LifeStyle

While many people don’t start thinking about retirement until it’s right around the corner, there are quite a few that decide early where they want to live when work is done, the kids are grown, and they have reached that golden age. Everyone knows how important it is to plan for retirement early, so considering where you want to retire to should be one of the top priorities on your list.

That’s where finding North Carolina land for sale and retiring to NC comes in. If you’re thinking about settling down in this gorgeous state of mountains and beaches but still aren’t quite sure it’s the right choice for you, read on below for a few of the top reasons that retiring in NC is the right way to go.

Four distinct and gorgeous seasons

When moving to another state, you should first look at the seasons that state has. For instance Florida has one or two seasons, where as North Carolina has four distinct seasons to recommend it. From summer at the beaches to gorgeous flowers in the spring, this is the place to move if you want to experience all that nature has to offer. The best of the seasons in our humble opinion is fall however, when the gold and red leaves coloring the trees and fluttering on the ground will simply take your breath away. (Just make sure you find a reliable and reputable residential pest control company to keep your new rustic home or log cabin free of pests, as there are different types that come out in every season.)

The cost of living is reasonably low

North Carolina boasts below average cost-of-living figures in the United States, and when you’re on a fixed income, that’s an important thing to consider. Having to pay less for housing and other essentials will leave you more money to get out and explore all of the unique and wonderful things this picturesque state has to offer.

Breathtaking mountains

From the Appalachian Trail and the Great Smoky Mountain region to the Blue Ridge Parkway, if you love the mountains, you’re in for a treat. There are small communities within these ranges that might make the perfect home for your retirement. Whether you want an active retirement with skiing and socialization or the solitude of a mountain cabin with snow piling up outside and a mug of coffee and a book in hand, you can find it in the North Carolina mountains.

A rich history to be told

If you’re a history buff, then your retirement will never be boring in North Carolina. From the state’s Civil War battlefields to its rich colonial heritage, there is always a museum to visit or a story to be heard about North Carolina’s history. You can even have the grandkids come for a visit, and give them a little bit of an education at the same time.

The food is unique

North Carolina has some truly unique Southern food to offer. Starting with the iconic Carolina barbecue and moving on to the fresh and succulent seafood from the low country, you will never go hungry throughout the state. And don’t forget to sample some famous homestyle cooking as well, such as baked beans, Southern-style fried chicken, and biscuits and gravy.

These are just a few of the reasons that North Carolina is an ideal place to retire when you’re done working and ready to fully enjoy life. From the ample land for sale and the beauty of seasonal change to the delicious food and the awe-inspiring mountain ranges, there is nothing that isn’t amazing about retiring in North Carolina.

 

A new construction is an excellent way to get a beautiful home full of the latest features, appliances and building techniques. Whether you’re involved in the design choices or purchasing an as-is new construction, here are five tips to negotiate a deal on new homes for sale in Venice CA. 

1. Avoid Emotional Reactions

Perhaps the most difficult part of negotiation is to avoid emotional reactions. This is particularly true when purchasing a new construction, since you are working with a business rather than an individual. Although the asking price might be a major financial investment for you, the construction company may have dozens of similar homes, so they have far less invested in the outcome of this particular deal. Look for a quality real estate agent to help you put on a poker face and negotiate without emotion.

2. Don’t Fall in Love Too Soon

A common pitfall when looking at real estate is to fall in love with a house, regardless of the price. If you fall in love too soon with your favorite new construction location or building design, you may end up paying far more than you expected. If certain features of your negotiation aren’t working to your advantage, you need to be willing to leave the deal and look for a better option elsewhere.

3. Ask for Upgrades

Before you walk away, however, try to change tactics. Once you negotiate down to their lowest price point, ask for a few upgrades on the project. Builders have access to a wide range of appliances and other building materials, so premium carpeting, luxury fixtures and the latest appliances may cost them a fraction of the asking price. A building contractor may be far more willing to throw in a $5,000 kitchen cabinet upgrade than to take $5,000 off the asking price.

This is a great way to reach a compromise in terms of price. Upgrades are a low-cost solution for the builder, but also give you added value to your new home. You can get the luxury items you need and still stay within the builder’s price range.

4. Check Out Finished Homes

While you may be in love with the idea of a new construction, be willing to look at finished homes. There’s a few advantages to viewing finished homes. First, you can find out if the features that you think you’ll love in a new construction are actually practical. Second, you’ll have a better sense of the value of your new construction, which gives you more negotiating power. Finally, finished homes can be more affordable and come with a more firm price point, since a new build has a lot of unknown costs for builders.

5. Work With an Experienced Realtor

Take the stress out of house hunting with an experienced, licensed realtor. Whether negotiating with a builder on a new construction project or looking to purchase a finished property from an individual, work with the best Santa Monica realtors for local, professional expertise on all your options. Negotiate with confidence and get all the latest information on new builds in your area.

 

It’s a psychological fact that teens come to a point where they need to push their parents away. It’s not pleasant, but it’s part of the process they need to discover who they are and prepare to leave the nest. This doesn’t mean you should give up. While it’s good to give them some space to grow, making them a priority means more to them than they’ll let on. Throwing your teen a surprise party can be a great way to celebrate them. Just try to keep the mushy stuff to a minimum in front of their friends, and use some of these simple tips.

Don’t “forget” her birthday

You might be tempted to act as if you’ve forgotten her birthday leading up to the big day. That way, she’ll be so much more surprised when she finds out you actually remembered. But the truth is, she’ll be expecting something and acting like you forgot will just make her suspicious. Do your best to keep the planning under wraps, but discuss things about her birthday just as you do every year. For example, ask her where she’d like to go for her birthday dinner or what kind of cake she’d like. Keep things as normal as possible.

Enlist the help of her friends

Sadly enough for most parents, teens tend to lean on their friends more than anyone else during this time of life. No matter how well you think you know your teen, her friends probably know her a lot better. That’s why it’s important to include her closest ones in the planning process. For one thing, they can probably tell you whether a surprise party is even a good idea for your teenager. Some will be mortified at the idea of having all the attention on them, while others will lavish it. For another thing, your teen’s friends can help you plan and invite guests. They know who she likes and who she’d want at the party. You can even get them to help with the shopping and decorating.

Add lots of personal touches

The party is a way to celebrate your teen, so find a way to make her stand out. Print out some photos of her and her friends from Facebook to scatter around the party areas. You can lay these randomly on the tables with the food, frame some to hang on the walls, or even make T-shirts with her picture on them. These ideas will, of course, depend on your own teen’s personality and how she responds to being the center of attention.

Record the memory

Don’t let the party go by without finding a way to capture the day. Check into photo booth rental NYC to set up an area where friends can pose together for fun keepsakes. Themed props are a great addition and make photos more memorable, and you can create keepsakes from the images once the party’s over. These could be photo books for the birthday girl and all her guests, framed prints, or just uploaded albums for everyone to share.

Don’t forget the gifts

No matter how well you plan your teen’s party, she’ll still expect a gift. Remind her of how special she is to your family and make your gifts personal. A good example is a piece of jewelry she can keep forever. This can be from you alone or from your entire family. You might even consider finding bracelets for sisters for your daughters with close birthdays. The point is to keep her personality and interests in mind to let her know how much you care.

 

The humdrum of life can weigh people down. Between work, school, errands, bills, and even traffic, everyday life can be draining on mental health — even more so in New York, the city that never sleeps. With the hustle and bustle and fast-paced nature of city life, it can be easy to overlook your emotional needs and take care of yourself.

If your mental health is deteriorating, your relationships can suffer, as well. If this happens, you might feel the urge to give up and let go — neglecting not only yourself, but your loved ones, as well. But how can you mend a relationship on the rocks and return to a place of happiness and love? The following three simple steps will help you resolve and restore your relationship.

Seek help

Society still frames asking for help as a form of weakness, but it’s not. It takes real courage and strength to recognize you can’t do it all alone. Communicate and be open with your loved ones about how you feel. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at just how accepting and supportive those around you can be when you are honest and vulnerable with them.

While mental health issues may have a stigma attached to them in society, millions of Americans struggle with mental illness every year and four in 10 Americans have seen a therapist in their lives.

The various forms of counseling and therapy in NY can teach you how to express your emotions in a healthy way, help you better care for your mental health, and even facilitate stronger, happier relationships. The listening and communication techniques and skills developed in therapy can also be transferred to your current relationship.

Don’t dismiss the option of couples’ therapy as a last resort. The sooner a couple goes to therapy once problems arise, the more likely the conflicts will resolve and the relationship will repair. When partners reach out for help when problems initially form, the success rate of couples counseling is nearly 75 percent.

 

Change your lifestyle

It sounds too simple to be true, but changing your daily habits can actually improve your well-being and your relations with others. Eat whole, nutritious food, get at least seven hours of sleep each night, stay hydrated, exercise regularly, and meditate.

Mindfulness increases awareness of one’s thoughts and feelings and even uplifts mood. Recent studies indicate that meditation’s benefits of increasing empathy and understanding as well as stabilizing mood helps to improve people’s relationships with others. When people understand themselves better, they can understand each other better, as well.

Coupling a better state of mind with nourishment and endorphin-boosting activities, and your brighter spirits are sure to positively impact your relationships.

Make time

Spending quality time together is essential for making a partnership thrive. You can get so caught up in your busy, New York life that time with your significant other can become less of a priority. It’s important, though, that you not let the city’s pressures stop you from spending time with the one you’re with.

You don’t need your dates to be extravagant. Something as easy and casual as scheduling joint dinner a few nights a week or watching your favorite TV show together on a Sunday night can certainly do the trick. Giving time and attention to one another can help reignite the spark and pump life back into a lackluster romance.

Relationships take a lot of hard work and dedication to maintain, and it’s easy to fall into a dull routine. And the stressors of adult life can also complicate a relationship. But with the right mindset and motivation, along with the help of mental health therapists and specialists, a good relationship can be saved.

 

With the unique collection of stylish & contemporary furniture available online, selecting the right piece which is compatible with your smart home design, is very convenient and time-saving. Our online furniture range includes sofa sets, beds, dining tables, TV units, cupboards, dressing tables, sofa cum beds, study tables, mattress, and computer tables with new and contemporary arrivals added from time-to-time. Our portal allows you to browse through a variety furniture designs across different categories. You have the choice to sort and filter, compare options, easily select and buy the ones you like.

Furniture makes your house a home, especially the bed. Well-designed furniture, besides being functional also reflects your taste and style. Ours is an online furniture company, to us, service; besides the quality of our products, is equally important. So we pay attention to each step of the process – from the time you place the order online till delivery of your order, including after sales service.

Few Tips to help you select the best furniture for your home

• Style: The style of furniture you choose for your room enhances or spoils its décor. Modern furniture design strives to achieve the right balance between design and functionality. Whatever your preference, whether contemporary design or more traditionalistic in style, you can search all at our online furniture virtual store. When at the end of a tiring day’s work you want to relax and for a good night’s refreshing sleep, we showcase special bed design with price at our online furniture store.
• Buy According to Need: Before buying home furniture, the first step is to mentally visualize a fully furnished room as per the space available. Ask yourself the following questions. How do you intend to use each space and for what purpose? Then consider as to whether it is to be a private space, space for family, or for entertaining guests? Thereafter, consider the layout of each area, keeping in mind the position of doors and windows, the overall available space so that the size and number of your furniture pieces can be determined, without cluttering and leaving enough space for people to walk around unobstructed.
• Explore and Compare: Check bed designs with the price of various sizes & colors online at our virtual store. Modern bed designs focus on simplicity and function. Distinct lines, straight edges, and detailing with no frills are hallmarks of our bed design.
• Pecial Utility Functions: A lower bed in your room will give you an illusion of a larger space. However, senior citizens with joint pains in the lower limbs may find it difficult to get in and out of such lower beds. Extra-thick mattresses can be used to raise the bed’s height as a solution in such a case.

You can also browse a wide range of single bed designs for a kid’s room, bachelor pads, hostels, or guest rooms not so frequently used. The design of the bed depends on your specific requirements of the bed being used as storage, display or style. Explore all new bed designs on our virtual online store and select the one best suited with the purpose as well as its compatibility with your smart home’s milieu.

If you want to learn more about our blog, please click here.

Sleep has a significant impact on the physical health, behavior, and memory of an individual. According to various studies, sleep is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle. While still having that in mind, parents have a tough time getting their kids to go to bed. Sleep deprivation for kids has consequences such as irritability and stress, difficulty in concentration, and the chances of being overweight are high too.

As a mom, you are tasked with ensuring good health and happiness for your kids. Apart from taking them to an amusement park, the other best thing that you can probably do for them is to ensure that they get quality sleep. Routine is one lifehack that can also simplify the responsibility of raising kids, especially when it comes to ensuring they get a good night’s sleep. Making a bedtime routine will be instrumental in helping your kids get adequate sleep.

Here is what you need to do to make bedtime easier for the kids that won’t go to bed or even stay in it.

Establish the Amount of Sleep Time Your Family Needs

According to The American Academy of Paediatrics, kids aged 1-5 years should not be getting anything less than 13 hours of sleep. Children aged 6-12 years on the other hand, can work with 9-12 hours. As much as there is an emphasis on getting to bed early, it is always very easy to default. With the knowledge on how much time of sleep your kids need, you should be able to come up with a schedule that works for them.

Also, it is essential to let your family make their contribution to this. The routine will be a success if you all work as a team. If possible, ask your kids the time they will be comfortable going to bed. That way, you will make your family zen about bedtime.

Come Up with a Pre-Bed Routine

Research shows that children are active learners, and most of their behavior is derived from the exploration of patterns. Once you have set a specific bedtime, the next thing you should do is to find ways that will help you prepare your kids for bedtime. This should be taking place about an hour or 30 minutes before the decided time.

A few hints to tell your kids that bedtime is approaching will help. This could be anything from dimming the lights, turning off the TV, or even cleaning up or organization of their playroom. Most moms do it different with the older kids. They use this time to bond with their kids and ask about how their days were. The moment these activities become a routine; going to bed during the scheduled time will not be hard.

Turn Off the Lights

Once the kids manage to get into bed successfully, you need to also come up with a routine that will make them comfortable with the idea of sleeping. Effective get-in bed routines include cuddling and massaging. With that, the chances of your child getting out of their bed once you turn off the lights will be lowered.

A calming atmosphere will make lights out time very easy for you.

Be Consistent

This could not be emphasized more. Remember that kids thrive on consistency. Adjusting to a particular routine is not something that will happen overnight. The same applies in the case of scheduled bedtime. At first, it can prove to be challenging as your kids will likely cling on their previous sleeping habits. However, with time, you will be able to tune their internal clocks to the new schedule.

Do not get weary; instead, practice it every day until it becomes a part of your family routine that cannot easily be done away with. With time, getting your kids to bed will become an enjoyable way to wind up your day.

Have Your Bedtime Routine

Remember that a bedtime routine is a family affair. Sleep is also essential for grown-ups. You need to create a routine of your own. It doesn’t have to be similar to your kids’. Adequate sleep for you will give you the energy to face a new day and also serve your family better.

While creating a sleep time routine for your family, you need to be realistic. Failure to do so will only end up with a frustrating bedtime routine that no one will be happy about. Also, be firm with your expectations on bedtime to instill the discipline in your kids to follow through. Note that kids take a lot from their parents. Having your bedtime schedule will encourage your kids to have their own. Make your kids understand that sleep is a good thing, and getting your kids to get to bed will no longer be challenging.

To read more on topics like this, check out the lifestyle category.

If you’re an American, it’s important that you find someone here in the States that you’re wanting to meet, especially when it comes to online dating websites. That being said though, there are all sorts of matchmaking websites out there that can help you find whatever you’re looking for. In this guide, we’ll tell you all about joining a matchmaking site for online dating.

Do You Control Your Fate?

When it comes to joining matchmaking sites, you are only limited to what you’re searching for. Many dating websites have very complex algorithms in order to find your perfect match. In the early years, it was common to literally find only people who matched numerous things that you liked or disliked as well, and let’s face it, being in love with your twin is kind of boring.

You don’t want to end up finding another copy of you, so it’s best to find someone that has some differences in regular things. So what if you don’t like broccoli, a dating site isn’t going to search for people who don’t like broccoli too, although they give you the opportunity to tell people you don’t like it. What they do now more than before though, is look at important values like politics, religion, and personal beliefs and try to find you matches on the topics that matter to you.

Why Do They Cost Money?

In the past, there weren’t as many dating sites out there, and they didn’t quite understand the necessity for protecting our privacy. But as people starting doing things they shouldn’t do by meeting people online, our personal security began to be threatened. Most criminals and people who don’t have good intentions aren’t going to pay for a website where they can find a victim, as a matter of fact, it makes it harder for this to happen, because they also make you verify your identity on most paid dating sites.

What Do the Best Matchmaking Sites Offer?

Many of the newer dating sites that are premium ones in America offer options to video-chat with each other directly, and even have apps for mobile calling and discussion. They also give you a more personable experience by offering you to send voice messages just like you would if you were talking on a phone or in person. At the same time, they still provide the extra security that allows you to help build up the communication you need in order to achieve a strong and healthy relationship.

Conclusion

There are actually only a handful of American dating sites out there, and some of them are veterans in their field, such as Match.com and eHarmony. However, there are more coming out of the woodwork almost all the time, so while you need to be cautious on what you’re signing up for, you can almost guarantee that you’ll be able to find someone to connect with due to the fact that there are more and more people online now than there have ever been, and it’s not going to die down anytime soon. If you want to see full reviews, be sure to visit https://www.top10bestdatingsites.net.

To read more on topics like this, check out the lifestyle category.

Getting your hotel to stand out from the competition can be difficult, especially if you’re in a big city with dozens of other options. There are plenty of different places to choose from that all offer different features and perks. So, how will the customer decide which one to book with?

The biggest way that hotels make their presence known now is through the internet. Most of us start with an online search when we are planning to travel. We look at hotels that are close to the attractions that we are attending or to the business that we are traveling for.

Price range and star rating are also factors that come into play when we decide on which hotel to stay in. There may be some features that you’re willing to pay more for, like a hotel within walking distance to an attraction.

Depending on the reason that you are traveling, you may be looking for different amenities. If you’re traveling for business, free Wifi is probably a “must.” If you’re on a romantic vacation, maybe you are prioritizing a beautiful view or a cool rooftop bar.

But, before travelers can even consider if your hotel is the one for them, you have to make sure that your hotel is showing up in these searches. If someone searches “Hotels in San Francisco” and they get results for 20 hotels but yours isn’t included, they will start narrowing down their choices without even knowing that you exist.

To prevent your hotel from being overlooked, here are five tricks to improve your hotel’s presence:

1. Retarget Right

Many businesses use ads to retarget customers who have shown an interest in their product or products like it. Unfortunately, consumers are starting to notice and many of them are getting annoyed. It is estimated that about 30% of internet users use ad blockers now.

According to this guide to data driven marketing, retargeting ads can be so effective when done right. But, how can you use them in a way that won’t push your customers to get run an ad blocker?

First, make these ads relevant and interesting. Just because they’ve already shown an interest in your hotel doesn’t mean you can phone it in with the retargeted ads. Second, code your booking page to stop sending these ads if the person has booked a stay. If they keep seeing ads after they’ve booked, the ad is essentially pointless and will probably irritate your customers.

1. Work with OTAs

Online Travel Agents (OTAs) like Expedia or Trivago can be both good and bad for your business depending on what you hope to achieve. Some smaller boutique or luxury hotels may be frustrated with the commission that OTAs take from sales. But, a positive relationship with an OTA can significantly boost the number of bookings at your hotel.

OTAs are able to put your name in front of customers that might not find you otherwise. In other words, OTAs can increase your audience reach. When your hotel is listed on one of these sites with great reviews and a nice low price, you’re likely to beat out your competitors for the sale.

1. Create Professional Content

When it comes to creating content that promotes your hotel, pictures may be even more important than written content. I don’t know about you, but if I went to a hotel website and was only able to read a description of the room, I’d be very suspicious about the quality of it.

According to Digital Authority Partners, you need professional photos of your hotel. Low-quality pictures will make your hotel seem cheap or make your website seem outdated. High-quality pictures that compliment the best features of your hotel (like stunning views or luxury rooms) will make it easy for potential customers to picture themselves there.

Not only will these pictures be featured on your site, but the search engines will use them and OTAs will too. Hiring a professional to take your pictures will really set you up for success.

1. Encourage and Respond to Reviews

We know that good reviews are great for businesses. Consumers trust their peers more than they trust a marketing department. But, for hotels, reviews not only bring in new business but create a higher demand for your rooms.

A study was done to evaluate the effects of a four-star rating rising to a five-star rating. They found that demand increased by 25% and hotels were even able to increase the price of rooms by 9%. Not only do more people want to stay at your hotel when they see great ratings, but they’re willing to pay more for it too.

Encourage your guests to leave reviews by offering incentives like a credit for the minibar or late checkout. If they leave a positive review, reply with a comment to thank them. If they leave a negative review, use it as an opportunity to gain feedback and discuss how the situation could be resolved. When potential new customers read these reviews, they will be encouraged by the friendliness of your staff.

1. Engage in Social Listening

Social listening is a phrase that means you search for and read any posts, reviews, or mentions of your business on social media. This practice allows you to do more than just get a pulse on your customers’ experience. It helps you to grow as a brand and establish relationships with your customers.

This could simply mean responding to positive posts to say thanks. Sharing images or positive reviews on your own page also shows customers that you care about what they have to say.

If you find a negative post, you can apologize and offer a solution. Negative mentions also create opportunities for you to find out how you can better serve customers in the future.

No matter if the social media mention is good or bad, you can use it to better your brand image and build loyalty with your customers.

Web searches, OTAs, and social media are the main sources of information for consumers when they consider which hotel to stay in. Take control of the way that your hotel is presented by engaging with customers, creating quality content, and building mutually beneficial relationships with OTAs.

To read more on topics like this, check out the lifestyle category.

You’re in DC because you can matter. The work you do and the life you lead are important. You move fast, make important decisions, and work hard to stay a step ahead in one of the most competitive places on Earth.

 

What is it doing to your health, though? Your health isn’t just about how thin you are or how nice your skin looks, after all. Your body and mind need holistic care and that means that you need to cultivate a healthy lifestyle. DC living can be very counterproductive in that department. It’s high time that you took stock of your DC lifestyle and reconsidered some of the things that may be bringing you down.

The quick and the dead

DC’s reputation is well-known all around the world. There’s no place for the slow and thoughtless in this cutthroat town. The average work week in Washington, DC, including commuting time, is a jaw-dropping 48 hours and 39 minutes.

That doesn’t leave much time for anything else, especially considering that “off the clock” has a very different meaning here in the district. Sure, we might head to happy hour or out to dinner after work, but make no mistake: It’s in these places where some of the most important work in DC is done. These are the places where big political deals are hashed out and major business decisions are made. While all of this happens, the booze tends to be flowing pretty freely: DC has the highest concentration of heavy drinkers in the entire country.

If we do go straight home, we may be too tired to cook. Perhaps we’ll call one of DC’s many takeout or delivery places. And when the weekend finally comes, DC residents tend to keep working: They bring work home with them on Friday or work jobs that demand that they come in on weekends. As for vacations, well, that’s a nationwide problem. Americans just don’t seem to take enough time off.

Fighting for health and wellness

Your physical health and mental wellness are all-important. Without sound body and mind, you won’t be able to enjoy the fruits of your labors or, for that matter, work effectively in the first place. If you’re going to make it in DC and in life, you need to make some changes.

That starts with breaking the cycle of hard work and hard play. Work-life balance is a hard thing to find when you’re in a cutthroat business like finance or politics, but DC residents need to do their best to carve out times and places where work can be pushed to the side. Perhaps most important of all is that oft-neglected vacation. Studies show that vacations are healthy, improve our mood, and actually make us more productive at work.

Daily habits matter, too. Examine your “habit loops,” or the patterns that lead to you choosing to hit the bar or eat a bunch of unhealthy takeout. What triggers lead to these outcomes? Can you replace the “reward” portion of your habit loops with healthier choices? 

If you can, DC will become a much healthier place for you. You can’t do this alone, though. You’ll need the help of trained medical professionals to keep yourself on track. Most of us have no issue with heading to the doctor regularly, so this should be an easy one. Don’t forget about your mental health, though, says one Washington DC psychologist. Just as you need regular care for your body, you need regular care for your mind, too.

This doesn’t mean that you have to go on mental health medication — there’s no reason to do that unless a psychiatrist or other doctor recommends it. You should keep in mind that even those of us without mental health issues can benefit enormously from therapy. Therapy can lower stress levels, improve relationships, and help us better understand why we think what we think and behave how we behave.

DC isn’t always the healthiest place, but your DC lifestyle is something that you can control. Make the right choices and put the emphasis on your health and wellness.