I spent a number of years saving money left and right to purchase a vacation home for winters. A lot of people have homes on the beach to stay in during the cold winters in the northern midwest, and I wanted to be part of that club myself. However, getting a property near the beach, let alone directly on the beach, is easier said than done. I had to patiently wait for the best opportunity to come along because the prices on most of the condos I saw were far beyond even my most liberal of budgets. When I finally came across the listing for the condo I’m living in right now, I was absolutely ecstatic! It was within my budget and the seller actually accepted my first offer. I was sure that things would be perfect, but I wasn’t considering the effects of the environment I was moving myself into. It’s nice living on a beach for obvious reasons, but there are downsides as well. For one, hurricanes are a serious threat every year from June until early December. I have to be vigilant and have supplies ready in case one develops off the coast at the last second. On top of the storms, it’s also naturally more humid near bodies of water, especially the ocean. When I measured the humidity inside at 58%, I realized that I would need a dehumidifier to keep fungal spores from propagating indoors. The dehumidifier comes with the added expense of the electricity needed to run it, but that advantages far outweigh the impasses in my mind.