Caribou Bound? (buy, camp, taxes)

[Jwhite38]

Good morning,

I grew up in the Boston area and traveled much of the world, live in Maryland but am yearning to move North. I bought some land in the Caribou area and am trying to decide if it should be a full-time, snowbird, or summer camp place. I don't mind snow however I am not a kid anymore (60-ish). I visit the area a few times a year in the summer and fall and just love the area and the people. I wonder, is it a good idea to retire there ya figure? Although not wealthy, we're ok and I wouldn't need to work nor would my wife. We hear so many "bad" snow stories but we believe we would rather live on our land and take precautions for the heavy snow and stormy weather (stock up food, emergency comms, that sort of thing) rather than live in an expensive, crowded state with high taxes. We figure we could always choose to snowbird if we had to (although we are more of the stay-put type).

Your thoughts?

[jdhpa]

The main thing that would concern me would be needing to shovel snow frequently. Caribou gets something like 120 inches of snow per year. Will you be up for shoveling / snow blowing several times a day for 5 months per year? Will you still be up for it in 5-10 years? Caribou is gorgeous (including the snow!), but for retirement I just suspect that keeping up that level of effort will get old fast, especially if you aren't used to it.

Good luck in your search!

[mainegrl2011]

To the OP... I think you have already made up your mind and know what you really want to do. You can buy a truck with a plow or hire someone to plow your driveway and shovel. You're not getting any younger so why not give it a try before you get any older. For someone who has traveled the world, staying put doesn't necessarily have to be forever. Enjoy!

[Jwhite38]

Great posts. Thank you!