To paraphrase Paul Simon, “Where have I gone, Joe DiMaggio …?”
For the past two months, I have been consumed with moving. It’s only now, two weeks after I actually moved, that I’ve come up for air long enough to write about it. And to read a book again. And walk. And maybe actually blog about something other than Tales From My Spinner Rack for once. Between finding a place, going through all my stuff and getting rid of some of it (but not enough, in retrospect), packing up boxes, hiring a mover and actually moving, than unpacking all those boxes, two months have passed.
About a year ago, I told a dear friend that Coronado was where I wanted to be for the rest of my life, despite the fact that my rent had just gone up 7%. I felt “lucky” it had been so little; the previous year it was 10%, the maximum any landlord can raise it in California. But the fact that I was paying over the limit that I had self-imposed when I moved into a one-bedroom apartment in my complex back in 2018 (“If it goes above $—-, I’m moving!”), made life a little bit difficult for me. Anticipating another 7% increase (at least), I started looking online for a different place to live in October of last year, after my trip to the UK. For some strange reason, I tend to make big decisions after those trips; I did so in 2016 (moved to Coronado) and 2018 (moved to a larger apartment in Coronado), and now again in 2025.
Don’t get me wrong … I loved Coronado, but some of the things about it started to get to me. The rent, of course, first and foremost. (Ironically, when I got my new lease in late December to start in March, they only raised my rent $25.00/month. But by then my mind was made up … I was going to move.) I lost my car to a flood during a horrendous storm back in 2024, so since then I’ve been getting around via ferry boat, Lyft, and the kindness of my friends. But Coronado was isolated, an island accessible only via an imposing bridge (that many people hate driving on), ferry boat, or the “long way around,” which took you via an area called “the Silver Strand” and added close to a half-hour’s drive time onto the trip … if you had a car, which I didn’t. So the whole travel to the mainland thing got tedious real fast, especially when doctor trips were involved and I had to do blood tests early in the morning for fasting purposes, and catch that free commuter ferry at 8:30 AM.
So in the beginning of October, I started looking. I immediately got infatuated with a building in an area called Banker’s Hill, just north of downtown San Diego, my old walking grounds when I lived in the heart of the Gaslamp Quarter for almost 20 years. I would be closer to my doctor’s office (about a half-hour walk away), literally steps from beautiful Balboa Park (so I could continue my daily walks), have my friends not have to tackle the bridge each time they came to see me, and could even take the occasional long stroll to my favorite comic book shop in downtown San Diego. And, best of all, their studio apartments rented for about $500 LESS than what I was paying per month.
I bided my time (my lease was up in March), and just before the end of the year, an apartment popped up that seemed ideal. It was about 100 square feet less than my one bedroom, but had a separate sleeping area, a larger kitchen with plenty of cabinets, a much-larger bathroom, and a decent-sized living room. It did have a minuscule balcony, facing due-west, (hence that incredible sunset above, taken on my very first day living in the place), so I had to give up my beloved balcony couch, which went to a nice friend who lives close to my new place, so I do have visitation rights.
I jumped on this apartment right away, coming over for a tour of the building on January 2 and immediately applying for it—even though I didn’t actually see the apartment I would be moving into. But I was impressed with the building, a much-smaller community than the one I was living in over in Coronado (100 units as opposed to 550!) and I liked the neighborhood, the nearness to lots of food and grocery options, and the walkability. I opted to start my 14-month lease (another selling point—my old place wouldn’t let me sign anything beyond one year) on February 10 and I moved in on February 12.
And it’s now March 2 as I write this and I finally feel I’M DONE UNPACKING, just a couple of more pictures I’d like to hang. So, January 2 to March 2. Two months of my life.
Boxes, boxes everywhere … moving is no fun.
There are good things and bad things about this move. I miss Coronado, it’s a wonderful place to live, but I’ll still return there to visit my barber and dentist (NOT the same person, I assure you) on a regular basis, because when you find good ones in both those categories, you don’t want to give them up, and I found great ones, especially the dentist. The physical move went very well, but the problem with moving is you get a temporary feeling of satisfaction once you go through everything, get rid of stuff, and pack up what’s left … then have that move destroyed when you realize now you have to unpack everything.
Bad things? The aforementioned tiny balcony (still looking for a decent, comfortable chair that will fit … why does everybody want to sell me TWO chairs?), a bathroom with pretty much no storage space, except for under the sink (not even a towel rack) and a really deep tub that’s difficult to step in and out of (I’m a shower guy), and an over-reliance on your phone and apps to open doors … the only key I have is for my USPS mailbox. And of course there’s a connectivity charge for all that smart home stuff. Hey, just give me an old-fashioned key, okay?
Better things? The building gives off serious hotel vibes, especially in the hallways. My sleeping area (they don’t call it a bedroom, not without a door making it a separate room, which is not the case here) is dark and quiet. I have that great sunset view facing due west. The walkability factor I mentioned. A decent pizza place just a few blocks away. And the $500/month savings—although I’m not sure how long that will last, once my first lease is up. Also the building is only 10 years old, as opposed to the 50+ years at the Coronado place. And sometimes that apartment smelled like it was older than that.
But beyond all the pluses and minuses, there’s a certain level of satisfaction I’m feeling for essentially starting over at the ripe old age of 70. It was a difficult move on a lot of levels, and thankfully it went as smoothly as it possibly could—the only hiccup was having to tear down and rebuild my bed, which the movers did very well. And I really feel that I needed a fresh start. While I was in Coronado for only 8.5 years, I started to feel the urge to be someplace else. And since I have a lot tying me to the San Diego area, I didn’t want to start totally from scratch in some new city or a familiar old one, like Pittsburgh, PA, where I lived for almost 20 years.
So here’s to me for doing this old dog, new trick thing and restarting my life in a positive way. The jury is still out on a lot of this, but so far, it’s been very positive and very much something that I needed. And with everything like this, there are lessons learned. The two things I learned—so far—from it all? Don’t buy a couch without sitting on it first and next time, Gary … SELL EVERYTHING BEFORE YOU MOVE.
A glimpse of the new place. I should have bought stock in 3M … I’ve used so many Command Strips to hang stuff, I feel like I could have just driven a truck up to the company loading dock.
Now it’s time to get back to my regularly scheduled life. Sorry, fans of my monthly book reports, but I read one—and only one—book in February and that one I finished on the last day of the month, so nothing to see here, book-wise, even though I’m incredibly disappointed to break my run of monthly reports that I started way back in January 2021, right before I officially retired. But you can watch my latest Tales From My Spinner Rack! episode by clicking here, which I was able to post within my one-per-month, self-imposed video creation deadline, again on the very last day of February. It does kind of fit in as a book report, though, since it’s based on my James Bond paperback collection.
And the final lesson I learned through this odyssey? When you see a chance, take it, to paraphrase yet another songwriter, Steve Winwood. Sometimes you just have to take the leap.
@innocent-bystander.com 
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