Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Despite my planned wood stove, I will have underfloor heating in my small house. I have followed the Ridgway weather on Underground for years now.
For whatever reason, above poster seems to want to convince me that my very-considered plan to move to Ridgway and retire at 64 is a loser. I have taken the safe way out by staying at my current job for the pension and have always carried good health insurance. I do not want to live my life with regret for playing it safe longer. If it weren't for my feeling of being pulled to Ridgway (for 30 years now) I would not be looking for a place to move to. I can accept the pluses and minuses of my current location.
Actually I think you will do what you have planned. I am just making some predictions. Hopefully you will remain on the forum or will return a few years from now and let us know the outcome.
I plan to stay with the forum for a good long time. It's been a real source of information and a sense of connection.I should be moving to Colorado April,2018.
AND the Hall tax is currently being phased out!!! IT will be completely gone is, what, 5 years?
True. And the high sales tax will still be here.
And parts of TN get more ice than snow. Give me snow any time (but really, I'd take 80F and sunshine).
November through about March in middle TN is horrible due to the weather being mostly cloudy and it getting dark at 4:30 PM. It is definitely not Colorado cold and sunshine which is doable.
We have have a pretty mild winter thus far. Definitely not the same last year or 2014 or 2013 or 2012 (cold early and often).
It is currently 19 degrees in Montrose with a predicted nighttime low of 3 degrees.
Sure we are all different, but you have been asking so here is my prediction. Sitting around the fireplace with some books and dogs will get old in a hurry. Even the beautiful scenery will become commonplace. The inconveniences of remote living will grow with time. Once you have read your books, you will might want to visit a library. You can wait for the bookmobile or visit the regional library. I suspect you will not be impressed. The deciding blow will be healthcare. When we are young we think of that as a visit or two to a doctor or dentist. My wife and I are healthy for our ages, but even so we have had a few midnight ER visits. I have had two surgeries that required month long recoveries and numerous follow up visits.
Beyond that there is another major factor. I am a loner and introvert, but even so social interactions are important to me. I also have goals and things I want to do, to learn and to accomplish. Those go way beyond sitting around the fireplace watching the snow fall. There are also issues of physical and mental health. Sitting around the fireplace does not work well for either.
Good points. One of the benefits of living in a warmer place with no snow is being able to exercise outside most of or all year long. Snow shoveling may not be the best form of exercise as we age.
Driving seven miles to the little Nautilus club at the hot springs will work. I might even swim in a wet suit in the springs lanes. If there's shoveling to do, I'll hire some fine young man.
Good points. One of the benefits of living in a warmer place with no snow is being able to exercise outside most of or all year long. Snow shoveling may not be the best form of exercise as we age.
We park our cars inside.
We have a tractor with a snow-blower. Even though our driveway is over 100 yards long, it only takes a few passes and our driveway is clear of snow. Then I check on neighbors to make sure their driveways are being cleared.
While I own a snow shovel, I have not touched it in years.
I like hiking. I would never let snow stop me from hiking.
People who like outdoor activity are active in summer and winter. I can't say which season has any more or any less opportunity to be active outside here in Maine.
The biggest determining factor I see is whether or not you like the seasons.
I know plenty of people who do not like winter. So for them any four-seasons region would be a bad choice. Other people do not like the heat, so Southern regions are not a good choice for them.
And I can only hope that my story spares someone else a few dollars and some hardwork and heart ache.
My husband and I moved from the frozen Midwest (Southern Illinois) where we'd lived for the last 20+ years to Central Florida. Before doing this, we had rented for two months in this place and we loved it. Just loved everything about it.
So we sold the house in the Midwest and bought a house that cost twice as much and had half the square footage - in Florida - and it was right on a beautiful golf course. (Selling the old house was no big deal as we planned on doing that even if we stayed in the area. It was on a busy street and we were tired of the noise and hassle.)
The house we bought in Florida needed some work (which turned out to be a blessing), so we stayed very busy those first two months getting work done and cleaning it up. Workers came and went and their work was beautiful. With every project completed, the place looked better and better.
And then, one day, the work was done and the house in Florida was a showplace. We both looked at each other and said, "This is the most beautiful house in the city" and it was.
A few days later, I saw my dear husband sitting at the table and crying. He said, "I just want to go back home." I burst into tears and said, "Me too."
And so we summoned a real estate agent and to our delight, the value of the house was enough (with the new improvements) that we could turn around and sell it for a minor loss. Which is a miracle.
We've rented a place back in the frozen tundra and we'll live there until we can find a home to buy. We flew up there to find an apartment and it was so good to see old friends and visit family. Our spirits lifted immediately. Our children (two daughters live in the area) invited us to join them for a meal and it was the highlight of the trip.
I'm back in Florida now, packing up and getting bids to move back. My husband stayed in Southern Illinois to spend time with one daughter who's been a bit under the weather.
As he said, "Loved ones trump good climate."
We've decided that we may still "snowbird" to Florida but if we do, we'll rent for 3-4 weeks and NOT BUY. Neither one of us want to be away from home more than that.
Do I regret the move? Kinda sorta. However, we'd been talking about moving to Florida for some time and now we know - it's a great place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there. Seriously.
Our children have their own lives and stay very busy and that's okay, but if they need us for anything, we'll be 30 minutes away - not 1000+ miles.
It's been such a blessing to read other people's stories and I wanted to share my own.
BTW, I feel very grateful that we can make a U-turn and undo this. I also feel grateful that it's all working out harmoniously. We've got "new eyes" for our hometown, and even though it's cold in the winter and has its own issues, we love our hometown - warts and all.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
