How do you make the decision?
 

We are doing our research about moving to TV. My question is one that you probably all asked yourselves at one point........
How do you leave a home you love, friends, doctors, a church, family, civic and social organizations you have been a part of for years and love?
How difficult is it to "start over"? Do you lose the person you were in a former life when you move to a location where noboby knows you and you know no one?
Is it a tough adjustment? Looking for some wisdom.
All responses appreciated. Thanks

I feel your pain. It was difficult leaving our kids, grandkids, and great friends when we moved here. Having said that, I couldn't be happier! Our children encouraged us to move and some have already visited, their feeling was that we have worked hard and earned living here. As for your other concern, I did not feel like I changed, but did feel free to be who I really am, no preconceived ideas of who or what I was supposed to be because no one knew me. We are still in the process of meeting people, and have met one really great neighbor so far. We have been in the house two weeks. Good luck in your decision making, I know when we visited here, we knew it was three place we wanted to be.

A lot to think about.
 

Starting over can be great....if you want it to be. Remember that old saying? Make new friends but keep the old. One is silver, the other is gold. Starting over is not without stress but it can also have it's rewards. You may lose some of "who you were" but just think of how amazing you CAN be. We have just started over in the villages after spending winters here for 10 years. It has been a great and rewarding experience but not without some stress. Would I do it again? Absolutely!

keeping both houses just staying less up north

Get your friends from up north to come and visit you and they will move here too!

We will be moving permanantly in early November from Seattle. My sons live in Toronto so I am so pleased to be closer to them but my daughter, my youngest, who I speak to multiple times a day and see reguarly, and am very close to, she is staying in Seattle at this time. She is almost 26 and single, I do not know where she will land but I have a pain in my heart to leave her. I hope she marries someone on the East Coast!!! She is one of my best friends and one of the loves of my life. It is so hard to have it all....but I long for her to meet someone that wants to move East!!! I lose sleep over this sadness.

Many purchasers in TV keep a condo or cottage "back home". Some say 40% of residents are snowbirds. Just one solution.

Another perspective. I never expected to leave CA. But it was getting crowded in our town, growing from 3k to about 80K. Our son and his family were in Sarasota, so it seemed like a good move to come here. Our son and family now are in Chicago so we discussed whether to move closer, but we so enjoy it here with all our new friends that we have NO desire to move. Besides, planes fly both ways!

This is part of the reason I have made choices in my life not based on my children, as I know children marry, move, have career opportunities and you cannot base your life on where they sit today; nor should you put pressure on them because you did make certain moves based on where you thought they would stay. None the less, heartache takes time to dissipate. A mom is a mom is a mom and a daughter and a mom have a special bond. At least Cassandra and I do.

don't think of it as losing who you are - you will always be the sum of your total life - better you think of it as finding a part of you that you haven't had the chance to be yet.

and if you think that the oppty to grow might be too stressful at this time in your life, perhaps finding a way to rent for several months to give yourself a fair trial is a better way than taking the plunge.

Thanks everyone for your insights. Yes, planes do fly both ways. Friends can come visit.
Just getting very pensive in my old age!
Glad to hear all the various opinions.

:welcome: to the TOTV forum. You have come to the right place for answers as you can already see. There are many here who have gone before you and can comfort you in your decision. As a previous poster mentioned, you can expand your personality since you won't be confined by the previous setting you were in plus all the things you left will be multiplied in TV. Only the faces will change and the old faces can come to visit. Do a lot of searches in this forum and read as much s you can. There is good wisdom here. Good luck in your choices.

Without going into detail, my wife and I have done for others all our lives. When we discovered TV we agreed it was a time in our lives to do for ourselves. We have only been here a month but we are thrilled. We are finally through the work phase and looking forward to the play phase. But, this place is awesome and beautiful.

The funny thing is we have had company from up north for about half the time we've been here. Our kids and friends love TV and are really happy for us.

We ahve taken the activity schedule and put the times and dates of the activities we want to try first into our planner. NOW the fun starts. Wahoo!!:a040:

I understand your questioning..I think we have all done it. Even now, knowing that we have made the decision to move I still have guilt feelings. The thing that gets me through is looking at all of the people that I have known and watched grow older, parents, aunts and uncles, family friends, etc. The one thing that I noticed is that as they grew older, their world got smaller. They watched their friends move away or pass away and didn't have the opportunities to make new friends. Eventually they felt old...sitting home waiting for the 'kids' to visit. I really don't want to sound maudlin, there are people that continue to live rich, full lives but the very fact that we would consider moving shows that our lives are already starting to feel smaller. I want my kids and grandkids to be happy to see us, I want my husband and I to have common interests and separate interests so we can still be interesting to each other...I want to go to DisneyWorld whenever I want (ok..I just threw that one in..but it's true :))
Don't feel bad about wanting to move, my mom lived in Florida and a lot of our best memories was going to Florida to see Grandma.

You make this decision just like the other decisions. you weigh pros and cons.

after a lifetime of adventures my wife and I decided to have an adventure of a lifetime.

Only 88000 people here from millions. Stay where you are, you have too much fear and not enough faith Sorry