Parking Tickets in David, Panamá

Posted on November 10, 2012 by Kris Cunningham

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2012

Parking tickets – they have an interesting system here for parking around downtown. There are women walking around who sell parking cards for about $0.10. When you park, you put one of these cards under your windshield wiper. If the parking people check your car, they will mark your card. If they check your car again and if you have gone over the time on your card since they checked it first, then you get a ticket. If your card doesn’t get checked and marked, you can use it again next time. I asked, what if someone steals the card you left on your windshield? I was told that people just don’t do that! You don’t need to worry.
If you do get a ticket, you need to go to the municipal building to pay it. I got one and it cost me $1.
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Erratic blogging from Panama

Posted on November 10, 2012 by Kris Cunningham

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2012

I’ve been in the house without an internet connection for a week. I’ve been writing every day though, so my posts are going to be bunched up now as I put them up all together. You have been warned 😉

The writing has really helped me. I’m in a new city, new country, with a new language. I hardly know anyone here and I can’t communicate with anyone out of the country without internet, so I felt very disconnected alone in my new house. Writing helped me feel more connected. There are many things I want to say so ‘ll remember my experiences, and so others who are interested can hear about them. Who knows, maybe something will help another who is following a similar path and becoming an expat.

So, I’ve been writing. Many posts are about what happened in a day. Some are about aspects of Panama or the city of David that I find interesting. Some are about different ways of getting things done here. Some are about things in general that are different, or surprisingly the same. I’ll also include some pictures and videos now and then to help breathe more life into my story.

It feels really good to have internet at the house and be connected with the world again!

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Catching up – cars, houses, and cash

Posted on November 10, 2012 by Kris Cunningham

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2012

We arrived in David, Panama a little after 9PM (after catching a bus at 2:15). It was a pleasant ride but we were tired from all the traveling. I was also tired from carting my heavy baggage around. I knew it would be weeks before anything from home would arrive, so I brought a number of books on photography and Spanish texts. That’s about the only things I thought would be hard to buy here. If I had it to do over, I would have brought less books. I had a good size suitcase that weighed just under 50 pounds before I transferred 6 books from the computer bag to it, the computer bag that still had a few books in it, and the carry on had my purse and cameras. I made it but I was glad to put all the stuff down! Hopefully when I get settled and have time, I will be glad to have the books though.
My companion had plans to stay at the Bambu Hostel where we happened to stay on our first visit to David. So, since my phone was being difficult, we figured we would take a cab to Bambu and I could call my friends from there for a ride. I was looking forward to visiting Bambu anyway, and I was not disappointed. Greg, the owner, was there and it was great to see him again. They place looked wonderful, an improved version of before with more art on the walls, organized welcoming reception area, relaxing bar area out back, the bamboo “tree house” in the back yard now completed. From what I could see in the dark, the gardens were even more beautiful than they had been before.
If you want an inexpensive place to stay that is great fun, I would definitely recommend the Bambu hostel! Of course it attracts young people and backpackers, but you can find a wide variety of people there. I found it great fun to share the kitchen and common living areas because you meet people and make new friends who probably have a lot of interesting experiences to share.
I was able to use the phone as planned to call my friends to come get me, and how nice to be picked up and settled in my temporary home. They have a great place, a bunch of wonderful dogs, but mostly I was happy to have come to my destination so I could rest, regroup, and see what comes next.
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The next day we awoke before dawn but I slept well and felt much better.
This part of Panama has many farmers, and it is normal to get up before dawn because as soon as it is light, people must get to work. Farming is hard work modest money, so most farmers also have second jobs as well. These are not lazy people! They work very hard, and most live on a fraction of what we consider adequate in the US.

Anyway, we got up for a breakfast of fresh fruit, toast, and omelets which I was to learn is the usual breakfast in this household. The objective today is to check out the car. My friend asked his mechanic for leads on suitable cars. It seems Panama discourages people from having cars, preferring they use public transportation to keep the roads less congested, so cars are expensive here, including used cars. The mechanic couldn’t find a car in my price range, but his recently retired wife wasn’t using hers and agreed to sell it. The car is exactly what I wanted to find, unassuming, reliable, in my price range, and drove well. The owner was out so his assistant said he would have him call us.

This was about enough activity for my first day. The house came the next day. Eduardo Horno, a contact who I had emailed with before arriving, had two houses for me to look at. Again, I had unbelievably good luck. The first one we looked at was perfect for our needs, and also in our price range at $385/month. Another deal was made.
I now had the house and the car. Next it was a matter of getting the money together to finish the deals. This is a cash society. Big stores take credit cards. Out of country checks are difficult to get accepted anywhere. Between individuals though and in most transactions, cash is king and cash comes from the ATM. I brought some cash but not enough for everything, so now it was a matter of daily trips to the ATM to withdraw the maximum daily allowance until I had what I needed. Both of the people I was working with understood immediately and were happy to work with me. The car guy wanted to just hold the car for me with no security deposit beyond my word, and the house guy also would do the contract and hold the keys until I had the cash. These people are much more trusting than people would have been back home, requiring at least a deposit to hold something they could have sold to someone else. I was told this is also the norm. Your word is taken as good and verbal agreements are sufficient.
So, now that I had the house and the car arranged, I think I am caught up with most of the events that have taken place up until this time. It is now Wednesday Oct 17thand things are moving forward, so I will continue this blog in its correct order as much as I can. The house deal was done yesterday. Today is the day for the car. It will be interesting to see how this day unfolds, and I’m sure I will be back to write about it soon. Hasta Pronto!
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Visiting Boquette and taking the bus

Posted on November 10, 2012 by Kris Cunningham

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2012

What a day!! Lots of things happened today. I should be catching up on past events but it was such a good day I want to write about it right now. So, things are out of order? This is Panama. Things aren’t always in order (by our USA standards) and that is OK.

It’s Tuesday, 10/16/12 or as they do it here in Panama, 16/10/12. Today was the day of the market in Boquette so I decided to tag along with my friends. It turned out to be an excellent day!

First, I met the guy who manages my house. We did the contract and necessary business, and now I have keys to the house! I’m looking forward to arranging the necessities and getting settled in. Property management here is more than good. He translated the contract line by line to be sure it was all clear. He does all the communicating with the owners, and stops by the house every month to pick up the rent. He even offered to take me to where one can buy good fresh fish! He also gave me all sorts of advice on setting up utilities and necessities. I’m glad I got connected with this good man.

028

The market in Boquette was also very interesting and I met and talked with a lot of people. Oh dear, can I even remember everyone I met? I connected with Chris the fish guy, Juan Linares, the Argentian chef with the delicious quiche, Lyn with the heavenly soap. Eric (www.rambalajunglelodge.com) about life in Panama, and an invitation to enjoy it at his resort. There was a lady with quilts, people with food. I can’t even remember how many people I talked with… the young people with the hand made jewelry, the man with home made bread, produce people….

I was also very excited to talk with two mola sellers at the market. Molas are a very interesting native Panamanian craft. I have seen them on line, read about them, but hadn’t seen them in person. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mola_(art_form) One guy has molas made by his mother and sister. He told me it takes at least a week to make just one of them. The other has molas made by his mother, and a variety of other similar items. I bought hot pads/gloves for the kitchen but I doubt I will be able to actually use them. They are far too beautiful. But, I know the man now so I suppose if I mess them up I can get some more from him. I also plan to get some authentic molas after I get more settled.

I was also happy to meet Elizabeth Whorley. I’ve read her book, http://comingoutincoffeeland.com/ and I’ve also read about her coffee farm (I bought a pound) and her quest to learn about natural healing and traditional remedies, which is becoming another successful business because of her excellent results.
http://cloudforestbotanicals.com/

Most of all though, in Boquette, I was so happy to meet my teacher! We have met on line almost daily for months, and she has worked and worked and worked with me, trying to get Spanish into my thick head. I am hardly fluent but finally I can get by and understand some of what is said to me. We have also become good friends so it was a great pleasure to finally meet in person without headsets and webcams. This, more than anything, made my day! I met her through Habla Ya. Check out this school for lessons as well as all kinds of field trips and activities. I am looking forward to getting more involved now that I am in the area. http://www.hablayapanama.com/

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My friends were finished with the market before my teacher was free, so they left me to visit the school and make my own way back home using the buses. This also turned out to be a much better experience than I expected.

My teacher directed me to the bus stop for the first leg of the journey and I boarded the old US school bus that serves as one of the buses on this route. We all know school buses aren’t the height of comfort but it wasn’t bad, just a bit bumpy. It wasn’t totally the bus’s fault though since the road is under construction. The bus became more and more crowded as it stopped for more people, but all was very orderly. Many young people boarded in front of a school but there was no rowdy behavior. All the youngsters and teenagers were very quiet, just taking whatever seats were available and riding silently as the bus proceeded on. In the US things probably would have been a bit different, and much noisier.
The bus’s final stop is at the bus depot in town. You pay as you get off the bus. There is a driver, and an assistant who collects the money and does whatever else is needed to assist the passengers.

I had a bit of trouble finding the bus to San Pablo Viejo where my friends live. There are a number of buses that come through that neighborhood, and a whole lot of buses at the depot! I found the ones that go from city to city, was directed elsewhere and went too far so I was in the section for the buses to Panama City. I was directed back and found the smaller white buses that are the local buses. I asked a man for help and he called another man who took me to a correct bus and handed me off to the helper on that bus.

Again, I was very impressed. The bus filled up until there was standing room only. The helper jumped out at every stop, took bags out of hands, helped people into the bus, stowed the bags and packages at the front if people didn’t have room at their seats. He helped people over puddles (very rainy day here and everything is wet), helped people up and down the steps, took the money (again, you pay as you get off), and alerted the driver when passengers wanted to get off the bus. If someone in the back needed to get off, everyone standing up got off the bus, let the passenger out, and then got back on the bus without the slightest hint of bother. Someone had baby chicks. I could hear them peeping through the whole ride. People had children. There were a number of school kids. Everyone was quiet and polite. If a woman got on and there were no seats, the nearest man immediately got out of his seat and gave it to her. I am very impressed with the bus service here and the people who use it.

Why did I buy a car??! There will be times when I’m glad to have a car, but I expect to be riding the bus frequently also. Why drive when you can relax, read, nap, or whatever you wish while someone else drives.

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That is my adventures for today. Tomorrow I pick up my car. Then I need to set up internet and other services at the house. After that it’s time for some serious shopping for necessities so I can start staying at the house!

It will be interesting to see what tomorrow holds.

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Panama City and the Bus to David

Posted on November 9, 2012 by Kris Cunningham

MONDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2012

The 11th of Oct was our first morning in Panama City. My companion had plans to see a dentist for a consultation. Dental care is considerably cheaper in Panama so this was one of the reasons for her trip. She was very happy with the dentist, the plans for care, and the cost was quoted as $730 for work that would have cost her over $3000 in the US. Is it any wonder that people come down here for care?
Traffic in Panama City was definitely a challenge though! It has always been busy and gets more so as the city grows. They are building a subway system so the construction sometimes interferes with traffic flow. A fire broke out in one of the largest buildings, and a day later they were still struggling with managing it. From what I heard there were plastics and other substances that could create toxic smoke so surrounding buildings were evacuated and traffic was rerouted. What a nightmare! The traffic was insane, moving at a crawl or worse in many area with impatient drivers honking and hollering and trying to get through in any way they could.
We made it to the appointment in time because thankfully we had left quite early. The dental staff was a bit late though and the dentist herself was at least 30 minutes late. Returning to the hotel was worse though. It took a while to find any available taxis and some refused to go where we wanted to go because it involved the clogged up areas of town. We finally found one and a while later, got stuck in an intersection. Cars were nose to nose in the middle of the intersection and everyone was honking! Someone tried to get around us on the right, misjudged and scraped the back right side of the taxi. So now we had a traffic jam, and upset taxi driver out of the cab yelling at another driver, and we realized we weren’t going anywhere in this taxi and needed to set out to find another. I took the liberty of catching a short video of the situation.
After a bit we found another taxi but it took quite a while to get through all the jams and make it back to the hotel. We arrived past checkout time but the staff was very understanding and told us it was no problem. I was very happy that my Spanish had improved! I could manage pretty much everything we needed to do, which is much better than our last visit. Surprisingly enough, the gal at the hotel remembered my last visit, mostly because it is remarkable for a couple to be traveling with a 92 yr old mother.
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I had thought about visiting the canal on the way to the bus depot but as late as our morning went, I thought it would be better to go directly to the bus. We caught a cab with another friendly and helpful driver who let us off at the bus depot with directions on where to find lunch, a phone store, and a bus ticket.
(a Diablo Rojo – red devil, very colorful and interesting buses that used to be old US school buses. They are phasing them out in favor of safe, modern, air conditioned comfortable buses so I was glad to see a few of these still parked at the bus depot. They sure are interesting! Some of the art on them is amazing)
The bus was pretty easy to deal with. There is a long hall like a shopping mall. You look for the sign for your destination, go to the window under the sign, and buy your ticket. Buses leave about every hour and it cost $15.25. We also bought lunch (mainly American style fast food), and I bought a cell phone ($32 for the phone and a pre-paid card, don’t ask me how many minutes). Unfortunately the gal in the store looked like she was about 12, and I couldn’t seem to make her understand that we need to share information a little bit at a time because if she tells me everything all at once, I understand none of it. Eventually I understood enough – at least I thought I did since I was able to make a call. But of course, as soon as I left the store that luck ran out. Every time I would answer the phone it would shut off, and if I tried to make a call it would tell me it didn’t have a SIM card. Now I understand why my friend doesn’t want to use cell phones here. Apparently they are much more temperamental than they are in the US. It doesn’t help that the manual and menus are all in Spanish.
Anyway, we had lunch, I connected by phone with my friends long enough to tell them we were getting on the bus. We were warned that the buses are freezing, but I was very comfortable in jeans and a thick sweater (and I am cold more often than most). It was a great double decker bus, and we found that seats are assigned (after we sat in someone else’s seat and had to be politely instructed). But it must have been beginners luck since our seats were almost to the front of the upper deck with a great view. Seats were comfortable, windows were large for great views, and though the trip was long it was as comfortable as a bus could make it.
(a view of the Panama Canal as the bus crossed the bridge)
The trip from Panama City to David is about 7 hours through the beautiful countryside. The first leg is about 3 ½ hours, and a movie was shown on the on board TV’s. Then there was a break to stretch and eat. We were let off at a cafeteria that looked set up to feed many people quickly with tasty Panamanian style food. Then it was back on the bus for another movie, and unfortunately it was dark by now. Next time I will try and plan a day trip so I can see all the countryside because it felt like we were climbing mountains.
(The Panama countryside is beautiful!)
Shortly after break we came to a police stop. Apparently the police already had their eyes on three men that were sitting not far behind us. The police took them off the bus and though they asked everyone to get out their documents, they didn’t check anyone else. Someone else on the bus said the men were removed because they didn’t have documents. The police took them out beside the bus and yelled at them for a while, and then they were taken in the building and the bus was on its way. I was told later that there are many jobs here and times are much more difficult in other nearby countries, so there are many people who come here illegally to take advantage of the available work. The police are kept very busy tracking down the illegal immigrants in Panama. Who would have thought?
It felt really good to be coming in to David. We had been traveling since noon yesterday and we were pretty tired. Again, there were taxi’s on hand when we needed one and a great, friendly, helpful guy to help us get our baggage and be on our way.
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Buses, Planes, New Countries!

Posted on November 9, 2012 by Kris Cunningham

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2012

The Trip To Panama Begins!! It is not exactly a straightforward process to get to our area of Panama, so the next few posts will be about the trip. There are a number of ways to go about it depending on where you want to fly from. I got a deal from Ft Lauderdale that I bought, so I took the bus to that city. Once in Panama City there are also choices on how to make the next leg of the trip. So, one thing at a time, starting with leaving Sarasota.
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We took the greyhound bus from Sarasota to Ft Lauderdale. It went great and made me think – Why didn’t we think of this before?! I will definitely consider bus travel again. The buses are comfortable with large seats. There is free WI-fi and electric outlets if you want to use your computer, recharge your phone, or anything else that needs electricity and/or internet. You can nap, watch the countryside go by through the large windows or as I did, chat with my traveling companion. The bus stops at most of the cities along the way so you can get out and stretch, buy a snack, and take a break which is nice. There are also facilities on the bus if needed.
When I went on line to buy my bus ticket, I saw that you can get a pass for a week, a month, two months, whatever works for you and for the length of the pass, you can ride the bus anywhere it goes at any time. That sounds very cool, and way more affordable than planes. On a return trip to the US I might consider doing this. There is so much of our country that I haven’t seen and if time isn’t an issue, why not?
So, the bus trip was a success. I think it was $43, if I remember, or was it $40? First step accomplished! When we arrived at the bus station there was taxi’s on hand so it was no problem to grab one for the trip to the airport. This was about $20.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I learned something new at the airport. I know that to go to Panama without a visa or residency card, you are required to have the resources to get out of the country again – credit card, $500 cash, or a return ticket. But, Spirit Air insists that you have a return ticket. Cash or credits cards don’t work. They wouldn’t even begin the check in process until I bought a return ticket. So, I now have one for Dec 20th and if I don’t use it, I’m out $135 (not the end of the world, so we will see what I want to do when the time comes) So, check in took a very long time while we sorted this out and shopped for a ticket cheap enough, within the time frame, etc. that met my needs. I was very thankful that we had plenty of time. Security wasn’t bad as security lines go but there were enough impatient and frustrated people mouthing off to make the wait interesting. I thought one lady was going to come to blows with one of the employees who wouldn’t let her cut to the front of the line.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Travelling with Spirit Air –
I got a heck of a deal on a ticket ($58) from Ft Lauderdale to Panama City. BUT if you take this airline you must expect extra costs. It cost me $83 for two bags, one carry on and one checked. The checked bag should have cost me $25 more because it was overweight but by the time the ticket guy had done the whole check in thing (with the return ticket and all), he realized he had forgotten to charge the extra and he wasn’t about to do it all again. So, if you use Spirit be sure to check their website for all the extra fees. Even a seat preference will cost you.
Travel with Spirit is definitely no frills. The seats are very basic, not especially comfortable, vinyl covered, and they don’t recline. It was late at night and this made napping more difficult. There is no food service, and not even any beverage service. Again, you have to buy anything you get. Spirit Air will get you there as advertised but it is as basic as you can get and you will pay extra for every little thing. Still though, with everything added up it was still cheaper than the next least expensive option that I found, and now I know how it is on Spirit if I use them again.An aside – you can bring an empty drink bottle through security and fill it up at a water fountain later. That sure beats paying airport prices for a bottle of water.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was a bit concerned about arriving in Panama City that late at night but it was no problem. There were a lot of other people on the plane, and quite a bit of activity in general in the airport. There were plenty of taxi’s available as well. Our driver wasn’t too chatty but he got us there in short order and charged us a fair price (expect around $30 because it’s a drive from outside the city with luggage, and the driver has tolls to pay). I had called the hotel ahead of time to let them know we were arriving very late and as expected, there was a guy at the desk ready to check us in. So, all in all things went very well with no complications or unexpected issues.
It sure felt good to lie down on that hotel bed!! It was a long day and we were tired. I would say this was a very successful first day of our journey. We had made it from home in Sarasota, Florida, to our new country of the Republic of Panama! The next posts will tell of the continuation of the journey and our further experiences.
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Arrival in Panama!

Posted on November 9, 2012 by Kris Cunningham

It’s Friday, 10/12/12 and I made it to David last night. Of course there will be more posts about various aspects of the trip but I wanted to make a short note on being here, finally, after all the months of preparations. It is going to take some time to sink in, and it’s definitely going to take some time to change gears and learn to slow down a bit.

What am I thinking about?

  • The Greyhound bus trip to Ft Lauderdale
  • Spirit Air and requirements to get on the plane, visiting Panama without a visa
  • Arrival in Panama City
  • The morning in Panama City, city traffic!
  • the bus trip from PC to David
  • Phones in Panama
  • the Bambu hostel visit
  • arriving at my friends house
  • car shopping
  • communicating with people back home
  • looking at houses
  • changing the mindset, learning to relax.
So this post is more for me than you all, trying to organize my mind when it is still a bit hard to settle. Thanks and stay tuned!
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Two Days to Liftoff!

Posted on November 9, 2012 by Kris Cunningham

MONDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2012

I’m ready! Everything is sorted. Everything is packed or ready to toss into the suitcase. There are a few odds and ends, errands, etc that will get done tomorrow because it’s a holiday today. I leave the day after tomorrow. Is this really happening?How did we get to this point? Why are we moving to Panama? We get asked this all the time. Some think it’s exciting. Some can’t imagine doing such a thing. But, as our generation reaches retirement, especially with the economic difficulties facing so many of us, more people are thinking of options.For us, it’s lots of reasons. What do we require? What do we want?Requirements

  1. Affordable
  2. Warm
  3. Stable country with adequate infrastructure, crime under control
  4. Reasonable distance from the US
Wants
  1. Natural beauty, and beaches
  2. Interesting and welcoming native people
  3. Interesting things to do

The cost of living is a fraction of what it is in the US.
The area we picked (city of David) has highs of upper 80’s, lows of lower 70’s year around.
The country has money, mainly from the canal, and the government is pumping the money back into the country. Roads are excellent. Internet is widely available and usually free in public areas. Growth and construction is evident everywhere, and the general tone of the country is upbeat and productive.
Crime doesn’t seem to be more of a problem than any US city. I think with sensible precautions we will feel secure.

The country is gorgeous beyond words! There is everything from spectacular beaches to rainforest covered mountains. There is an amazing abundance and variety of wildlife. And, there is so much of the country we have yet to explore.
The people are warm, friendly and welcoming. They are very family oriented, and love to have fun. We love the people we have met so far and look forward to making more Panamanian friends.
There is shopping, restaurants, movies, all the things one would expect to find in a small city. There are tons of outdoor activities like swimming, fishing, hiking, tennis, scuba, snorkeling. Halba Ya languange school has field trips, salsa lessons, volunteer activities, and other opportunities. Boquette (45 min away in the “highlands”) has a theater, weekly market, and other “gringo” gatherings for anyone who wants to do things with other expats. Again, there is so much yet to explore I’m sure we have barely scratched the surface. I am interested in photography and it will be a photography paradise!

This is my favorite beach in the area. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a place more beautiful.

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WHY? why write a blog? (the First Post)

Posted on November 9, 2012 by Kris Cunningham

This blog has been living on another site, and I am in the process of transferring it to WordPress  So, the first month or so of posts are all going to be posted in a short time but hopefully the dates at the beginning of each one will give a sense of when these events actually happened. Since I am posting after the face, I have cheated and included an image of the woods and jungle next to the house we ended up finding.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2012

If one is about to start a great new adventure, one must write about it! I like to write. It helps me sort things out. it helps document things. Others can read my writing if they want to know what’s going on. But, mainly, I enjoy writing.

What adventure?

PANAMA!

We are moving to Panama! Yes, the Panama in Central America, specifically David, Chiriqui Provence, Republic of Panama. It’s in western Panama not far from the Costa Rica border. We fell in love with the country, this area, and we are excited to live there. There will be another post coming along to explain why we chose this spot. But, at the moment, we are in the insanity of moving from our long time home in Florida.

Today is Oct 7th, 2012. We have been thinking about moving for a couple years, actively preparing for nine months, and we are almost ready. I am leaving on the 10th, in three days! My husband and his mother are also moving, and will follow as soon as they have made the necessary arrangements. Our house is on the market. Ma’s house will be on the market this coming week. Things are in boxes and suitcases. Final cleaning out of houses is in progress. Potential buyers are looking. It’s a bit nuts right now but this too shall pass.

My job in Panama will be to buy a car, find a house, and have things set up for everyone else. I need to arrange phone service, internet, mail, and all the usual necessities that goes with daily living. I’m very lucky to have some great friends both in person and on line who can help me get situated. I’m sure there will be challenges but I’m feeling confident that this is going to be a very good move.

And, my job now on this new blog is to learn my way around the site and figure out how the various features work, so I’m off to see what I can get into. There will be more on the Panama move coming very soon!

I’ve also made a few videos so here’s a few links.

The Move to Panama

Sept 25, 2012, outdoors

Sept 25, 2012 Indoors

9/28/12 The move to Panama in progress

October 1, 1012 The Move to Panama

Oct 4, 2012

Apparently I made more than I thought! These document the house in Florida as it goes through the final stages of getting it fixed up and ready to put on the market. So, if you want to know where I used to live, here you go.

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