We’re hopeless. We have no idea where we want to go. The last few days with the heat, the drought, the water restrictions . . overall for me, it’s the lack of being able to grow things and keep things alive . . but Vince is pretty tire of the constant 100 degree plus temps. This morning he said “I want to go where winters aren’t too col and summers aren’t too hot!” Hmm . . where might that be?
His first suggestion was Florida. I’m no climate and geography expert but I think summers in FL are pretty warm. Vince said “There’s always a breeze off the water. We could walk on the beach every evening.” I told him that even though we’ve always loved FL, we’re always happy to leave when we’ve vacationed there. I get tired of the sand everywhere. If you live on the water, you never have much privacy . . definitely not like living on 45 acres in the woods! There are bridges. There are hurricanes. At least hurricanes give you warning but I lived too many years dealing with hurricanes and trying to get things repaired after a hit. Nope . . FL doesn’t do it for me.
The he suggested Cleveland, TN. I’m kinda ok with that area. The grass is green. They have winter so I could wear my sweaters. July average high is 88. Winters aren’t too bad. Housing costs are fairly reasonable. TN isn’t as good as Texas as far as taxes but they’re better than most states. Problem for me . . I’d have to cross the Mississippi River to get to Chad. I can’t drive across bridges!
I suggested Ellijay, GA. For the years we lived in Kentucky, we thought we’d retire in north Georgia. Vince likes Ellijay. I like it but there’s the Mississippi River again.
Then he suggested Eminence, MO. At this point, almost any place in MO would get my vote. Except for not being so close to Chad, I kinda like Shell Knob, MO and found a couple of houses I like there.
So, we spent hours looking at houses for sale and are no closer than we were to making a decision.
Cilla Tyler says
I said I could not cross a bridge but then drove 6 hours from NH to PA. She didn’t tell me there was a bridge. I came upon it unexpectedly, white knuckled my way across all the time saying “Oh crap.oh crap. oh crap.oh crap”! Return home same thing. Then 4 months later drove 5 hrs to upper NY. Same thing. So I can do it. Don’t like it. Slow down to allow people to pass. It can be done.
Carolyn says
Be thankful you and Vince can discuss your options.
Judy Laquidara says
I am thankful and I’m thankful that he considers my desires. He truly does not want to live in MO and I understand that ut we will find a place we both are happy.
Jackie says
I live in North Florida and it is far too hot for me. We live less than 10 miles from the beach and even closer to the river and intercostal and while we do get a sea breeze it doesn’t matter at all when it comes to the heat or humidity. The winters here would be milder I think though than what you have. We have 7 big bridges over water on major roads and too many smaller ones to count.
My parents had a 2nd home in Blairsville which isn’t far from Ellijay for many many years and I’d love to live their full time but that would take me far from my kids. That town is my happy place but it would be far less happy being so far from my kids and they don’t even have kids yet!
Good Luck! It sounds like progress is being made with Vince!
Susan says
Cleveland is actually nice, and a small town atmosphere. There are some great quilt shops in and close to there. I’m sure there’s yarn available, too. But you buy it all online anyway! No income tax to worry about, and they are phasing out ALL inheritance taxes My property taxes aren’t too terrible (though I don’t live in Cleveland, but in Knox County), sales tax is a little high, but I’ll pay it in order not to have the state income tax.
Gas is fairly cheap because Flying J is headquartered here and the Haslams who own it are in politics. One is the governor right now. That’s kept the state gas tax reasonable. We have a rainy day fund of $900 million, plus, and no debt to speak of in state government. Food isn’t terribly expensive, and there is an Aldi right in Cleveland!
There are many things to like about it. You are close to the Great Smoky Mountains, but don’t kid yourself. It can often go into the 90s, and the humidity – well you’ve lived in Louisiana, and it isn’t as bad as that. I lived in the desert and it’s horrible humidity to me. LOL You could do a whole lot worse than the Cleveland area, and it’s close to Georgia – really close! I could drive you across the bridge at Memphis, send you on your way, and take the bus home. =)
Judy Laquidara says
Ahhh! They have an Aldi. That’s one of my biggest “must haves”. Thanks!
The state’s financial condition is one of the reasons we will not go back to Louisiana. It’s good to know TN is in good shape financially. Wish more states could learn to be debt free.
Nancy Hager says
I think you should consider the Pacific Northwest. My sister in law likes Idaho. We are in Washington. We left Oregon because the income tax would hit our IRA money. Washington has a sales tax but it is less than Oregon income tax. Idaho as a lower sales tax. None are in the top ten retirement states but the winters are mild and the summers on the western side of the state are mild with very little humidity. But the best of all…..no snakes (expect in the mountains and on the east side of the state), no poisonous spiders (a few brown recluse), no scorpions, no swarms of grasshoppers. Gardens grow beautifully.
Yes it is a long way from Chad, but get him to visit once and he just might move for the hunting and fishing.
Today was a hot day. We got up to 89 but now that the sun is setting it is all ready cooling and the expected low tonight is 58. Tomorrow the high will be 71 with a few showers. August is our hot month. We sometimes will hit 100. Maybe twice a year. One year we had 19 days in the nineties. We may be on track for that to happen this year.
The winters can be wet. This last winter we did not get our usual rainfall but the year before it had rained every day for over 160 days which is a lot more that usual. There is a reason that everything is green here.
Land is expensive here but if you live a little ways out of the main population area. Deals can still be had. Yes there are bridges, especially in downtown Portland and to get across the Columbia River. And of course there are small bridges in other parts of the state. Anywhere you have rivers you will have bridges. Plus a few over gorges in the central parts of Oregon. I am not sure about central Washington, I am still exploring it.
All in all I can’t imagine living in any other part of the country. I do not do well in high heat or high humidity.
I think if you and Vince visited you would fall in love with the area.
Judy Laquidara says
I still have family in Louisiana and going to the Pacific Northwest would be too far from them. I’m a southern girl. I want to stay in the south so I guess the heat is something I just have to deal with. At least we don’t have much humidity here.
Nancy Hager says
And the snakes too. I see all the snakes you get and don’t know how you do it. When my grandmother lived in Kansas and we would visit she was always telling us to watch out for the copperheads, rattlesnakes and water moccasins. A copperhead in the outhouse was the worst thing ever. We always had to shine a light you know where before we could sit down.
Donna says
I’ve lived in South Carolina , Alabama, and North Carolina. My conclusion is if you live in the South summers are HOT and HUMID. Winters can be cold or mild but not as bad as other places. You just learn to grin and bear it and know that it will change with the next season. The humidity is what gets me especially August and early September….whew that’s rough months to me.
Judy Laquidara says
We actually don’t have much humidity here. It’s just the 110 plus temps from the end of May to the end of September that kill me and the fact that we get no rain and nothing will grow. Grass is dead and crunchy, garden requires more water than we can use without harming the well. There are places where even though it’s hot, it does get rain.
Diane in CA says
I seem to remember you sucessfully driving across a bridge. So maybe you can psyche youself up and white knuckle it across the Mississippi.
Liz says
What happened to the idea of Chad and y’all looking into a fishing camp in eastern TX (Toledo Bend?). It seems like a good way of getting the family together, close to LA while staying in TX. I thought it was an interesting idea
Judy Laquidara says
That was more of a joke. First, it would be dealing with people on a daily basis and trying to please people all day every day. That’s not really something either of us want to spend our retirement years doing. Second, it would be a huge investment and the whole thing would also be part of your home so if it didn’t work out, or we decided it wasn’t for us, we’d have to move again. We still want to find a place that’s a bit secluded and having a bunch of cabins with people making requests/demands doesn’t really sound like fun for us.
Melody says
Maybe in one of those places east of the Mississippi you can find a ferry to cross the river. Love that you share. I don’t know where I want to retire either, but not where we are now.
cassews says
Just getting around to reading this .. The right area will show itself when the timing is right!! (at least that is what I keep telling my husband when he says lets move!! lol)