to change how and where I expect to live the rest of my life.
Last November I moved upstairs from the 5th floor to the 17th floor of a high rise apartment building in downtown Raleigh. I loved being able to walk to the ballet, concerts, restaurants. Somebody else does the maintenance, just fill out a request on-line. One Friday night last summer my a/c died and there was a maintenance guy there within an hour to identify the problem. It was the capacitor. He went downstairs, brought one up and installed it. Done. If I'd owned a house or a condo where that happened, I'd have been lucky to get someone out by the following week! So, I had decided I was in for the long haul and went through moving to get the better view. (See the photos of sunrise this am from my balcony https://www.democraticunderground.com/103675465)
My graduate degree is in Public Health. I have been following this novel coronavirus carefully. For me as an at risk individual due to age and asthma, I feel like I am at greatest risk riding the elevator. And I have to do that several times/day to walk my dog. All the cultural events are cancelled, and likely to be cancelled for the foreseeable future. So where's the benefit of continuing to live downtown?
So, I'm not. I'm buying a small house in an over 55 development that will be built. Unfortunately, it won't be ready until December at the earliest. Because I moved last November and got a 14 month lease, it won't be up until February. The dates work so that I won't have to double up payments, hopefully, for more than a month or two at most. I would have preferred to get out of here sooner, but doing so would cost a lot of money if they held me to my lease and I have every reason to believe they would since the building isn't full.
I expect now to live out my life in a small house with a courtyard garden where I can have a fountain, plants, flowers, hang a feeder for hummingbirds. I doubt I will be traveling much--if any--especially flying. My previous plan included several trips/year. I won't be attending live performances unless/until there is a definitive treatment for this coronavirus that stops the progression of the disease from destroying vital organs.
We are, I believe, living through a paradigm change. It is not what I expected at this stage of my life--pushing 70--but I'm going to adapt to the best of my ability. I hope to survive through the summer and fall--since I feel like I'm playing Russian roulette riding the elevator-- to vote out 45 and see the Dems retake the Senate. I hope to be able to move into my new house around the end of the year. And I hope to celebrate the inauguration of Joe Biden next January.
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