After we dinghied and drove away from Infinite Improbability for the last time, and after breakfast, we hit the road. As previously mentioned, we drove about 4.5 hours to Sebastian, FL and Sue and Al without incident. We unloaded the cars into their storage trailer and drove to Fort Pierce to our temporary living arrangements with Mike and Carol. The other Mike & Carol. Incredibly generous to let us stay with them for a long term stay.
Our first full day was research into the market for housing in the area and choosing a real estate agent. We were looking for mobile homes and learned these type of homes are handled differently than in Connecticut. At home they are real estate like any other house. Here they are vehicles because, in theory, they could be moved. Mobile. It does happen. Usually they are moved by bulldozers and other heavy, destructive equipment. Or hurricanes. Or tornados. Another difference is the agents charge a $1000 flat fee to the seller as commission and a smaller service fee to the buyer. There is sales tax to the buyer, also. Other fees and costs are smaller. Certainly smaller than Connecticut.
On our second day we put our chosen agent to work. But we worked, too. Looked at 7 or 8 homes. Tiring. Our third day we went back to the neighborhood where most of the homes we saw were located. Asked random people their opinions of the area and its amenities. Mostly very positive. On our fourth day it was another half dozen homes to see. This time in Vero Beach instead of Fort Pierce. Saw some nice homes. And some not so nice. Common factor: more expensive, higher monthly fees and fewer amenities. On our fifth day we took Mike and Carol to our two top choices for potential homes to take advantage of their knowledge and expertise. Did kind of a survey/inspection in lieu of a professional (paid) inspection. Then we made an offer on one. The offer was countered, of course, but we did quickly come to an agreement without the acrimony of the boat sale negotiations just a few weeks earlier.
So, after five days, we had a home. Of course the details took time. Many weeks before it was actually ours and we moved in.
We chose a home that was not real close to the water (like this one above is). They were more expensive but came with these extra benefits we didn't want.
It is in a senior community with a lot of activities. It has two pools, a 9-hole golf course (wasted land), gym, pickleball and tennis courts and more that I've forgotten.
Why two pools? The riff-raff (visitors/guests) are only allowed in this pool. Not the nice one. Both are heated 'though.
Some exterior views...
Some of the details were a little weird to us. Getting approved by the owners of the land we'd be leasing is normal. A criminal history and financial history is mostly standard but a bit extreme. They also had to approve the home which is already in their park. Strange. We also had to prove we were married. We spent money to obtain a copy of our marriage license before they decided it wasn't needed because Carol had her own income and assets. Me too, I guess.
Getting homeowners insurance in Florida is a hassle, too. And expensive. Very expensive. Four times the cost of our Mystic homeowners insurance at one third of the value of that home. Plus we had to get an inspection of the home anyway. We opted to forego being insured for hurricanes. Or tornados. Or thunderstorms. Or someone with a bad cold with sneezing passing by. There was a tornado from Hurricane Milton back in October that damaged or destroyed quite a few homes in the neighborhood. Six fatalities, too. We are hoping there are odds against it happening again here any time soon. Hoping. Not being covered for wind damage saves a lot of money. A lot. But the saved money won't mean much if we have serious damage from wind, no matter the source. So, a lot of risk. For us, not the insurance company. Oh well.
While waiting for our closing date confirmation I started playing pickleball at a North Hutchinson Island public park. Pepper Park. Mostly good to very good players and within a week or so they got to know me and had conversations. I probably won't be back much as our new home comes with two private courts. Unless the players there aren't very good. As long as there is a mix I don't mind helping new players. Did it in Marathon. We also started doing a number of different nature walks in the Treasure Coast area. There are quite a few options for exploration as well as a lot of choices for beaches. Miles of beaches. Some have lifeguards. Some are at your own risk. Some are very scenic. Some are merely nice. Some have limited parking and some have full facilities so, as I said, lots of options. It's hard to avoid the beaches but I'll likely make a reasonable effort.
After a month with the Guays, we moved into our new winter home. But first...
The closing didn't go so well. We were told the real estate agency could take the money needed for the purchase from our account by wire (electronic). No. We had to wire the money from our account. That's different. Taking money from an account (with authorization of course) vs sending money from that account. A different process. One our credit union doesn't allow. Wire transfers have to be done in person. Problem? Well, we are a thousand miles away from being 'in person'. A credit union nearby offered to be the intermediary. We would go there in person. Our C. U. would send the money to them and then we would wire it to the realty company. No. Not allowed. Many hours were spent on the phone exploring options. Offering solutions. Waiting to talk with a manager/supervisor. Pleading. No. It's 2025. There are means for face-to-face remote meetings. Ways to make secure transactions. Ways to prevent fraud while still serving your customers needs. No. Not for our credit union. No interest in serving a 50 year customer/member relationship. Hmmm? Wonder if we'll continue that relationship?
We scrambled to arrange a flight to Connecticut for the next day for me. And rent a car. And drive to the credit union to meet in person. Grrr. Not fun. Also, it's damned cold in Connecticut. The high temp while I was there was 30°. The low was in the teens somewhere. Too cold for me to even look it up. Shivering too hard. We winter in Florida for a reason. So, I flew from West Palm Beach to New Haven, CT. (Actually relatively painless) Then I had to find a cab to the car rental place while standing outside the airport in freezing weather for 30 minutes. Did I mention we did not have Conecticut winter clothes in Florida? I barely made it to get my car before the rental place closed. Some begging to keep them waiting involved there, too. Information about their location, and policies, and hours were strangely missing from, or hidden on, their website. Fine print. On a phone screen. I then drove an hour to Mystic and some horrible pizza for dinner. Some time was wasted cleaning up after visitors to our northern home but it was good to see it after many months. A shower, a sleep, some re-winterization and clean up of our (other) home and it was off to the credit union. An hour or so drive. After a 15 minute painless meeting (after days of aggravation) it was just a wait for confirmation that the transaction had been completed. After about 45 minutes the deal was done and Carol (in Florida) arranged to get the keys. We had another home. I waited around, had lunch, waited around, took a walk, waited around, read and eventually went back to the New Haven airport. And waited around. The flight to West Palm Beach was easy and smooth until the last 30 minutes. Storms were over northern to central Florida and the air was quite lumpy. We got bounced around quite a bit and the landing was not exactly butter. Oh well. After an hour drive, I was home. Again. For the first time. It'll take some getting used to to make it 'ours'. Adapting. After a cold pizza dinner it was time (much later than normal) for our first sleep.
One of our first tasks on our first full day was to retrieve our 'stuff'. The things from the boat that we temporarily stored in Sue and Al's storage trailer near their Sebastian home. They drove the trailer to Fort Pierce, helped us unload it into our 'Florida Room' (lanai) and then the fun began. Going through it all and deciding where to put stuff. You would think that if it came off a boat it would easily be stored in a 1350 sq. ft. home. Well, it was stored anyway.
So, now it's the real end of our boating era. The start of a new phase of our lives. It'll be interesting. We hope. Snowbirds still, anyway. In a senior community. Half the year. For now.
We've been incredibly fortunate to have had friends (mentioned previously) to help us in this transition. Also a friend in Marathon still watching for mail that is straggling to keep up with us. Also many in (or formerly in) the boating community that offered moral support and encouragement. Fortunate indeed.
We assume we will make new friends in our new community but the old (I should say long time) ones will always be the core.
So, once again, I say this will likely be the last blog posting of this era. Not much point to a blog about the cruising (living aboard) life when you no longer have a vessel to cruise in. More than 15 years of this blog has been posted. Who, besides me, has read them all? Any?
Maybe I'll start a blog about the boring life in a senior community. Maybe not.
Bye For Now
🙀😿👋🖖
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