Only a couple more days, and I will be enjoying retirement. Well, maybe not at first, since there are myriad chores and planning ahead until we can relocate to a place where:
- the tax bite is a whole lot less
- cost of living is lower
- mild climate
- lower crime rate
- we can buy and shoot most firearms
- we can exercise our Utah CCW privileges or qualify for local CCW
- there is more Kokopelli
I’m sure there are many more items I can add to this list.
We have talked about relocating to Arizona, Nevada, Utah and New Mexico – the options are open. Some areas within those states meet our requirements and others do not. There is much to research.
It is desirable to make the move sooner than later, but there is the matter of getting a fairly large Southern California home full of aged furnishings (and our junk, of course) with some items in mild disrepair, in shape to put on the market. It’s a daunting project, but we can work on it more-or-less full time.
Fortunately, we are in an equity position in our home and most likely will be able to pay off the mortgage plus purchase outright or make a considerable down payment on a home in the new location. It will depend on how extravagant we want to be in choosing a new home. Keep in mind that we are not planning to take many furnishings and no appliances with us. It will be a zero-time baseline on most items like that, so we have to take that into consideration in choosing a home.
Now – I have to figure out how to do all this California work while being a resident of another state. Not an easy prospect . . .
UPDATE: Scott Adams’ timing for this strip was perfect:
Best of luck in your “career change.” What state are you considering for your ultimate destination?
Our short list is to consider Arizona, Nevada, Utah and New Mexico. We’re leaning toward Arizona, Damsel’s birth state, but we won’t be sure until we’ve given it due diligence.
Well, I’m heading to Nevada at the end of October. That’s the plan anyway. The cost of housing is much less. The roommate situation will be much improved. And there’s more space to roam about. AZ was definitely in the running, too. As was NM. Friends in all those places make it very tempting to just turn into a nomad.
Wherever you land, you’ll find excitement and adventure. I believe this. Good luck with the decision!
Thanks, Goddess. We’re champing at the bit.
Kokopelli? Kokopelli? I thought that was a cheese pasta sauce ya know.
Does Damsel known about this penchant of yours? Wow, retired thirty minutes and already you’re getting ready to expose yourself to kiddy school buses driven by nuns. At least wait until you’re on social security.
No need to wait for Social Security. It’s been in effect for nearly three months.
I don’t get the kiddy bus and nun reference. Maybe I’m getting dull in my old age.
Oh no, it’s kokopelli syndrome.
Cap’n Bob,
Have you and the Damsel checked out Prescott, AZ?
http://www.prescott.org/
Hey Doyle,
Yep we’ve been to Prescott several times. We stayed there in summer of 2008 and a couple of times before. Like the town a lot, especially the old buildings in the downtown area.
We also like Sedona, Cottonwood, Camp Verde and Wickenburg.
Thanks for the link.
Cap’n Bob,
We moved here in ’98; lived in La Mirada for 18 years, then La Habra Heights for 22 years. We traveled extensively in the west looking towards retirement, lots of great places but we always came back to Prescott as the place we liked best. Sure beats the rat-race of the LA basin and is truly “everybody’s hometown”. We also liked the places you named but they’re just too hot in the summer, and there’s too many Hmmmm’ers in Sedona.
I agree about Sedona – too many hippies and artsy-fartsy liberals, I suspect. The red rocks are sure pretty, though.
Next week, we’re going to take a tour of the southern half of Arizona. We have friends in a couple of places there. We also need go get out of town for some R&R. We don’t expect to be in the Northern part of AZ until winter sometime.
The quest continues.