Mostly Sunny 77°F/25°C in Cedar Park, Texas
Buongiorno,
Yea verily, gentle reader – Texas! And, I’ll give you a “heads up” on this whole deal by saying that
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| MikeBo Hisself! |
The kids’ move from California to Austin didn’t really sink in for me until I got back from Italy in September. While I was taking in the sights in Rome, tagging along with my tour guide son from Pompeii to Venice, and striking out on my own to Amsterdam for a visit with an old flame, not to mention night clubbing through the boites of the Eternal City, following Mike’s hot, new band No Funny Stuff, big changes were taking place back home in California!
The little retirement community I had settled into after thirteen years in Northern California, and more than two months of living in Rome had changed its complexion. I had moved into an apartment complex billed as a residence for “active adults – 55 years plus.” And, indeed it was … when I first moved in. But, over time, the median age of my neighbors began to shift ever upward. The word active disappeared from the promotional materials. Activities like the daily exercise classes and swimming pool events, the monthly movies in the rec center, the weekly Saturday kaffeeklatsch and the regular bus excursions to places like museums and art festivals or Indian casinos gradually went away. The view from my third floor patio of the nearby Modjeska and Santiago Peaks became more frequently marred by the arrival of the fire trucks and van that carry the paramedics. After a while, the occasional visit by the paramedics became an almost daily occurrence, and more and more of my neighbors arrived and departed in vehicles with wheelchair lifts. I noticed the changes more and more as I regained my own health and mobility following my shoulder surgery.
A few weeks after the kids headed to Texas, I left Lola with Liliana, my housekeeper, and flew off for another Roman Holiday. (Exploits thereof finely detailed in my Diario di Roma Dué: Rome Diary 2). While I holidayed in hot, muggy Roma, Michael and I Skyped regularly with his sister in Texas. All the reports were good. Everybody loved the big, new house, Jason and Dana both had good new jobs; in fact Jason had quickly earned a promotion. Jake and Jessica were doing well in school. The twins, Jaydan and Jordan, were thriving and happy. Texans were friendly and very helpful to the newcomers. Both Dana and Michael suggested that maybe Dear Old Dad should consider a move to Texas. All three of us also took note of the fact that my apartment lease would be up for renewal in January. So, when, I got back from Italy, I picked up Lola from Liliana, went home and made reservations for a Christmas visit to Texas. That was Step 1.
Back at my “55-plus,” the aging neighbor trend upward had continued. There were actual traffic jams of walkers and wheel chairs at the central elevators and several times Lola was nearly clipped by a careening oldster in a speeding scooter chair. Sometime around Columbus Day I asked Dana to check out some apartments near her that were definitely NOT “55-plus!” I wanted to check them out over Christmas. She called me back the next day with three prospects and their web addresses, two in Cedar Park and one in Leander. All three offered virtual video tours, all of them real eye openers. After taking the video tours, I checked out the area on Google Earth, looking at both the satellite views and the Google Street View. I was able to tour the area from more than a thousand miles away. I printed off floor plans, crunched the numbers and discussed the pros and cons with Dana and Michael via Skype. The following week Dana called me to coordinate a time and date for me to meet the manager of the hottest prospect for a personal virtual walkthrough of a two bedroom apartment that had caught my eye. That’s how I met Devon Shults. In the days that followed I found myself moving closer to making the decision to move, but not until after the holidays when I’d had a chance to eyeball the location for myself.
Around then, I received the property management company’s formal notice that my lease was up for renewal. It asked for my answer prior to the 30 day notice period. Then we started getting bids from moving companies and car haulers. As Thanksgiving approached, I wired Devon my deposit on the two bedroom I had spotted. The wheels were in motion, but, I was still stuck on the idea of returning to California after my holiday trip. After a few more conversations with Dana, Michael and Laura and, now, Devon, I had made the decision to still go to Texas for the holidays….but not return to California. I’d make my move now, and not later.
Ciao,
MikeBo
©Mike Botula 2015
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