Author Topic: Would you live where you currently do if you didn't have to work?  (Read 5414 times)

jimmyshutter

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Re: Would you live where you currently do if you didn't have to work?
« Reply #50 on: November 13, 2019, 10:06:28 AM »
I'm looking forward to stealth camper traveling for months at a time each year when I retire. Given what was just said moving wouldn't do much for me.

Blue Skies

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Re: Would you live where you currently do if you didn't have to work?
« Reply #51 on: November 13, 2019, 10:10:40 AM »
If I FIREd today, we'd still live here.  I don't want my kids to have to change schools, so we would stay until they finish high school.
Once they finish school, I'm out.  I do like the area, but I want to live in a smaller town.  I'm not sure where we will end up living.   We may nomad it for a bit before picking a location.  We are still nearly 10 years out, so I haven't given a lot of thought to a final location.

We be free if we try

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Re: Would you live where you currently do if you didn't have to work?
« Reply #52 on: November 13, 2019, 10:23:10 AM »
I’ve been mulling this over. I want out of SF proper, but love Marin / West Sonoma, except for the housing cost (and the fire risk). I’ve got a lot of transition in the next few years, with children leaving the nest, and a marriage that’s... perhaps not meant to last forever. I love Fairfax, but it’s housing cost approaches that of SF, and even Petaluma has become so expensive, and the fires are changing the picture more and more. But my community is in the Bay Area, and it’s hard to imagine uprooting and starting over too far away, so I like the idea of staying in a smallish town within a 2 hour drive of SF, and reasonably near the coast. Ideas are welcome!

burninglights

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Re: Would you live where you currently do if you didn't have to work?
« Reply #53 on: November 13, 2019, 10:32:54 AM »
I would still probably live where I am now, because of family.

FireHiker

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Re: Would you live where you currently do if you didn't have to work?
« Reply #54 on: November 13, 2019, 10:59:31 AM »
I would absolutely move to the mountains if I didn't have to work. We have a couple places in mind for when that time comes, although we will probably stay put until the kids are through school even if we FIRE before then because I'd prefer not to uproot them if it could be avoided. I like cold, quiet, and grey days. Southern California is seriously wasted on me, but I grew up here and went to college here and stayed after college because of the good employment prospects.
Big Bear Lake?That's where I moved to a couple of years after I FIREd and wanted out of OC and the LA sprawl. Didn't stay long but it allowed me to be close to aging parents to help them and was inexpensive housi g-wise. Too small of a town for me but I'll be moving to a much larger different Calif ski area by months end.

Big Bear is still too so-cal-ish. The skiing sucks, and if there is snow then it's full of people from LA. We are considering: Durango (still expensive but not as expensive as it is here), Tahoe area (family nearby). My oldest is in college now in Virginia and we like the small city where he's currently located, but no skiing to speak of there. If money were no object we love Jackson, WY but it's outrageously expensive. Youngest is in 2nd grade so we'll probably stay here through high school even if we FIRE and will make a move somewhere we love then.

terran

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Re: Would you live where you currently do if you didn't have to work?
« Reply #55 on: November 13, 2019, 12:09:13 PM »
I really like where we live now, and if we had to settle down in one place permanently it would probably be on the list, but there are too many other places to explore, so the current FIRE plan is to go nomad.

John Galt incarnate!

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Re: Would you live where you currently do if you didn't have to work?
« Reply #56 on: November 13, 2019, 01:35:45 PM »

One thing I discovered livibg a semi-nomadic life is that I do like having a home base even if I don't plan to be there much.

If I were a  traveler (I'm not interested in traveling) I'd still have to have my  home base.

Daisyedwards800

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Re: Would you live where you currently do if you didn't have to work?
« Reply #57 on: November 13, 2019, 02:36:09 PM »
I would absolutely move to the mountains if I didn't have to work. We have a couple places in mind for when that time comes, although we will probably stay put until the kids are through school even if we FIRE before then because I'd prefer not to uproot them if it could be avoided. I like cold, quiet, and grey days. Southern California is seriously wasted on me, but I grew up here and went to college here and stayed after college because of the good employment prospects.
Big Bear Lake?That's where I moved to a couple of years after I FIREd and wanted out of OC and the LA sprawl. Didn't stay long but it allowed me to be close to aging parents to help them and was inexpensive housi g-wise. Too small of a town for me but I'll be moving to a much larger different Calif ski area by months end.

What about Park City?  Easy to fly to Jackson from there too.
Big Bear is still too so-cal-ish. The skiing sucks, and if there is snow then it's full of people from LA. We are considering: Durango (still expensive but not as expensive as it is here), Tahoe area (family nearby). My oldest is in college now in Virginia and we like the small city where he's currently located, but no skiing to speak of there. If money were no object we love Jackson, WY but it's outrageously expensive. Youngest is in 2nd grade so we'll probably stay here through high school even if we FIRE and will make a move somewhere we love then.
Yeah if money wasn't an issue I'd be in Jackson too! But Tahoe or some other similar sized lower cost ski town in more my speed. Durango is nice but it's far to Telluride. I havent really checked out too many of the Colorado ski towns as they all seemed expensive or too small. If I didn't have family and friends in Calif Id be living in Maine or Europe. Still may but right now I have the old beater hovel as a home base to go anywhere from so that will work for now. One thing I discovered livibg a semi-nomadic life is that I do like having a home base even if I don't plan to be there much.

tyrannostache

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Re: Would you live where you currently do if you didn't have to work?
« Reply #58 on: November 13, 2019, 03:24:13 PM »
We specifically chose to live in this part of the US (smallish-town MT) because we absolutely love the mountains and access to wilderness. We chose it despite the fact that we could make more money in other places. We have considered doing just that (recently flirted with a corporate job in Des Moines that would have more than doubled our household income). But the mountains keep us here. Every morning, I make coffee while looking at the mountain range on the other side of the valley, then I bike or drive just a few miles to work and school. Almost every evening, I walk my dog up our little mountain into trails that feel like they're miles from anywhere. A few days a week, I spend my lunch hour trail running in the hills behind my office.
 
If money were no object, we'd probably spend a few months traveling to warmer spots in late winter, but that's about it.

MrsPennyPincher

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Re: Would you live where you currently do if you didn't have to work?
« Reply #59 on: November 13, 2019, 04:43:12 PM »
Will stay where we are (small town in Massachusetts) until DS finishes school. Will move to a lower COL area, ideally near the beaches, after.

Steeze

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Re: Would you live where you currently do if you didn't have to work?
« Reply #60 on: November 13, 2019, 04:51:01 PM »
I would just live in hotels and move around whenever I felt like it.

Otherwise...Maybe a family home in Boulder?

Cranky

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Re: Would you live where you currently do if you didn't have to work?
« Reply #61 on: November 13, 2019, 05:30:46 PM »
No. We came here for dh’s work. The weather is terrible. However when dh retires we’ll probably move to someplace with even worse weather for family reasons.

I have zero wanderlust. What’s the opposite of wanderlust? That’s what I have.

mspym

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Re: Would you live where you currently do if you didn't have to work?
« Reply #62 on: November 13, 2019, 05:50:04 PM »
We will be moving to be closer to either my husband's or my family/friends once we are FI. This place is lovely but our roots are not deep here.

John Galt incarnate!

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Re: Would you live where you currently do if you didn't have to work?
« Reply #63 on: November 13, 2019, 06:28:23 PM »
No. We came here for dh’s work. The weather is terrible. However when dh retires we’ll probably move to someplace with even worse weather for family reasons.

I have zero wanderlust.

+1

What’s the opposite of wanderlust?

stay-putlust


Ha!

calimom

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Re: Would you live where you currently do if you didn't have to work?
« Reply #64 on: November 13, 2019, 06:36:43 PM »
I moved to where I live now because it was a good place to raise my children and to be close to relatives. It's a very family oriented town, good schools, reasonably affordable real estate market and access to the outdoors for camping, cheap ski opportunities and such. I've built a business here, have acquired well performing rentals and made good friends. I don't regret the decision to live here.

But I don't love it. The town and outlying areas skew conservative politically. The mountains are pretty as are the rivers and lakes but it gets very hot in the summer, many many days of triple digit temps. My main purpose was to provide a stable environment for my children and that goal has been achieved. One child has left the nest and is launched, the middle child will be in college next year, and my youngest has about 5 years left to go.

In my idle time I daydream and research other places I might like to live. Near the beach somehow? A lively mountain town? Wine Country? Not sure I see myself living abroad, though more travel in my future is definitely a plan. My west coast roots are deep; my family is spread from Washington to Arizona, and somewhere in there is a place I'd like to call home. Lots of options out there and in no rush to make any decision today. It would be fun to take a year and tool around looking for that spot.

Raenia

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Re: Would you live where you currently do if you didn't have to work?
« Reply #65 on: November 14, 2019, 06:04:26 AM »
This particular house was chosen primarily for proximity to public transit and both our work locations.  Post-FIRE, we'll move out of the city and to a bigger plot of land, for sure.  Whether we'd stay in the general geographic area... currently a LOT of our family lives within an hour of us, and I don't think I'd want to lose that.  DH has floated some other places, based on climate, tax laws, and other considerations.  I think I'd be happy any of those places, but it's a hard sell with all the family here.  If family started moving away, we'd probably do the same.

Trifle

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Re: Would you live where you currently do if you didn't have to work?
« Reply #66 on: November 15, 2019, 05:23:29 AM »
We moved to our current location (NC) because it was both the place we wanted to be long-term, and I had a very lucrative job opportunity that allowed us to get over the finish line to FIRE.  The stars were aligned.

I FIREd earlier this year, and we love it here.   I've been fairly nomadic this first year of freedom -- doing about 2 months of bucket-list travel and family visits -- but this is home.

Monocle Money Mouth

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Re: Would you live where you currently do if you didn't have to work?
« Reply #67 on: November 15, 2019, 03:06:42 PM »
I would like to live elsewhere when I retire. My ideal location would be in northern California close to old growth redwoods forests. Someplace so far north, it's practically Oregon. I have visited that area before and really like hiking those forests. I haven't looked deeply at real estate, taxes, or general cost of living in that part of California yet. It's probably not as expensive as the Bay area or LA, but I'm sure it's more expensive than where I am in Ohio. I'm also concerned about wild fires. That part of the state didn't seem to be as dry as further south, but there is evidence of past fires if you look.

Dicey

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Re: Would you live where you currently do if you didn't have to work?
« Reply #68 on: November 15, 2019, 03:40:25 PM »
I think @ice_beard and I might be neighbors. I love my slice of the Bay Area's East Bay, mostly for my connections in the community. The weather's pretty great, too. Our house is paid for, so the HCOLA isn't particularly onerous. DH walks to work, which is crazy rare in these parts, and he loves his low-pressure job.

We have rentals in a SoCal Desert retirement community and plan to spend part of the year there as well.


Money Badger

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Re: Would you live where you currently do if you didn't have to work?
« Reply #69 on: November 15, 2019, 07:16:35 PM »
Home is where the FIRE is for wifey and me...    We worked damn hard to simplify lifestyle and LOVE our smaller but nicely trimmed new nest that’s just outside a trendy area near one of Atlanta’s mega traffic highwAys.   The FIRE plan is about 14 months from now.   Now the fun part is we live on a road that is jammed with commuter traffic each day at 7:30am and again at 5pm... It’s not something to be proud of, but I am looking forward to sitting on my front porch with a cocktail each afternoon and smiling at the bumper to bumper cars trying to get to the exurbs...   And if the traffic ever annoys me, I will simply go pick okra in the back garden!