Let's Talk About An Experience - a look at it from my perspective.
INTRODUCTION:
If you viewed my video blog this month, you would have found out a couple of things. First, after this is posted, I will be on the road. Second, my written blog posts will continue each week. However, since I am relocating, it takes time to set up my audio/visual studio properly. Therefore, my next monthly video blog post will hopefully resume in November.
Tonight I wanted to talk to you about the experience. An experience that many of us, if not all of us, have had. As with all experiences, even if they are the same, they are often viewed differently based on the individual's perspective. So I thought I would share mine.
THE EXPERIENCE:
Before I begin, you must understand that after all my years as a firefighter and paramedic, along with all the horrible things I've seen and witnessed, I hope you can understand when I say there is not much that frightens me. And even less stresses me. I do not believe in getting stressed because every problem has a solution, and stress only causes a huge delay in reaching and executing that solution. Basically, it's anti-productive. I've lived in New England my entire life and owned six different houses. Therefore, between going to college and moving from house to house, let's say and truthfully, it's basic and simple.
However, this time I am moving many states away and leaving New England. Honestly, it's the first time I have ever moved that I can honestly say I experienced stress.
Stress comes in many forms. Meaning, the everyday life stress we experience, we get used to, and most become masters at dealing with it. For me, moving was the same. As my family grew, we moved to accommodate everyone's needs. Moving locally is a breeze. PAcking is horrible no matter what, but for the most part, when you are just moving locally to a different city, most usually take everything they have with them.
It would make sense that I thought moving out of state, and quite a few states away, would also be basic, right? Why not? I've done it six times before. Well, not so much.
THE PROCESS:
When you work as a firefighter and paramedic, you do NOT have the luxury of saying, I will put the fire out tomorrow, or save this life later today. Those tasks need to be accomplished now and immediately at that. It's all in your instincts and training. You don't have time to become stressed. You also are working with others that know their job and have an equal sense of urgency. Therefore, after decades of this work, you begin to think that they share the same sense of urgency regarding other people and their line of work. NOT SO MUCH. For some reason, when someone moves out of state, they feel the need to downsize. Meaning, what do I really have to take with me? This occurs because hiring movers to cross many states is quite expensive because it is all based on what you are taking. Therefore, thew reality hits you. DO I REALLY NEED ALL THESE CLOTHES? Do I want to buy new furniture? What do I want to keep, give away, donate, or throw out? All great questions, right?
Well, they are all true until the time comes when you have to decide. Let me tell you. I found clothes with tags on them I forgot I had. Thank God my middle son wears the same size. Literally, I gave him at least 5-7000 dollars worth of clothes, and I still had too much. The most difficult thing to do is to look at something and think to yourself, "I like this, but never worn it." Now the hard part sets in. What do you do with it? At first, parting with these items is like losing your best friend. But honestly, once I got into the groove of making these decisions, it became much easier. However, once you get past that trauma, now it's all the kitchen items. Things you might have been thinking about replacing anyway. Is now the time? The same applies to your furniture.
Now, this is all psychological. Because you normally do not think about these things when making a local move. At least I never did. Now the dilemma of a long-distance move changed your whole way of thinking, and it's real. How many of you have experienced this same thing? Now comes the issue of selling stuff. Oh yes, dealing with people looking to get things as cheap as possible is an experience in itself. Everyone is the same in that regard. When we buy it, we want to get it as cheaply as possible. However, when we sell it, we think it's worth fourteen-carat gold. I solved that issue easily. I was realistic. I was moving and wanted to sell things, so I just priced them CHEAP! When you look at the big picture of cost in a long-distance move, a few hundred dollars is NOT worth all the aggravation.
PACKING:
Once you have navigated all those hurdles, now you have to pack what is left. Unless you will pay your mover to pack it all, which in itself is ridiculously expensive. Now I am not cheap by any means, but I am also not stupid. I'm not going to pay someone to do something as simple as packing when I can do it. Well, packing IS NOT simple. Certain things need to be packed in the proper boxes, or the movers will not take them. At first, I planned on renting a 6 X 12 U-haul trailer and towing it. Why not? My truck can handle it easily. Then I started to pack. It did not take me long to figure out you can't fit 10 lbs. of shit into a 5 lb. pail. I soon found out I had to hire a mover. Now hiring a mover for a long-distance move is like filling out a hundred-page question to inventory exactly what is going. It's not like your local guy who shows up in a big truck, loads your stuff, and brings it to your new castle. Long-distance moving has to be more precise. Mind you, when you set this up because they are so busy, you still haven't decided what is going to be moved or not. Therefore, you give it your best guess and hope for the best.
THE EXTRAS:
So if all of this hasn't driven you crazy yet, now the best part comes. In my case, I did not want to waste thousands of dollars literally flying back and forth multiple times to find a house, a boat, do inspections and surveys, and closings. Where I am moving to, I have been to many times and always stayed in the same hotel. Therefore, I decided to stay in the hotel and book it for two months. That should give me time to find a house first, then a boat. Next, I need to find a place to live. Once that is set, I can buy the boat. Now comes mail forwarding. Where the heck do I forward my mail? I certainly did not want my mail going to a hotel. The next best thing was to obtain a UPS Store mailing address. I usually do that because I like to keep my residential address as private as possible. However, now the process of all the emailing back and forth with contracts, ID's notarized signatures, all because you aren't there in person. However, you need that forwarding address before you move. How else would your local post office know where to send your mail?
The easiest part of this process was getting a storage bin to hold the belonging that would not be in the hotel with me. That was effortless. Thank God. Now fr the finale. How are you going to get there? My first choice was to ship my truck to my destination with everything I needed for two months in the hotel and take a flight with one suitcase. When I did the math on that, I said forget it. I could drive to my location three times and still not spend the money on gas to have my truck shipped. Now for many, that could be quite the dilemma. Not so much for me. WHY? Because I don't mind driving. I mean, I drove fire apparatus and ambulances my whole life, and at times on the ambulance, 16 hours a day. So I thought to myself, the last time I made this drive, it took me about 23 hours, and I drove it straight through. There were many stops I wanted to make along the way to see things, but I didn't because I wanted to get there. Normally I also flew, but that one time, I decided to drive. I figured let me see some scenery from the ground level rather than from 31,000 feet in the air.
IN CLOSING:
So the movers took all my things two days ago and are on the road.
I will meet them on the 28th. For the unload. The last choice was an easy decision for me. I decided to drive. Whatever I need for two months will fit in my truck. Also, I gave myself a few days to enjoy the trip and stop to see some of the things I didn't the only time I drove. Now, many of you may have moved a long distance and did not experience all these issues, or maybe just some. Hopefully, things went smoother for you. I'm sure that because this decision happened quickly and I only had six weeks to get it all done caused these additional challenges. Especially now when people are flocking out of some states by the hundreds. Well, I am not rushed out of New England for those reasons.
For me, this was my life plan. What it costs to maintain a boat in New England to use it 4 months a year is outrageous. When I look back at my 41 years of boating and add all that money up, well, let's say I chose not to think about it. Therefore, I always wanted to be somewhere where I can use my boat year-round. However, many loose ends need to be tied up, and then the pandemic hit, or I would have been gone two years ago. Now it's time. So two hours after this post is released, I will be hitting the road towards my new adventure. Boating, writing, and living life to the fullest. Spending more time with my family and continuing to share my thoughts with all of you. Stay safe and be well.
Stay safe and be well,
Caesar Rondina
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