Hard Hatted House Hunting

After evacuating for Hurricane Irma, we agreed that we would prefer to not repeat the experience.  So, after restoring order to our villa, we decided to explore the options of moving out of Evacuation Zone A.

Thus far, we haven’t found any place we like better than our villa.  Either the location is wrong (too far from the beach . . . or too close to the beach).  Or the amenities and neighborhood aesthetics are lacking.  Or the purchase price and/or HOA fees are too high.

Some of the neighborhoods we’ve visited offer pluses:  higher elevations with no concern about flooding from storm surge or swollen rivers, increased energy efficiency, updated construction with better protection against hurricane force winds, etc.

But, as is often the case, upsides tend to be accompanied by downsides: too many houses crammed into the community, garages that aren’t wide enough for cars and cans (so owners must park one car in the driveway), postage-stamp size community pools, high tension wires running overhead, no privacy fences around the perimeter, etc.

For one such neighborhood, I summed up the down sides in Rhyme Time:

The neighborhood feel . . . does not appeal
The high tension wire . . . does not inspire
The lack of a fence . . . makes our teeth clench
The backyard “pods” . . . make us feel like canned cods
The diminutive pool . . . just isn’t cool
The dent in our purse . . . would make us curse

I try not to be hard-headed while touring construction sites . . . but sometimes I am hard-hatted.

Aah . . . that’s better!