“If you live there, and still have your sanity, leave now before it’s too late”.
I wish we could.. I really do. If possible, I would start packing this very moment. However, many Marylanders (like myself) can’t. It is that simple. Financially... my husband would lose his pension and his type of job is not easy to find in other states. Where would we go so he could still commute to Baltimore? Pennsylvania? Where? I understand your sentiment and believe me.. all of my friends who are my age are just waiting till retirement so they can leave. All of them. However, we are stuck.. as much as that pains and infuriates me. There isn’t a day that I wish we could live somewhere else.
Pack your first box now. Fill it with things you don’t need now, but will need in a new home. Put it in the basement, and bring it out once in a while to update the contents and daydream about the future. Or tape it shut, and let it serve as a time capsule. Remind yourself regularly that Maryland is a temporary situation. If you’ve decided where you want to go when you leave MD, start calling that “home.” Read their local news. If the local government has a website, bookmark it. Keep up to date on all the local happenings. If the local tv and radio stations broadcast over the Internet, tune in. Follow the real estate listings.
Those are some of the things we did when we were stuck in NJ. We weren’t able to leave when we first wanted to, but it helped to know that we had a home to go to and a plan for getting there.
Best of luck to you. I hope you’re able to go home soon.