Sadly Broke

"you don't need eyes to see, you need vision..."

For the first time on my spiritual journey to find a home, I had a vision of what I wanted to do, and where I wanted to go, although I was aware that I'd need to be patient and bide my time - I was a man with a plan!
My car was costing me too much to keep on the road, I wanted to leave Bath for reasons already explained, and so I decided to sell my motor and move to within walking distance of where I worked. My proirity was to plan for the future.

Bradley Stoke is a relatively new big housing estate between eight and twelve miles from Bristol depending on which route you take. Like I previously said, some folks cruely labelled this estate 'Sadly Broke', although to be honest I don't know why. The estate was quite modern, and the area was well constructed even if all the houses looked the same. There was a conservation area in the middle of the estate, with tracks and paths surrounding it, making walking and cycling a pleasant experience. There were a few pubs, shops for all the essentials and generally it was a very practical place to live, but rather void of any real character or identity.
It was however, very much a home of convenience for me at that particular time of my life.

I worked in a warehouse in an industrial estate located just behind the junction where the M5 merges with the M4, and sadly broke I definitely wasn't - I would say that I was at my wealthiest whilst residing in Bradley Stoke, which completely contradicts the 'Sadly Broke' description.
This was all down to a friendly Depot Manager who kindly gave me additional hours during the mornings to work in the office to supplement my already well paid job as a supervisor working nights. (thanks Lucy!)

My house itself was like the rest on the estate - all breeze blocks and plasterboard, but it served a purpose and enabled me to put my plan into motion.
Downstairs was all laminated flooring with a kitchen just off the living area, and a spiral staircase took you upstairs to a large bedroom and adequate sized bathroom.
Outside there was a small enclosed garden, where during the summer I slept during the afternoons in a hammock I constructed, before embarking on my nighshift duties once darkness fell.

Sometimes I'd take the 20 minute walk to the big shopping centre, Cribbs Causeway, and chill out with a coffee, or sometimes I took the number 73 bus into the main city. Bristol was quite a big city, and there were lovely areas nearby like Clifton, where you could have a good time.
But Bristol/Bradley Stoke was never going to be my home for long - it was just where I lived for a while for common sense sense reasons.

So what was my great plan?

The phrase 'make hay whilst the sun shines' was my motto throughout my tenure in Bradley Stoke, and whilst the overtime was still on offer I was working on average 65 hours per week and bringing home a tidy wage packet every month. During this period of my life I had no romantic involvements, so I had no drain on my financial resources!
I hadn't experienced a really decent holiday abroad ever, and I had always harboured dreams of visiting New Zealand. So I intended to keep my head down, pocket the money, and save towards an adventure on the other side of the world.
I had decided that when the time came to go travelling, that I wouldn't take time off work as a holiday, or request a sabbatical, but that I would make a clean break and quit my job. But this would mean that if I wanted to move again, then I would have to do so before resigning in order for all the successful credit checks and references to go through. Once I had secured a new home, I could commute whilst working my notice period, and then take some time out before venturing overseas.

So that was my plan. I had intended to stick to this for three years, but after only two I became restless so decided to bring my plans forward...the only decision I now faced was where I wished to relocate to.
Initially it had to be near enough for me to be able to commute to work so I had two practical options - return to Bath or explore the possibility of Cheltenham.

This part of my journey may well have been a practical and convenient phase, but I really felt that the momentum was gathering pace in my persuit of a true spiritual home...if nothing else, I remained an eternal optimist and a hopeless romantic!

Nomadic Steve