[dbdavis]

Hello folks - This is my first experience with interactive internet, so I hope it'll be enjoyable, and that I don't embarrass myself.
We bought a new home in The Village of Duval in September 2006. We've been renting it through Hometown Property Management, and expect to relocate permanently this time next year.
I'm certain there are some who will read this, and be able to relate to our situation, and we would therefore welcome any feedback in preparing for relocation.
One factor that is foremost in my wife's mind is deciding what to take with us, and what to get rid of. We furnished our Villages home in order to rent, so obviously we don't need most of the old "stuff". We've discussed some things that our children will take, but it's not much. My wife is reluctant to part with her "things", but I'm insisting that we won't need a professional mover for the small amount that we'll be taking.
As trivial as this sounds, it's a major issue with her, and something that's not a priority with me. Does this sound familiar with anyone out there? If so, how did you come to grips with reality, and move on?
I'm a planner by nature, and although it's a year away, I'm constantly thinking of all that must be accomplished within the time frame. For example, signing up for Medicare and Social Security. Selling our condo in a depressed housing market. Preparing for the culture shock of leaving a job, and the salary that goes with it.
As anxious as I am about starting the next phase of our lives, I wish this was all behind us, and we were enjoying The Villages lifestyle.
Any words of wisdom, encouragement, or advice is appreciated.
Happy Fathers Day!

[Donna]

Welcome to our TOTV family..This is a great place to make friends and also get valuable information..

All the best on your move to TV!

:bigthumbsup: 024 040 wav

I donated about 1/2 of my personal library to various public libraries around the Clearwater, FL area back around June 2005 when we moved from Palm Harbor, FL to TV.

Had to throw out my plastic and wood model collection as there was not any room for it here in TV unless we had bought a Villa for these and a house for us. :joke:

Also got rid of about half of my clothes by donating them to a Palm Harbor church with a clothes for the needy like program.

I think a lot of this depends on the size of house you have now and the size of the one you will hope to get here in TV.

As to warm clothes and what to keep, it does get down below freezing here in TV some nights in December through early March or so.

[villages07]

db,

Here's a link to a prior thread that talks about the emotional and practical side of getting rid of stuff.

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/sm...ic,6282.0.html


Good luck...it'll all be well worth it.

[mfp509]

I did a few yard sales and donations to the area church. Some items I sold and figured I could always buy another if I wanted to - like my kayak. Now that I am here if I want to go kayaking, I can rent one.

I didn't experience culture shock - I love not having to work and I am living on my pension just fine. I love getting that check the 1st of the month and not having to get up at 5 AM every morning for it or deal with anything complicated. Now I have time to be good to myself and I am. What a life here in TV.

Although you may experience some stress getting ready to come down, packing and making decisions - it's only natural - but once you get in that car and start the trip down you can let out a big sigh of relief. I know I did. A big welcome to you.

[ouma1938]

We have the same problem db. Only its the other way around. As soon as out house sells we are heading to TV to buy a villa and begin the next and best phase of our lives. But I want to par down to the basics and hubby can't bear to get rid of anything. He said everything is "a memory". But I'm working on it and we have donated a lot of stuff, clothes and household things, to charities already. But you are right to plan way ahead. It will all fall into place I am sure. And I wish you a wonderful move and new life!

[mnchshadow]

Hi I'm in the same situation as most of you were. Hubbie and I are in the process of moving to TV. We also bought a house 3 years ago and put it with the Hometown rental program. Completely furnished it with everything new. We have a country style home now, but decorated the new house with Beach cottage style. I have collected country things for 25 years and love it, but alas it isn't going to go with us. I have agonized over selling "my things", but I slowly started having garage sales, gave some things to friends and the rest to Good Will. I made the circuit of church bazarrs too. Dragged things that didn't sell back and forth. Broke some really nice things from all the moving around. I even ran over a few boxes that I forgot I had taken out of the back of the car and left them on the ground. I don't know if it's old age or just "someone" giving me a nudge but we have broken so many nic nacs lately by dropping them. Every time we do we automatically say. "Well, one more thing we don't have to pack!" To tell the truth, once I have "LET IT GO" I don't miss it at all. I made a vow not to clutter the new house with "things" I will have to part with someday. I hope I can do it! :

[pwdasher]

Hi all, we bought our villa in October of 2007. We furnished it with all new things to use as a rental also. It's clutter free, and when we are able to occasionally come to TV for a weekend, it's like a breath of fresh air! When we go back to our other home, with 5 bedrooms and 3000 sq feet of stuff , it makes me almost sick too see all the stuff we have, that we certainly don't need. I don't miss any of it when I am at TV. So I hope I won't have any problems getting rid of it when we are finally able to move to TV permanently. Good luck to you all!

[nONIE]

Mnch & Pwdasher,

I was a very sentimental person and very attached to "things". I also was a horder and collector for 37 years.

Strangely enough after a few visits to TV and the realization that this is where I want to spend the rest of my life, these "Things" started to have less and less meaning for me and now I am ready to say "Take it all! take everything"! To the auctioneer that is. Not to TV!
I am so ready to say goodbye to all the material things in my life in exchange for a happy active, life in TV. It really has brought about a tremendous change in my attitude and I hope the same will happen for you. ;D

[mac9]

We bought our house in TV 2 years ago when I retired. Since my husband is 5 years younger than I and hadn't retired yet, we used our TV home as a vacation home which necessiated furnishing it. When he finally retired and we were making the big move, I kept reminding him that, although we love TV and everything about it, storage is a real problem even in our Camellia. We then started sorting things to be sold, donated, trashed, etc. The first question for anything in the keep pile was "where will it go?" If it couldn't be answered in 5 seconds or less, it had to go. There was only one piece of furniture that we decided to keep. We moved it in a U-Haul with our clothes and some other things. We hired a team to pack the truck up north, my husband and a friend drove it down, and I flew down and had a team here to unload it for us. It cost approximately $1000 for the rental, gas, tolls (from New Jersey), and both teams. TV relocation office was helpful to us in locating the team here.
It's a new life phase. Hope that this was helpful.

[Russ_Boston]

This will sound harsh but my plan is to only take what I can fit in the back of a minivan. Therefore no furniture, no TVs, few clothes etc. I'll keep memorabilia and my golf clubs of course :joke:. Everything else I plan to buy brand new when I arrive. I'm looking forward to it actually. It will be very cathartic.

I plan on just having an 'open house' sale on the entire contents of my house. My kids and family can come in a week ahead of time and strip it bare. The rest I'll sell and use to buy the gas to get me down to TV.

[graciegirl]

Welcome DB.

I certainly understand your problem. I am the person who more easily gets rid of things in our marriage, my husband is not a hoarder at all, but tends to keep things for their potential future use, and usually he is right.

However the hard thing is the useless but treasured things we have. Our mothers sewing machine. A child's rocking chair passed down for six generations. Boxes of photographs. Trophies and awards. The THINGS of a busy and well lived life. The milestones of love, loss, and success.

We haven't had to face that head-on yet, but we returned yesterday after settling into our new home in Hadley and I too began thinking and even worrying about it too.

When looking at the photographs of preowned homes for sale in TV I wondered a lot at how crowded and full of clutter they were. Now I understand much more about that.

I guess that the old cliche' is right. You can't take it with you. Even to the FIRST Paradise.

[dbdavis]

Thanks to all for your responses. It's a relief to know that there are others with similar issues. I'm trying to be optimistic about the year ahead, and all that must be accomplished, but can't help being somewhat discouraged about the housing market since we must sell before the relocation next year. Some say timing is everthing, and although we couldn't have predicted the economy today three years ago, we will move on with our life. Can't wait to be a full timer in TV!

[jadebox]

Speaking of books---When getting ready to move here I kept around 500 paperback books which I brought here and donated to the Mark Twain library. They also take movies.