We met with a realtor on Tuesday, and things have gotten more, um, "real."
It's interesting, because this has kind of stimulated more emotions than anything else lately.
Frankly, I'm still kind of amazed that Mitzi came onboard so quickly. I genuinely believed that it'd be another bad hurricane season before I could convince her. I didn't think we'd be putting the place up for sale this spring.
But here we are.
So, a certain amount of anxiety. Will we get what we want/need for the house? Early indications are that it'll be close, but we'll have to wait a few months before we can make a better assessment. But we're pressing ahead regardless.
Regarding where we land, a little less anxiety. Winterfell is mostly a known quantity by now. We can be comfortable there in the short term, while we figure out if we want to remain at that location and build something, or buy something in a location that's less rural. We're leaning toward building on the property. Mitzi's never experienced rural life, and I think she's intrigued or excited by the idea.
I was looking at the Census data for St Johns County and Schuyler County. One telling data point should be sufficient: Population per square mile. St Johns County, Florida - 455. Schuyler County, NY - 54.5.
As for me, I'm excited; but I have a tendency to expect the worst and hope for the best. So my excitement is tempered by my, well, temperament.
It's balancing risks. I know that some aspects of life, particularly aging and health care, will be more challenging in New York. But I also know that we're at far less risk for a large-scale natural disaster, or the unfolding, man-made disaster that is Florida as a whole right now.
New York has its own problems, no state is perfect. But it hasn't made this ideological turn toward cruelty. Florida was bad enough when it catered to the privileged and simply ignored everyone else. Now it's focused on culture war issues, a violent metaphor for dividing and demonizing people. And it does so at the cost of addressing the genuine challenges confronting the state due to climate change.
There seems to be an emerging public relations effort by Florida Republicans to convince people that they've been preparing for this, and the state is ready for whatever the future holds with respect to the climate. I don't know who they think they're kidding. They've governed for more than a generation now, and all they've done is place more people and property at risk. What they're pointing to now as "resilience efforts," are far too little and way too late.
But they don't want to spook the seniors, so what else should we expect?
Anyway, our task for now is to figure out how to get rid of stuff so that this place is ready to be shown while we're in New York this summer. That's mostly a challenge for me, the guy who tends to accumulate stuff, valuable artifacts that may be regarded by some as "clutter."
I've been wrestling with the idea of getting rid of this iMac. It tends to dominate this space (my "office"), and I wonder about the extent to which its presence shapes my behavior. Big desk, big chair, big computer. Resembles "work life" somewhat. Habituated to sit in big chair, before big desk with big computer.
Maybe getting rid of it will be a "big change."
Seems we may be in the season of "big changes."
The beat goes on...
Originally posted at Nice Marmot 06:32 Thursday, 19 December 2024