Our New Normal

I am having wanderlust, based on the fact that I did not get to go on a long planned trip this past April, coupled with the fact that summer has always been the time of year for our family vacations. Like all of you, I look forward to the time when things will get back on track and we can take those long delayed trips to faraway places.

For now, I have thoroughly enjoyed being an armchair traveler wandering around www.airpano.com.

​​​​​​​Swooping around places I have been to, along with checking out exotic places I would love to go in the future, the website is a wonderful cure to my current wanderlust. That said, I think all the slowing down and sheltering in place does have a silver lining. Family, friends, and neighbors are interacting more now than ever. Be it brief visits on walks, social distancing on drive-ways, or via Zoom, we’re all, in an ironic way, more personally connected now than before the pandemic.

​​​​​​​It is also interesting to consider the new normal, and what the aftermath of this pandemic will look like, both personally and professionally.  I have worked from home since becoming a realtor, and so working remotely hasn’t changed my work habits. If working from home is a new phenomenon for you or your family, and it looks as if you will continue to work from home indefinitely, what does that currently look like, and what, if anything, would you want to change about it?  I have had more than a few clients, both within and outside of Travis Country, that are considering moving to more remote rural areas since they no longer have to consider a long congested commute to work.  Of course, a lot of us still have to consider our children and where they’ll end up come fall when, hopefully, normal school classes will resume.  Whatever the case may be, when there is this time to reflect and consider what “living” and “working” at home looks like, I am open to discussing the possibilities with you.

For many of us, living and working in your current house is working out just fine, but your current home is not ideally situated for a home office. Perhaps a fresh set of creative eyes in the guise of a home stager or home organizer could help dust off the cobwebs of comfort, and create a more useful, or even just a different way, of arranging your things so that you feel refreshed in your own abode. It’s not outside the realm of possibilities to create an office space in your current home or even in your current backyard. I have several recommendations for any of those projects, and the professionals I work with in this particular industry are doing everything they can to stay safe while still being helpful.

Maybe you want to dabble into doing a bit of both remote living/working and keeping your current home as a landing spot, to change up the scenery.  You could start by trying out places on VRBO or Airbnb in areas you want to consider as your offshoot place, then once deciding on a certain area or location, figure out a way to buy your alter-ego living/working accommodations.  Anything is possible!  As I heard from a colleague recently, we are having a health crisis, not a housing crisis.  So, moving or changing where you are is something you personally have control over, and can take the chance of making a change that will hopefully enhance your lifestyle and perhaps even make you feel like you are on vacation in your own home.  I would consider that a win-win!

Stay healthy and safe!​​​​​​​