A new chapter in Gainesville. Recently my husband and I moved to Gainesville, Florida from Tampa Bay. So far we are loving the tall trees, shady streets, bird life, pocket parks, people, and a little more land than we had down south.
We’ve already found a few groups to join. Online we joined the “Buy Nothing” project group when we realized how much stuff we brought with us that we aren’t going to use (plastic storage tubs, anyone?) IRL, I transferred my Audubon St. Pete membership to Alachua. Understandably, both chapters take the summers off and start back up in the fall, which is prime migration season. Even the birds don’t want to move very much in the hot humid Florida summer. I’m looking forward to seeing slightly different species (like Mississippi kites right now) and meeting local birders.
Speaking of species, our yard, which is half-woods, is full of trees, bushes, butterflies and flowers we don’t recognize. Google Lens has become an online companion. However, we also met some helpful graduate students from the University of Florida’s IFAS extension at their annual plant sale. It’s good to know that resource is nearby. As a butterfly photographer, Ken is in heaven (one sample shown above).
And speaking of the university, the Warrington College of Business has a relatively new track for finance students to earn the CFP® certification. Since I had such a great experience mentoring students in the University of South Florida’s Financial Planning program, I’m looking forward to being involved once again with the future of our profession. More to come in future posts.
We also attended a book discussion and signing of Floored, by author Sara Reardon, at the local bookstore. The discussion of all things pelvic-floor-related was led by a local menopause doctor. My husband was one of three men in the audience. We both learned a lot, including that Gainesville has a surprising number of pelvic floor physical therapist specialists for a small city. I highly recommend the book for women of all ages and, heck, their partners, brothers, uncles and fathers, too. Dr. Reardon is known on Instagram as “The Vagina Whisperer.” (Yes you just read the “v” word in a financial planner’s blog post.)
While there’s a lot to be excited about, we quickly learned there’s a lot we don’t know. Map apps don’t always know that at certain times of day on certain streets there will be traffic jams (although in a small city this is a relative term). Who to call for house issues and health issues feels like a crapshoot. Although legal and accounting professionals can do the job remotely nowadays, it would be nice to patronize local ones, so I look forward to finding out who’s who in the community. So far we are relying on very friendly neighbors, a few local contacts, and any vendor at the Saturday farmer’s market who doesn’t have a long line of customers.
In case you’re wondering, the all-virtual financial planning practice started in 2006 remains alive and well. If you’d like a call to catch up or learn more because you’re new, I would love to speak with you.
Moving to a new city, even within the same state, is both stressful and exciting. What have you done in the past to smooth your transition to a new home? Share in the comments.
