Some Deeply Personal Thoughts

Good morning:

I need to share some deeply personal thoughts with you loyal and faithful readers and followers and the only way I know how to do it is to be very direct and upfront ... so ... here it is ...

For about the last 5 months I have been constantly thinking that this adventure in NYC is over and it is now time to move on to something different.

Yes, I am seriously considering leaving NYC in June and moving back to Florida ... yes ... you read it right ... leaving The Big Apple and moving back to The Sunshine State.

Now ... take a deep breath and read on and don’t rush to judgment until you have read everything and then given it some thought ...

Background ... I retired in January 1995 and began spending extended periods of time in NYC. 

In June of 1998 I became a full-time resident of The City and I began my adventure as a Reverse Snowbird/Theater-freak. I sold my house down in my former hometown, Bartow, FL. 

The lease on my apartment, you know it as PHC, is up on May 31st. I haven’t received the renewal “offer” yet but I know from past experience that the building owner will be asking for an inordinately high rent increase. This I am certain of. My current rent is $3,400 per month.

The last thing in the World I want to do is get involved in hunting for another apartment in Manhattan, the only place in NYC I would ever live.

For the past two Winters I have been truly bothered by the cold weather, much more so than in earlier years. As you know, this Winter has been brutal.

I will turn 81 on April 23rd.

While I have health issues (everyone my age does), all of them are well under control and do not ... repeat ... do not factor into my decision making process.

I have discussed all of this in depth with my family, Bill III, Kathi, Ann and Alex and they all agree that it is time to move on.

As of this very moment I have not ... repeat ... have not made a final decision on this issue.

If I make the decision to leave NYC I am seriously considering moving to downtown Winter Park, a thriving city adjacent to Orlando, where Bill III lives.

Background on Winter Park ... my parents were living in Winter Park when I was born, although my birth certificate says Orlando because the hospital was just across the city boundary.

My family moved around and then came back to Winter Park. I went to the 1st and 2nd grades there. 

During the war we moved to Bartow where my Mother’s family lived.

I have a multitude of friends, college roommates, fraternity brothers, judicial colleagues, etc. living in the Orlando/Winter Park area.

The Orlando/Winter Park area is a “happening place” from an entertainment standpoint.

I am not considering moving back to Bartow, under any circumstances, nor am I considering living with Bill III. He is fine with that.

So ... I have rented a nice cottage in Winter Park, through Airbnb, from March 6th to the 14th, so I can get a feel of actually living in the downtown Winter Park area.

When I leave the cottage I will then spend a couple of days with Bill and, hopefully, make the final decision(s).

I will be back in The Big Apple in the afternoon of March 17th.

So ... my loyal and faithful readers and followers, there you have it. I have two decisions to make:

(1) Do I leave NYC; and,

(2) If so, where in Florida will I live.

Other Florida relocation cities are: Tampa and Gainesville.

If I do decide to leave NYC it will be because I want to leave on my terms and not in a wheelchair, on a walker, or in a coffin.

I will keep you advised ... but ... 

During my time in Winter Park I do not anticipate posting on this blog (although that may change) but I will probably post on my Facebook Timeline and the URL for that is ...

https://www.facebook.com/william.norris.921

So ... my loyal and faithful readers and followers, there you have it.

Stay tuned.

Bill

PS: At 8:30am it is 30º with snow in the forecast for this afternoon and then again on Thursday. In Orlando it is 66º, with a projected high of 82º. The high for Thursday is forecast to be 86º.