Moving and Grooving
Hello readers, time for an update here on Blake’s Blog. Some of you already know this news, and others are just now hearing about it…I am moving this month to Florida!
The most frequent question people ask me is “Why Florida?” and I will address that topic in today’s post. First off though is a quick revisit to 2020 when I moved to the Kansas City area. Let’s look back…
In early 2020 my wife Gayle and I were readying to move from the Denver, Colorado area to Olathe, Kansas. (Olathe is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri)
I had lived in Denver my whole life up to that point, 56 years. I was a full-time musician in Denver since the early 80’s and had a lot of industry connections there, plus I had many dear friends there. The question I had to answer multiple times was “Why are you moving to Kansas City?” The primary reason was so I could be in the same city as my daughter, and be able to see her more often. Other reasons included: better real estate prices, the fact that my wife was born there and has relatives there, the great jazz/music scene, and simply to refresh our lives and continue to make new friends, connections and to have new experiences. What I didn’t know back then in early 2020 was that Covid would soon be shutting-down the music industry. Indeed, right after I moved to KC there was no live music work due to the pandemic and I didn’t have a gig for eight months! 2020 was a weird year all across the country and it was quite interesting to be acclimating to a new city while the social/political climate was very unsettled. The impact Covid had on my career was very challenging, but by 2021 I had met enough musicians here in KC to have a full gig calendar once again. As far as my daughter, her job took her to Dallas just a few weeks after we moved here, so there went that reason for moving here…
In upcoming posts this month I will be sharing more about the musical experiences I had here in KC, and some of the remarkable musicians I met during my three years here.
Check back for that, I am looking forward to writing about it. I learned from my KC experience how much fun it is to discover new surroundings and make new friends. I can’t wait to do it again in Florida! Now onto why we are moving to Florida…
Over the years Gayle and I have made several visits to Florida. We have many friends who live there, people I knew from Colorado who live there now. We have stayed in Ft. Myers, Vero Beach, Tampa, Bradenton, The Villages, Orlando, North Port and we have visited many of the areas along both the Atlantic and the Gulf coasts. We love the ocean, the beach, the weather, the food, and the vibe of being there…so do millions of other people. There’s a reason so many people relocate to Florida or at least live there during the winter months. Some friends have expressed to me their dislike for Florida’s politics and bizarre moral views. I get it, I am aware of these things BUT I don’t allow politics to dictate my mood or pursuit of my own lifestyle. Never have. My bass playing has been enjoyed by both Republicans and Democrats. There are crazy people all around the globe, not just in Florida. The subject of politics/politicians is not a factor in my decisions on how I conduct myself or live my life.
So, why move to Florida? As I just stated, we really love it there.
We have always talked about moving to Florida eventually as we approach our “golden years.” We are arriving at that time in our lives now…and we are all done with shoveling snow.
Since Gayle can work from home (she works full-time for a law firm) she can live wherever she wants, as long as there’s internet. I can also work/earn as a bassist in any town, and I already have made connections in the area we are moving to. The real estate market here in KC made for a perfect time to sell our house, it was unbelievable! Right now in Florida it was also a perfect time to buy, so it couldn’t have worked out better for us. We are moving into a brand new home and that is exciting for sure. This new home is in a brand new development where everything is built to the latest codes and procedures. There is a swanky new clubhouse with a big resort-style pool and fitness room with new equipment. So many pluses with this new home, it is a dream come true. We looked at MANY areas, houses and neighborhoods. We are very pleased with where we will be living and for me it will be the first new home I have ever owned. We will be in Port Charlotte, near Venice, Punta Gorda, Sarasota and North Port. Our friend, the great drummer Tony Antonio, lives just minutes from us in North Port. No doubt he and I will be doing gigs together again very soon.
The movers come to get our stuff in 3 1/2 weeks and then we will be on our way to Florida!
We have been working hard at packing and also donating and downsizing. Feels great to organize and purge some of the stuff we have had custody of for so long. I got rid of my ice scrapers and snow shovels, won’t be needing those anymore. Also gone are our snow suits and winter coats. I won’t be taking a lawnmower either, they will mow my lawn at the new house which is just AMAZING. Soon I will be walking along the beach and enjoying seeing the sea birds and sunsets over the ocean. I get excited just thinking about it.
Hopefully today’s Blog Post has shed a little Florida sunshine on why we are moving to Port Charlotte. Y’all make sure and visit us!
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