It's been a year already!!! (Venice, Englewood: credit, motorhome, buying)

[nphomeowner]

It's really hard to believe but tomorrow at 6:00 PM will be one year since we arrived in Paradise for good.

The time has flown by and we are settled in nicely. We have been making friends and enjoying a lot of what Florida has to offer. There is so much more to see and do and we will get to it a little at a time.

The first year there is just so much to do, decorating, getting your home the way you want it, finding your new nitch and new little routines. Hubby retired just a few days before the move so there was also the being together 24/7 for the most part. We both adjusted to that very quickly.

I have found people to be very friendly every where we go. The beaches are magnificent!

We did learn early on to not trust just anyone in the trades, ask your neighbors or on this board who to call, who to trust. Sometimes your gut is WRONG and that nice guy is a scammer.

BUT that all said, I wouldn't change a thing! I love sitting out on the lanai in the mornings with my coffee watching the wild life (and soon to be sitting by the pool), love the sunshine, love the beaches and the people.

So, I guess I'm no longer a "newbie" in Florida. I consider myself a Floridian now. I'm here to stay and still can't believe we made this happen.

My advice to anyone that wants to make the move here is: (hubby's motto) Make a plan, work the plan, stick to the plan. It worked for us. We planned for almost 6 years but it happened and we LOVE living in our little piece of paradise. It was hard waiting so long but pieces of the plan had to come together to make it work!!

I also want to take the opportunity to thank everyone here for their kindness and help. I intend to stick around and try to help others as all of you have helped me.

[Messing About]

Happy Anniversary.
Dec 3 will be my 5th since moving here.

I also have no regrets and no plans to leave...unless it's further South into the Caribbean.

[MSgal]

Yes, Happy Anniversary! I can not wait till we are living in paradise full time!! Which beach is your favorite? We will be down in a few weeks with the family and not sure which one to try. We have been to Nokomis and Venice on previous trips but have not been to any others in the area.

[nphomeowner]

We like the beaches in Englewood and mostly LOVE Boca Grande. If you haven't seen Boca you really need to go. It's worth the $5 to get onto the island.

[mr&mrssunshine]

NPHO -look at buying the multipass, it brings a trip down to around $3 a go. we are only 10 mins from Boca so its a great investment for us

[MSgal]

We did drive out to Boca Grande and walked on the beach at Gasparilla State park. Is the only access to the beach in Boca along the side roads that indicate beach access? We didn't see many parking areas. Thanks for your help!

[MikeM8560]

Fime doese fly. Its gard to believe ive been gere now 8 year. This month.
When i moved i wanted on the water. Ut the. Arket negated that adter i had sold and left NH in my motorhome. The. Eith the market i sas able to buy kn the water 2 year ago but shortly after mo ing inhad a stroke so my to do list got delayed but ive gotton.back on track slowly.
But i love it here and slmost forget what tome of year it is and all the gears. Lend into one.

[Jetlady]

I have only been here for 4 months but love it, wish that I could go to the beach more often, but I still have to work fulltime, 15 years before I retire. I have the Boca pass, just found out that I can get a pass to Englewood beach, need to look into that this week. Siesta Key is still my favorite beach, Boca when I want quiet, less people, Englewood to people watch and collect shells/sharks teeth.
Now if we could just sell our house up north (open house today), then we can build and I can be 10 minutes from Boca Grande! I want my own house where I can put all of my stuff where it belongs and not in boxes in the garage.

[mr&mrssunshine]

Originally Posted by MikeM8560

Fime doese fly. Its gard to believe ive been gere now 8 year. This month.
When i moved i wanted on the water. Ut the. Arket negated that adter i had sold and left NH in my motorhome. The. Eith the market i sas able to buy kn the water 2 year ago but shortly after mo ing inhad a stroke so my to do list got delayed but ive gotton.back on track slowly.
But i love it here and slmost forget what tome of year it is and all the gears. Lend into one.

ike, wit ut doub y ur pists r the mist entortayning ver

[Big House]

I love it here too! Congratulations on your Anniversary!! We talked to people on this board, and actively planned for a year to move down here. I am grateful to many posters that still post here for all the information and help.

And that is one of the reasons I remain here and continue to encourage others - its hard, and slow sometimes, things don't go as hoped, there are setbacks and not your fault, so it is good to hear some encouragement and keep hearing of the things you ultimately want to do, and there is way more to do than you realize - I agree.

We had a nice group (12) people over and had a good ole fashion MD crab feast, for many it was their first one, a few of us from MD showed the others how to pick and eat crabs. Many were expecting just to try it and were skeptical, but after they ate the first one - they were digging in the the second third and more. . . They said they never knew crabs could be so good. I credited a friend that was there with the recipe which he gave me because until recently I never made crabs. His recipe is awesome, and better than some of the best crab houses in Baltimore. We had two steamer pots going, and after 6 dozen (we only had a couple left over).

Of course it was all washed down with lots of Yeungling! :-)