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Guest column

I live here

Sure, the summers are hot, but Florida was a good choice for these Iowans.

By NANCY GOODWIN
Published July 22, 2005

VALRICO - We had many concerns about moving from our beloved Iowa to Valrico. My husband, Joe, would be leaving behind much loved rural property in Iowa where our dream was to build a retirement home.

Our plans changed when our son married Sidne Sutton from Brandon and they became parents of a daughter. Trips to Brandon to spend time with our first grandchild, talking on the phone from Iowa, hearing about the cute things she was doing and knowing we were missing out always brought tears. I began thinking it was time for us to retire and move to Florida.

We arrived in Valrico in September 2002, just three weeks before our second granddaughter was born.

Living in Valrico has been an easier transition for me than for my husband, but he loves spending time with our two little ones. Plus, our daughter and son-in-law moved to Amelia Island shortly before our move. Another son recently moved to Melbourne from Seattle. For the first time in more than 20 years, our entire family is living in the same state!

We love the Florida winters. The weather is perfect, even when native Floridians are cold. We love wearing shorts and T-shirts year-round rather than layers of warm clothing. I haven't missed snow, ice or blizzards. I particularly love seeing flowers blooming year-round.

Summer is another story. I try ignoring the blast furnace each time I walk outdoors. I walk in the evenings, which sometimes isn't much cooler than walking during the day!

We trek north from time to time to get our Iowa Fix, as we call it. My husband returns there each fall for hunting, and I tag along to visit friends. We sometimes still feel like people without a country, but we have met many wonderful neighbors and new friends from very interesting backgrounds and experiences.

The Brandon Newcomer's Club has introduced me to many nice ladies, and I have gone on lots of outings with the group. I have seen a lot of Florida! One thing we would change would be traffic and traffic patterns. All the main roads seem clogged whenever we go out. I believe that having more secondary roads without speed humps would relieve congestion on main roads. Every time I try taking a back road, I run into speed humps and never travel that road again! I do hope county road engineers will try my idea.

Though we miss Iowa, we feel that Florida has been a good move for us overall. Living in another part of the country is always a learning experience. However, spending time with children and grandchildren has been the greatest benefit for us.

Goodwin lives on Brian Holly Drive.

[Last modified July 21, 2005, 09:00:09]