The plane was starting its descent through towers of the most magnificent, puffy clouds I had ever seen in all of my years of flying. The excitement of coming home was almost overwhelming. What made that feeling so extraordinary was that this would be my first trip ever to my destination – the South Carolina town that was to become my new home.
This amazing journey had started less than three months earlier. At my visit to my chiropractor I had listened to his receptionist, who was in her 60s, bubble over about her upcoming move to Winston-Salem, North Carolina. For over ten years I had wanted to move from the New York Metropolitan area, but closed doors to a move had greeted me. I had waited and tried to make the most of where I was, but something about the conversation that day made me say to myself, “What are you waiting for? It’s time to move.”
To Everything There Is a Season
Circumstances had changed in my life and I was no longer tied down to a regular daily job. I was now privileged to be able to work out of my home as a network marketer and freelance writer. I could move and live anywhere and do my work. My close friends had growing families and obligations, so our sharing times together were fewer and far between. Even my older cat had died, so I didn’t have to worry about a relocation move with her. She wouldn’t have traveled well. It was clear to me that it was finally time to once again explore my options.
A Relocation Move in Three Months’ Time
It was the beginning of May when I began researching housing prices in different areas of the country where I felt I might like to live. As I searched, I stumbled upon a website with a quiz that helped me zero in on my preferences. The southeastern section of our country seemed to win out. What happened next was truly extraordinary.
It was 2005, which was before the housing collapse. I had lived in my home in central New Jersey for seven years and in all of that time no realtor ever called me. They didn’t call people because they didn’t need to; the housing market was at its height. You can imagine my surprise when a local realtor I didn’t know called me out of the blue and wanted to know if I would be interested in a property that had just come on the market in a neighboring community. I told her that I was thinking of possibly making a relocation move and marketing my home. She met with me, and through her assessment I discovered that my home had doubled in value over the seven years since I had bought it. It was the perfect time to sell and move. By faith I took the plunge and listed my house.
At that point I started to tell a few friends that I was thinking of making a move, only to discover that the town in South Carolina that was recommended by my online quiz results was also recommended by a business partner who knew me and knew the town well. Another business partner knew a realtor there and she introduced me to her. We began working together over the phone.
By the end of June, I was ready for my first open house. The day following the open house we had three offers. We went to each of the potential buyers and asked them to give us their best and final offer. One couple came in with an offer of $5,000 over my asking price, which I accepted. The closing was set for August 29th. I had yet to visit South Carolina, a place I had never visited before.
Finding My New Home and Making the Move
My first visit to South Carolina, when I flew through those magnificent cloud formations, was set for the third week in July. During the first three days my realtor and I visited sixteen home sites. Thanks to my online research I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted in a house. Because of that, by the end of the third day I had narrowed down our search to two existing homes. The house I bought was a new home on a corner lot in a new development. The closing was set for August 31st, two days after my home in New Jersey was due to close.
After the move was completed, I realized how timing is really everything when making a relocation move. I learned a lot about patience through my ten years of waiting. There were a lot of little issues over the years that had to be put in place before the move was perfect. Because we are so used to immediate gratification these days, we forget that the best things in life really do come to those who wait – and, in my case, pray.
