Why we’re leaving Pennsylvania (or the big Florida move)

Posted by brian on April 19, 2009 · 3 mins read

Why, you ask, were we needing to print so desperately? We made an offer on a house in Florida! Our agents sent over the offer for us to review, sign, scan, and send back, but the printer chose that particular moment in the more than 10 years it had been alive to die.

No, we didn’t get the house. They’re asking what they feel is reasonable, we offered what we feel is reasonable, and there was no meeting in the middle. It’s a nice house and great for our needs, but the price is out of whack with the market.

So we’re renters, instead! We’ve rented a place in Celebration until early next year. The movers pick up our stuff from PA on 5/13, so that’s our last day in Pennsylvania. Renting will give us a chance to get down there and set up base. We were feeling rushed to buy a place, and frustrated by the distance. Slowing down the schedule allows us to find just the right place and to potentially work through a short sale, if it comes to that.

This whole move process started the first week of November, and will conclude in mid-May. In that time we painted almost every wall in our house plus all the doors, interviewed and chose a real estate agent, found me a more remote-friendly position at my company, accepted an offer on our house, got pregnant, interviewed and chose a mover, looked at many (MANY) houses in Celebration to either buy or rent, installed new countertops and a new door, left the house countless times for walkthroughs, and had many nights of restless sleep from the stress. It doesn’t seem real that our move is only 3 1/2 weeks away.

We know it’s the right move for us. There’s nothing keeping us here in PA. As I’ve written before, we haven’t been able to integrate ourselves into the social fabric of this area. Besides our jobs, there’s really nothing keeping us here.

This puts a lot of pressure on our new Florida life, though, and perhaps we have high expectations. We’re looking forward to nicer weather, an actual community, sidewalks, proximity to friends and family, starting a new family, nicer weather, working from home, being close to Tampa, and nicer weather. With any luck we’ll be able to form relationships with other people at similar places in their lives, so as to expand our social circle. I’ll be working from home — something I’m excited and nervous about. There will be a child not long after we get down. There will be beer & wine in the grocery stores, afternoon thunderstorms, no state income tax, and hurricane threats. We’ll be mere minutes from a great sushi place and a Columbia Restaurant. We’re leaving our snow shovels and ice scrapers here, along with quite a bit of salt.

More updates as May 13 approaches.

Originally published at bbhart.com on April 19, 2009.