A New Life

Life is invariably imbued with twists.  On January 1st, I met my honey in Venice to begin our four month winter stay in a condo overlooking a golf course that was home to Sandhill cranes, a protected species.  I quickly learned why they are protected.

They have the most obnoxious sound I’ve ever heard....not the little sweet tweet tweet associated with birds.  Oh no, they squawk and honk at the top of their lungs, startling us out of a deep sleep at the crack of dawn accompanying the daily lawnmowers manicuring the greens.  And they are HUGE!  About four feet tall and they walk like they own the streets.  So much for the idyllic state I had imagined living on a golf course.

Buff Man was considering buying a home in Florida and living there half the year. Naturally, that was fine with me...returning to my home state after 40 plus years was more than appealing.  But, what did we know about the market?  We’re both planners and thought the most intelligent way to approach this was to spend the next four months figuring out the southwest Florida market and then to make a decision.

The first week in January was so warm, we were trying out different beaches practically everyday, watching the electric sunsets, playing bridge, experimenting with local food and music.  Basically, just kicking back and loving our new life in the South.

Simultaneously, we were rabidly reading the real estate ads and attending open houses.  We narrowed our search, eliminating Sarasota, St. Pete, Tampa....way too overdeveloped.  We longed for less traffic, more of the old, natural Florida....short of entertaining snakes and alligators in our backyard.

We wanted a pool and lanai, enough bedrooms so our children and grandchildren could visit, an open floor plan...no formal dining room or formal living room...no wasted space.  We didn’t want to back to houses and, most importantly, it had to have a southwestern exposure so we could have great natural light.  Not too much to ask, right?

I have no idea how many homes we saw....definitely more than two dozen.  Evidently, there’s a real shortage of inventory down here, especially, for all of our high maintenance requirements.  And, especially, in our price range.  The Tampa Tribune was writing daily stories about how the boomers are loosening their pocketbooks and buying up the market.  Hmmm...sounds familiar.

On one of our drives around Venice, we found a new home development building its last stage.  We walked into the model.  Perfect for us.  They were in the final stage of building the same model as a spec home and it was two weeks from closing.  We went to see it....backs to woods, met the neighbors...another retired couple like us from Michigan.  Cheerleaders for Stoneybrook.  Loved it from the day they moved in.

Who wouldn’t like the spa and pool and the beautiful tiled floors throughout the house?  No carpet.  Yes!  The master bedroom and bath were great size with two walk in closets.  The other bedrooms and baths were on the opposite end of the house.  The great room encompassed the kitchen....best kitchen I’ve ever seen.

It was not a 55 and over development....lots of families, schools nearby.  The community center had a great fitness room, huge junior olympic sized pool, tot lots, tennis courts, basketball courts.  It was replete with preserved, natural areas with ponds, herons, egrets, gators and....yes, Sandhill cranes.  Haven’t seen the gators yet but the neighbor showed me a picture of two that she named Ed and Fred.

And, yes, it faced southwest.  My love had never owned a new house in his life and it was clear that he was smitten.  The negotiations commenced, ending in a contract closing two and a half weeks later.  Ten days after we got here, we had a house.

All that careful planning....renting a condo for four months, learning the market, taking our time to make a decision....done.  We could’ve furnished the house for what the condo cost us for four months.  Oh well....too late for that.  So, if you’re coming this way and you need a place to stay, we have a condo to share for a little while longer.

So, on January 10th, life took a major turn.  We came here with a few clothes for a Florida winter and in two weeks, we were moving into a house.  OMG!!!  Where to start?  Practically every waking minute was spent looking for furniture, buying stuff online, heading out to Bed, Bath & Beyond sales.  I became a huge fan of Costco, Walmart and Big Lots!

We rented the Home Depot truck to load boxes of furniture from Costco...dining room table and eight chairs, sofa, lounger, king bed, end tables, bureau.  We had stuff stored in our condo, our agent’s garage and a storage locker.  Moving day came on January 31st and for $9 an hour, we rented the truck at Value Storage and started our new life.

I reflect fondly on our first week of beach walks and sunsets...I’m hoping to get back there...maybe, next week.