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For those of you retirees who packed up and relocated to the place you waited to move to, if you had any concerns how did you get past them? I really want to move to the eastside and have wanted to for a couple of years now but I am a big chicken. All I do is think of the what ifs. What if my wife or I get sick with no family around, what about leaving our church, what about our friends, I have several ill family members and how do I just up and move away from them( although tell me to go and be happy). We have no kids or grandkids so that isnt holding us back. And I only want to move no more than 3 hours away so I can get back fairly quick if need be. Both of us are retired, financially secure and relatively healthy. I just cant seem to pull the trigger and get going!
I'm a very risk-averse person, but I've moved cross-country twice and made smaller moves as well. For me, it was about making improving my financial standing (at least the last couple moves). To that end, I moved when I found the right opportunity to advance my career and earn more money.
I think you have to identify what it is that actually makes you want to move away. When you've definitively identified that, you can start to evaluate whether that element outweighs all the downsides.
Maybe you've done that and still can't decide. In that case, I've got nothing else to offer.
I mean, if it doesn't work out out east, you can always move back. That helped me a lot, having (in my case) a goal of moving back to Washington as soon as I could, now that I've largely achieved my financial goals.
We lived in the same house in Western WA for 31 years. Definitely had an aversion to moving.
Our tipping point was the crowds and cost and basically the area was not what we moved to 31 years previously. Retirement income in a high cost area was definitely incentive.
We hired a moving and "clutter reduction" specialist, which can be a good investment if you have been anchored to one spot for a bunch of decades. That helped get us past a lot of the fear and confusion.
We were realistic about where we were moving to. Moving out to acreage in a remote area, small Mayberry type town is a nice fantasy, but the reality is retirement years are a lot better suited to postage stamp lots, good medical facilities nearby and convenient infrastructure and stores.
After visiting family in Central Oregon a bunch and comparing to our searching areas in WA and other places, we liked the feel of it. Of course our difference from you is we were moving from the Seattle Freeze and zero family to a place where we had family connections. But the local family have a tendency to move around, so we had to make sure it wasn't just to be close to them.
For us bolted down types, the move was a big effort, but we were glad we did it before getting REALLY old. (64 when the move happened) as we are still very mobile and brain functional to get used to a new place and new patterns. i.e. don't wait too long.
We did not move to a "perfect" place....That just doesn't exist. But we are extremely happy to have made the move. And any time I get impatient with the "heavy traffic", I tell myself to think about what it would be like to be driving in Kirkland at that time. (Usually around 4pm coming back from a hike or mtn bike ride).
Figure out your priorities. Every place will have tradeoffs.
We lived in the same house in Western WA for 31 years. Definitely had an aversion to moving.
Our tipping point was the crowds and cost and basically the area was not what we moved to 31 years previously. Retirement income in a high cost area was definitely incentive.
We hired a moving and "clutter reduction" specialist, which can be a good investment if you have been anchored to one spot for a bunch of decades. That helped get us past a lot of the fear and confusion.
We were realistic about where we were moving to. Moving out to acreage in a remote area, small Mayberry type town is a nice fantasy, but the reality is retirement years are a lot better suited to postage stamp lots, good medical facilities nearby and convenient infrastructure and stores.
After visiting family in Central Oregon a bunch and comparing to our searching areas in WA and other places, we liked the feel of it. Of course our difference from you is we were moving from the Seattle Freeze and zero family to a place where we had family connections. But the local family have a tendency to move around, so we had to make sure it wasn't just to be close to them.
For us bolted down types, the move was a big effort, but we were glad we did it before getting REALLY old. (64 when the move happened) as we are still very mobile and brain functional to get used to a new place and new patterns. i.e. don't wait too long.
We did not move to a "perfect" place....That just doesn't exist. But we are extremely happy to have made the move. And any time I get impatient with the "heavy traffic", I tell myself to think about what it would be like to be driving in Kirkland at that time. (Usually around 4pm coming back from a hike or mtn bike ride).
Figure out your priorities. Every place will have tradeoffs.
Although getting up in years, I'm not retired yet. I also know moving gets harder with age as was our most recent experience. The main reason for this is it's harder to pull up your local roots away from family, friends, church, familiar places, routines, etc... A very close family member also passed away while in our last location. Although sad, I think that made the move a little easier since the move would have been too much for her.
One of the things that helped the most for us was taking extended trips to the places we were considered. You really need to get a feel for your new 'potential' home. Then talk to locals asking them to be brutally honest. Get the good, the bad and the ugly keeping in mind everyone has their own preferences and spin on things. Then after all that sinks in truly count the cost. Every place has pros/cons. Can you live with an entirely new set of cons, maybe more snow, wind, etc..? What will it gain you to leave you current location? In this case, what does the eastern side offer more off? Is it more affordable living, perhaps? More sun? Different environment or just wanting a new adventure? Nothing wrong with a change of scenery.
For the cautious, planning types, you just need to thoroughly check things out more first then be honest with yourselves if its truly worth it. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't? If the answer is yes then its really just a matter of starting with the smaller things like finding a neighborhood you like, checking home prices, etc... to really prime the pump.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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you have some good points.
We have moved several times (5) international / non-military (DIY)
+ 1500 miles from family 3 weeks before our first kid was born.
None were easy, +/- for all.
For retirement locations I made a very exhaustive weighted spreadsheet, and to my disappointment it showed very clearly (finance, family, medical, convenience, PEACE in the family, Real Estate investments, ...) to STAY in We_tside WA and travel often to preferred locations. (I absolutely HATE drizzle and am outdoors 90% of the time (farmer / sporting type)
Spouse was happy, and I am 'adjusting' and travel a lot (50% of the time +) AWAY from we_side WA. Taxes and housing expense is killer high (for retiree) but we cannot replace our view and easy access to services, so... STAYING totally readjusted our retirement financial plan. (I was not impressed since I was the only wage earner for 45 yrs). But... I have ways to mitigate.
Consider your options, they are likely far greater than you currently realize.
Very tough to get a clear perspective while stuck in the forest. Have someone give you a 40,000 ft overview. You might be missing something.
That said. we have benefited from moving each time, but it was painful at the time. (We did family caregiving for 32 yrs for a disabled parent. ) That was painful too.
Tomorrow is a new day, at the moment (in this season of retirement) we will not be moving. Maybe next season, maybe not.
There was a great thread on the C-D forum by 'Seeking Mayberry"(?) A WA based couple out searching the USA in RV for a place to retire. AFter more than a yr on the road, They ended up staying in WA (for the time being).
We have tried to leave SW Wa for years. Almost bought 2 different Montana homes/acreage, searched Idaho, Eastern Wa, Eastern Oregon for land to build or an existing home. We too will soon receive military retirement. Our issues are running into high radon, nearby natural gas fracking, various sources of environmental issues in Mt, Idaho, Spokane area. Aerial helicopter herbicide application for timber production, or AG spraying of wheat/crop fields, the proposed smelter on Wa/Idaho border. Health issues for residents in the NE quadrant of Wa for numerous hazardous environmental reasons. Doing our due diligience reveals deception. All the best land may be taken. Wish we'd purchased years ago for retirement. For those seeking acreage, there's numerous sources of pollution, well and surface water contamination, herbicide/pesticide, arsenic in the water etc It's not easy finding nice land anymore. Buyer beware. Takes the fun out of the process, leaving it a stressor.
All the best land may be taken. Wish we'd purchased years ago for retirement. For those seeking acreage, there's numerous sources of pollution, well and surface water contamination, herbicide/pesticide, arsenic in the water etc It's not easy finding nice land anymore. Buyer beware. Takes the fun out of the process, leaving it a stressor.
Wow this has been exactly my experience as well, although moving in the opposite direction -- from Eastern WA, now renting in Grays Harbor while looking for land to build. Very upset that it got declared an "Opportunity Zone" last year -- now Seattleites are using it as a tax shelter, all the prices doubled overnight.
If you're looking for remote land in Eastern WA you might want to consider Douglas County. Never been any industry up on the plateau. No irrigation there, so massively less fertilizer use. The only thing that grows there is wheat -- never saw aerial spraying in Douglas when I lived one county over in Grant (where they spray like crazy). I just don't think wheat brings in enough $/acre to be worth spraying. They also don't burn the fields up there because of fire danger and limited water supplies for firefighting. Crazy-fast internet in/near the towns, and the plateau is flat so you can shoot microwave to the PUD towers (they own several) if you don't have fiber to your property line. You have to drill wells pretty deep, but you'll hit water every time -- the plateau has its own aquifer, very unusual for that area.
However Douglas County it is part of the same confined airspace as Wenatchee and Spokane, so summer fires and winter inversions give the same generalized poor air quality as the rest of Central WA. If it wasn't for that I'd have moved there. Stay near the flats of the plateau though; Badger Mountain sure looks pretty but it's a massive fire hazard, and of way too many the people who live up there are kinda scary survivalist-types with dangerous dogs. The Waterville Plateau is nice though -- sparse, laid-back people, quiet place. Also avoid Rimrock, the land there is stupid-cheap for a reason (no electricity, weird covenants on it).
Last edited by intergalactic_skunk; 09-07-2019 at 11:29 PM..
Thanks, great info. Tired of the wet climate of SW Wa. The near daily overcast/inversion gets depressing and pollution drifts in our windows. I'm searching in central and eastern Oregon but most of the available properties can use only sattelite internet and have no cable available. My children use gaming systems... sattelite internet may not work.
For those of you retirees who packed up and relocated to the place you waited to move to, if you had any concerns how did you get past them? I really want to move to the eastside and have wanted to for a couple of years now but I am a big chicken. All I do is think of the what ifs. What if my wife or I get sick with no family around, what about leaving our church, what about our friends, I have several ill family members and how do I just up and move away from them( although tell me to go and be happy). We have no kids or grandkids so that isnt holding us back. And I only want to move no more than 3 hours away so I can get back fairly quick if need be. Both of us are retired, financially secure and relatively healthy. I just cant seem to pull the trigger and get going!
Those are legit considerations. I think that you just have to think that you have so many years left and you should spend that time where you're happiest. I will caution you if you are thinking of moving to eastern Washington that crossing over any of the passes in winter and for a long time in Spring is just not fun. Now when I go to Seattle metro, I just despise driving anywhere and fighting the traffic and crowds. I just retired in the Tri Cities and I think most people from the westside that retired here love it and have no desire to go back but I have also met a few that just didn't like it and moved back.
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and travel often to preferred locations. (I absolutely HATE drizzle and am outdoors 90% of the time (farmer / sporting type)
