Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:OP, did you ever decide to move? Just curious as I am planning the same.
I'm OP! Funny this started up again and i just happened to visit the real estate forum, which i never do!
Yup, we went through with this and moved to Sarasota last year. And it's great! We ended up spending more than we initially targeted, not because we had to but because we had the cash and it got us a pretty swoon-worthy home. But there are lots of great neighborhoods that go to the same school we're in bounds for, for half the price. We picked this area for a variety of reasons (my husband and i can both work from home, but sarasota is equi-distant between back offices of our employers, and it's also equidistant between some extended family). The schools are excellent but not to insanely competitive or crazy. Most of the kids go fishing or to the beach on the weekends. As do we! Weather is great. And living is just really pleasant and easy. We have a kid with some minor special needs that have reared a bit more, and while it's not easy to deal with, it's a lot easier here than it would have been in DC. His doctors, pharmacy and school are all within 15 blocks, so it doesn't consume your day to get things done. One thing we knew in moving down here is that if we need to leave either of our current jobs, the opportunities down here are few and far between and at a BIG pay cut. But in our case, we decided we had enough cash that we can deal with a job change without a lifestyle change. That was our particular situation but may not be everyone's. We live in a really nice non-gated neighborhood with house prices ranging from $600k to $3m (waterfront), and our neighbors have all been exceedingly welcoming. They have jobs like doctors, accountants, lawyers, and small to medium sized business owners. There was a state special election last month, and i'd say 25% of our immediate neighbors (4 blocks or so) had political signs, and not a single republican sign among the bunch. Everyone is just regular people, nice and kind and pleasant to be around.
In any event, it was a wonderful move for us and we are so happy on a daily basis.
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