Stay…

To stay or not to stay … that’s the question we’ve been wrestling with over here. This year flew by with everything we had going on and there’s still more we want to do before we continue on. Or should we could go now and see what the next step of the adventure has in store for us. The flexibility of our current situation is great except for the indecisiveness that comes along with it!

A few things had to fall into place for us to stay another year and they have so I’ll take that as a sign from the universe that another year here is the right decision.

We found the right house…

The right place came along and we signed a one-year lease on it so we’ll be here through June of 2018. I’ve been watching the available rentals for the past couple of months and it’s the ONLY one that’s come up that fit everything we wanted in a new place so we jumped on it. And by “jumped” I mean we agonized over it, made pro/con lists, waffled back and forth and finally made the call when there was so much interest in it we would have lost it if we didn’t commit. What makes the new place so great?

• It’s much smaller and less expensive.
• LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION! It’s right where we want to be. We’ll be able to walk/bike to a ton of our favorite spots! There’s just something peaceful about a mostly car-free life.
• It’s on the water so we can still paddle anytime we want. We’ll be back paddling in our old stomping grounds from our first winter, Rock Harbor.
• The yard is fenced for the dogs and we have a fire-pit down by the canal. They love having a yard to explore and sitting on the dock watching the boats go by.
• The new place also has a screened in porch off the dining room. I’m definitely looking forward to no-see-um free outdoor seating! It’s also covered so it’ll always be shady and dry.

There are no coconut trees at the new place – that might be con for Banks!

We’re really excited to move to our new spot but we’re putting that aside to enjoy the time we have left here and all the benefits this place has that the other one doesn’t. Every single time I leave a place I think about whether or not I maximized my time there and I can walk away from this place knowing that I absolutely did.

It’s strategic…

Our company is going through some major changes right now that could result in one of both of us getting laid off in the next year and a half. A few months of severance wouldn’t be a bad way to end our time the in U.S. It feels weird to look forward to getting laid off but if we’re going to quit anyway we might as well leave with a parting gift. We could use the severance and time to complete our IDCs and get some experience in diving before moving on. So we’ll see what the next year brings.

Here’s to another year of sunsets, diving, paddling, awesome weather and great people!

Until next time… 

Stay warm friends!