Florida Couple Raffles Off Their Life

No matter how perfect your life is, do you ever think about throwing it all away to start over?

Well, one Florida couple, Meg and Whip Jones, seem to be doing just that. They've started a website, My Beach Fantasy, on which they are essentially raffling their life off -- to good hands, of course.

"Several years ago we had a dream of living in a beautiful place, owning and operating our own business and raising our children in a safe environment with excellent schools. That 'Beach Fantasy' came true for us. Now other opportunities have presented themselves and we will be moving on. Our wish is to give you the chance to fulfill your dreams by stepping into our shoes." -- MyBeachFantasy.com.

The Jones' are simply giving up their 3,277 square foot home in Miramar Beach, Florida (pictured above, valued at over $510k); their family business, upscale gift shop Molly Caroline's in Seaside, Florida and their luxury sports car -- a 2005 Maserati Quattroporte.

Shut. Up. Right?

Nope, it's for real. If you are interested in trading in your life for the Jones' Beach Fantasy, write an anonymous essay (you'll be disqualified if they can figure out who you are) of 200 words or less. "The judges will be looking for originality, creativity and sincerity (60%), persuasiveness and flow (30%), and correct grammar (10%)." They will be accepting a maximum of 10,000 entries through September 6, 2010 (that's next year, not last Sunday). The big catch? A $1,000 entry fee.

The FAQ section on their website explains the entry fee this way:

"...if you consider that there will not be more than 10,000 essays and perhaps as few as 3,000 essays and the combined value of the three prizes is well in excess of $1,000,000 (a million dollars) the entry fee is very reasonable."

But wait. They're aiming for 10,000 essays, which means a total of $10,000,000. I was not entirely satisfied with their explanation, so I contacted the Jones family with a couple more questions.

Firstly, I asked: "I'd really love to know what made you decide you give your beach fantasy life away. I know the website says 'other opportunities.' Can you say what those are? Are you starting over somewhere?" And: "Also, where did you and your wife come from before you achieved your beach fantasy?"

Mr. Jones responded quickly and courteously to my questions:

"The answer to questions 1& 2 are related. We are moving back to Tallahassee, Florida to be closer to family as Tallahassee is where we were both born and raised. I am an eighth generation Tallahassean."

And in regards to the money ...

"3,000 entries is all we need to make the contest successful. Anything above that will help us fund charitable organizations we have a close association with; such as, pancreatic cancer research, melanoma cancer research, American Heart Association, and other such philanthropic endeavors.  We would also like to continue our work with G.C. Jones Acquisitions, Inc. and continue to help the community with organizations like Rotary International and the high school equivalent which is
Interact. I would love to help teach the leaders of tomorrow how to become successful entrepreneurs. Lastly, I would like to help family, and friends who have fallen on hard times during the recession."

That all sounds kind of ... sincere and reasonable. And in all fairness, would you bequeath your life (and business) to someone who couldn't scare up $1,000 for a shot at it?

Truly, raffling off a one million dollar life for a projected three-to-ten million dollars is not just a sign of the times -- it's a pretty brilliant plan. If you can afford to enter and are interested, we say go for it. They're being upfront about this; not swindling anybody. And the idea of cashing in your life? Is freaking cool.

Check out the prizes in detail here, and enjoy a related song that wouldn't get out of my head the whole time I was writing this:

Image of the actual home courtesy of Whip Jones.