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Our approach is, and always has been, that we can survive on whatever resources we have. Knowing this, we were free to concentrate on what we felt was the most important consideration for us, which is, for what kind of place do we feel the strongest affinity.
The City has always seemed to us to be an alien and hostile environment. We had no interest in consuming it's offerings, or interacting with it's systems and structures. But, as we got older, we realized the potential need to be not too far from the services it could offer.
The Desert has always been an incredibly spiritual place for us. We liked to spend the springtime in the desert. It was a time of cleansing, purification, and of realizing and reconnecting with the vastness of nature. It was not a friendly environment. Survival there could be difficult, especially with the diminished physicality of advancing age.
The Forest was always warm and inviting. When we were among the big trees and the thick forest and could smell and feel the moist humus, and feel the sun filtered through a screen of green ferns, we felt like were safe in the womb of nature. This was a friendly environment, and survival was easy.
But our favorite was the Ocean. We loved the sound of the surf and the smell of the mud flats. Watching the tide come in and go out gave us an understanding and a security in the rhythms of nature. We knew that the ocean was the source of life, and we knew it could support us with it's abundance.
We built a small house with lots of windows that look out into our forest. If we step outside we can hear the surf. To get to town takes a forty five minute drive. The City is sixty miles away, but there is a grocery store, a hardware store, and a gas station a couple blocks from our house. Deer graze in our yard, and occasionally a coyote walks by the driveway.
We will have a very limited income, but our house is warm, dry, and energy efficient, and we can have all the clams, crabs, and fish we can eat.
Our approach is, and always has been, that we can survive on whatever resources we have. Knowing this, we were free to concentrate on what we felt was the most important consideration for us, which is, for what kind of place do we feel the strongest affinity.
The City has always seemed to us to be an alien and hostile environment. We had no interest in consuming it's offerings, or interacting with it's systems and structures. But, as we got older, we realized the potential need to be not too far from the services it could offer.
The Desert has always been an incredibly spiritual place for us. We liked to spend the springtime in the desert. It was a time of cleansing, purification, and of realizing and reconnecting with the vastness of nature. It was not a friendly environment. Survival there could be difficult, especially with the diminished physicality of advancing age.
The Forest was always warm and inviting. When we were among the big trees and the thick forest and could smell and feel the moist humus, and feel the sun filtered through a screen of green ferns, we felt like were safe in the womb of nature. This was a friendly environment, and survival was easy.
But our favorite was the Ocean. We loved the sound of the surf and the smell of the mud flats. Watching the tide come in and go out gave us an understanding and a security in the rhythms of nature. We knew that the ocean was the source of life, and we knew it could support us with it's abundance.
We built a small house with lots of windows that look out into our forest. If we step outside we can hear the surf. To get to town takes a forty five minute drive. The City is sixty miles away, but there is a grocery store, a hardware store, and a gas station a couple blocks from our house. Deer graze in our yard, and occasionally a coyote walks by the driveway.
We will have a very limited income, but our house is warm, dry, and energy efficient, and we can have all the clams, crabs, and fish we can eat.
I think i fussed at you on another thread so I am glad I am getting to learn a little about you here, my hubby and I have done the same, we laugh at how we have to turn sideways in our little retirement house, it is nice to be almost over the starbucks addiction, seems the less you have the less you need, I am lusting hard though for your fresh seafood
Fat Freddy, I am curious as to what your property taxes are in your n. Coastal home. We left N. CA for AZ a few years ago, but have always dreamed of retirement on the coast. S.Ca has been out of the picture for years now and we have even considered FL or AL coastal properties. Too many natural disasters for us, so perhaps we will return to N.CA when we no longer worry about the expense. Thanks
... I am curious as to what your property taxes are in your n. Coastal home...
The Northern California Coast would have been our first choice if we moved there 40 years ago. But it has become too crowded, too developed, and economically exclusive.
We built our place on the Washington Coast in the shadow of the Olympic Rain Forest.
I can't tell you what the property taxes are because I don't know yet. Last year we just paid taxes on the lot which was appraised at $48,000 and the tax was $290.00.
When the house was finished it was re-appraised, but we don't know what the tax will be yet. It will probably be somewhere around $2-3,000 a year.
...seems the less you have the less you need, I am lusting hard though for your fresh seafood...
In our case, those two thoughts are related.
When we were younger, we would spend the Summer on the North Pacific coast and the Winter in Florida and the Gulf Coast. We learned what the local seafood was and how to gather it.
Some of what we learned no longer applies because of issues like pollution, development, and extinction of certain species. For example, in this area, picking wild oysters is pretty much a thing of the past, but right down the road from us is an oyster farm so we can buy them fresh.
Clams which used to be plentiful and easy to gather on the flats have been silted over by the mud that comes down the rivers because of runoff caused by abusive clear cutting. But, we can still find a few.
One of our favorite activities these days is sitting on the dock watching the ocean and listening to the gulls while I wait for a fat surf perch to pull on my line and my wife checks her crab net to see if any nice big ones are in it.
We just returned from a visit to WA and liked the Olympia area. I also enjoyed Ocean Shores, but it was a little too sleepy of a town for me. We fell in love with Gig Harbor but have heard that WA taxes are a little unpredictable. Who knows, maybe that will change. Enjoy!!!
DH and I are flying into Tampa this next weekend to look at retiremnt communities,we have picked several on the southwest coast to look at but we have 2 1/2 days to go through a few.
One is La Casa in North Port, we do own property in that town, just paying taxes on it right now, because its a bad time to sell
Anyway, we looked and there are 110 mobile homes for sale in this park,there around 500 all together, isnt that kind of alot for sale or are all parks like that?
is it the taxes? since they are Gods waiting room ,could it be that , that many people are taking the dirt nap?{sorry}
just asking, anyone have any answers?
thanks
DH and I are flying into Tampa this next weekend to look at retiremnt communities,we have picked several on the southwest coast to look at but we have 2 1/2 days to go through a few.
One is La Casa in North Port, we do own property in that town, just paying taxes on it right now, because its a bad time to sell
Anyway, we looked and there are 110 mobile homes for sale in this park,there around 500 all together, isnt that kind of alot for sale or are all parks like that?
is it the taxes? since they are Gods waiting room ,could it be that , that many people are taking the dirt nap?{sorry}
just asking, anyone have any answers?
thanks
The only thing I can help you with is that the taxes on mobiles in Fla. is basically non-existent. One of the reasons may have more to do with insurance then anything. That must be astronomical! We've done quite a thorough search of everything in a couple places in Fla. and it seems their lot rents are very high, too. It'd be more economical to buy a smaller condo in a 55 plus community and pay the HOA fees then to pay the lot rent that many parks charge.
As far as Northport~you may want to do a search on the Fla. forum. I remember reading something on there about water and sewer not being in all areas yet, but that's something you've probably checked out.
This is just a hunch, but for a while everyone could buy a house and there were no limits. I'd imagine many mobile home dwellers went for that half million dollar house and are now in foreclosure. So that may explain why the MH market is flooded yet. I'm surprised that more aren't opting for mobile homes, but it seems that many are just leaving the state.
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Love it!
We've done quite a thorough search of everything in a couple places in Fla. and it seems their lot rents are very high, too. It'd be more economical to buy a smaller condo in a 55 plus community and pay the HOA fees then to pay the lot rent that many parks charge.
