After spending 60 years of our lives in the northern part of the country, my husband and I had enough of the cold winters and ungodly amount of snow.

We no longer wanted to pay outrageous heating bills, spend hours shoveling and remain trapped in the house for eight months of the year.

We purchased a small house down south, and now split our time between the two locations. We remain up north from May until the end of October and spend the rest of the year at our vacation home. Moving back and forth allows us to enjoy the best weather in each spot. However, the upkeep on two homes can be difficult. When we’re down south, I worry about problems with the heating system in the other house. If the furnace should fail, we could easily be dealing with frozen and burst pipes. Temperatures below freezing also cause damage to home furnishings and can even cause drywall seams to pop. When we’re up north, I am concerned about an air conditioner failure at the vacation home. The extreme heat and humidity is the ideal environment for all sorts of insects, mold and mildew growth. I finally installed a smart thermostat in each home. Through wifi connectivity, I’m able to keep track of the temperature in both residences. An app on my smartphone provides access to all sorts of helpful information. I can make adjustments, track energy use and get alerts for maintenance requirements, power outages and temperature fluctuations. It’s also very convenient that I can raise or lower the temperature to make sure we arrive at a perfectly comfortable house.
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