There's no mistaking this, I have been a "relo kid" since an early age. Actually I was an "Air Force brat" until about age 15. My Dad was in the Royal Air Force, you know the British one, and so from age 1 day moving around was a way of life. As young kids we don't really question it, most likely because we only live for today.
At age 4 we moved to Singapore for 2 and a half years, and I remember alot about that time, but nothing before then. Then back to the UK and we lived in many different counties until Dad took early retirement and we settled in Hamsphire. Who would have known that in my future lay not only a relocation to the Chicago area, but a return to the UK, then back again, then off we went to Florida and yes you got it, back again.
Boy in my lifetime I have traveled a lot of miles.
We were pros at relocating, kids, pets even a web based business came with us to Florida. Our belongings hit the road a day behind us and arrived a couple of days after us. We closed the sale of our Deer Park-Barrington home while we were on the road. Our attorney was great, she handled it all so we could get a head start. We arrived in Florida, the listing agent for the house we were buying let the kids into the house with pets so we could stop dragging them around. Hubby and I went to closing and on the day we arrived in Florida we were new home owners. Did I tell you how organized I am? Please bear in mind I did all this without the support of a Realtor in Illinois, but we had one in Florida, although his help really was limited to just the house purchase. 
So what's up Corinne? Well new house and no furniture brings similar issues as the international relocation. Nothing to eat with, nothing to sit on and nothing to sleep in. I guess we could have done the hotel thing but with dogs and cats and the expense of relocating to Florida we chose to tough it out. We had a swimming pool at the house so that took care of entertainment and we bought a new patio set, Florida style and a new set of plates, dishes, knives and forks. All in all much cheaper than a boring hotel for 2 nights. We bought 4 sleeping bags knowing they would always come in handy and yes they have.
All sounds just fine, so what was the mistake? Funny you should ask! The mistake was moving to Florida. When I look back I have to wonder where my head was. It wasn't like I was not giving it the right consideration, I thought I was. I simply did not settle in Florida. I am not a lover of humidity and though I know you get used to that, I missed a lot of things here in Illinois. The infrastructure for one, the weather seasons for another, including the winter which is my favorite season. I really sense that Barrington Illinois is my home and after the strangest Christmas in Florida we put the house up for sale, just 6 months after buying it and by February we were back here in Illinois. This time we did stay at the hotel for 5 days until we closed our house purchase.
I did leave one thing behind in Florida. My web based business I sold to a gal in Jupiter which was just down the road from us in Palm Beach Gardens, and we stay in contact via Facebook, she still has it 7 years later and is doing very well.
What about the kids Corinne? Actually although they did not complain about moving to Florida, they made a lot of friends very quickly, I know my eldest son was glad to get back with his crowd. The youngest just takes everything in his stride. Oh to be young again!
Corinne Guest
Realtor & Managing Broker
Royal Advocate Realty, Barrington
Call today 847-363-3686 for real estate and relocation service.
Real Estate in Barrington and The Northwest Suburbs
Barrington IL encompasses over 90 square miles of real estate with a population of about 40,000. Residents live in - The Village of Barrington - Barrington Hills - Lake Barrington - Lake Barrington Shores - North Barrington - South Barrington - Deer Park - Tower Lakes - Inverness.
Worried about the weather in Barrington Illinois - Believe me it's really not that bad. We do get about 34 inches of precipitation ever year. January is our coldest month with an average temperature of 24.5F, August the warmest at 74.8F. Our summers do have hotter days and the winter can get colder but these extreme spells usually do not last long. Yes we get plenty of snow and it can be a headache when commuting home in new snowfall, but generally speaking our community plow services are quick to respond to accumulating snow falls. On average our snow falls yield about 6 to 7 inches, every now and then we get a 24 inch storm, but that is not often. On bad days the schools will close and make up the day at the end of the year. Winter wind can be biting at times.
The senior living communities have a bus service for their residents but other than that you will need a car.
