In my memoir, I’ve saId “Never say Never” and now I’ve done it again. In my last chapter I remarked how I hoped this would be the last place I’ve lived in, as I finally felt “home.” And, my husband and I love our home very much.
However, our thinking has changed since I penned those words. And now, unbelievably, I am anticipating – even looking forward to – MOVING AGAIN. Here’s why.
First, Charles has been saying for a couple of years now that we should leave Connecticut for fiscal reasons. It’s one of the highest taxed states in the country, and its estate taxes are burdensome too. He shudders at the thought of sharing his estate with the state taxman at the expense of his heirs.
Second, our children are grown and live far away. They very rarely come to visit us in Madison. They claim it’s easier for us to visit them where they are. And so, our house has grown too big for us and we want to downsize.
Third, we both hit 70 this year and even though we are thankfully in good health now, the maintenance of our grounds becomes more problematic. Of course, we could hire others to maintain our property, and little by little we have farmed out bigger chores to landscape crews. But, the future is clear: sooner, rather than later, we won’t be able to do most of it ourselves.
Fourth, I mind the winters more and more. This past winter, we spent the month of January in Naples, FL. We had such a good time, we started to ask ourselves: why don’t we move there permanently – for a number of reasons? It took us less than a month to decide to proceed. No one has been more shocked at this change of heart than me. But, since my mind has been made up, I’m anxious to begin this new journey.
We haven’t found a condo in Naples yet, but we do hope to be ensconced there by next winter, either in a condo we purchase or a rental waiting for a condo that we love and meets our needs to come on the market. Stay tuned!
We decided against becoming “snow birds” as we don’t want to own more than one home.