The topic is "Moving".

Yesterday, I joined an online meeting with all Japanese women, and I was the oldest one there.

The topic is "moving".

◆ How many times have you moved into a new house or apartment?

Including my childhood, I’ve probably moved more than ten times. I was born in Tokyo, but my father changed jobs frequently, so we moved often — within Tokyo as well as to Kanagawa and Shimane. His last workplace was in Tokyo.

Since getting married, we have moved about four times. While we were living in apartments, we moved three times, and eventually we bought a house and have been living here since then.

◆ What is the most difficult thing to move in your home? How much does it weigh?

The most difficult item to move is probably a rather unusual self-assembly table on the second floor. It was originally designed to be assembled and taken apart, but now it can no longer be disassembled. Another difficult item is a pair of paulownia chests of drawers, also on the second floor. I’m not sure how much either of them weighs.

◆ Would you be willing to move to a new country if you were offered a good job there?

At this point, my answer is no. I am thinking about moving to another prefecture — or rather, I might have to.

◆ When do you expect to move next in the future? Where do you think you will go?

That’s a very difficult question for me. By “the future,” I mean my later years — and in fact, that stage of life has already begun. Since none of our relatives, including our children, live in this prefecture, we are thinking about how and where we should live independently.

On the other hand, we are not tied down by any obligations, so we could move anywhere. The real question is whether we have the courage to start over somewhere completely new where we don’t know anyone.

◆ What are some of the difficulties of moving into a new house or apartment?

One difficulty is downsizing our belongings. Another is having the courage to move to a completely new place where we don’t know anyone.

◆ What kinds of things do you think about when you are looking for a new home?

I look for a home where the temperature is consistent throughout the house, where cleaning is easy, and where we can build good relationships with our neighbors.