it’s hard to write a blog called “No Strings Attached” when you are busy trying to grow roots. When we left California five months ago, our plan was to mosey across the country and end up in the Tampa area. Once there, we hoped to find a house and a community to call home. We almost did it.
When I first married Larry, he taught me the motto he lives by, thanks to the U.S. Marines and pop culture: “Sempre Gumby.” Translation: Ever Flexible. That saying has come in handy, because over the past few months, we have hit road blocks at every turn.
The first block was that it’s darn near impossible to get homeowner’s insurance in Florida. If you are new to the state, all that’s available is the administratively bloated, self-serving, State-run “Citizen’s Insurance.” They call it “Insurance of Last Resort.” I call it “All that’s Available.”
I called our insurance company, USAA, which prides itself on serving members of the military. I asked them how they can fail to offer homeowner’s insurance to a combat Veteran. They have to answer to shareholders, the representative said. USAA doesn’t mention that in their ads. What’s more laughable is that USAA’s headquarters is in Tampa.
A series of other real estate snafus, along with the realization that living near Southwest’s headquarters would be more financially beneficial than the small domicile of Orlando, brought us to a tough decision. We decided to leave my parents and all the wonderful people and culture here in Central Florida, and move to Dallas, Texas. Sempre Gumby.
Texas is great. I am related to half the state and I look forward to seeing my family on a more regular basis. A little piece of my heart will remain behind in Tampa, but we are looking forward to hitting the road again and finding more adventure down the road.
Oh, there’s just one more thing...because we were planning to close on a house on August 29, we got a puppy. Riley is a Golden Doodle and is now 13 weeks old. Time will tell if she will like traveling as much as we do...
We'll we can sure related to the "keep flexible" part. Sorry you won't be our Houston neighbors but Dallas isn't that far. Good luck settling in. For sure you will have a house sooner than we will. All our worldly possessions are still in storage in Santee and the bare necessities are here with us in a one bedroom, unfurnished apartment in Houston. It's cozy for sure! Be happy and God bless in your new home. Maybe see you one of these days soon!
ReplyDelete