I could write a book. It's better than I thought it would be. But for me, Florida was a lifelong dream. Seriously. Even as a little kid, I wanted to move to Florida, where there was no winter. I knew I didn't want to live out in nowhere, so the choices were Miami, Jacksonville, Tampa and Orlando for me. I did settle on Orlando because of the parks, though.
And I'd been thinking about it quite a bit for ten years, three of them very seriously.
It just happened that my son was moving on with his own life at the same time houses became dirt-cheap in Florida. And I was at the point of really thinking it was for me. And then winter came. Again.
It's much longer than all that, really. But that's the gist.
It's better. There are many drawbacks! Toll roads, rain, fires, insurance, hurricane worries...no decent potato salad in the grocery store...but all things added up, it's better.
The only thing I miss are the fall leaves. And my brother and dad have the yard guys toss a bunch into a few boxes, so I scatter them about and have them.
The lawn guys here asked me what they were supposed to do with them, lol. Did I want them raked up?
I said, "Just mow over them" and they looked at me. "really. It's fine, just mow right over them like they aren't there."
I hadn't planned on having a pool. I looked at houses and thought, "If the one I like has a pool, fine. If not, fine." But my pool is THE best part, I think! I don't ever want to live without one again!! And the next one will be bigger!
A lot better.
