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Both DH and I think our generation probably lived in the best time and place for humans in history.
I know every generation thinks the next one will not do as well but this time I think it might be a valid concern. At least in this area of the world.
But there's an ebb and flow to history and the bright side is that tough times make for strong and resourceful people.
Remember what Martina McBride said, "Do it anyway".
Another side calculation I've come across which is making the ranch self sufficient. When I am gone, what will those who come after me do with all I have put into it? If it is of use to them, keep it; if not, sell it......and I rather suspect the latter.
The point being that everyone thinks that their own time period basically sucks and that they would be happier living in an earlier time period when life was better. Thirty to fifty years from now, I'm sure that people will look back on the 2020s as a great time to be alive.
I don't find the above true or accurate at all about most people.
Not sure how you came to this conclusion - I think there is no accuracy in it for most people.
Last edited by matisse12; 08-09-2022 at 12:36 PM..
Juneau has only changed for the better in the past half century. It hasn't become overcrowded, downtown is quite walkable. Speed limit is 20 mph in the town area, usually with sparse traffic.
East Hawaii has grown a lot, I'd say too much, in the same time period. Traffic has become an inconvenient annoyance. Nevertheless, back in one's jungle hut it's still as nice as ever.
Both locations have a lot of overcast skies and rain, which I appreciate. Despite Hilo showing more inches of rainfall per year, Juneau is much more cloudy and rains for far more minutes per year, undoubtedly. There can be a lot of snow and some ice during winter too, so most people wouldn't like it here. Hooray!
Being born in the late 1940's ! each decade has it pluses, and not so good times. Being raised in Northern California, 1959 ? Couldn't understand why fire hoses were being turned on students trying to go to school.
John Kennedy for. president ? He's a Catholic !
For me, life is a journey, sad times makes me appreciate the good times; rain makes the flowers grow.
Heaven will be my final destination, my eternal home.
That's a very good observation and I've often thought about that myself.
About 3 weeks ago, I met a woman walking downtown. As often happens here, just walking by each other we said hello and started to chat. She asked me where I was from and when I told her, asked me why I moved to this small town no one outside of the state ever heard of. I told her my story of living in SoCal and dreaming of finding a simpler slower life in a town almost lost in time.
Then she told me her story. She was born and raised here and went on to become an author among other things. She owns a flat in Ireland and a beach house in SoCal. She comes back here where she was born and raised because she loves the town, the people here, and it keeps her grounded. She owns a small simple old house not unlike mine here and comes back as often as she can.
She then asked me to follow her to the local bookstore where she was doing a book signing and proceeded to sign and write a very nice personal note and just gifted me the book. She welcomed me to town, gave me a hug and we parted hoping to see each other again.
So in same cases, you can go back home to a place that hasn't changed much. When it's time for her to retire, she'll come back here to her home in this small town which she loves even though she could probably afford to retire almost anywhere.
I certainly do like that story. It seems that you have been lucky to find such a nice town to retire to. How were you able to research and break down so many towns in this country or states for that matter?
Jumping in here only because of the theme of the original poster. The Twilight Zone in my opinion was the best written show of all time. Mostly Rod Serling, but also Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson, and smaller contributions by George Clayton Johnson. These were younger men, writing about themes and topics bestowed upon those 20-30 years their senior. Snippet of dialogue between Gart Williams and his wife in Stop At Willoughby. The writing is timeless.
That's all Of it. Oh, I'm Tired, Janie. I'm tired, And I'm sick. Well, then you're On the right ward. We specialize in people That are sick.
And tired, too, Gart. I'm sick, And I'm tired Of a husband who lives In permanent self-pity With a heart Bleeding sensitivity That he unfurls Like a flag Whenever he decides The competition is-- Is a little too Rough for him.
Some people aren't built For competition, Janie Or big, Pretentious houses They can't afford Or rich communities They don't feel Comfortable in Or country clubs They wear around Their neck Like a badge Of status.
And you'd prefer--?
I'd prefer Though never Asked before A job, any job, Any job at all Where I could Be myself! Where I wouldn't Have to climb On a stage And go through A masquerade every Morning at nine, And mouth all The dialog And play The executive And make believe I'm the bright, Young man Who's on His way up Because I'm not That person, Janie. You've tried to Make me that person But that isn't me. That isn't me At all. I'm-- I'm a Not-very-young Soon-to-be-old Very uncompetitive, Rather dull Quite uninspired, Average-type guy. With a wife who Has an appetite.
And just where Would you be If it weren't For my appetite?
I know where I'd like to be. Where's that? A place Called Willoughby. A little town I've manufactured In a dream.
I certainly do like that story. It seems that you have been lucky to find such a nice town to retire to. How were you able to research and break down so many towns in this country or states for that matter?
It's a long story but I'll try to keep it as short as possible.
When I was a kid, about 12 years old, as a family we drove across the country from southern Florida to CA. My step father at the time used to work in Louisville and wanted to stop there to visit some friends.
We drove through the length of KY from eastern Appalachia all the way through to Missouri. The state fascinated me seeing very poor isolated little towns in the eastern mountains to huge old beautiful antebellum mansions in Lexington and the outskirts of Louisville. There were lovely horse farms (ranches) with miles of white rail fencing and horses running freely. The rolling hills were emerald green and dotted with farms, woods, streams and picturesque old farm houses.
In-between were these little towns seemingly lost in time with amazing old architecture that I had only seen pictures of in some books.
One constant I found whether in Appalachia or western KY was how polite and nice people were, whenever we stopped anywhere to eat, get gas or spend the night. The part of southern Florida I had been living in was nothing like any of that.
As a kid, I loved the state and always had it in the back of my mind to come back and explore it. I came back to visit a few times when I was in my 30s and 40s and it just reinforced everything and even then I thought I would retire there. I didn't care about stereotypes or what other people thought.
I made a list of priorities I wanted to have where I could settle down and retire. In brief, some of these were
-a mid size town by KY standards not more than about 10,000 people but not too tiny either
-the town needed to be the county seat for convenience
-topography to me was important. I wanted hills, not endless flat land like Florida had.
-I wanted to stay away from the western part of the state because it's flat and more prone to tornadoes
-I'd rather have cooler winters than hotter summers so that put me in the northern part of the state
-some type of public transportation was a big plus
-a decent medical hospital either in town or reasonably close
-I wanted a town which was historic with an interesting history and architecture
-a low cost of living. Not everywhere in KY has it.
-a walkable downtown that looked like it came out of the early-mid 1900s.
Unlike many people here, I couldn't care less about a Costco or Trader Joe's within 500 miles. As far as I was concerned, that was part of the rat race I was escaping from.
I researched towns and counties around Lexington and northeast of there. Researching became my hobby while I was still working. I wanted to stay away from Louisville and Cincinnati suburbs. When I came across this town, it looked very promising so I came to visit and didn't want to leave. I bought a house a couple of years before retiring because being a small town, available homes that I would like are very limited so when one came up that was affordable and in downtown, I jumped on it. Now instead of hearing the sirens of emergency vehicles throughout the day, I hear the chimes of the clock tower nearby.
Last edited by marino760; 08-10-2022 at 06:02 AM..
That's a very good observation and I've often thought about that myself.
About 3 weeks ago, I met a woman walking downtown. As often happens here, just walking by each other we said hello and started to chat. She asked me where I was from and when I told her, asked me why I moved to this small town no one outside of the state ever heard of. I told her my story of living in SoCal and dreaming of finding a simpler slower life in a town almost lost in time.
Then she told me her story. She was born and raised here and went on to become an author among other things. She owns a flat in Ireland and a beach house in SoCal. She comes back here where she was born and raised because she loves the town, the people here, and it keeps her grounded. She owns a small simple old house not unlike mine here and comes back as often as she can.
She then asked me to follow her to the local bookstore where she was doing a book signing and proceeded to sign and write a very nice personal note and just gifted me the book. She welcomed me to town, gave me a hug and we parted hoping to see each other again.
So in same cases, you can go back home to a place that hasn't changed much. When it's time for her to retire, she'll come back here to her home in this small town which she loves even though she could probably afford to retire almost anywhere.
Well yes and Rod Serling touched on this theme in this episode:
I think the OP is not looking to go back in time but rather find a town that is peaceful and devoid of a lot of the self-induced lunacy that is currently prevalent.
It's a long story but I'll try to keep it as short as possible.
When I was a kid, about 12 years old, as a family we drove across the country from southern Florida to CA. My step father at the time used to work in Louisville and wanted to stop there to visit some friends.
We drove through the length of KY from eastern Appalachia all the way through to Missouri. The state fascinated me seeing very poor isolated little towns in the eastern mountains to huge old beautiful antebellum mansions in Lexington and the outskirts of Louisville. There were lovely horse farms (ranches) with miles of white rail fencing and horses running freely. The rolling hills were emerald green and dotted with farms, woods, streams and picturesque old farm houses.
In-between were these little towns seemingly lost in time with amazing old architecture that I had only seen pictures of in some books.
One constant I found whether in Appalachia or western KY was how polite and nice people were, whenever we stopped anywhere to eat, get gas or spend the night. The part of southern Florida I had been living in was nothing like any of that.
As a kid, I loved the state and always had it in the back of my mind to come back and explore it. I came back to visit a few times when I was in my 30s and 40s and it just reinforced everything and even then I thought I would retire there. I didn't care about stereotypes or what other people thought.
I made a list of priorities I wanted to have where I could settle down and retire. In brief, some of these were
-a mid size town by KY standards not more than about 10,000 people but not too tiny either
-the town needed to be the county seat for convenience
-topography to me was important. I wanted hills, not endless flat land like Florida had.
-I wanted to stay away from the western part of the state because it's flat and more prone to tornadoes
-I'd rather have cooler winters than hotter summers so that put me in the northern part of the state
-some type of public transportation was a big plus
-a decent medical hospital either in town or reasonably close
-I wanted a town which was historic with an interesting history and architecture
-a low cost of living. Not everywhere in KY has it.
-a walkable downtown that looked like it came out of the early-mid 1900s.
Unlike many people here, I couldn't care less about a Costco or Trader Joe's within 500 miles. As far as I was concerned, that was part of the rat race I was escaping from.
I researched towns and counties around Lexington and northeast of there. Researching became my hobby while I was still working. I wanted to stay away from Louisville and Cincinnati suburbs. When I came across this town, it looked very promising so I came to visit and didn't want to leave. I bought a house a couple of years before retiring because being a small town, available homes that I would like are very limited so when one came up that was affordable and in downtown, I jumped on it. Now instead of hearing the sirens of emergency vehicles throughout the day, I hear the chimes of the clock tower nearby.
We used to go RV'ing years ago. We lived in New York at the time. We went through Vermont, New Hampshire, down as far as Virginia. We drove on other occasions down as far as Florida to vacation as well. As far west as Ohio. Been to Nebraska once for work. But, the thing is vacation is not the same as moving somewhere. I've read over the years about other people's experiences in living elsewhere but knew no one who had moved out of state except for a cousin of my mother who moved to Virginia around 60 years back. Never visited them. Which is why we were a bit nervous about moving to North Carolina . I wanted out of New York, just couldn't decide where. We've been here seventeen years now. Our daughter moved down a few years ago too. Now we don't know if this the last stop or not. That's why I always like to hear where others have gone and why. You never know? Good to hear you made a happy decision.
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