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Old 01-18-2018, 10:54 AM
 
Location: Cushing OK
14,539 posts, read 21,178,088 times
Reputation: 16936

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Quote:
Originally Posted by brightdoglover View Post
So good to hear this again, that you moved somewhere without having connections there, did your research and are making it work quite well. Please continue to share with the group!
I moved from a smoggy socal to a clear blue sky in Oklahoma. I immediately noticed how I didn't take many pills to unclog the nose. And while the heat here is more damp, its not really high humidity. I also have had a huge drop in allergies, even ten years later.

It's not ideal, but ideal is very rare. I could live on my income here. I have a small old house, not an apartment with neighbors at close quarters. I don't really belong so much here, but I don't need to. People have been friendly as well. I would like to be in a more 'familiar' social place, but then I took a trip back to California a few years ago. It didn't feel the same. Everyone was rushing somewhere too fast. Beware of thinking you can go home again.

I did LOTS of research, and knew that I'd have to get used to different, but it was just the ticket in other ways. If I move, again, its got to be to a place not in a hurry and laid back. And this isn't a rich state. I find I feel much more comfortable here where there's a lot more of us who do not have all the money you wish you did. And sit back and chill out since its not like there's a switch you can flick to change it.

You need an inspiration to find your spot, but inspirations not grounded in reality may prove to be way different than you thought. Move KNOWING that things will be different, you'll have to adjust, but its also an adventure to settle into your new home with different things which make you feel at home.
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Old 01-18-2018, 10:59 AM
 
Location: Dayton OH
5,671 posts, read 11,229,416 times
Reputation: 13206
I moved from my overpriced apartment in Orange County CA to Tucson in November after I retired. I found an inexpensive rental apartment in the mid-town area on a fairly quiet street - finding a quiet apartment in Tucson is not easy because the majority are built near busy streets. I have a one year lease and we'll see how it goes. So far, it has been a good choice.

Most days here in December & January have been near or above 70F / 21C in the afternoons, with very little rain. I have doors or windows open (including right now) from late morning to mid afternoons on many days to let the warm air in. I go for a 30-35 mile bicycle ride every other day at 9 am, and it quickly warms up by 10 am to where I peel off some layers of clothes to avoid overheating. Tucson is one of the best areas in the western US for bike riding so that was one reason I moved here.

I don't plan on staying around here much during the June-September peak heat season. The apartment rent is so cheap that I'll simply lock up the apartment & take some trips during that time. I need to get working on my plans for the summer season and decide if I want to buy an RV and travel in north america or take a 3 month trip to Europe and rent a vacation apartment by the month in a few different places.
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Old 01-18-2018, 11:07 AM
 
Location: Cushing OK
14,539 posts, read 21,178,088 times
Reputation: 16936
Quote:
Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe View Post
Even when I was living in Redding and 117 degree summers, I NEVER wanted to move back to WA or TN and deal with snow and sleet and ice and humidity ever again.

it didn't stop me from looking for somewhere even better than Redding, but I really doubt you'll be sorry. The trade-offs will no doubt be worth it.

Plus, even though 117 degrees is never going to feel like 75 degrees - I can tell you from experience, that any temperature in a dry climate will be more comfortable than a humid one.


Good for you! I'm really happy for you.
I think fondly of Redding and the area toward Lassen. When my ex and I were doing okay and my son was little we took a vacation in Shingletown. We went home and tried to sell, to move there. But I still love the memories. But then I moved to a small town, except this one's in OKlahoma. Without that trip, I'd have probably not come.

I still would move there in a heartbeat if it could be done within my budget but there is no hope of that now that the budget is so low. If something unforseen happened, I'd be back investigating if it might work.

You're so lucky to live in such a beautiful place.
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Old 01-18-2018, 11:25 AM
 
Location: Northern California
4,410 posts, read 2,893,623 times
Reputation: 8100
Default are there "reverse snowbirds"?

By which I mean, retired people whose primary residence is in e.g. S Arizona, the Palm Springs area, etc., but who go elsewhere during the hottest months of the year. Where are their primary summer hideaways?
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Old 01-18-2018, 11:29 AM
 
12,050 posts, read 10,192,862 times
Reputation: 24772
Quote:
Originally Posted by nightbird47 View Post
I moved from a smoggy socal to a clear blue sky in Oklahoma. I immediately noticed how I didn't take many pills to unclog the nose. And while the heat here is more damp, its not really high humidity. I also have had a huge drop in allergies, even ten years later.

It's not ideal, but ideal is very rare. I could live on my income here. I have a small old house, not an apartment with neighbors at close quarters. I don't really belong so much here, but I don't need to. People have been friendly as well. I would like to be in a more 'familiar' social place, but then I took a trip back to California a few years ago. It didn't feel the same. Everyone was rushing somewhere too fast. Beware of thinking you can go home again.

I did LOTS of research, and knew that I'd have to get used to different, but it was just the ticket in other ways. If I move, again, its got to be to a place not in a hurry and laid back. And this isn't a rich state. I find I feel much more comfortable here where there's a lot more of us who do not have all the money you wish you did. And sit back and chill out since its not like there's a switch you can flick to change it.

You need an inspiration to find your spot, but inspirations not grounded in reality may prove to be way different than you thought. Move KNOWING that things will be different, you'll have to adjust, but its also an adventure to settle into your new home with different things which make you feel at home.
I was stationed in Altus Oklahoma for five years. I loved it.

Kind of isolated but that didn't bother me. The bigger towns were over 60 miles away. I found the people to be very friendly.
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Old 01-18-2018, 12:44 PM
 
Location: Cushing OK
14,539 posts, read 21,178,088 times
Reputation: 16936
Quote:
Originally Posted by Clemencia53 View Post
I was stationed in Altus Oklahoma for five years. I loved it.

Kind of isolated but that didn't bother me. The bigger towns were over 60 miles away. I found the people to be very friendly.
I've found that people here are generally friendly. They aren't instantly your friend, but don't sound like the enemy. If you come here from somewhere else its probably good to remember you came to their place, and accept the acceptance but keep personal things personal. I'd avoid politics, for instance. I'd keep things as good neighbors. If someone comes across as you not being welcome in their life, then don't be.

But sans hot buttons, I get along fine with most people. We just keep it friendly. And today those friends from the old place are a touch of a button away. If they really are good friends, then you'll still be if you talk on the phone and maybe text, and can easily talk online and in messages. It won't be the same, you'll feel a bit disconnected, but good friends stay that way.

What I feel I gained by coming here, where I could afford to come, is that I've changed. I don't rush now. I like quiet and peaceful neighbors. I enjoy the stillness of the night. There are things I still need to find, but its more figuring out how to get there, things like transportation and watching the house, feeding the critters to go out. And when my son said he and my dil wanted me to move in with them when they got their new house, I really thought about it.

Ok, I'm not someone who likes being in a crowd, and am comfortable in my chosen limited bubble, but when I accepted that at some point, one phase of life had ended, I have enjoyed living in this new one. I've been happy, and peaceful. And when I really think of before, with the rush and hurry and pressure, I really don't want to go back there.

My next challenge is finding others who fit into this and especially in the ways I want to share other things, interests and hobbies. And still have my little cave to go home to when I'm all socialed out.

That's going to be a leap of faith and a further step down the road and its scary, but when your dreams get strong enough to make them real, then you are ready to grow into a new level of self which you'd not likely ever know if you hadn't come this far already.
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Old 01-18-2018, 01:12 PM
 
18,653 posts, read 33,220,601 times
Reputation: 37018
Quote:
Originally Posted by nightbird47 View Post
...

You need an inspiration to find your spot, but inspirations not grounded in reality may prove to be way different than you thought. Move KNOWING that things will be different, you'll have to adjust, but its also an adventure to settle into your new home with different things which make you feel at home.
I think that's key, that things WILL be different and and there will be adjustments. I am taking my furniture and stuff to have something familiar to curl up with. I remember the last time I went to my new town, my eyes had gotten used to the greenery and explosive prosperity (and crowding) of my current area, and it took a few days for the new place to look normal. Same with returning to current town.

I'm sure I'll have days of realizing that I've really gone and done it and not going back (no desire and no plan). It's why I'm selling my house in current place. If I decided or needed to leave the new place, it would completely depend on why I was doing it, how I would decide what to do and where to go. I don't want to leave the door open to my current area. I feel finished.
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Old 01-18-2018, 01:39 PM
 
Location: Close to Mexico
852 posts, read 788,730 times
Reputation: 2610
I do find it ironic that when people think of Arizona, which is the 6th largest state, all they picture is Phoenix. Arizona is so much more than that. Yes, there is plenty of desert, however, the largest Ponderosa Pine forest in the US is in AZ. Az has one of the snowiest cities in the US in Flagstaff. I guess it's much like when people think of NY, all they think of is the city.
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Old 01-18-2018, 02:40 PM
 
Location: Chicago
2,884 posts, read 4,961,459 times
Reputation: 2769
Quote:
Originally Posted by SunGrins View Post
I like northern Arizona — Flagstaff is nice. There is a lot to see and do. I wouldn’t go south because of the heat. Winter snows might be a bit much but I was there in December a couple years back and there was no serious snow. The Grand Canyon was beautiful in snow. I recall driving across I-40 and listening to talk radio and the hair-brain commentators and even crazier people calling in. I learned so much about the communist roots of the Catholic Church, the Jesuits, and the Methodists. Arizona politics is interesting.
UMMMMMM, the Catholic Church existed WAY before Communism!
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Old 01-18-2018, 03:54 PM
 
23,690 posts, read 9,271,855 times
Reputation: 8650
I love Arizona....I am thinking of retiring there or at least snowbirding there.I am happy 4 u,OP.
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