Getting Ready for a New Adventure

I don't know why we didn't think of it sooner. Probably because I've lived in Texas longer than I've lived anywhere. And we thought that if we went further south that it would be warm enough. And it seemed right to give that a try.

We were in New Braunfels and San Antonio for most of January and February. At best, it was only five degrees warmer than it was in Dallas. Which was still way below 50 F. So from November through March it was too cold for Mark to live in Dallas or San Antonio. (I checked the weather for South Padre and it wasn't a whole lot better.) And then when you get to late June through early September, it's too hot to live in Dallas and we have to head for Colorado or Wyoming - which means that the only months we can actually live here are April, May, and October.

And then it hit us. Move someplace where it's warm all the time! That would be Hawaii, Arizona, Florida or Mexico if we want to remain in North America. (There are even fewer options in Europe.) I'm not ready to move to Mexico. My Spanish is non-existent once you get past uno mas and gracias. Hawaii is nice, but it's just too far away from everything else and the cost of living is beyond ridiculous. It snowed in Tucson and Phoenix last year making Arizona a less attractive choice. Plus direct flights to England aren't readily available out of Phoenix not to mention that in summer it gets even hotter than Dallas, although it is a shorter drive to Colorado. Then there's Florida. If you get as far south as central Florida, the temperatures are always warm. The humidity can be a bit overbearing, but there's air conditioning and you're only an hour or so from the beach and the sea breezes. We'd also be close to the international airport in Orlando. Maybe even closer than we are to DFW Airport. Plus there's a cruise port at Canaveral, a little more than an hour away. And for extensive cruise choices there's Fort Lauderdale and Miami - a four to five hour drive. (No farther than driving to Galveston, but with more itinerary options.) And some of those over 55 communities look really good. Golf courses, community centers, neighborhood pools, clubs, activities - be as busy or as idle as you choose.

So that's our plan. Florida. We're getting ready. Stay tuned.