Lots of people move south to chase the sun and good weather.
That was certainly part of our plan as well.
However, I was also really ready to trade a hot summer for a mild winter. The HVAC costs in our former home during the winter were just astronomical. Granted, it was a big, old house that required a lot of heating. But opening those HVAC bills during the winter just became too much to bear. So as we neared retirement, we started to formulate a plan that would get us out of all that HVAC heating during the winter to much better winter weather. The first thing we did was to get our family home ready to go on the market. It had been a long time since I had bought or sold a house so the real estate market had changed. The list of upgrades the realtor suggested was a bit staggering. We whittled it down some by doing a few renovations our selves. However, we couldn’t do that when it came to a kitchen renovation and an HVAC replacement. Those cash outlays were necessary in order to get top tier price for our home. And it worked. But I will say that I really did enjoy the 7 or 8 months that I was able to enjoy the new HVAC. That HVAC upgrade was remarkable. Once we sold the house, we rented just long enough to hit the finish line with regard to our careers. Then it was off to the south. I can’t wait to enjoy my first winter without all those exorbitant heating costs.