First: GO BLUE !
Start Clearing out your basement and attic.. there are neither in the Village homes - there;s some space above garage, but that gets well over 100 degrees in summer. If your current house is over 2000 sq ft, you'll need to shed furniture and knick knacks .. Next, look at the remaining furniture.. Will you be comfortable living in an open floor plan home with heavy oak or pine furniture ? HMM maybe not.. go to the popular vh4r dot com web site, not just to look for a place to rent, but to see how the homes are decorated. do the same thing at the villages web site and a realtor web site.. Now shed more furniture. Now look at your clothes. When I lived in Central NY snow country, I had five levels of ski jackets / parkas. When my wife bought a Villages wind breaker last year, the sales person said " What a lovely winter jacket !". Start shedding some clothes.. keep something for your trip back "home", or leave some winter stuff at the home of whomever you;ll be visiting up there. Don't underestimate how much time this is going to take !
Now you're ready ! Oops . you brought down too much .. Budget $100-200 / month for a conditioned storage space.. probably at least 10x10.. Now comes the weather inversion .. if you were cloistered in your home during the wicked winter months, it;s just the opposite.. June, July and August are HOT ! and WET ! Florida knows how to throw a good thunderstorm .. almost every day .. think heavy snow squall.. Can you go out ? Certainly ! you drove in a foot or two of snow, didnt you ? So don;t let 95 degree heat and humidity with 2 inches of rain slow you down ! Used to living inside at 68 degrees ?? You can do it, but your windows will be foggy in the morning and your electric bill will be high .. But you'll almost never turn the heat on during the winter.. so it balances out.. Be prepared to roast in your new neighbors house, because after living in Florida for several years, they keep their houses at 75 to 80, and are very comfortable. Will your blood ever thin to that level ?? Only time will tell ..
Welcome to The Villages ! oh, and leave that snowblower behind.. I gave my 7.5 HP John Deere to my brother and haven't stop smiling .. Merry Christmas
|