[jtdraig]

I haven't read everything here so sorry about that. BUT, my advice is to bag it and get out of your Northern haunt unless you like paying high taxes, high maintenance, high utilities, and, most of all, having to administer it all....Oh, and don't forget security. After owning two houses a couple of times we decided to bag it and become full-time Villagers. We go North and stay with friends, children, etc. or we go to hotels....and it's a hell of a lot cheaper than worrying about two places. Depending on your finances, you have many options...and it's almost ALWAYS more convenient to have a primary home and not be tied down. We had a cottage on Martha's Vineyard for YEARS and felt that we always had to go back...I loved the place but it got wild, uncontrolled, crowded, and lost it's charm..so we sold our house there and never looked back. It was liberating.