Settling down in LA

I finally got my (small) truck load of stuff back last week! The United Van Lines drove their 18-wheeler up our hill and had to make a tight K-turn at a cross street. The semi-truck was huge, probably the biggest I'd seen. The cab seemed like it could sleep all 3 people who came to unload. I shifted though all the stuff and got most of the things I need out already. The rest will probably stay boxed until I find a new place to live.

I'm in the process of looking for a house to buy in the San Gabriel Valley. The housing market is still inflated here in LA. For $300k I could move into a mansion in Texas or Ohio, but here that's only a condo's worth. I have yet to get my pre-approval from the bank, but it seems like my price range will be $550k or less. My parents are going to help me out big time for the down payment since it's 25%. No more 0% down for doctors like before. I'm also looking at maybe a 15 year morgage, but first is to pay my parents back. The interest rates are low, so that's to my advantage.

Ivy and I will head back to Taiwan in August along with my parents. They will meet with Ivy's parents for the first time to discuss wedding plans. Hopefully things can get hammered out then. August will likely be hot in Taiwan. I'm also studying for the boards. We'll see how that goes. It's slow going so far with so many things going on. I know my trip to Taiwan will somehow disrupt the studying a bit.

On side notes, Fred had his surprise party at Seaport Village in San Diego. It was my first time seeing fireworks from San Diego's harbor. They had 4 fireworks going at the same time. Later that weekend Ivy secretly bought me my birthday present. It's a Gucci wallet! It's early, but no complaints. She had noticed that I needed a new wallet, but couldn't bring myself to spend more than $40 on a decent one. I wonder how much this Gucci wallet costs.