Happy New Year! Yes, I know it’s March, but I’ve been busy. This retirement thing is harder than it looks.
Really, I have been busy planning the next phase of my retirement. We’re moving!
When people find out I’m moving, the first thing people ask me is if we are moving to Margaritaville in South Carolina. After my blog in Wasting Away Again in Margaritaville – Not! , many people assumed we were moving down south. However there was one problem with Margaritaville, it wasn’t in Maryland.
I have lived in the same town (except for a brief time during college) for the past 61 years and I currently live a mile and a half from where I grew up. I have had a great life here and we lovingly compare my hometown to Mayberry, So why move?
Like many people, our family home just seems too big for us these days. We have a home over 3,000 square feet and a lawn that requires a great deal of maintenance. In addition, many of the original owners are moving out and younger families are moving in. It’s a natural cycle for many established neighborhoods. So, I decided it was time to move.
I say I because my husband has been exploring other options for years. Ever since he retired in 2020, he has been sending me house listings, mainly in Delaware. However for me, a move to Delaware is almost like moving to South Carolina. With a 2 1/2-hour drive, we would need to give up seeing our friends on a regular basis, our doctors and our hair stylist. The last one is very important to us. She’s amazing. I would mention her name, but it’s difficult enough to get an appointment with her.
So with my parameters in mind, my husband began his search. There are many wonderful places to live in Maryland and they are all very different.
We had a list when we began our search. Honestly, the home we ultimately chose did not have everything on the list But just like the ultimate choices people make on House Hunters, no house had everything we wanted.
Our number one requirement on the list was a sense of community. We wanted a community center, pool and fitness center just like Margaritaville, but located in Maryland. We also wanted no maintenance. I have a vivid picture in my mind of my husband vacuuming up our leaves as they continued to drop from the trees so one of the most important features we wanted was no raking, mowing or snow shoveling.
We also wanted to live near the water or have a view. But what was crucial for us for us was we did not want to have a mortgage. I love to travel and I did not want to be weighed down with a mortgage.
Over the years, my husband have made many good financial decisions that allowed us to retire early with no debt, but the prices of new homes in many over 55+ communities shocked us. After talking to other people in the same situation we found out that the house listed for existing homes was not even the price people were paying. Many of the homes went for above list price and forget about contingency. People wanted cash.
So given our financial resources, we narrowed it down to two communities: Bloomfields in Frederick County and Four Seasons on Kent Island.
On paper, Four Seasons was the winner. It was located right on the water with beautiful views, low taxes and an amazing community center that had already been built. Our heads were saying it was the right place, but we really didn’t like the layouts of the homes and although we did like the condos, the whole place just didn’t feel right for us. And when my husband asked some questions about the community center use, he received a text message from the salesperson saying how busy they were. That response and ensuing conversations did not go over well.
Bloomfields, felt right almost immediately. I remember the day we walked into the model. It was a rancher, which we wanted and had a finished downstairs. My husband walked into the lower level first and even though I was behind him, I heard him say “Mine!” (For the record, he denies saying that so I must have been reading his mind.)
Although we loved the house and community, the taxes in Frederick are crazy. (Yes, Frederick, I am calling you out as many residents have to pay both city and county property taxes.) and there was no water or other other scenic view. Also, we weren’t quite ready to move. I am still working in my hometown and have a commitment to work until the end of the year.
So, we continued our search, but that house was always in the back of our mind. And of course, we decided that we weren’t ready to move.
The search was causing some rather lively conversations between me and my husband so we consulted Jenn Gruber who I interviewed in January 2023. She really helped us become clear on what we wanted and helped us move forward in a less contentious way.
Then Scott told me he received an email from the sales agent David. David had kept in touch with Scott since we first visited Bloomfields. Not in a stalker way, more just an occasional “how are you doing?”
David had invited us to a party for prospective owners and current owners. We decided to take a second look. When we walked in, David knew he had us. We immediately felt at home and enjoyed speaking with all the neighbors.
The house we liked had gone up $30,000 and we knew we would have to act soon before we were priced out of the neighborhood.
I’m not going to tell you it was an easy decision. We had more conversations with Jenn and many more conversations with each other. In addition, we talked about how ensconced we both were in the community and weighed the pros and cons of moving.
Ultimately, we signed on the dotted line.
Even now there are times we wake up and think, “What have we done?” We second guess ourselves and wonder if we made the right decision. But as Scott says, “The train has left the station.”
Also, I keep reminding myself, and Scott, that if it doesn’t work out, we can always move back. Sure we won’t have the same home, but it was too big for us anyway.
Currently, we are right in the middle of selling our house. My next blog will be about the process of selling our house but only after we settle on both houses. In Jewish tradition it’s called a “Kneina Hura” to talk about something before it happens so that blog will have to wait until after we settle.
To be continued…