Our Southern Migration

Images from Stock Photos and Our Zest for Life

It was about three years ago that we first discussed moving to Florida. We had taken numerous cruises from Florida and several times had spent a month or two visiting my brother there. Al was now approaching retirement age.

A move out of Michigan gave us a lot to consider as all our children and grandchildren live in northern states. Although I had lived in Michigan my entire life, physically I have found that my body does not tolerate the cold well anymore. Al works all day driving and the cold weather is not conducive to his good health and safety either.

Decisions

About a year and a half ago, we made the tough decision to get the house ready and put it on the market. I had lived there since 1998, and Al joined me in 2013. After deciding to move south, the next big decision we faced was whether to invest money into the house before selling it. There were two clear sides to this debate. Some people advised us to sell it “as is,” claiming the seller’s market was so favorable we would sell it in a week. Others recommended updating the house to make it move-in ready. Ultimately, we chose to enhance the home for whoever would live there after us.

Home Improvements

As a perfectionist tackling an older home, I found this combination challenging. Every nail hole, crack, and cosmetic flaw seemed to demand my attention. We hired contractors to handle the painting, flooring, and curb appeal. We had already updated the kitchen years earlier. Month after month, with teams working on the house, we watched our expenses rise. By June 2024, we finally completed the renovations and were pleased with our achievements.

I have always thought my timing was terrible when it comes to selling homes. Every home I have sold has shown that there could have been a better strategy. So, when we decided to put our house on the market, we did so with great hope that what others told us about the hot market was true. Although the sale took a little longer than we had hoped, the timing was great. We sold our home to a lovely buyer.

We proceeded to arrange a moving pod and set dates for our move. We planned to sell almost everything, keeping only our treasured items. We would buy new things after we moved. We had already held a garage sale where we got rid of many items we no longer needed.

Day after day, I asked for free apple boxes from Meijer and filled them with only the essentials. Sometimes it was difficult to decide what to keep and what to let go. I credit my daughter, Rachel, for helping me embrace minimalism and hold on to only the things that bring me joy. Looking at my belongings through this lens made a huge difference.

As we approached our house closing day, we still had several large items to give away. This included our sofa, a headboard with built-in cabinets, two mattresses, two box springs, a small dresser in the guest room, a beautiful crib, two large dressers in the master bedroom, printers, and a couple of cabinets. I had to sell my wedding dress, which had never been worn due to the pandemic disrupting our reception plans. Even after hosting a sizable garage sale and listing these items online, I started to feel anxious.

As the days counted down to our departure and I looked at each person and routine with the realization that soon our whole lives would change as we moved south, I began to get practical. Listing items for free on social media became one of the most rewarding steps toward meeting our goals. Isn’t it funny how things we dread can sometimes bring us the most joy?

Better than Money

I started with our sofa. We informed our friends Marcy and Andy, who had bought our dining room table and chairs, that our sofa was also available for free. We were delighted when Andy said he would take it, seeming genuinely excited about the built-in legrests and phone chargers. They are a family that deserves all the good things, and it brought me joy to see Andy’s grandsons carry that heavy couch out the door. It weighed a ton. Zesty surprise #1

The next item to be given away was the wedding dress available due to the pandemic. We married in a civil ceremony. I had attempted to sell my wedding dress for several hundred dollars at a consignment shop, and it did not sell in a year’s time. I listed the dress for a couple hundred on several sale sites. It never sold. It is a beautiful dress with hand beading and crystals. Every time I thought of my wedding dress still hanging in the closet, it made me sad, so I decided to list it for free on social media.

Within the day, I was getting an inquiry as to whether this dress was truly free. I said yes and explained our pandemic story. A woman set up a date and time to come see it. When she arrived, I brought the dress out and unzipped the dress bag. When the woman saw the dress, tears filled her eyes, and she said it was beautiful. She was getting married and needed a new dress. She said that even if it didn’t work for her, she had a friend that might use it. I can’t tell you how happy all this made me. This beautiful gown was going to be worn by someone who appreciated it, and it would save this couple so much money. Zesty surprise #2!

Next came the beautiful crib my husband and I had bought to have our grandchildren stay overnight. It was used mostly by my daughter’s firstborn. It is a beautiful crib, but I couldn’t sell it. I researched recalls on it and received verification that the crib was safe and there were no recalls. The crib came with a baby mattress. Still, no one reached out. I set out to find a great place to donate it.

I called domestic abuse centers, temporary homes for families with hospitalized loved ones, and shelters, all to no avail. These places had rules about taking used items, regardless of the condition of the item. I thought and thought about it until I realized there was one more place I hadn’t yet tried. I had a friend who worked with new single fathers, mentoring them in their new role as fathers. I called my friend and he said he had two new fathers who could use it. He came and picked up the crib. Not only was it great to see him, I was so happy that a new father would have a beautiful crib for his new baby. Zesty surprise #3!

We had two mattresses that I expected would be discarded. One was still in good shape. We set them out front after listing them for free on social media. A gentleman came by to get one of them. He was thrilled with it, but it wouldn’t fit in his car. Our friend and handyman was on his way to load up all the items that needed to be discarded, so we let the mattress customer know we didn’t have much time left for it to be picked up. He called a friend who came by and picked up the mattress for him. He said he had a growing family and needed the queen-sized mattress. He was so happy with his find. Zesty surprise #4!

The two dressers that were left in the master bedroom had been marked sold for our neighbor, Jenni, who planned to buy them. She needed them for her daughter. Jenni had babysat my children and had always been a kind and giving neighbor and friend. She organized our block sales, as well as keeping everyone informed about neighborhood happenings. After giving so much to strangers, we decided just to give the dressers to Jenni and her husband. How happy I was to think that Jenni’s grandchildren would use these dressers. Zesty surprise #5!

The last piece of furniture we had was a huge headboard with built-in storage cabinets. It was cumbersome. This was listed for free on social media. The man who showed up with a very nice pickup truck seemed confident he could fit it all in one load. We had our doubts. He took the headboard apart and lifted the hefty pieces out to his truck. My husband and I were envious of his strength. The man told me he was going to refinish the headboard for his 16-year-old son who was coming to stay with him. He seemed so happy to have gotten this that I could feel it. Zesty surprise #6!

After all the hard work, worry, and fatigue, finalizing emptying our house for people who could genuinely use the items we gave them was such a relief. I had never expected to feel so good on the last day of our move. Who could imagine that these items freely given to these people who needed them would give me more happiness than the money could have? Serendipity!

Our last weekend in Michigan, we celebrated our grandson Leon’s fourth birthday. It was a wonderful celebration. We set out for Florida looking forward to new adventures.

We arrived in Florida on September 4 after a slow crawl south; such beautiful countryside. We were very tired but happy to make it to the wonderful home of my brother Craig. The next few days we would be looking at houses and luxury apartments to decide where we wanted to live.

Our Travels and Local Happenings

After a lot of conversation and seeing some great homes, we decided to rent an apartment in a well-planned community with amenities including a pool, exercise room, billiard table and outdoor games. There are grills located throughout and poolside furniture and table areas. There is a dog park that Eddie loves as he lives for the ball chase. This apartment choice was a difficult one but seemed sensible to learn about different cities in Florida before we buy.

Thank goodness we didn’t buy one of the houses we liked right away because the week we moved into the apartment and the first day we were able to sleep there, Hurricane Helene hit Florida. It was Al’s birthday, and we lost power. He probably had the worst birthday ever, but luckily we came out of it with power restored after 20 hours and no damage to our apartment, nor loss of food.

We breathed a sigh of relief that we had survived the Florida hurricane season. Not so fast! Hurricane Milton came along on October 5th and headed right for us. We watched the water get deeper into the reservoirs around our rental community, but again, we lucked out.

Our development is extremely well designed. All reservoirs held, and the one that worried us most off our back patio held the water. It was sloped so all the overflow water would run toward the field behind us. Whew!

A nice bonus was my sister Lynne staying with us overnight with her lovely rescue dog, Blossom. They live in an evacuation zone. Our dog Eddie and her Blossom kept each other company in the dark and seemed content. When my sister got home the next day, there weren’t any damage or property concerns for her. Another amazing blessing!

Here we are safe and sound near Tampa Florida. I have to say, although we miss everyone up north so very much, walking out into warm weather every day is wonderful. Seeing siblings and a cousin, as well as visiting our favorite Florida places, is fantastic. Our Southern Migration has been a success so far!