Dreaming in Florida

It’s winter.  We’re back along with the thousands of other snowbirds from colder climes.  They make me crazy.  The roads are clogged.  Forget the restaurants.  No one cooks anymore and, evidently, nobody takes out a mortgage either.  Cash sales are the norm in southwest Florida.  Buff Honey bought three years ago and now nearly a thousand baby boomers are staggering into Florida daily.

I would like to extend our gated community in Venice to surround the entire area.  Not gonna happen.  Venice is a quaint town that was founded in the late 1800s and the main street was developed in the mid 1920s.  Much of its original character and Italian architecture form the downtown.  Parks abound throughout.  Royal palms lead you from Main Street  all the way to the beach.  The intracoastal waterway created what is now the island of Venice.  And BH and I would love to move there.

What’s not to love?   Daily walks downtown or to the beach makes for a paradise for the healthy senior set.  So far, that’s us.  The population is around 20,000 and the median age is 67.  Hence, the 5 o’clock closing time for most stores downtown.

Do not think for a minute that I don’t love our new home in Stoneybrook with its preservation areas that are home to sandhill cranes, blue herons, roseate spoonbills and alligators.  Yes, alligators.  No, I don’t go for night walks.  Yes, I love our pool and spa and love to get in that hot tub at night, especially in the winter.  Now, that is true relaxation.

But, you can’t walk to a grocery store or the movies or the library.  So, we fantasize about moving to ‘the island.’  Every now and then we go to open houses or even get a realtor to show us a few listings.

Here’s the problem.  One, they’re expensive….much more expensive than they were three years ago.  Thank you, baby boomers.  Second, they’re older construction.  The rooms are small, choppy, and everything needs updating.  Thank you, HGTV.  Whenever we see one, all I can think of is tearing down walls, ripping up carpet, and putting subway tiles everywhere.  Third, most of them do not have pools or spas or lanais with outdoor kitchens.  I never in my life wanted a pool until I had one.  It’s Florida.  It’s necessary.  Now, that is probably one of the most spoiled brat statements I’ve ever written.  I totally apologize.

A week or so ago when the lottery was topping a billion dollars, we had a cookout for our January snowbird friends from Maryland.  Someone asked what we would do with the money if we won.  That generated some interesting conversation….some people would give it all to charity (right!).  Others wanted to secure futures for generations to come.  I can’t really buy into that.  What’s the incentive for living a positive and rewarding life?  Sorry, kids.

Interestingly, BH and I had the same answer.  We would love to live on the water.  I grew up on South Lake Conway in Orlando, Florida.  I had no perspective on what a special setting that was.  Later, my parents retired to the mountains of North Carolina, living on a creek the size of a river.  But, I never again lived on water and BH never has.

It’s a dream.  A huge dream.  We ride down Manasota Key and Cedar Key oohing and aahing at the mansions overlooking the Gulf of Mexico.  We know it’s a long shot but then again, why not have a dream?

So, every day I enter the dream house sweepstakes on HGTV.  OMG!  I am so excited!!  The house is on the Indian River in Merritt Island on the east coast of Florida.  I am so in love.  It’s perfect except for that Caribbean Holiday turquoise they’ve painted the master bedroom and the gold gilded white drawers in the dining room.  It’s a can of paint.  I can handle that.

I’ll know my future by the end of February.  Of course, I know millions of other HGTV addicts are entering daily.  I know my odds are about zero.  But I have even less of a chance if I don’t even enter.

So, here I am….just another baby boomer dreaming in Florida.