Settling In

Unconditional Surrender

So far, the move here has been pretty easy. Registering the car, reclaiming my California driver's license, changing addresses, were accomplished without any problems. The biggest adjustment to living here is adjusting to living here. 

Some days I feel like Palm Springs is the Bizarro World version of Sarasota – or vice versa. Sarasota is hot and humid. Palm Springs is hot and dry. Sarasota is on the water. Palm Springs sits on a huge aquifer but is surrounded by dessert and mountains. 

Marilyn Forever

Sarasota has the monumentally kitsch "Unconditional Surrender" by Johnson & Johnson heir Seward Johnson. Palm Springs has the monumentally kitsch "Forever Marilyn" by Johnson & Johnson heir Seward Johnson. Medical marijuana dispensaries in Palm Springs are as common as OxyContin peddlers (often referred to as doctors) are in Sarasota. 

Both cities have a sizable retirement community, but with a population of 55 percent LGBT, the 70 somethings at World Gym or Gold's here are a very different breed from the country club set in Sarasota. 

Welcome to The Hotel California

Palm Springs is a small city two hours from LA, San Diego, and Las Vegas. Within a short drive, you can be in the mountains, the high dessert, or the coast. In many ways it looks and feels like the resort town it was in the mid 60s. Many of the mid-century modern homes and hotels once frequented by Hollywood elite have been lavishly restored. The skyline is still low thanks to strict building codes.

I'm still building a pattern of life here. I suspect it will take some time. Now that I have taken care of the move logistics – except for changing my medical plan – I have to start working on what I'll do here. 

A five-minute walk from my place

One of the biggest problems for me in Sarasota was finding things of interest to do and like-minded people to do things with. It's already clear there is no shortage of like-minded people here, but the real work that lies ahead for me is to see if my idea for an import business is viable. I am encouraged that I have already made a few contacts for my information gathering and I hope to go to LA soon to check out the market there.

In the meantime, there is the area to explore. My brother and his wife are here this week which provides me a good excuse to check out some of the local sights.