When I initially moved to Florida to accept a job opportunity, I rented an apartment in Tampa.
I wasn’t happy in the city.
I didn’t like the traffic and high cost of living. I checked the surrounding areas and really loved Lakeland. It’s east of Tampa and a fairly easy thirty-minute drive. Downtown’s Munn Park Historic District is a great place to shop for antiques, and the architecture is just beautiful. Florida Southern College features buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. My favorite amenity of living in Lakeland is the lakes. I often run the path around Lake Mirror or relax and feed the swans at Lake Morton. Nearly every day in Lakeland is warm and sunny. The air conditioner is one of the most important systems of the home. I was able to afford a home in a nice area in Lakeland, because the property had been neglected for quite some time. The house required a lot of improvements. Since I couldn’t afford to do them all at once, I needed to prioritize. The leaky roof was the first investment. Because the roof had been re-roofed in the past, I needed to have the whole thing torn off and replaced. The job was quite expensive. I hoped that a new roof would make the house tighter and more energy efficient. The electrical system wasn’t up to current safety codes, which made rewiring essential. Updating appliances was also crucial. Living with an outdated air conditioner was difficult. Despite running constantly, the system couldn’t manage to keep the home comfortably cool. The electric bills were extremely high and yet I struggled to sleep at night because of feeling overheated. Eventually, I went ahead and took out a loan for a new air conditioner. Although covering the cost was difficult, it was worth it.