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Red and I have often talked about moving away from the Washington DC area. We both long to live where the weather is warm year round and there are beaches close by. We also talk often about living closer to Jamaica. Granted the 3 hour plane ride we have to Jamaica now isn’t terrible, but it doesn’t allow us to go for quick weekend trips. Currently, we have warm weather 3 or 4 months out of the year and are about 3 hours from the closest beach, and I use the term beach very loosely. Yes, it is the coast but the water is mucky and brackish, the water can be rough, and the types of people who frequent some of these beaches are down right scary.
Recently we took a trip to South Florida for a mini vacation. Red had an opportunity to go out with many of his friends from Jamaica who have relocated to Miami and Fort Lauderdale. He also got to spend sometime with family that he has not seen in a very long time. Red moved to the DC area from Jamaica for college. He has no family in the area (aside from me) and few “old” friends. He was so happy to be with friends in Florida. I was happy too, enjoying the weather, beaches, our mini vacation, and happy for him.
It was on that vacation we began seriously discussing a move to South Florida. We both have degrees and experience in fields that will allow us to work and make a good living just about anywhere. The housing market is very different from the DC area, in that we can buy a brand new home for a lot less than up here. I am starting a Masters/PhD program in the fall that will cost a little over $1,000 per credit hour. The same program at a University in Florida will cost a whole lot less. All things seem to point to us moving to Florida.
Red has moved forward. He has a series of interviews lined up in a couple of weeks with companies in the Miami area. I have put off buying my books for the classes I have registered for and even had an appraisal done of our house so we can move forward with putting it on the market. Things are actually happening a lot faster than I expected they would. When Red and I started the process we made a commitment that just b/c it would be a pain to get our house ready to sell, to relocate, to change jobs, to find a house… all the stresses of relocating/moving, that we would not let that deter us.
As things have moved forward I am hit with a pang of guilt. Most of my family is within 10 miles of my house. My sister and I work together. Both of my sisters are at my house every weekend. I baby-sit for my nieces all the time. My one sister just had her second child a month ago. I absolutely adore these kids. My 94 yr. old Grandmother is about 2 hours away, we drive up to see her often. It leaves a sick feeling in my stomach when I think about being so far from them.
Then I think about how hard it must be for Red to be so far from his family and friends. I don’t want to be selfish and not consider how hard it has been for him all these years. In fact he has brought up how hard it will be for me to be away from my sisters. He knows how close we are and that my sisters raised me. He knows first hand b/c he has spent so long away from his family.
I go back and forth all the time. I want to move. I want the weather. I want to be closer to Jamaica. I don’t want to be one of those people who stay in one place their entire life. Yes, I have traveled but I have always returned to this area. I don’t want to be stuck. However, the thought of leaving my sisters and their kids is tearing me up.
Help.
Recently we took a trip to South Florida for a mini vacation. Red had an opportunity to go out with many of his friends from Jamaica who have relocated to Miami and Fort Lauderdale. He also got to spend sometime with family that he has not seen in a very long time. Red moved to the DC area from Jamaica for college. He has no family in the area (aside from me) and few “old” friends. He was so happy to be with friends in Florida. I was happy too, enjoying the weather, beaches, our mini vacation, and happy for him.
It was on that vacation we began seriously discussing a move to South Florida. We both have degrees and experience in fields that will allow us to work and make a good living just about anywhere. The housing market is very different from the DC area, in that we can buy a brand new home for a lot less than up here. I am starting a Masters/PhD program in the fall that will cost a little over $1,000 per credit hour. The same program at a University in Florida will cost a whole lot less. All things seem to point to us moving to Florida.
Red has moved forward. He has a series of interviews lined up in a couple of weeks with companies in the Miami area. I have put off buying my books for the classes I have registered for and even had an appraisal done of our house so we can move forward with putting it on the market. Things are actually happening a lot faster than I expected they would. When Red and I started the process we made a commitment that just b/c it would be a pain to get our house ready to sell, to relocate, to change jobs, to find a house… all the stresses of relocating/moving, that we would not let that deter us.
As things have moved forward I am hit with a pang of guilt. Most of my family is within 10 miles of my house. My sister and I work together. Both of my sisters are at my house every weekend. I baby-sit for my nieces all the time. My one sister just had her second child a month ago. I absolutely adore these kids. My 94 yr. old Grandmother is about 2 hours away, we drive up to see her often. It leaves a sick feeling in my stomach when I think about being so far from them.
Then I think about how hard it must be for Red to be so far from his family and friends. I don’t want to be selfish and not consider how hard it has been for him all these years. In fact he has brought up how hard it will be for me to be away from my sisters. He knows how close we are and that my sisters raised me. He knows first hand b/c he has spent so long away from his family.
I go back and forth all the time. I want to move. I want the weather. I want to be closer to Jamaica. I don’t want to be one of those people who stay in one place their entire life. Yes, I have traveled but I have always returned to this area. I don’t want to be stuck. However, the thought of leaving my sisters and their kids is tearing me up.
Help.
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