The Path To My New Home

For years I have watched businesses and industries leave NY and PA.  I had long ago decided that if my great engineering job in NY were to go away that I was leaving the state - so on a single day along with 300 other employees, Covid lockdown killed my job of 14 years.  Covid killed many jobs in the northeast so the job market was quickly drying up; I saw no point in competing with thousands of other displaced professionals in a crowded labor market with shrinking job opportunities.  NY had become a miserable place to live - cost of living keeps going up, poor job market, the state had been fiscally irresponsible for decades and getting worse, then all three chambers of state government became dominated by NYC democrat politicians with no faith it will improve in my lifetime, followed by a very hostile environment to conservatives and constitutional rights.  I had almost no family left in NY except my brother and three cousins, no SO or kids, divorced for 20 years.  With no roots to leave behind there was no reason to stay, so I had broadened my job hunt out of state with no intention of staying in the northeast.

There was a silver lining to losing my job - I had enough years of employment with my former employer that I got six months of health insurance and severance pay from my former employer.  Basically I was still receiving a full week’s salary for 26 weeks.  I could still collect unemployment while collecting severance (the bastards in NY would later make that impossible).  That meant I could sock the severance pay in savings to prepare for relocation expenses.  Most people receiving such severance pay would blow it on extravagant stuff like a new car or fancy dream vacation - I was no such fool.

I looked at the monthly budget on unemployment - not counting severance pay - and found that I could not afford to stay in NY.  I wanted to live on unemployment alone without using my severance pay.  The lease was due for renewal in a few months.  Also the cell phone and ISP service was poor (it’s a very rural area) and I really needed better services for the job hunt.  Just before the lease renewal in summer 2020 I found a cheaper house to rent just over the border in PA with excellent cell phone and ISP service.  I got help from family and friends to move.  I had rented the house in NY for 14 years and had acquired a LOT of household goods.  I wound up purging many belongings while moving out of NY.  The house in PA wasn’t as nice as the one in NY, but it was a temporary transition place to live until I found a job and relocated.  Plus the living expenses were much cheaper which meant I did not have to touch my severance pay in savings.

I had considered retiring.  When I reviewed my outlook with my financial planner, retirement was not possible.  I had plenty of money saved in my IRA plus the severance, but the deal killer was I did not own my own home.  The savings would not support retirement life with a mortgage.  I was still in good health and could retire in about ten years.

While I was emptying my parents’ house I had stored some of their belongings I might keep in a storage unit.  With potential relocation approaching I took the time to decide what to keep and move them to my place in PA, and the rest would be given away or disposed of.  I wanted that storage unit emptied well before it was time to relocate.  It was also another expense I had to eliminate while on unemployment.

I would had stayed in PA if I could had found a job.  As a country boy, I really enjoyed living in PA.  I was in a position to be selective; with retirement not far away, I decided to close out my career doing something I really enjoyed - automated test engineering using LabVIEW.  I also wanted my next job to be in a place where I could retire, I was tired of moving.  NY was out of the question, and the only places in PA with engineering opportunities were in large cities (I am a country boy and I hate city living).  My mind was set on relocating anywhere in the US except for certain liberal high cost states like NY, NJ, NH, VT, MA, IL, CA, WA, MI and some others.  These were states that were fiscally irresponsible and becoming increasingly hostile to constitutional rights and hostile to conservatives (the NY Governor even declared - on live TV, on YouTube - that conservatives were not welcome in NY).  My job hunt officially started in January 2021.  I had a bot scanning the internet for job openings - most of the openings were in states on my “blacklist”, which meant they were having trouble attracting candidates and many people were leaving those states.  I also rejected temporary contract jobs, I had too much experience and temporary contract jobs often are less than a year of work, lower pay, and do not include benefits like insurance or vacations.  My early career started in contract engineering and I had no desire to go back to that kind of work.  I could afford to be selective.

My dream job showed up in March 2021 - permanent job openings for test engineers using LabVIEW at a major company, and they were in Florida - on my list of places to retire.  There were strict qualifications for the opening which narrowed the field of qualified candidates.  I could easily qualify so I immediately applied.

By the end of March 2021 both of my parents were gone and that was the end of five long years of elder care.  That was an extremely difficult time.  Besides caring for the aging parents in long term care, I had to manage their finances and manage their cases for state aid like Medicare and other medical needs.  At the same time I had to empty their fully furnished house to put it on the market, that took at least four years.  The house sold and the closing was on the same day that my father passed away in 2019.  Elder care duties eased up with just my mother, and she passed away near the end of March 2021.  Between elder care and moving out of NY and dealing with job hunt, I had to give up some hobbies.  After moving out of NY in summer 2020 I spent four months recovering from years of stress.  I was still on unemployment but due to Covid lockdown my unemployment was extended to 12 months.  I did have extra income under the table from playing in two bands.

Early in April 2021, I had an interview for the job opening.  A week later I got the job offer - that company was never known for responding that fast!!!  Before starting the job I had to go through background checks, drug screening, the works.  That all took about six weeks to happen.  The job offer included an excellent relocation package.  The company would pay for moving expenses (even the vehicles), selling the house (I had been renting and did not need to sell a house), lease cancellation (two months rent left on the lease when I moved out - the company paid for the rent when the house was unoccupied), realtor provided for house hunting, one month of temporary living, three months storage of household belongings, four day “house hunting” trip all expenses paid, travel expenses for the final move away from home (either by plane or with personal vehicle), even boarding expenses for pets.  I was very relieved with the relocation package as I had a house full of belongings and a large music studio to move, and the move the summer before was so hard that I decided I had to hire a moving crew when the time came to relocate.  That was the intention of my severance in savings, but I never had to use that with the relocation package (during income tax 2022 I learned that relocation expenses was $37000 and I didn’t have to pay a dime!!!).

Free of the relocation expenses meant that my severance in savings could be used for a down payment on a house.  By then I had a stellar credit record for a mortgage - zero credit card debt, zero loan debt, zero mortgage debt, zero detriments on my record.  I was renting and did not have to sell a house.  While I was on the house hunting trip I applied for a mortgage - I locked the interest at 3% just before the rates started going up thanks to reckless federal spending from democrats who dominated Congress at the time.

Moving 45 minutes away from NY to PA was hard enough.  Moving 1100 miles away required serious packing, and in July the movers were scheduled to pack my house.  I tried to prepare in advance but just did not have the energy or time to do it all.  According to the relocation coordinator, the moving company would pack my belongings.  So I focused on purging belongings and packing selected crucial things in advance, such as delicate music equipment and personal items (family pictures, tools, guitars, computers, clothes, etc) I would be carrying myself in my pickup.  My compact car would be moved by a separate provider.  Fortunately I had many strong flight cases for my music equipment from YEARS of playing in bands, which were excellent protection in a bumpy ride in a moving trailer over an 1100 mile move.  The belongings I purged were books/magazines that I gave to my brother/nephew or had donated to book stores, winter clothes and snowblower (no need for them in the south), guest twin size mattress and frame, chipboard furniture that were worn and would not survive the relocation, even music equipment.  I was headed to a state where few houses had a basement, so space for my music studio was going to be limited.  The movers expertly packed my belongings in two thirds of a 52 foot moving trailer.  I thought I was the “master packer” but these guys have me beat!  It was like Tetris and they packed all the way to the trailer ceiling.  When they were all done it was a bit surreal watching the trailer pulling away with everything I owned.

I was dead set on not renting an apartment or house and wanted to buy my own place.  In Florida, apartment rent is very expensive - more expensive than a mortgage payment.  My relocation package pays for three months of storage of household belongings until I found a house.  Renting an apartment meant I would have to pay for storage while on a year long lease, I had too much household belongings to fit an apartment.  So there was rent plus storage expenses, potentially trapping me in an apartment.  Renting a house is not much better and would had meant paying for a 2nd move to the house I would buy, and moving expenses were at least $20K.  And like apartments, house rent would had been more expensive than a mortgage payment.  Since I arrived in Florida in 2021, rent has skyrocketed thanks to the Biden administration mass migration policy at the southern US border.  Housing prices and mortgage interest rates were predicted to rise due to demand in housing and to inflation.

That meant I had to hustle to find a house to buy.  The real estate market was very active in FL, and the realtor had been emailing listings before I started work (at home in PA) in June.  I learned over the years what I wanted in a house to own and had compiled it in a computer document, so I was ready.  I was also planning for retirement and old age so the new house had to be ready for that.  My buddy initially pointed me to one area but there was too much bidding competition.  Houses would sell in 1-2 days and I was getting outbid.  So I asked my realtor to bring me listings in another area, near where I had friends.  Within a week I found my dream house.  My realtor knew I really wanted the house so she argued my case on my behalf when the seller was looking at offers.  Thanks to her, I beat out a cash offer. 

I arrived in Florida in the middle of July and found my house to buy three weeks later - that’s a pretty quick house hunt.  But the sellers couldn’t close until two months later because they needed to find a house to move to.  That was not a problem except for temporary living - employer only pays one month.  I had a conversation with the relocation coordinator and told him I had an offer accepted on a house but the closing couldn’t happen for two months, and the company only paid for one month of temporary living.  So the coordinator offered to approach the company about extending the temporary living.  I told him I would provide him the signed contract as ammunition for my case.  Thankfully I was approved for two more months of temporary living.  By the time the closing was done, the temporary living benefit had expired - perfect timing.  The movers came a week later to unload my personal belongings - the day after the three month storage benefit had expired.  Perfect timing - for a three month period between moving away until I moved into my new house, I only had to use my severance pay in savings for down payment and house repairs - very fortunate.

After the closing, housing values did increase and mortgage interest did increase from 3% to 8% (as of October 2023). This had made homes unaffordable to many middle class families, so they were stuck in rentals and THEIR rents were going up.  I was very fortunate that I avoided this scenario.

Besides the great house, it's in a great area.  My new hometown is almost all residential - has the essentials like grocery stores, drug stores, doctors/dentists, gas stations, some restaurants all within a few miles.  Other than the hospital, no structures higher than two stories.  No large retail blocks (they are a short drive away).  Perfect for a quiet retirement.  Great neighbors, many have lived there for years.  The neighbors were relieved that a homeowner bought the house and not an investor who would rent the house.  Investors tend to neglect a house which drives down real estate values, and tenants tend to be a problem.  Florida even has a homeowners exemption tax relief program designed to encourage home ownership - you can only qualify if you have paperwork proof that your house is your primary residence and your drivers’ license lists the address of the residence, so investors and apartment owners cannot receive that benefit.  This town has no crime problems.  The residential quality is close enough to country living for me.  And the house is only a 30 minute drive to my buddy.  I often get together with him and his wife - they have both been a great help to the new kid in town, and they both have become excellent friends.

I put a lot of thought into the ideal job and the ideal retirement place - this has all worked out so well.  It’s just uncanny how everything just fell in place.  I have to believe that my dearly departed loved ones had a hand in this wonderful new life.  It has been almost two years since I moved here and I am still setting up the house (I live alone), but I love being a homeowner again.

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