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00:05all right let's go all clear let's go make dreams happen we've been sailing around for about four
00:12years living on the boat come on we've been looking around trying to find a place to set
00:17roots down on the Caribbean island and looking for our dream home go swimming yeah let's do it
00:22go we've been to at least 50 different islands until we found Bonaire there's no stoplights
00:28no traffic we've got this amazing waters to explore daily that's like this is it what a day
00:34oh my gosh that was so tough our boat is 43 feet long 25 feet wide it has three bedrooms
00:41a kitchen
00:41two baths imagine working with your spouse and living with them and doing it all in the same
00:4645 by 25 foot space every day I think we're ready to make that leap back onto land let's go
00:54oh there we go to the bedroom yep we're done for the day having a house we'll be able to
01:00have more places to have sex
01:06so
01:33Oh, there we go.
01:35Hi, Alexis.
01:36How are you?
01:36Nice to meet you.
01:38James.
01:39I'll give you a hug.
01:40We're hugging it.
01:41Perfect.
01:42We got you some cocktails.
01:43Oh, thank you.
01:45Bonaire is part of the ABC Islands, Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire.
01:48We're a unique territory that's self-governing, but also we're part of the Netherlands.
01:54Look at this water, though.
01:55There goes scuba diving right there.
01:57Skinny dipping.
01:58Oh, for sure.
01:59We're pros at that.
02:00There you go.
02:02How did you guys find Bonaire?
02:04The pandemic started and they said, you got to stay home.
02:07I said, no, we don't.
02:08We got a boat.
02:09We've sailed through a lot of Caribbean islands.
02:10Okay.
02:11And this one just checks all of our boxes.
02:13We've been very blessed in that after the pandemic, tourism has grown exponentially here.
02:19And the market in Bonaire, it's been booming within the last five years.
02:23It's definitely a different lifestyle than Texas.
02:25None of that like rushing around, rum and sunshine.
02:28You can't go wrong.
02:30So now that we're looking to put our roots down in Bonaire, we have decided that we're going
02:34to sell our house in Texas so that we can afford a little slice of paradise here.
02:38We still own the home.
02:39We rent it out.
02:40James actually turned our entire backyard into this beach oasis.
02:44We've got sand there.
02:46We've got a deck that he built that looks like a dock.
02:48It was our dream home, but selling our house in Texas will allow us to have a bigger budget,
02:53up to $650,000.
02:54We're thinking maybe a charter business here.
02:57Oh, wow.
02:58And so we'd want something that we can, I don't know, separate the work of the boat
03:04and then have a place to live.
03:05We plan to make money by chartering our boat, day trip, sunset cruises.
03:10James is also a scuba instructor.
03:12So we can start a charter business, teach scuba diving, and we'll see where it goes from there.
03:17I would love to have a pool.
03:19Okay.
03:19I would love perhaps to have two bedrooms and some outdoor space just for me so I can practice my
03:25yoga, watch the birds.
03:27I would like something like furnished so we don't have to import all our furniture.
03:33And some storage area for dive gear, boat parts, maybe a nice kitchen because I do all the cooking.
03:39Oh, wow.
03:40I'm lucky.
03:40There you go.
03:41That's one of the reasons he checked my boxes.
03:43Perfect.
03:44Close to the boat.
03:46Close to the boat.
03:46Close to the harbor in this area would be nice.
03:49I don't want to be too far inland.
03:51It's too hot.
03:52I get it.
03:53I don't have to be on the water but I'd like to be somewhere where I can maybe hear the
03:56ocean and catch a breeze.
03:58What's your budget look like?
03:59Our budget is $650,000.
04:02Okay.
04:03I feel like between the two of us I'm more conscious of the budget.
04:07I don't know if I'm ready to spend all of that money.
04:10Whereas my husband here, I think he was like, oh, we'll figure it out later.
04:14Yeah.
04:15I got nice feet.
04:16I can put them online or something.
04:19All right.
04:19So $650,000 it is.
04:21I think we've got a healthy number here.
04:23Let's hit the ground running.
04:24Let's go.
04:24Let's go.
04:25Cheers.
04:26Cheers.
04:34I brought you guys out here to the south side of Bonaire.
04:39This area is called Bel-Nem.
04:41And we're about 18 minutes from the harbor.
04:45That would be a 20-minute commute to work.
04:48I mean, a 20-minute commute, it's a little further than I'd like to drive.
04:52But, you know, that could be a good thing.
04:54A little separation from work.
04:56Yeah.
04:57So the house that we're looking at today, it's a developing area.
05:01Some of the houses are still under construction.
05:04We've got a lot of new buildings here.
05:07And so this area is really up and coming.
05:09And we've got new resorts close by that are really bringing up the value.
05:14of Bel-Nem.
05:16There's a lot of unique history.
05:18We have the Salt Pier.
05:20It's close proximity to restaurants.
05:22And we do have wild donkeys here.
05:25So you might have donkeys visiting you guys sometimes.
05:29Oh, I love that.
05:30It's like Mario Kart.
05:32You got donkeys running out.
05:33You got shells and bananas.
05:35So it does have a pool, ample storage.
05:38And I think you're going to like the kitchen, James.
05:40That is a lot of the boxes checked right there.
05:43Right?
05:43What happened to the road?
05:45I guess where we're going, we don't need roads.
05:49Okay, here we are.
05:54This one is two bedrooms.
05:56There is indeed a little bit of construction, but walking distance to the ocean.
06:00It's about five minutes that way.
06:02I guess the big question is, how much?
06:07$645,000.
06:08Okay.
06:08Good.
06:09So just under your budget by $5,000.
06:12You guys ready to take a look?
06:13I'm ready.
06:14Here we go.
06:15Oh, there's a pool.
06:17Hey, where are you going?
06:18I'm going to the pool.
06:19Oh, my gosh.
06:20Yeah.
06:21Look at that.
06:21That's nice.
06:22Oh, wow.
06:23It's big.
06:23You can do your laps in it, honey.
06:25Yeah.
06:25That was a lot.
06:26Nice.
06:26Yeah, it feels great.
06:28This is beautiful.
06:28All right, let's go see the inside.
06:30All right.
06:31What's that?
06:32Ooh, air conditioning's on.
06:34Look at that.
06:35I like it open.
06:36Yeah.
06:37Look at the kitchen.
06:38Ooh, I love the leather.
06:40Come on.
06:41The leather and the wood.
06:42I like this look with the...
06:43Concrete.
06:44Yeah.
06:45This is really cool.
06:47Easy to clean up.
06:48Is it moving ready?
06:49Let's check.
06:51Oh.
06:52Wine glass.
06:53Perfect.
06:54We're good.
06:54Let's do it.
06:55This is induction stove.
06:57Electric.
06:57You're used to cooking on gas.
07:00Yeah, I like gas.
07:03The concrete continues in the bathroom.
07:05Oh, yeah.
07:06That's great.
07:07It's got a huge shower, though.
07:09Yeah.
07:09We like big showers.
07:10There we go.
07:11Bedroom.
07:12Sexy vibes.
07:13Huh?
07:14Oh, yeah.
07:15The safe and soft or firm.
07:16You know I like it firm.
07:18Yeah.
07:18I ain't got a problem with that.
07:20What do you think?
07:21This is where we have our business meetings.
07:23This is where we have our business.
07:24I like that.
07:25Full bath, yeah.
07:26Brilliant.
07:26Let's go see what's in the backyard.
07:28That indoor, outdoor space.
07:29All right.
07:30There we go.
07:32Okay.
07:33Outdoors.
07:34Outdoor space.
07:35Nice.
07:36Yeah.
07:37Yoga.
07:39Entertaining.
07:40Drill.
07:40It's still more concrete.
07:42It's so square.
07:43Yeah.
07:44Ah.
07:45Oh.
07:45We're in the pool.
07:46Well, we hope we like our neighbors.
07:50So there's a mystery box behind you.
07:51Is that a garage?
07:53What do we got here?
07:55All right.
07:55Go.
07:55Where'd it go?
07:57So this is zero.
07:58Oh.
08:00All right.
08:01Go.
08:01Where'd it go?
08:03Oh.
08:04It's like a pool house.
08:06Okay.
08:07I like that.
08:08Shower.
08:09Fridge.
08:09Oh, man.
08:10Know what would be best?
08:11There was beer.
08:12Okay.
08:13Well, that's nice for the pool, right?
08:15Good point.
08:16Right.
08:16Look.
08:16The gate storage side here.
08:19There's an extra gate.
08:20That's great.
08:22Let's go find Alexis.
08:23All right.
08:24Tell her what you think, huh?
08:25About the concrete jungle.
08:27What'd you guys think?
08:28Well, we've dubbed it the concrete house.
08:30That's right.
08:31There's a lot of concrete.
08:32There's a lot of concrete.
08:33It doesn't feel very tropical.
08:36I mean, I love the pool.
08:37Yeah.
08:38The pool's definitely a plus.
08:39But this is a brand new build.
08:41It's fully furnished.
08:43It's got the two bedrooms and the pool.
08:45So, well, I feel like if I'm going to pay $645,000, I want to have a little bit more.
08:53Yeah.
08:54Because this is arid.
08:55It's dusty.
08:56You can't see the ocean.
08:57In our house in Texas, we had to create a tropical vibe.
09:00So here in Bonaire, I'm really expecting that wherever we live is going to have that naturally.
09:04For us to have to sell our house in Texas, our beloved home in Texas, to trade up to this,
09:10that's going to be a top decision.
09:11I don't know if it's a trade up.
09:12Absolutely.
09:13I think it's going to be trickier than I anticipated to find the house that Julie and James are really
09:18looking for with that Caribbean vibe.
09:20They would like to at least see the ocean.
09:22I mean, at the end of the day, we live on an island, right?
09:26All right, let's go.
09:26See the next one?
09:27Yep.
09:33What I love about Bonaire is it's not overdeveloped.
09:36There's only 25,000 people that live here.
09:39I love these beautiful colored buildings.
09:41Man, look at us.
09:42So quaint.
09:43Yeah.
09:44I mean, in Texas, we don't have anything like this.
09:47Here, you walk in and it's, bon dia.
09:49You say good morning to everybody.
09:51It feels warm and welcome.
09:52Oh, I bet you guys painted this.
09:54You got all the paint on your fingers.
09:56Nice.
09:57It's beautiful.
09:59I can be the eye.
09:59Let's see.
10:00You can be the eye.
10:01I would describe the vibe on Bonaire as easy breezy.
10:04It's colorful.
10:06That's super cute.
10:07I get to hang out with people that I would never have met in Texas ever.
10:12When we were back in Texas, I don't think we were actually ourselves.
10:15We were, you know, putting on suits and ties and working here.
10:18I just feel better about myself.
10:20The stress just melts away here on Bonaire.
10:26Bon dia, Julia.
10:28Bon dia.
10:29Bon dia.
10:30Bon dia, James.
10:30Bon dia.
10:31So where we're going is actually not that far from town.
10:3510 minutes or less from the heart of Karl and Dyke.
10:37So you guys will have access to all the restaurants, beach clubs, bars.
10:44Yeah.
10:44I know you like that.
10:45I do like that.
10:46That's why we're moving on land.
10:47Yes.
10:48So I know you wanted something more warm and inviting.
10:51It has a lot of indoor, outdoor living space.
10:54It is two bedrooms, fully furnished and move-in ready.
10:58There's the pool.
10:59Look at the pool area.
11:00Really cool.
11:09So based off yesterday, it was a big lesson for me.
11:12You're right on the water and it's only 15 minutes to the marina.
11:16I want the house to speak for itself.
11:18Go take a look and let's talk numbers later.
11:22Let's go.
11:22No more talking.
11:23Let's go.
11:25Number 10.
11:26Oh, it's number 10.
11:28Let's see number 10.
11:29Welcome.
11:31Oh my God, James.
11:33It's on the water.
11:34Look at this.
11:36The water's there.
11:38This is great.
11:38Oh, it's stunning.
11:40This looks like the Texas house.
11:42Only real.
11:43Only real.
11:45Can you believe this?
11:47Oh, look.
11:48There is a dock.
11:49We can bring our dinghy here.
11:50Or get a bigger boat.
11:51Oh, that's awesome.
11:52I love the idea of sitting out here in the breeze and enjoying dinner.
11:55A nice steak that you've cooked me with a great glass of Cabernet.
11:59That's it.
11:59And then in the morning, wake up, do yoga?
12:01Yeah.
12:02Let's go see the rest.
12:03All right.
12:03Let's see where the steak says.
12:05There's more.
12:05And there's more.
12:06Living on the island is going to bring back that sense of community that I've been missing
12:10since we left Fort Worth.
12:11And so I'm looking forward to finding friends, getting to know people on the island, and expanding
12:17our network.
12:18Oh, what's in there?
12:19Yeah.
12:21Storage.
12:22Oh, fancy.
12:23And...
12:23Yeah.
12:24A washer.
12:25Okay, fantastic.
12:26This is really nice.
12:28Lots of storage space.
12:29Plenty of room.
12:30Let's check out the bedroom.
12:30I won't say no to that.
12:32We'll see.
12:34Oh my...
12:35Indoor.
12:36Outdoor.
12:37Bathroom.
12:38Okay, so this is the main bedroom.
12:41Yes.
12:42Yes.
12:42Wow.
12:44Okay.
12:46What's in there?
12:47I don't even know where to go.
12:48Really nice shower.
12:50I like it.
12:51Look at outside.
12:52Oh.
12:52Look at this.
12:54Outdoor shower.
12:55You can tan and clean at the same time.
12:58Oh my God.
12:59I love it.
13:00Oh, this is awesome.
13:01Let's go.
13:02Bedroom.
13:03Look at this.
13:04Julia.
13:05Four boats per day.
13:06Oh my gosh.
13:06Look at this.
13:08Check out that breeze.
13:10Right into the bed.
13:13Oh.
13:14Love it.
13:15We'll go down to the dock.
13:17Okay.
13:17Take the boat into town.
13:20Let's go see the dock.
13:21All right.
13:23Dogs aren't just for boats.
13:24They're awesome for dancing.
13:27I like it.
13:27Hi, lovebirds.
13:29Hi.
13:30Is this paradise or not?
13:31You did it.
13:32This is really nice.
13:34Really.
13:34Love it.
13:36I mean, you can tell us that it has a dock.
13:38Yeah.
13:38This is a community dock.
13:40Oh, it's a community dock.
13:41Okay.
13:42All right.
13:43That's okay.
13:43It's a little bit of a downer.
13:45That's all right, but it still depends on the price.
13:47Right?
13:49Okay, you ready?
13:50Ready?
13:50What's the price?
13:51Yeah.
13:52And the price they're asking, it is...
14:00And the price they're asking, it is $650,000.
14:06Okay?
14:06So it's right at the top of our budget.
14:08That's right.
14:10And...
14:10Yeah.
14:11We've got HOA fees around a little over $10,000 annually.
14:16Okay.
14:16Right.
14:17So top of our budget, there's additional costs with the HOA.
14:20Mm-hmm.
14:22And still pretty far away from the harbor.
14:24$650,000 is our ceiling.
14:27And, you know, honestly, I was hoping to come in a little bit under that.
14:31But this does have everything that I want.
14:33Right.
14:34If we were to sell our Texas home, this would deplete our nest.
14:38And we still have another dream to fulfill with starting this business.
14:40So it's...
14:42Yeah.
14:43A tough call.
14:44Yeah.
14:50It's so clear and beautiful.
14:52Yeah.
14:52Wait.
14:53I have to get wet.
14:54So Bonaire is a secret gem.
14:57It's diver's paradise.
14:58Nice.
14:59This move is going to bring some more balance back to our life.
15:02When James and I were first married, we were very independent.
15:05I was a corporate banker.
15:06He was working on oil rigs.
15:08He'd be gone for anywhere between what?
15:09Three and 30 days.
15:11In the water.
15:12Awesome.
15:12There's a bunch of fish down here.
15:14Kind of went from one extreme to the other.
15:16Right.
15:16We're gone all the time separate.
15:17Now we're way close together.
15:19I'm really excited to get a place of our own on land.
15:29Are you ready?
15:31Go look at our forever home.
15:33Bon dia.
15:34Hi, James.
15:35Hi, Julia.
15:36Bon dia.
15:37How are you?
15:37Hi, Alexis.
15:38You guys ready?
15:39Yeah.
15:39We're excited.
15:40Where are we going today?
15:41Well, you asked for proximity to your boat.
15:44Yes.
15:45So I've got a property right by this marina right over there.
15:49Oh, my God.
15:50We're at Harbor Village.
15:51All right.
15:52I've actually been really curious about this place,
15:54so I'm really excited about this.
15:55Let's go.
15:56Let's do it.
15:56That'll be perfect.
15:57This apartment is within a resort.
16:00Okay, great.
16:01So you indeed have a beautiful pool.
16:03You have beach access, a sandy beach, which is rare on Bonaire
16:07because we're surrounded by reef.
16:08This is a one bedroom with a den.
16:10It's fully furnished, move-in ready.
16:12It's been updated.
16:13It has a spectacular ocean view.
16:16It looks expensive.
16:17Yeah.
16:17It sounds expensive.
16:18Yeah.
16:19But you're going to be surprised with the price.
16:21Okay.
16:21It's $595,000.
16:23$595,000 is an amazing price.
16:25We've got HOA fees of around $10,000 annually.
16:29Okay.
16:29Not too bad for this resort living.
16:32Here we go.
16:32So let's go take a look.
16:33All right.
16:33Take a look yourself.
16:35Okay.
16:35And let me know what you think.
16:36All right.
16:40Oh, nice and air-conditioned.
16:42Oh, it feels good.
16:43Oh, it totally looks updated.
16:45Nice.
16:46Yeah.
16:46Look at the view.
16:47Okay.
16:48Oh, yeah.
16:48There's the boat right there.
16:49That's cool.
16:50That's amazing.
16:50Yeah.
16:51It's modern.
16:52It's clean.
16:53It's not like...
16:54It doesn't feel like a resort, you know?
16:56No.
16:56Like wicker furniture and all that.
16:58All right.
16:58We're moving ready.
16:59We can have pasta tonight.
17:00Okay.
17:01There we go.
17:01Fill it up right here.
17:03Love it.
17:04Okay.
17:04We got everything we need.
17:05That's great.
17:06It's okay.
17:06I like that it comes with stuff.
17:09So this must be the storage.
17:11We got storage.
17:11Cool.
17:12There's a washer and dryer.
17:14Cool.
17:14She did not mention that, so that's a big plus for me.
17:17Is that enough for you?
17:19For all the dive gear?
17:20Might not be enough.
17:21Right.
17:21And for both parts.
17:24Yeah.
17:25What do we got?
17:26All right.
17:27Got a little den or seating area.
17:30Oh.
17:30Look at that.
17:31A mirror for changing?
17:33There you go.
17:34The back.
17:34Wow.
17:34That is awesome.
17:35I wasn't expecting that.
17:37This vanity is gorgeous.
17:39All right.
17:39Let's go check out the main bedroom.
17:42It's nice.
17:43Look at the view.
17:44Beautiful.
17:45This is amazing.
17:46This is a fantastic view.
17:48There's the boat.
17:49Wow.
17:49Yeah.
17:50Is this enough outdoor space for you?
17:51Ah.
17:52I think that's all we got.
17:53I mean, yeah.
17:54There's not a lot of outdoor space, but this view is amazing.
18:04Well, what'd you guys think?
18:06I mean, it's beautiful.
18:07That's resort living.
18:09Yeah.
18:09I love the furnishings.
18:11Yeah.
18:11It's really contemporary, modern.
18:13The view's nice.
18:14Storage.
18:15It has some, but I don't think it's going to be enough.
18:18There is a dive area.
18:20Maybe we could negotiate some additional storage for you.
18:23And although it's close to the marina, I'm nervous it might be too close.
18:28I don't know.
18:28I think it's nice to be that close.
18:30Like, I would love to just be able to just walk down to the boat and fix stuff.
18:34Mm-hmm.
18:34And having eyes on it, it's amazing.
18:38I'm really looking for a sense of community, and I'm nervous about moving someplace and living amongst tourists.
18:44Yeah.
18:44And I really want a place that I can retreat to.
18:47You could actually live at a resort?
18:49I would love that.
18:50Living at a resort, I mean, it sounds like a dream and it looks like a dream, but I'm just
18:53not sure if that's really where we want to be.
18:56Do we want to be living at a resort?
18:57We could.
18:59We could.
19:00Right there.
19:00You could live at it.
19:01Yeah.
19:02Well.
19:02We'll see.
19:03We'll see.
19:08We'll see.
19:10Well.
19:10Well.
19:11We're about to be landlubbers.
19:13Landlubbers.
19:14I think this is a perfect island though.
19:16So now the real question is, which of the houses is worth selling the Texas home?
19:22That might be like the hardest question I've ever had.
19:24It's really difficult.
19:26Yeah.
19:26Like really.
19:27The home in Texas is really special to me, to us.
19:32We put a lot of love into that home.
19:35I built that whole backyard as our vision board.
19:38I like having a U.S. address for a few different reasons.
19:41And one of the most important reasons is it's really close to my family.
19:44And it's going to be tough to give that up.
19:46I feel like we have two that we like.
19:48I have one that I love.
19:49Is there a world that exists where we don't sell the house and we have a place to land here?
19:54We'll figure it out.
20:01Which home did we pick?
20:05We chose none of the homes.
20:07That's right.
20:08We decided to keep our house in Texas.
20:11We did not sell the house.
20:12So we could not then get one of the larger houses.
20:16But we actually were able to check most of the boxes off with this property.
20:22Last minute, we found a property that was off-market under our budget.
20:29The best part is the price.
20:32$250,000.
20:33Woo-hoo!
20:35And we get to keep our house that's making us money.
20:37And it's close to my parents.
20:38So I'm actually really thrilled about that.
20:40I got indoor-outdoor space.
20:42I get to watch the birds.
20:44And I get to do some yoga outdoors, which I love.
20:46Plain a room for storage of gear and boat stuff for the business.
20:51Yes.
20:53Move-in ready, fully furnished.
20:55There's only one bedroom, but we're already used to living smaller.
20:58I didn't get my big, spacious kitchen.
21:00All right.
21:01Gonna roast some vegetables, honey.
21:03The only thing we're missing is a pool.
21:05Yes.
21:05But we actually have a pool at the marina.
21:07And it's directly across the street from the beach.
21:09Close to the harbor.
21:11I left my corporate job to focus 100% on our business.
21:15I keep the boat running.
21:16And she keeps it booked.
21:17Yeah.
21:18Welcome to the lost cat.
21:19So good to be here.
21:20Nice.
21:21Having the house has allowed us to have more balance in our relationship.
21:25Because we're not on top of each other all the time on the boat.
21:28We're on top of each other a lot here, but in different ways.
21:31Yeah, it is.
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