I recently accepted a position at a company in a large metropolitan area in the north. I have lived in the South for a long time, so I knew this would be a culture shock for me. The house I bought needed a number of upgrades. I tried to limit my costs, but a major, urgent need was a new heating and cooling system. Winter was approaching quickly and my heating system was not doing the trick anymore. I don’t think the last owners had an occasion to update it at all, so it was pretty rundown when I arrived. I browsed magazines and newspapers for HVAC system sales, but I wasn’t finding much luck. I even joined local online groups to inquire if anyone was selling their system, or if they knew of any place that ran a superb deal. I ended up finding the best information for buying a new HVAC system from my friend, who had recently bought one from a local contractor. I figured that a local contractor wouldn’t be able to provide a deep discount for a well sought-out heater, but they were surprisingly reasonable with their prices. I was able to get a new HVAC system installed with a reasonable discount I was happy about. As for the rest of the renovations, I was able to score a discount on most things, besides the flooring. That’s because I wanted to splurge on nice floors.