Best of Both Worlds

Andrea Wade never had Florida on her radar. She was perfectly happy living in Cohasset, Massachusetts, enjoying an early retirement lifestyle that afforded her time to spread her wings and explore new opportunities. If only her neighbor would stop telling her how much she loved spending time in Vero Beach.

“My neighbor grew up going to Vero seasonally every year with her family, and as an adult she continues the tradition with her own family. She kept saying, ‘Andrea, you should come to Vero; you’d really like it there.’ So, for my January 2019 New Year’s resolution I decided I’m going to do new things, and I booked 10 days at the Kimpton (Vero Beach Hotel & Spa),” says Wade, a smile in her voice as she recalls the start of her love affair with our seaside village.

Thanks to that same neighbor, Wade met a real estate agent and the search for a second home was on. “We spent five days taking a comprehensive look at a number of places — condos on the beach, homes in Riomar, John’s Island, Orchid, Windsor and the Surf Club, which I kept gravitating to. After I saw a beautifully decorated home there, I said, ‘This one’s for me,’” Wade enthuses.