On relocation ..
In my younger years, I lived a fairly nomadic, gypsy life .. and settled here in Fly Over Country about 25 years ago .. after having lived in Idaho, Colorado, Texas, North Carolina, Tennessee and California and traveling to and from most of what's left, State wise .. I built a good life for myself, own a nice home and two Commercial buildings .. many if not most in the area know me, my neighborhood is quiet and clean and I live at the end of a cul-de-sac dead end street on about 1/3rd of an acre lot .. it's enough room to feel like I'm not sitting right next to the house next door, yet still managable for me in the Spring, Summer and Fall .. the same girl (well, she was a girl back then) has cut my hair when I choose to actually get a haircut, for over 20 years (just an example of how ingrained I am in my ways) .. I have all the amenities I could want, although I'm not much of a shopper, it's there if I need it .. the Kroger is 4 minutes away, the Walgreens is 3 minutes away ... I've had the same Doctor for 10 years, my lifestyle was like a well worn shoe, comfortable, uneventful, bland in many ways, at least as far as I was concerned ..
Yet, when the doo doo hit the fan in and around 2007, I began seriously thinking of relocation .. my logic was, I could consolidate things into one spot, the real estate market was dropping like a rock, there were incredibly good deals out there, I was 7 or 8 years younger then, I think a bit of the wanderlust hit me, I believed if I was to do it, this would be the time ..
Having been a nomad in the past, I knew all places had their good and bad points but what did I want .. ?? I wanted 4 distinct Seasons, I wanted to be close enough to a cultural center in order to not have a major drive, I wanted a quiet neighborhood with the amenities close at hand .. I wanted a quality house with enough land that I could have, if it was not there already, at least a 3000 SQ FT workshop / warehouse .. I wanted what I already had ..
So I looked .. and narrowed it down to Colorado Springs (where I had once lived) or Reno (which I had fell in love with in my younger years). I decided the best thing to do was just put the properties up on the market, pack it up and move, taking temporary housing if the house sold and then waiting for the other property to sell ..
I listed the house and the property .. within a week, my Realtor called and said "Great news .. we have a contract on the house within 3% of what you were asking .. it's not gonna get any better than that" .. that night, I sat in my recliner, with a bottle of JD and an ice bucket next to me, listening to some of my favorite vinyl from the 1960's 70's .. thinking, and smoking my Marlboros .. I went to sleep in the chair around 2 AM ..
I was awaked by the sound of the doorbell, said Realtor outside .. we sat down at the dining room table and she spread the paperwork out, indicating where I should sign .. I silently declined the offer on each and every line .. as she recovered from her shock and quized me, I declined to offer any explaination ..
Because, that night, I guess I finally came to realize that, chasing whatever it was I was chasing, that feeling I was wanting, that mystery of the new, the idea that maybe a move would help revitalize me, re-invigorate those old feelings from days gone by .. would be a fleeting thing at best .. because I already had all that I had worked for all around me .. or maybe I was just chicken ..
Kudos to all of you that make the move, and apologies for the "book" length post .. the muse hit me this morning ..