Go West------

It's official now: our house is up for sale. We've been planning a move for a long time and would have been out even sooner were it not for the sudden economic depression that arrived last year. Hopefully the house will sell sooner than later. We're being reasonable in our expectations. People tell us that it could take up to a year--I sure hope not. Now that it's official, hubby and I would just like to see the thing over with so we can get on with our plans.

Our friends and family have known for years that we were planning this move, but somehow I think they thought we'd "come to our senses." Suddenly people are asking how we can leave family and friends behind. Aren't we going to miss life here?

Strangely enough, now that we've started the process of leaving, I do occasionally get choked up a bit. Yes, I'll admit I'm going to miss my house here in NY, but truthfully only because of the memories it contains, the events that took place that centered around the house. I raised my kids in this house--it echoes with the sounds of their growing up. But those memories are firmly in my head, and I'll take them with me when I go. And yes, I'll miss the view of my yard and my wildlife. In this house I know what to expect from the seasons. And no, I won't miss blustery winter storms and shoveling snow and deicing sidewalks and cars. And I won't miss the humidity one iota.

Family? Something much harder. No, I won't be an hour's drive from them. But the reality is that full time jobs and taking care of personal family obligations and just the routine jobs of living mean that we don't see each other physically all that often even with living in NY. But in today's world, getting on a plane and flying 4-1/2 hours is just not all that big a deal. And yes, we've built coming back for visits into the budget. If I need to be back here, it's not all that long to get here. There are phones where we are going, and yes, the Internet too. And when we need a hug in person, there are those planes again. And those planes go in both directions. Luckily our kids love our destination so they are all planning at least twice yearly visits.

Friends? Again, something harder. But we are all at the points in our lives that many of us are changing life styles and changing residences. One friend is staying in the NY/NJ area but is selling her house--it's just too large and too much time/money in upkeep for the way they want to live now. So many of our friends are absent from the community during yom tov and Shabbos--they are traveling to children now instead of children traveling to them. And some of them are moving into their children's neighborhoods to be closer to the grandchildren. We aren't the only ones moving out of state--the Florida contingent is alive and well and looking forward to a life without snow and mowing lawns. A few are already dividing their time between Israel and the states. With some of the friends we're not going to be physically interacting with them less when out of town than we do now. Besides, the city we're going to is a tourist magnet and business/trade show magnet, and our friends are all telling us to put them down for a visit as soon as we are settled in.

We have a gazillion reasons for why we are leaving and for where we are going, all good ones to us. And I guess we are still both of us filled with a pioneering spirit. We like the idea of being in a community that is still growing instead of full grown. We like the idea of being part of the growth process, of being able to contribute. And yes, it doesn't hurt that the state we are going to has no state income tax, no city income tax, has waaay lower real estate prices, costs less for basic services and has easy access to the things we want to do once we have time to do them.

I know the saying is "Go West, young man!" and we're not all that young and not just a young man going, but hey, it's the thought that counts. Now if you'd like to help us get out sooner, if you know anyone looking for a house in SI, please send them our way.