Operation Florida Remote

History will forever remember 2020. Is this year simply a sentence in the history books? Or an entire chapter? Only time will tell.

For now, I feel extremely blessed.  COVID-19 is not something that appears to be an immediate threat to myself, Jen, or the kids. Our jobs are likely unaffected. We are healthy and young. The biggest shock to our system so far was losing access to the gym on Friday March 13.

As the world was shutting down around us, I put “Operation Florida Remote” into motion. Because of our intentionality and faith, we were able to get ahead of this and find a home in Florida to rent. Jen and I left KC on a Saturday morning (3/21) in our convertible, drove 12hrs to ATL for the night, and then finished the 8hr drive Sunday. 

Side Note...we started thinking about our desire for a convertible in 2017, started looking on Carvana in 2018, and bought a ’17 white Ford Mustang convertible in January 2019...all with the intention of taking the car to FL.

We are now in Venice, FL in a 3bdr, 2 ba home with a private pool. We have plenty of food and access to stores nearby. It will be sunny and lower 80’s here almost every day. 

Our original place from Craigslist fell through (likely fraud), and we found a nice family to rent us this one via VRBO. We rented it through April 30, and if they cannot find anyone for May, then there is a good chance we will stay here for a second month. 

Side Note...it is interesting how our intentional exploration of FL these past three years put us in a position to quickly act because of our experience in the Tampa metro.  Good thing we acted so quickly, considering the Governor is shutting down vacation rentals.

We left the kids initially at home for a couple reasons. One, the convertible would have been tight for four people. Two, we didn’t know where we would end up when we got here. Three, there was still so much public health uncertainty that it felt wiser to take the seven-state trip without them. In hindsight, this appears to have been the correct call. 

Side Note...it was interesting to see how different communities and states were reacting to the virus.  Some wouldn’t allow convenience stores to sell fresh food or drinks.  Some wouldn’t allow outside cups in.  Some were business as usual as if nothing was happening.

As the KC metro area locked down further…with air travel availability uncertain…and with a FL home secured…we flew the kids down Monday March 23 on a non-stop, one-way flight. There were 11 passengers on their SWA flight. All four of us are settled into our “coronacation” home as Zoe calls it. This is where we plan to shelter-in-place for the spring. 

Side Note...this helps put into perspective how few material possessions a person needs. Jen and I felt very good about getting everything into the trunk of the 2017 Mustang for this trip. For years, we have focused on reducing our dependency on physical possessions.

Jen and I are still “working”. I’ve been remote for years, and now Jen will experience it for presumably at least six weeks. She works for AWG (grocery distributor) and is responsible for a six-person team that coordinates promotional buying opportunities for nearly 4,000 independently-owned grocery stores. I’ve been using tools such as Slack and Zoom for years, and now it appears these will become every-day experiences for millions more workers during this remote phase. We have office choices in our FL home: master office, outside lanai, dining room, and living room couch. 

Side Note...I’ve had my Microsoft Surface computer for years and love it’s mobility. Jen got one last year too. These devices make it so easy to work from anywhere!

We will basically work “remotely” from our FL home Mon-Fri, enjoy the pool over lunch break, and get out over the weekends. We have the convertible as our only car, and Zoe (17) can drive her and Henry (13) around as they desire during the week. They will also be required to participate in any online classes their school offers.  The kids each have their own bedrooms to stream TV and play Xbox…and hopefully do a bit of school work online!

The beaches are currently closed, but we hope that changes once the traditional spring break travel ends. Floridians love their beaches, and while it is ok to shut down a lot of stuff, keeping the beaches closed is the equivalency of KC shutting down their parks. We have friends in Sarasota with a boat, and they usually go out every Sunday. They’ve told us we can join them if we want. That’s something fun for us to look forward to.

No one can predict where this story will go. We are already thinking in terms of summer, and will likely live at our Lake of the Ozarks cabin if KC remains shut down. For us, it will largely depend on when Jen is asked to return to the office and when the gym reopens. If those two things remain closed, we are likely to be at the lake for the summer. Then we’ll wait and see what the school district does in August.