Yup, we chose to move to Las Vegas. Odd choice, given the economy and other factors, such as the 100+ temps and general debauchery. At least, that is what many of our friends have said. There were many factors behind this decision.
First, I’m sick of freezing. 100+ temps sound absolutely fabulous. We were there last August when I competed in the semi-finals of the World Championship of Public Speaking, and I loved the 107 degrees. Loved it, I say! We also went with my mom the year before she died, and loved every second of the sun, the heat, and the fabulous buffets.
No, that is not enough to choose Vegas from, say, Atlanta or Houston – but there are other factors that are even more important. For instance, what I do and what Jim does. I am a speaker. I do keynotes for conventions. AAAAAAAND….where does virtually every company have a convention at some point? Vegas, baby!! Jim is an actor, and he will be just a hop away from LA – plus there are tons of opportunities here. Both of our dreams are recession-proof.
Sure, we’ll have to get (sigh…grumble…) jobs until our respective careers explode, but we’ll muddle.
McCarran International Airport is one of my favorite airports (so far, I still have a lot to explore!) – and it’s very central. You can get anywhere, fast, from Vegas – and I intend to travel a LOT.
Finally, the economy itself. Sure, it’s pretty depressed right now – but do you know what that means? We can buy twice as much home for half as much money. And, the houses are newer in Vegas. They had a huge boom, so there is lots to choose from. Once we get settled, we’ll be looking to buy.
Now, how do we do this? It’s not like any of us have tons of dough, and it’s really, really expensive to live in Washington – so we usually live (Jim’s) paycheck to paycheck.
Folks, it’s time to purge.
We are selling pretty much everything we own – furniture, jewelry, anything of value. The rest we will donate. We’re taking as little as possible. We reserved an 8×5 trailer – whatever doesn’t fit, doesn’t go. Period. So far, it’s amazing me how much JUNK I have accumulated through the years. I mean, really, I have stuff I’ve lugged around for decades that serves no purpose. It’s time to let go of both my emotional and my physical junk.
Rip it off like a bandage, baby, it’s time to start fresh!
Coming up: The junk we keep