Pros and Cons

These are the things I am looking forward to when it comes to moving to Florida:
1. Living near my parents. We get along really well, and the older they get, the more I get nervous about them being so far away. They're no spring chickens!
2. The ocean. It is the most relaxing place in the world to be. If I ever get a job, I look forward to swinging by the beach on the way home to de-stress. If I don't get a job, I'll go there as often as I can to soak in the sights, sounds and sun rays.
3. No more snow. We watched a movie the other night where the actors were shivering in the wet, freezing snow. No thank you. I've had enough of it and I'll be happy if I never see another flake as long as I live.
4. I only have one grandparent left, and she lives in Tampa, FL. That means I'll get to see her more than once every few years and I think that will be fantastic! I also have some cousins there and it will be so nice to see them more often.
5. Change. I really crave change every so often, whether it's a hair cut or re-arranging the furniture. This is a rather large change, and pretty much everything is going to change with this trip. I say bring it on!
6. The warm weather. We'll be near enough to the ocean that we'll have the nearly constant breeze keeping the humidity away.
7. Adventure! There are so many new places to see and explore there! I've already looked up the local festivals and have a few in the fall I'm excited about. There are a ton of nature preserves there, natural springs, and other outdoorsy things for us to do.
8. Visitors. I'd like to think that living in such close proximity to St Augustine, Disney, and other various travel destinations will give the Hutcheson Bed & Breakfast some business. (Friends - please come and visit us!)
9. The housing market. Once we sell our house, we'll have so many wonderful new homes (at bargain, clearance bin prices!)


Things I am not looking forward to when it comes to moving to Florida.
1. I will miss my friends here so, so much. They have become a family and a community to Andrew and I. That's the only thing that is really making this move difficult. It wrenches my heart to think about it, so I'll stop...
2. I don't have a job lined up. We'll be fine and I'm sure I'll find something, but I feel like I'm starting over from scratch. It's taken me 2 years to build a reputation in the school system here and I've worked hard to do so. Now, it's back to square one.
3. Packing.
4. Unpacking.
5. Moving is expensive. We have a PODS and it sounds perfect - we load it, they move and store it til we're ready for them to bring it to our new home, whenever and wherever that might be.
6. The dogs are going to be cooped up in my dad's workroom for as long as we're staying at my parents' and boy do these pups like to bark!
7. Living at my parents' house. Their house is amazing and wonderful and so are my parents, but we hope it's a short visit for the sake of our relationships.
8. Trying to sell our house from several states away. We'll see how this works out!
9. Scorpions, snakes and alligators. They live in FL, too, and I hope to avoid them.


That's all I've got for now. I am so very thankful for my partner in crime, Andrew, for picking up the slack when I get worn out and for being the bread winner and actually getting a stellar job in this daunting and recessed market.