Have you ever been given an amazing opportunity in life, whether it was personal or professionally related? The kind where you just KNOW that your life could be infinitely changed for the better in a multitude of different ways if you just closed your eyes and took the chance? And then did you think about it long and hard, ask ten different peoples’ opinion, research copious amounts of information online, only to basically change your mind because the thought of the unknown terrified you? I know someone who had an opportunity like this and almost missed out because of this type of thought process.
Whitney was a resident here at Camden World Gateway in Orlando and was also a cast member for Walt Disney World, which is located about, oh, say 3 miles from our property. (No big deal). We have many Disney employees that live here, and they always have great tourist stories to tell us. Whitney’s character of choice she performed was Snow White, and was she EVER a dead ringer for Snow White. When she came in on the 1st to pay her rent with her makeup on fresh from work, I would half expect the 7 dwarves to follow suit behind her to make sure she correctly dropped it in the black box. (This, unfortunately, never actually happened. If it did, you would have already seen my video on CNN and I would be sipping an ice cold drink on a remote island somewhere, basking in my good luck that I was the only one in the office at that moment).
Okay, this is beside the point. Whitney had lived in Florida her whole life, and had been working at Disney since she was 17. She loved her job, she loved her apartment (naturally) and she loved the fact that her family was an hour drive away. She came into our office to discuss her lease one week day, with mixed feelings of excitement and distress. She had received an opportunity that day to be transferred to Disney Land in Anaheim, California, which involved a hefty pay raise, a chance to grow in the company, and a killer relocation package deal. Who wouldn’t be excited about such a fabulous and exciting opportunity at such a young age (she was only 21) where there was still so much potential? I’ll tell you who wouldn’t; Whitney.
She reiterated that she was anxious to make a cross country move by herself to a state in which she knew virtually nobody. She was nervous that her family would not be 40 mile drive away anymore. She was sad about a long distance relationship with her boyfriend. And the reason she came into our office to explain her situation to us what that she was overwhelmed with the thought of trying to find a new place to live in a brand new state.
I get it. It’s a lot to consider. And most of those things ARE scary. I didn’t have much solid advice to give her about her family and boyfriend, but I could tell her this; we have Camden apartments in California, and I could give her floor plans, pricing, and availability on those communities now! Oh, AND we have an easy community to community transfer program to make her cross country move just a little less stressful and manageable.
Whitney accepted her career opportunity and ended up transferring to a Camden in Long Beach, CA. She’s contacted us a few times since her move, and thanks us profusely for all the help she received during one of the most hectic times of her life. She let us know that she has many new friends, a cute new boyfriend, and her parents ended up moving closer to CA when they retired. However, she joked that through all the change, her rent checks are still being made out to Camden! And that sense of stability is something you simply cannot put a price on.
