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Who has MOVED from their home state ? How difficult was it for you?

The whole concept of wells for water and solar for power is new to me. I've had the ease and comfort of city services all of my life.
Mary's dad has bought and sold properties for years. He is more in tune with that stuff. I've had to become familiar with wells, pump rates and depth of the well.
Once you get a little out of town where the parcels are the size I want, the chance of city water and power really drop off.
The well and pump at house #2 are at the edge of the minimum standards. The father in law thinks legislation is coming to increase those minimums. This means an expensive upgrade just to meet those standards. The house looks nice in general but carries with it some hidden expenses like a shiny classic car with rust bubbles visible in the lower quarters. We will likely pass on this one.
The upside?
We are in no hurry to leave where we are here. We can afford to stay if nothing desirable comes to market right away. We still talk about Tennessee as another option. In most ways, that is my ideal place for economic, social and appearance reasons. We both see much of the Arizona landscape as pretty to visit but too barren to live in for long. I see yards like this:

Then I think back to our visit to Tennessee and Georgia in 2021:

Green grass everywhere. THIS is what I really want.

Grew up in Orlando FL (Pre Disney World), lived 30 years in Baltimore, MD could not wait to go back south where people are nice and decent. One hour from the mountains, three hours from the beach, green grass, rural and live on a 20 mile lake, with no restrictions to boot. We used to travel for a week every year between Christmas and New Years to scope out our last move. Best move we made.
 
@Kern Dog Take a look at this guy's videos from various parts (and social strata) of the country. The videos will give you a pretty good idea of people and places; and "attitudes".

For example, here's one:

 
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We moved from IL to TN in 2017, Clarksville to be exact. We loved it although a little busy people were nice and we could be in the Smokies in 4 hrs. We liked the melting pot of military and locals. We're conservative so it's nice to be with like minded people,please leave CA behind for your sake and TN. You will have humidity,heat and tornadoes just a fact to consider. California is the best for sure but earthquakes suck. Be sure to consider grandkids
 
We almost bought property in the town of White House , Nashville area is very nice. We decided to move to the high desert of AZ don’t miss Chicago are at all !
 
We moved from IL to TN in 2017, Clarksville to be exact. We loved it although a little busy people were nice and we could be in the Smokies in 4 hrs. We liked the melting pot of military and locals. We're conservative so it's nice to be with like minded people,please leave CA behind for your sake and TN. You will have humidity,heat and tornadoes just a fact to consider. California is the best for sure but earthquakes suck. Be sure to consider grandkids
We did consider the kids and grandkids. We escaped in 1991. 3 thousand miles seems to be a good cushion. They don’t show up very often. No babysitting or hauling to Violin practice or soccer.
 
65 pages and 5 1/2 years. Wow.
I don't know if the following will jinx myself or just make no difference. For the record, I don't really believe in Jinxes.
We may be staying here in California awhile.
The search in Arizona has resulted in options that just didn't work out. We made offers on 2 different places that may have been okay but overall, the landscape of that state just isn't what we like. Almost every property looked like this:

953 AZ.png


KR 17.jpg


What I want looks more like what I have:

Yard 3.JPG

Yard 4.JPG


I had hoped that someone might have put a lawn in on one of the properties listed but that was a longshot. Too many places that were just dirt with maybe a few shrubs and small cacti. I know that some people LOVE the desert landscape but I love grass and trees. Given that most every property with acreage was on a well, that means that there are obvious limits as to how much water I could pull out of the ground to water any grass I'd plant. It looked like I'd be stuck with rocks and dirt for a yard.
Mary suddenly realized the immense task of moving twice. Once now and then another time after her parents are gone. All the car parts, cars, trucks, home furnishings and other stuff is a big job. Moving all of this stuff twice or more??? That alone seems to have put a big dent in her enthusiasm.
The end goal is still a possible move to Tennessee to have more land around us for the dogs and for me, truthfully.
We are not miserable where we are now. The cost of living is high but we aren't poor. We do have friends and family here.
I'll dance the line here so bear with me...
Not getting political here, I'm just going to state an opinion. The laws and restrictions here are not great but they aren't enough to force us to abandon hope. I love the weather, we have a decent home and what we need is usually close to home. Moving now would result in a lower cost of living but we wouldn't like the landscape. I love being outdoors so it would bother me the most. Mary feels the same way but is more easygoing and would probably just grin and bear it.
Now that it looks like we are staying awhile, I might just forge ahead with a few car projects I've been considering!
Hell yeah!



IMG_6243.JPG


71-1.JPG


0182.JPG


It appears that I am biased toward Dusters and Dart Sports!
I'd like to paint this car too:

IMG_5047.JPG


I have a checkered history with the colors on the car though. Here is how it looked in 2005:

IMG_0320.JPG


I had a short lived Petty Blue phase....

IMG_0886.JPG


I am getting off topic though. I'll take this to another thread I'll start someday soon...
 
65 pages and 5 1/2 years. Wow.
I don't know if the following will jinx myself or just make no difference. For the record, I don't really believe in Jinxes.
We may be staying here in California awhile.
The search in Arizona has resulted in options that just didn't work out. We made offers on 2 different places that may have been okay but overall, the landscape of that state just isn't what we like. Almost every property looked like this:

View attachment 1659420

View attachment 1659421

What I want looks more like what I have:

View attachment 1659422
View attachment 1659423

I had hoped that someone might have put a lawn in on one of the properties listed but that was a longshot. Too many places that were just dirt with maybe a few shrubs and small cacti. I know that some people LOVE the desert landscape but I love grass and trees. Given that most every property with acreage was on a well, that means that there are obvious limits as to how much water I could pull out of the ground to water any grass I'd plant. It looked like I'd be stuck with rocks and dirt for a yard.
Mary suddenly realized the immense task of moving twice. Once now and then another time after her parents are gone. All the car parts, cars, trucks, home furnishings and other stuff is a big job. Moving all of this stuff twice or more??? That alone seems to have put a big dent in her enthusiasm.
The end goal is still a possible move to Tennessee to have more land around us for the dogs and for me, truthfully.
We are not miserable where we are now. The cost of living is high but we aren't poor. We do have friends and family here.
I'll dance the line here so bear with me...
Not getting political here, I'm just going to state an opinion. The laws and restrictions here are not great but they aren't enough to force us to abandon hope. I love the weather, we have a decent home and what we need is usually close to home. Moving now would result in a lower cost of living but we wouldn't like the landscape. I love being outdoors so it would bother me the most. Mary feels the same way but is more easygoing and would probably just grin and bear it.
Now that it looks like we are staying awhile, I might just forge ahead with a few car projects I've been considering!
Hell yeah!



View attachment 1659425

View attachment 1659426

View attachment 1659427

It appears that I am biased toward Dusters and Dart Sports!
I'd like to paint this car too:

View attachment 1659428

I have a checkered history with the colors on the car though. Here is how it looked in 2005:

View attachment 1659429

I had a short lived Petty Blue phase....

View attachment 1659430

I am getting off topic though. I'll take this to another thread I'll start someday soon...


In other words, you wasted everyone's time here.

8f26ff7eec7acc117003891e8f8a0d8d.gif





:rofl:
 
Some people define other people's problems, I saw this problem coming 5.48 years ago. You're where you belong. :rofl:
 
Yeah, moving is a massive pain and expense Greg. When we moved back up here from SoCal it was mostly a DIY for us to keep the costs down. We parted ways with quite a bit of household stuff before the move but it was still 4 large U-Haul trucks plus a couple of truck/trailer runs to get it all. U-Haul advertises the big truck as being large enough for a family of 4. My Azz! Maybe IF they were in a 1ksqft crib and were minimalists. We don't want to move again for those reasons plus we love this area. Hopefully we don't get taxed out.
 
As you get older it's harder to move. CT is not a cheap place to live. Wife was "Let's move to TN" thought about it talked to a member about it would be a place I'd like. I realized it would take about 1 and a half years to move and be settled. That was 4 years ago, now at almost 75 move no way, unless I hit the lottery.
 
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Four years ago we were dead set on moving out of the peoples republic too. In fact I was knee deep in orchestrating a custom build in Idaho. Purchased the lot on a lake and w/architects help designed a 2500 sq ft dream home. About 6 months in the building contractor who was also the developer of this land started getting wonky in terms of following thru w/his end of the contracts. I would wake up every morning with my gut sounding alarm bells. I also had the advantage of seeing my friend who was building three doors down - what he was going thru. I had no desire to deal w/all of what he was so I cut my losses which at this point was only a flesh wound and bailed. Then for the 2nd time in 5 yrs my wife got cancer again and we’ve just about completed her stem cell transplant protocol which has been a full year. Had we moved it’s unlikely we would have had access to incredible pioneers in the field like Cedars Sinai. Then there’s her family which she’s very, very close with and has an aging mother. As much as I wanted out - I could not then take her away from her family (whom we’ve/she’s never uttered a word about her cancer to). My heart kept telling me it just wouldn’t be right and I would have to stay in this state I despise for her sake.

So now that’s the way it is and I see nothing that would change in our future. Most often doing the right thing is more important than doing what you want.
 
Four years ago we were dead set on moving out of the peoples republic too. In fact I was knee deep in orchestrating a custom build in Idaho. Purchased the lot on a lake and w/architects help designed a 2500 sq ft dream home. About 6 months in the building contractor who was also the developer of this land started getting wonky in terms of following thru w/his end of the contracts. I would wake up every morning with my gut sounding alarm bells. I also had the advantage of seeing my friend who was building three doors down - what he was going thru. I had no desire to deal w/all of what he was so I cut my losses which at this point was only a flesh wound and bailed. Then for the 2nd time in 5 yrs my wife got cancer again and we’ve just about completed her stem cell transplant protocol which has been a full year. Had we moved it’s unlikely we would have had access to incredible pioneers in the field like Cedars Sinai. Then there’s her family which she’s very, very close with and has an aging mother. As much as I wanted out - I could not then take her away from her family (whom we’ve/she’s never uttered a word about her cancer to). My heart kept telling me it just wouldn’t be right and I would have to stay in this state I despise for her sake.

So now that’s the way it is and I see nothing that would change in our future. Most often doing the right thing is more important than doing what you want.
Your story is a story of devotion and a bond. Big difference, you did the right thing. You should never look back and think you did the wrong thing in not moving. I do what I do for my wife, no regrets for that. You did good, be proud!
 
In other words, you wasted everyone's time here.

Ha ha...Not intentionally.
It still may happen someday but not for awhile. Hey, we tried...The two homes we made offers on sold at prices close to what we offered but later after the sellers realized that the market wasn't as hot as they thought. For years, houses were selling for OVER asking price. Now many properties are sitting and sitting and the offers are often way below the asking prices. For me, I knew the landscape wasn't what I liked so I thought if we got more acreage and a bigger house, I could justify the lack of grass and oak trees. Unfortunately, so many properties there on acreage are on dirt roads. Screw that...I don't mind dirt roads for motorcycles, my junker cars and trucks but not for our daily drivers and nice cars. I don't understand why anyone would.
Call me soft but the idea of dirt roads, well water, solar for power and a septic tank just seems too crude for me. I'm not an "off the grid" type of guy. I'm no city boy but I'm not that rugged either.
 
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