Moving from Oahu to mainland for retirement (physically, weather, friendly)

[Jozee_808]

Aloha,

We are a retired couple and plan to move from Oahu to the mainland (contiguous US). I've been researching which states are Veteran friendly for taxes and retirement income. I'd like to be within an hour from a VA medical facility. It seems Florida has many advantages so I was thinking the Ocala area. My husband is 100% disabled. I'm the driver in family. He is vision impaired.

Hubby wants to be self sufficient. He wishes are to be in a gun friendly state, to have acreage, a workshop, water and ability to install solar panels and a generator. He wants chickens, goats, and a garden. Basically, to have the ability to be self-sufficient in an emergency.

My wishes are a little different. I don't want to have to shovel snow, but don't mind the colder weather. I'm not into hot and humid so it will be a compromise for me. I'd like a three bedroom two bath home (in the $250-275K range) with a screened in pool on at least an acre. I haven't pictured myself doing manual labor in my golden years. I don't mind having a garden. I'd like to be near shopping but don't mind driving 15-30 minutes to get to civilization. I eat organic food so would like to be able to shop for it. Our grocery store here has a lot of organic stuff and we have Down to Earth which is a organic/vegan grocery store.

My concerns are: if we get acreage I will be the primary caretaker. I'm sure we can figure out ways for hubby to help. Is it feasible to have a caretaker/ranch hand especially for the times we want/need to travel? Would that mean we need another structure on the property? How is compensation determined? How do people with animals handle these concerns?

Further, how do retirees handle the logistics of moving, especially from Hawaii? It will cost an arm and a leg to ship all of our belongings over. I haven't researched it since moving here in 2005 but at that time it seems you need to fill a shipping container and ship the car separately. I ended up shipping my car and a few personal belongings. Is it better to sell all the furniture and buy replacements when we find a home? We don't have antiques or family heirlooms. That leaves just a few (several) sewing machines, our clothing, his arsenal of weapons. My hubby has lived here for 30 years and was single and didn't have to worry about moving the contents of a home. Also, we have pets and his service dog.

I don't want to get overwhelmed (or stress him out) and wish to start preparing the move now. Hopefully, list our condo by September and out of here before the end of the year. I'd like to visit the state prior to moving just to be sure it's a good fit. He says he doesn't need to do that, just pick a place and move. If I do go I can stay at the Navy Lodge in Jacksonville as we have military base access.

This is my first post after reading for a few months. If it's not in the proper place let me know and I'll figure out how to move it.


Mahalo,
Jozee

[arwenmark]

Boy do you have a lot of hoops to jump through, I don't know where to start. but I don't recommend Florida to you.
We moved to WV and parts there might be a good choice, Some of the things you mention don't sound feasible to me. You are right the cost of such a move will be huge, probably better to sell all and start over in the new place, where ever that is.
I understand about sewing machines, I have 32 of them myself, mostly antique. Good luck with it all.

[rjm1cc]

Pick the state and the area of the state (Ocala is good to avoid hurricanes, the impact is a lot less than the shore). After that I think you have to use a realtor with your wish list.

Pay attention to your source of water and sewer. Their is plenty of land in the Ocala area so you should be able to find what you want.

See if you can sell most of your stuff and buy new here. Could be a lot cheaper then moving.

[funisart]

Maybe sell your husband’s Arsenal of weapons- since he is visually impaired and 100% disabled. It doesn’t sound as if he could safely use them. With the proceeds you could up your housing range. An acre, 3/2, screened pool, with out building for animals, close to organic food stores, in a non humid climate will be expensive.

Where have you lived before? Is he older than you? You are already taking care of him, taking care of a hobby farm will get more difficult as you age, much less added to caretaking an elderly disabled gentleman. If you have never been off the grid self sufficient- starting now in retirement will be a major challenge.

I would never advise moving without multiple visits to an area. Good Luck.

[galaxyhi]

Jozee,

Let me get this straight: your husband is "vision impared", but wants to own/have/use a GUN???

I'M NOT judging, but i don't think those two go together well!!!
I dont want a perfect visioned person pointing a gun at me let alone someone who cant see well!!

You say you don't want snow, well even tge southern states get some ocassional snow, it just doesnt last long, but they shut everything down for the day.

So Arizona, south Florida would be your best bet. But Florida comes with humidity. I secobd tte motion for inland property as opposed to shorelines for hurricane considerations. I own a duplex inland outside Tampa. So far it has never been affected by hurricanes. ( knock wood).

Arizona is expensive, a house alone can outspend ypur budget, let alone acreage.

You say you live in a condo. I am assuming you are ratyer inexperienced at farming, i could be wrong. If you do have experience, please disregard this part.
So I would strongly suggest that you both find a farm that will allow you both to work on it in exchange for possible rental, to find out first if you both can actually handle a farm life. There are also farms that teach, but you might find them in the summer in northern territories to try out the farm life BEFORE you commit. Even try living on a commune would give you an idea of the work involved in farming.
Perhaps even there in Hawaii you might find such.
Theres a lot of YouTube videos to watch about farming and caring for Animals. Animals also require vet bills, and a lot of animal s can cost a small fortune. Even just a few chickens, a goat or two or a cow all have to remain healthy.

I sooo want to do that, but im physically handicapped, so i dont think it'll ever happen. Ive read up, watched up, and am not sure i could actually do it. Before i do, i will do just what i suggest to you. And i have plenty of farms around me to get experience at.

Having a casual garden is different than animals or a sustaining garden.

South Florida will allow for things like fruit trees, but they too, Require care for pests and fungus, etc.

Its a lofty idea, and I'm all for it if someone has the wherewithall to actually do it.

So plan carefully, and i second the motion to sell most everything, except maybe just ONE small container of your most treasured or needed items. I've looked into shipping costs to Hawai'i, as our first goal was to retire to Hawai'i, but we have nixed that idea duecto costs and will be content to just make frequent visits.
Medical is a priority of ours and Hawai'i seems a little thin on that, so i understand the need to be near the VA or other regular medical for him ( and you)

I would also suggest you try visiting the areas you might select for a good 2 or 3 months BEFORE planning to move there.
We selected a southern locale ( we dont lije Florida even though i inherited property there) and have researched, google earthed, and studied real estate for that area. But 2 other areas we might choose instead. So just picking a spot may not be all that is needed. We WILL go for a lobg term visit before we commit.

Best of luck.

Take care and may you find exactly what you need, not necessarily what you think you want.

I do sincerely hope you find your haven.

[Mikala43]

Our situation is very similar, retired, moving from Oahu to mainland, husband is a vet.

We chose Carson City/Genoa. Has what we are looking for, low taxes, gun friendly, 4 seasons, close to family (CA), we like the vibe and the people.

We are probably moving the end of this year, and I started selling stuff off last summer. There isn't much sense to move some stuff and we can just rebuy it. Selling all TVS and such, about half of the furniture, clothes, etc. I constantly have about 20 items on Craigslist, and will do flea markets starting next month. We sold one car.

We will probably put the house on the market in Oct. and most stuff will be sold by then. I'm a hobby photographer so will take pics before I sell everything so it looks nicer.

As soon as the house sells will gather all the medical records.

Our "problem" is 2 90 lb dogs that we need to ship, and we probably won't buy a house right away, we will probably get an RV.

But we can stay at my sisters... with the dogs too, and hotels in Carson are dog friendly. It's not going to be pretty... but it will get done.

Planning, planning, planning. I already have spreadsheets.

[jrkliny]

I can do some simplification. If you want to travel, don't get animals.

[Jozee_808]

Arwenmark, Why don't you recommend Florida for retirees with SSA/Veterans benefits? I used the website Veterans United dot com to narrow down the best states. Plus, he has family and friends there. We do get attached to our sewing machines!

[Jozee_808]

Originally Posted by funisart

Maybe sell your husband’s Arsenal of weapons- since he is visually impaired and 100% disabled. It doesn’t sound as if he could safely use them. With the proceeds you could up your housing range. An acre, 3/2, screened pool, with out building for animals, close to organic food stores, in a non humid climate will be expensive.

Where have you lived before? Is he older than you? You are already taking care of him, taking care of a hobby farm will get more difficult as you age, much less added to caretaking an elderly disabled gentleman. If you have never been off the grid self sufficient- starting now in retirement will be a major challenge.

I would never advise moving without multiple visits to an area. Good Luck.

Discriminate against disabled people much? My husband will decide which and how many of his weapons to take with us. He has fought for this country and the constitution and earned the right to have his weapons. By the way, visually impaired people adapt and overcome obstacles every day. At least he does. In rehab he learned woodworking and archery. I feel safe knowing we can protect ourselves and we carry appropriate insurance if we have to use said protection. Which is why I stated it should be a gun friendly state. He isn't about to walk around with a loaded weapon and shoot it randomly!

I stated that the humidity part would be a concession for me. I live in Hawaii and we have humidity. I realize we will never be in a better state than this for weather conditions.

My husband is not older than me, he is younger, so he may end up being my caretaker. I lived in New England prior to moving to Oahu.


Aloha!

[funisart]

Originally Posted by Jozee_808

Discriminate against disabled people much? My husband will decide which and how many of his weapons to take with us. He has fought for this country and the constitution and earned the right to have his weapons. By the way, visually impaired people adapt and overcome obstacles every day. At least he does. In rehab he learned woodworking and archery. I feel safe knowing we can protect ourselves and we carry appropriate insurance if we have to use said protection. Which is why I stated it should be a gun friendly state. He isn't about to walk around with a loaded weapon and shoot it randomly!

I stated that the humidity part would be a concession for me. I live in Hawaii and we have humidity. I realize we will never be in a better state than this for weather conditions.

My husband is not older than me, he is younger, so he may end up being my caretaker. I lived in New England prior to moving to Oahu.


Aloha!

Not discriminating against disabled persons. Not anti gun -Just trying to be sensible. Never knew that a visually impaired person could be a good shot. You will definitely have to compromise somewhat with your price range. Mississippi or West Virginia might have reasonable acreage. Like I said. Good Luck.