Al Ritter
Excuse me for bastardizing William Shakespeare but….
“To leave or not
to leave, that is the question,
Whether ‘tis
nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and
arrows of the outrageous left
Or to take arms against
a sea of tyranny”
Sorry
didn’t mean to be overly dramatic but the question is for real. I’ve now been
on this homestead for longer than my parents ever lived here, and I watched as
the political climate has changed, and the encroaching neighbors have become
more aggressive and nasty.
What
was once a farming area has now been invaded by young progressive professionals,
whose only agenda is to make you bend to their will and wants rather than
follow the “live and let live” idea of conservatism.
They
bring with them an air of entitlement and a need to force you to do what they
want rather than afford you your God given rights to pursue happiness and be
left alone.
It
hurts my heart to abandon the homestead our family has enjoyed since 1943, but
each day that goes by my resolve gets greater to leave this horrible Peoples
Republic of Maryland.
When
weighing the alternatives my logical mind takes over and I carefully consider
options.
My
first thought is to move to Florida the land of the free right now. Then my
logical mind takes over and whispers….”DeSantis is on his last term as
Governor and unless he’s personally grooming a successor there is no guarantee Florida
will stay red.
Maryland
has a rather abusive tax rate, including State Income Tax which Florida doesn’t
have, that alone would save me a considerable amount of money a year that I
could spend on myself rather than progressive government welfare projects.
If
I had made the move to Florida a few years back I could have sold my property
here at a windfall and upgraded in Florida for the same amount of money, but
that ship has sailed now as market prices of homes has skyrocketed.
One
great benefit would be not dealing with snow! At my age I am growing weary of
cutting firewood and plowing snow in the winter. But the flip side is having to deal with Hurricanes.
I
was lured to Delaware once to buy property, and at first the cost of living
there was lower, but it didn’t take long (only 7 short years) for that
advantage to evaporate. As a result I sold my property at a loss and came back
to the homestead full time.
There
are many things to consider, but the financial hardships we endure in Maryland
and the ever increasing crime is really making me lean elsewhere. There are days I just want to admit defeat and move on.
There isn't much left for me here anymore, family has died or moved away, and I'm the end of my family line sooooooo. It's sad when you have admit defeat but eventually you aren't a participant in politics but merely a spectator.
The
last day here would truly break my heart and probably put me in a funk for
months but it is becoming more and more a possibility.