On Fri, 16 Oct 2020 17:52:06 -0700, Jeff Liebermann
wrote:

On Fri, 16 Oct 2020 10:32:39 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote:

Given the price of real-estate, and the cost-of-living in Santa Cruz, given
that you are apparently single, given that you are apparently not overly
happy about the climate, have you ever considered relocating to a more
amenable part of the country?

Actually, I have done some online looking at some possible places to
relocate. The exodus from California seems to be mostly to the
northern and eastern states:
https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/11/04/691145-californians-left-last-year-what-state-did-they-go-to/
Texas seems to be the largest, with a predictable reaction:
"Why Texans Dont Want Any More Californians"
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/01/the-truth-about-the-california-exodus/605833/
There are also a fair number of YouTube videos on "Why you don't want
to move to [insert name of state]".

After I work out the migration pattern, the next step would be to
decide if I want to move to where everyone is going, or if I want to
avoid those places. Right now, I don't know. I originally moved to
Santa Cruz from the Smog Angeles area in about 1973 because it was
less crowded. I wanted to get away from the crowds. Before Covid-19
drastically cut down on the traffic earlier this year, Santa Cruz
traffic had become as bad as Smog Angeles over the past 47 years. If
I move, I don't want to become part of that problem. However, the
main reasons I haven't moved somewhere else is that I don't have any
urgent need to move, and that my house has some problems that will
either be too expensive or difficult to fix economically. It's a can
of worms I don't want to open at this time. There's also the problem
of my lack of longevity. If my family history is an indication of how
long I'll live, I probably won't live long enough to enjoy the change
of location.

When we moved 12 years ago (just across the township), it was
akin to shedding a skin. The divestiture of unneeded *stuff* was
pretty immense and very cleansing. We have been vary careful not
to re-acquire since. It really does make a difference. But, a
more distant move in your case may solve a number of financial,
physical and logistic issues all at once.

I know the feeling. Several of my friends have become minimalists.
Unfortunately, I've been the recipient of some of their accumulated
junk. I would say they were most successful in what they were trying
to accomplish. For me, it's quite different. While I'm not quite a
packrat, I do tend to accumulate "stuff". Since I don't have a family
and have yet to immerse myself in public service and volunteer
organizations, I tend to replace these with gadgets, things, gizmos,
and goodies. I fix things, I enjoy the work, and would happily spend
the rest of my continuing to save "stuff" from a premature demise in a
landfill. I guess I'm an eco-freak of sorts. Moving wouldn't change
much.

Best of luck with it. My wife is retired, my identified date is
June 30, 2022 when my major tenant ends its lease. Until then, my
wife and I are busy 'feathering our nests" so that when we retired
and our income drops by six figures we will have few expenses and
no debt on what amounts to be two very nearly maintenance-free houses.

Nicely done. Sounds like you have things well planned and organized.
I thought my plans were similarly set. Then, I had to deal with some
nasty medical problems, a pandemic, wildfires, and an evacuation. The
assumptions I made in planning my retirement have not gone up in smoke
yet, but are likely to do so considering the circumstances I itemized
in a previous rant. May your ration of luck survive and hopefully,
you won't need to deal with my problems.

Take care!

Thanks. Time for a fast dinner and off to a friend to fix a Brother
sewing machine and a Baby Lock. As long as there are things that I
can fix and that need fixing, I should be ok.
Jeff, Austin TX., Portland Maine, and Madison WI. are terrific cities.
If safety, beautiful scenery and incredible restaurants are top on
your list, I'd consider Portland.