This has been such a stressful week for me and, I suppose, for Andy too. It’s not all bad stress, but stress none-the-less. In October, we were driving all over eastern Tennessee looking at houses. My dream was a large piece of property in the rolling hills with views of the mountains. Andy was going along with me, but not so keen on the idea. Here is the one that captured my heart:
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/169-Bearfield-Rd-Chuckey-TN-37641/42588297_zpid/
I mean, what is not to love there? Ten acres on a mountainside, part pasture and part forest? Actually, there were several things that made this impractical, all of which Andy calmly pointed out. Unfortunately, he was absolutely right. We looked around some more, but nothing else moved me.
Then, while waiting here in Alliance Coach for a new window shade to arrive, we decided to look around in The Villages. This must be the epitome of retirement communities. It is huge. There are 55 golf courses and thousands upon thousands of homes. We probably looked at a dozen of them. The first day, Tana took us to half a dozen. They were lovely, just right, in fact. But, the more we looked, the more stressed I became. Too large, too small, too dark, too fancy, too ugly. Nothing was just right. After Tana dropped us off at the end of the day, we decided to run to the grocery store for some fruit for breakfast. I don’t know what preceded it, but I started crying right in the produce section. Andy was bewildered.
The next time we looked at six more houses, a bit larger and more expensive. That night, my stomach growled and gurgled non-stop. I was so churned up. Then I realized that maybe I am not ready to settle down in a house yet. I don’t want to give up the nomadic lifestyle. I do want a house, though. I want counter space in the kitchen. I want a place to stow the vacuum cleaner. I want a place for the paperwork and files. I want to hang my artwork on some walls. I want a real dining room table on which to eat dinner.
Our service advisor, Will, suggested that we look at Arlington Ridge, an active adult community, as they call them, in Williamsburg, Florida, not far away. It is nice. The houses are much less expensive too. There are probably hundreds, if not thousands of these communities in Florida. They have a golf course, swimming pool, and clubhouse, etc. This one has several floor plans that I like and within our price range. I think Florida homes all look alike.
We are thinking about it. It is still stressful. Big decisions. Life changes. Aaarrgh!!!
The long-awaited window shade finally arrived. It was the wrong one. We decided to give up and head on down to the keys. Will said they will ship us the new shade when it comes in. So this is our last night in Wildwood. Now, rather than looking at houses, I can go back to being stressed over THE BOOK.
Dinata Misovec 
Love the house in Tennessee but it is quite large for just two people. I have lived in Florida for many years. If you are looking for rolling hills and a nice big lake and a quaint village that will remind you of New England. It has the four seasons even some snow but nothing you would have to shovel, just a few inches. Visit Mt. Dora it’s not too far from where you are now and I love it there. Sounds like that’s what you’re looking for. You can pull it up on the computer. Happy hunting. :o)
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Yes, we’ve been to Mt. Dora. It is adorable and charming! Leesburg also has a bit of charm in town, but it is not as big as Mt. Dora. I like the hills and trees in north Florida. We just need to stay far enough away from Orlando.
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We had a home that looked so much like this, on fifteen acres in Oregon, all Montana pine with an option to buy the neighboring 10 acres. It was such a hard decision, but we let it go. I still think of it occasionally~
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We sold our horse farmette in southern Maryland in 2000. I still miss it. It is a post-and-beam house with plenty of character. The next house is going to be nice, but bland and just like all the other houses on the street and in the whole development. I guess we women like our nests.
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Don’t envy you house hunting. We had a nightmare not only selling our property in 2014 but also trying to find another. Basically we got priced out of the market, hence buying the boat. Not exactly the detached property we’d had in mind, but we don’t regret it.
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I hear ya there. We sold our house in 2000 and moved on the boat. Now, we can’t buy much with that house money. However, we’ll never regret our years living aboard, no matter how much it impoverished us. And, the boat is always (well almost always) waterfront property!
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Likewise, having been liveaboards for over two years now. Wet season doesn’t bother us too much (only when we hve to take the dog out), and we have everything we need here. It’s a good life for us just now.
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Living aboard is a unique lifestyle. There is a bond between boaters, the likes of which I have seen nowhere else. The RV is similar, but you don’t see the same people twice.
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I totally agreed about the boating community. For once, we feel we ‘belong’ and the people here are wonderful.
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We have found that boaters everywhere are wonderful, open, and friendly.
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It is wonderful and i wouldn’t change it. We have the best of both worlds here being friendly with local residents, townsfolk, and our boating community. I’m so glad to be part of it.
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no grass grows ‘neath y’all’s feet! globe trotters thee. no wonder ye is stressed.
Fred and nephew Ives arrived in Marathon yesterday. big bad news – our fave $5 restaurant, The Hurricane was/is shut down tight from the arrest of the owner who got caught with child porn on his computer. aside from feeling nauseated about the children who were abused in order for the child porn to be produced, we personally are devastated at the loss of our favorite Keysy eatery.
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That is a terrible loss!
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It probably isn’t stress that made you leave, it was the cold weather that came blowing in. It was great to see you guys!!
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It was great to see you again too Ken. And, I am happy we introduced you to O’Shucks. We sure did get out ahead of the cold weather again. Just in time.
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love the Tenn house
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Me too, but it is not to be for me. We are going to buy a boring development house in Leesburg, Florida.
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A friend of mine is currently looking in The Villages for a home. I just wish I could afford that log cabin!!
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The Villages are great, but too big for us. We also noticed that other, less famous developments, have a lot more house for a lot less money. I loved, loved, loved that log cabin too!
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