Relocating

[AK Granola]

Yes, many people in Alaska have seasonal affective disorder. Some deal with it by drinking, some with antidepressants and some with vigorous exercise indoors or out. And occasionally trips to Mexico or Hawaii.

[obx hiker]

Don’t move to the OBX. Housing is like unobtanium.

Say did Chaff fire back up while I’ve been on a BPL hiatus?

Is that why it fired back up?  ;)  ?

[Bonzo]

Regarding these comments…

Totally need to get out.

Bonzo: depart rapidly, without looking back.

…well, do what was asked and move on, it’s not your concern.

…you guys are dead on the money.  I can’t leave things in good hands, anymore; that ability has been taken away because of decisions that are being made that I can do nothing about.  I’ve basically had zero input in how the replacement and transition processes are going to proceed from this point forward…so, whatevs!  I scheduled the remainder of my vacation days – the ones I still had, at least, after having all of my accrual taken away back in February because the owner thought that people were accruing too much vacation over the years due to not taking vacations – so, between now and the end of September, I’m only working for 20 days.  I normally work 4-day weeks at 10 hours per shift, but clipping that to 3 days per week is a huge help in getting things ready at home.

George – I’m afraid of the winters there, as well…so that’s definitely a factor for us.  We’re definitely ready for a real winter, but those short days may not be enough sunlight for us, as Jeff suggested.  I suppose there’s only one real way to find that out, however.

Hk – we’re probably going to do exactly that…if for no reason other than to buy some decision-making time.  I can actually see us picking up a monthly rental at our current location while we take a few short trips to the areas in question in order to check them out, and then staying in local STRs to get a better feel for the towns in question.  We’re good at packing lightly and traveling simply, so that’s an easy way for us to get a better feel for the places that we’re considering.

Dan – all of that is very solid advice; thank you for posting it!  That time factor you mentioned is the huge one for us; there’s still SO MUCH to pare down, and just not enough time to do it.  Things pile up over the years; this is a big wake-up call to us regarding how much we consume and use.  There have been so many times, now, when we’ve looked at something we’ve discovered and said “When the f*** did we get that?  Why do we even have that?”

Yes, many people in Alaska have seasonal affective disorder. Some deal with it by drinking, some with antidepressants and some with vigorous exercise indoors or out. And occasionally trips to Mexico or Hawaii.

I mean, some of that sounds good…

Don’t move to the OBX. Housing is like unobtanium.  Say did Chaff fire back up while I’ve been on a BPL hiatus?

You couldn’t pay me to move to the Banks, at this point; it’s so expensive to be there, and the entire coast in general is turning into one giant tourism strip.  On top of that, aside from the kayaking and fishing, there’s literally nothing there that appeals to us.  I’ll definitely miss long, evening paddles chasing redfish on the sounds, but I won’t miss it enough to stay for it.  Besides. we have family in Southport and Wilmington, so if we really get nostalgic and need to see a Carolina beach, we can always shuffle back over this way for a visit.

And honestly, I don’t mean for this to be a Chaff-ish thread, but I haven’t known who else to talk to about these points.  Yeah, I’m venting about work, and I should probably stop that, but where else am I going to get such good, direct and valid info about being outside as on a forum that focuses on being outside?

Also, just last night, I found out that I know someone who lives in Southern Oregon.  I think in Medford, coincidentally.

[Roger Caffin]

the remainder of my vacation days – the ones I still had, at least, after having all of my accrual taken away back in February because the owner thought that people were accruing too much vacation over the years due to not taking vacations
Can he do that legally?
Not in Oz, certainly.

Cheers

[Bonzo]

Roger, the shortest complete answer to your question is “yeah, pretty much.”

A more complete answer is this: in my current state of residence, workers have very few protections…and most people don’t have a contract that prevents this kind of thing from happening.  So, in cases like this, what usually happens is that a job is held as ransom: “we’re going to need you to sign this [paper] so you can keep your job” is a common tactic.  Once signed, pretty much anything is legal…and even if it’s done under coercion and therefore unenforceable, Employment Security and the other relevant agencies have bigger fish to fry, so nothing usually comes of it unless – and it sucks that this is the case – some kind of demographic discrimination can be brought into the mix.  To be clear, I’m 110% against discrimination, but I also don’t like it being used – ironically – to discriminate which cases actually receive attention, and which aren’t worth the time.  I don’t like it being made into a virtue signaller, in that way.

On the topic at hand: we’re still seriously looking at the areas outside Bend, Oregon.  Aside from stupidly-high housing, it looks like a good choice…so I think it’s going to be on the Very Short List.  We’ve also started to look at Corvallis, Oregon, but – and this seems to be a perennial problem – we’re not finding a lot of solid data on it; most of what we learn comes from the fact that it’s a college town, but there aren’t many reports from people that have spent time there.

So…anyone actually spent any time, there?

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

Old data, but I used to to up to Corvallis in the 1990-2000.  I worked for Hewlet-Packard at the time and there was a big division up there.  It was a smallish college town with some other high tech companies around it.  The people that I knew up there just loved the town.  Because to the tech crowd up there, housing prices may be higher than the surrounding area.  If I remember correctly, there are a lot of micro-climates up there where location is fairly important.  Again, older data.

[BlackHatGuy]

Have you considered Montana?

 

[Monte Masterson]

I believe Bonzo is trying to avoid red states Doug. He doesn’t want to end up in a place like Billy, Wyatt and George did and expose himself and his partner to the potential dangers. An old clip, but still relevant today.

 

[Bonzo]

Thanks, Jon; that’s kind of dovetailing with the little bit that we can figure out about the place.  Numerically it looks good, but that’s just one set of data…and that doesn’t always tell us much.

Yes, we’ve considered Montana…and honestly, Montana looks awesome.  But, yeah…deep red states aren’t as attractive to us.  Nor are deep blue states, to be honest…and in a country that’s increasingly partisan, either of those depth are hard to avoid.  That’s why we relegated politics to a lesser tier of importance, and focused more on culture, acceptance, recreation and a sense of newness/vivacity.  We’ve begun to look at this next location as a good home base for our lives; that’s what we need, and that’s how we need to see it.  We don’t have to tick off every single little box and have it within a few minutes’ travel of wherever we live, but the location of our home needs to put us in a healthy proximity to everything we’re looking to find.

Now, that’s not to say that we would absolutely not consider a red state – I mean, Idaho looks freakin’ incredible, recreationally – but most of the compelling places that we’re finding simply haven’t been in the Red Sea; more have been in the Blue Wall, for one reason or another.  I think that to us, what people do with their politics – the daily actions/interactions/behavior, etc. – is more important than the abstract positions themselves; rather, I’m not particularly impacted by what someone else believes…at least, not until they start insisting that I either follow along or believe it as well.  I think that this points to the fact that we have far too many Deep Red and Deep Blue states, and simply not enough Deep Purple in our lives.

But, that’s something we can fix.

[Brad Rogers]

That’s an interesting point as we have had multiple people move into our neighborhood from northern states and California (4 households from CA)  and they all said they moved here to move to a more conservative part of the country.  Now assuming that conservative = Red,  I’m thinking doesn’t that just make the red states redder and the blue states bluer?   – I’m not sure that’s a good thing long term.

Anyways, getting back on topic, I’m interested to see where you end up, as it’s something I think about.  I have family ties here, not to mention work, etc, but if I didn’t, and could work from anywhere, it’s fun to debate where you would go.   I always seem to struggle with finding somewhere that has good weather year round, as I find a lot of places have too much snow for me, ones that don’t are brutally hot in the summer.

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

Keep in mind that some counties in southern Oregon would like to secede to Idaho in order to join a more conservative state.  No opinion, just the facts.

https://ktla.com/news/nationworld/more-oregon-counties-vote-to-secede-and-become-part-of-greater-idaho/

 

[Bonzo]

Keep in mind that some counties in southern Oregon would like to secede to Idaho in order to join a more conservative state.

Wait, what?  That’s actually a thing..?  Like, that’s actually taking place in present-day Amer-

…yep, just read the link.  That’s actually a thing.  Okay…I’m honestly not sure how to feel about that; although I’m all in favor of fair representation, splitting a state along those lines actively worsens the bias and division.  Insert cringe-smiley here.

Brad, I’m interested to see where we end up as well.  I keep thinking that there’s an ideal place out there for us, and all I have to do is find it…but that may be a foolish dream on my part.

[jscott]

And 15 years from now, when the next generation changes their mind, or comes to their senses…what then?

People aren’t suddenly going to be happy and satisfied once they’ve seceded. The new political situation will only disappoint them all over again. I doubt that the people behind this movement agree among themselves over ten issues. This is the logic of the Terror after the French revolution, and of the Reformation as well. individuals believe they’ll finally have things their way. Then they’re surprised to find that their fellow travelers have a completely different notion about how to proceed. Hence, the continuous fractioning of the Reformation into more and more denominations. And even then, there’s divisions within each denomination. I’m an Episcopalian. I know this firsthand.

The good news is that one can usually find a few friends who share your values, or at least are able to recognize that having different interests and values is interesting. In the end, who cares if it’s an R or a D who has you over for dinner if you can share a bonhomie. that takes a certain openness and maturity. That’s more important than ideology, imo.

[AK Granola]

Will there be a 15 years from now? Not one that looks anything at all like now.

[George W]

The secede movement has been going on for a very long period of time (at least 30 years), but has gained little traction other than in a very vocal minority.

[Roger Caffin]

The secede movement has been going on for a very long period of time (at least 30 years),
Ah . . . a bit more than that.
The most serious attempt at secession was advanced in the years 1860 and 1861 as 11 Southern states each declared secession from the United States, and joined together to form the Confederate States of America, a procedure and body that the [northern] government of the United States refused to accept. The movement collapsed in 1865 with the defeat of Confederate forces by Union armies in the American Civil War.[1]
Wikipedia

You get such movements all around the world, all the time.

Cheers

[Ray J]

Succession….Here in Texas that comes up, a lot.  But it’s not factual.  The state could spin off four other states and whatever is left is “Texas”.  The people shouting for Texas to succeed, never seem to look at how much of the Texas economy is dependent on the US National Government.   Fort Hood alone is 214,968 acres(!) of people making their paychecks on the US Army.  Check on the military down at San Antonio and then Corpus and El Paso.  Not to mention other military bases around the state.  Sure we’d have cheap beef and fuel oils, but I bet the farmers with the potatoes and the wheat will raise prices to the state.

[George W]

“You get such movements all around the world, all the time.

Cheers”

 

I was just referring to the movement in WA, OR, ID and Northern CA area.

[HkNewman]

Think this will all factor in a community resistance to climate change or lack thereof.  Texas utilities were back in the news telling customers recently to cut back on air conditioning this summer to avoid “brown outs” but that has happened in California too.

Both have vested interests working against households providing some of their own household energy during peak demand (basically summertime when A/C is needed) whereas other states surprisingly have helped households go solar with net-metering (so far .. like cockroaches, I don’t think we will get rid of lobbyists).

Then water brings another problem to the forefront.

Bonzo said

culture

There’s an old quote from a late American playwright..

“There are only three great cities in the United States,” New York, San Francisco, and New Orleans. All the rest are Cleveland”

Tennessee Williams

We now have planes, etc.. though, so if a major airport or even train network it’s easy to “get away”.  If planning long term though, like retirement, my advice would be somewhere nicer.  My elderly parents were stuck indoors during COVID and then being in a Texas retirement-golfing townhouse complex, we’re limited to driving to see fenced in ranches.  Keep thinking had they chose Arizona a couple decades ago they would’ve been able to at least windshield tourist the various landscapes that state offers.   Of course, in AZ there’s always news of killer* Africanized honey bees near golfing ranges (not sure where that risk falls vs shark bites).. but especially on a bicycle think a swarm can be outrun in a 1/4 mile or so (bonus: good motivation for aerobic type workouts in AZ)

* gotta go with the new PR

[Bonzo]

Just got back from a week or two in Washington, during which two very important things happened:

1. I have learned to only climb with people that I trust, and/or with nobody but myself and a guide/instructor.
2. We have found the small town of Anacortes.

Surprisingly, the dozen or so first and second string contenders that we visited just didn’t do it for us; most of the time, we found that we only needed a few hours of driving around and interacting to see that the local vibe – although very cool in most places – just didn’t quite resonate with us.  Most of the places on that top and secondary tier definitely ticked all of our boxes, but there was just something about the entirety that wasn’t quite what we were looking for: the ingredients were present, but the recipe seemed a bit off, so to speak.  But when we ventured through Anacortes on a whim, something felt different.  Something felt right.  Something felt encouraging enough for us to book another trip out there in a few weeks, just to test the waters in that area and see how we feel; we don’t really need to spend that money, but we feel that it’s important to really get the sense of the place before making a decision.  That being said, it’s very encouraging to have felt that spark and appeal.

So, follow-up question: has anyone been there or spent any time there?  If so, please share your thoughts; we’d love to get more input on the area. 🙂

[jscott]

I lived in Bellingham for two years and grew up in Kirkland, near Seattle. Have caught the ferry to the San Juans many times from Anacortes. Beautiful area! Nice drive in, too.

It’s wet and grey for much of the year. Not an issue for many; a big deal for others. When you visit this area in sunshine, nothing seems prettier. It’s a bit different during the long wet winter, fall and spring.

[Jerry Adams]

I have just driven through Anacortes to get to ferry

The San Juan Islands and the ferry ride are pretty cool.  Tourist spots.  Nice views back to mainland.

[MJ H]

It’s wet and grey for much of the year.

People complain about the lack of sun in Pittsburgh, but the cloudy weather (at least outside of summer) is my favorite part of Pittsburgh. The sun saps my energy.

[Steve S]

I too have only driven through Anacortes when catching the ferry. The long sodden winters have been mentioned by others; but that may not be what it seems. The Olympic Rain shadow covers Anacortes.

http://www.olympicrainshadow.com/olympicrainshadowmap.html

The short winter days at 48.5 degrees latitude require consideration. On the winter solstice the day is a bit less than 8 hours 22 minutes long, but the cloud cover darkens and shortens what would be long twilights. “The winter in Anacortes experiences essentially constant cloud cover, with the percentage of time that the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy remaining about 69% throughout the season.”

So its mainly the dark that makes Anacortes a commitment. I’m not sure how to interpret the experience of a visit in the dry and sunny summer to a likely experience of a visit in the very different environment of winter.

But it is a lovely place, as is Port Townsend to the west, on the Olympic Peninsula.

[Bonzo]

The long sodden winters have been mentioned by others; but that may not be what it seems. The Olympic Rain shadow covers Anacortes.

Yes, it actually gets less rainfall and snowfall per year than the average location in the US, despite having more days with precipitation.  Short winter days and overcast skies, yes…but those don’t bother us much.  Like MJH said, the sun can sap energy; I love a warm sunny day as much as the next ape, but I don’t want every day to be like that.

[Author]

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