I spent the first three months of this year searching urgently for my own place - my son decided to sell while the market's hot, which was an excellent decision for him and eliminated room for further procrastination on my part. My fabulous NY realtor even did two walk-throughs with me using Google Duo. The first, I got outbid by an insane person; the second had plastic windows in snow country. And there were ups and downs with lenders and other offers and multiple realtors... but I am at last settled in my own home again.
Note I didn't say house. It's an RV with an addition that makes it permanent on a lot that I own in a resort. Through the HOA, I am actually part owner of a golf course! My brother-in-law Bill and father are laughing in their graves - at Dad's funeral, Bill apologized for making me a golf orphan. I grew up hating the game because they played all day and then talked about it all evening. However, there's also a pool I'm using regularly and other facilities I'll eventually use, and good neighbors. And the golf course is public. That income should keep HOA costs down.
Where I have my work station set up, I can look ahead to the left a bit and see mountains that are across the Colorado River from me. Turn my head to the right, and I see a whole 'nother set of mountains. I'm learning not to see the stuff between me and those mountains. And I'm right next to the air conditioning vent, so I should survive when we start hitting 120 regularly. It took a couple months to really settle in completely, but I've started sending out stories and am working on drumming up more editing business - and writing business. During the turmoil, I landed a gig for a lawyer in LA, writing up a social history for the judge to consider when sentencing a client. It was a tight deadline, but I finished early and did a good job. I'm looking to get more work like that as another income stream.
I'm also going to apply for day jobs that I believe I'd enjoy, ones that would leave me with energy for writing and editing on days off. The steady income would be nice.
Comments