especially when it’s your in-laws and you want to make them happy, but they also have to be reasonable! I’m pretty lucky that my in-laws are easy to get along with and don’t have any crazy expectations of my husband and me. All they ask of us is to see their grandson, and we appreciate getting a break, so it works out very well.
Hopefully, your in-laws will realize how unrealistic they are being and you will be able to enjoy your upcoming vacation.
Usually my father-in-law is a very reasonable person but somehow his wife must have infected him with some mad disease. It is just crazy how they jump to this whole apartment thing and change their mind all the time.
Let’s see how the trip will be, hopefully great as we will be also one week in Japan during that time
Maybe they will change their minds again in a few months, or after living in the new apartment after a month they will go back to the old one, haha.
I know which style your MIL likes. The “classic European” style as it must be known here. God, it is horrible, those apartments that look like no one lives there, with marble everywhere and super ornate sofas which are actually extremely uncomfortable (and in many cases are left with the plastic covering on for “protection” hahaha).
Don’t get me started with the plastic covering. All electronic devices as my in-laws are still having the plastic covering. Also got to love the remote controls in those plastic bags for hygienic reasons (but never changing the bag till it brakes after a few years….)
Hahahahaha. Sounds like a working holiday for you! Actually, it sounds like hell. Now is the time to break a leg or something, anything to get out of this. I’m serious. Do you really need your back or arm or something? 😀
Sadly I need to be in shape as we want to go to Japan. Besides I don’t think traveling will be that comfy with a broken arm or leg 🙂
Oh, dear!
My mother is never decided – when i ask her something that can be answered with “yes/no/maybe/i don’t know” she always chooses OTHER words to dodge giving an answer. i only know what she means usually because we lived together, but my partner has no idea what to understand [though i think my partner started copying me and ‘memorizing’ which words mean what, LOL]
My parents in law moved too, sometime in september? i forgot, but it is basically just outside the city limit. we need to take 3 buses to reach them, and the place is not even that far from us. on nice weather we could skip the 1st bus, but not the 2nd -it has the longest route to there, maybe some 7 stops? Then there’s a minibus that takes us to their new neighborhood, in the middle of nowhere. The worst of it? the 2nd bus comes every 20 [or 40 minutes in the weekend or summer. sometimes it takes more than 2 hours in the middle of the weekend day for it to come]. On legal holidays, the minibus doesn’t operate, so we have to walk -it’s a 20-25 min walk. at least it’s good for the heart? lol Needless to say my partner hates my Ps-I-L new location.
Your in-laws certainly beat my with a stupid decision for a new place to live 😀
I thought that my in-laws were out of their mind but at least it is only “1” bus to the city/ to their old apartment and not the madness you haVe to fave
Yup, haha! it’s because of the 2nd bus mostly that now we visit them even less 😦 Before they moved, they lived in a shady area, not sure how safe it was, but at least it was easier to reach [unless the bus was stuck in traffic for 1 hour, between 2 stops o.o] and still in the city.
Though to be completely honest, some routes are less popular than others, and it makes sense to have less buses serving them. This is why now we have to check the hour of the 2nd bus – there are rarely more than 10 people in it. At least now when we visit them, we can breathe a somewhat more fresh air since where they live is considered ‘countryside’ – the building complex they live in, is build in the middle of the field. MIL seems happier there and they have a pool for their community to use. We might be able to enjoy as well in summer.
They get to make the decision, but you have to suffer when their decision is bad. And this does sound like a very bad decision to buy the apartment in the middle of nowhere. Also, I’m surprised at how much they expect you to do about the renovation. I was lucky. My father-in-law handled his living arrangements by himself. And of course, my dad, who was a builder, didn’t need any help. When my mother got old, though, my sister and I had to pitch in. We had to pack up her house and sell it, find an apartment for her, and move her in. Then, a few years later, we had to move her into an assisted living facility. When our parents get very old, they all need our help.
I hope that later on we can build a big house in which also my parents can move in when they are too old to take care of themselves (they are in their 70s already and my father closing onto the 80s)
That’s a wonderful and generous dream. I hope you’ll have your big house some day.