I mentioned in yesterday's post that Denny and I looked at a housing development in Wellton, Arizona as a potential place to live. A commenter asked if we were truly going to settle down. The immediate answer is "no", but Denny wants me to start considering where I might want to live permanently when we tire of traveling or if something would happen to him. He is, at age 72 soon to be 73, twelve years older than me.
Thus this winter we have been looking at houses or local housing developments; not to the point of going inside homes with a realtor but driving through neighborhoods after searching for houses for sale online. What I have come to discover is that I shudder at cookie-cutter houses set shoulder to shoulder on miniature lots. This from a person who lives in a tin can on wheels in gravel parking lots in the winter, I know. But when I do settle I don't want to be able to reach out my arm from my house and touch my neighbor's house.
We have looked at homes in Mesa, Gold Canyon and Apache Junction as well as in Wellton and a little here in Yuma. We have inquired about a gated community in Arkansas in the Hot Springs area; there are golf courses and swimming pools and there would be a lot of activities and folks available to play with but we'd also have some space. There's also a lot of summer heat and humidity there, which neither of us care for. When we were in Flagler Beach, Florida last year I priced beach front property there and keep an eye on homes that are more inland, but recent hurricanes make buying hurricane insurance in Florida difficult. The same for the area of Gulf Shores/Orange Beach, Alabama which is another area we favor. We are taking into consideration bugs, tornadoes, hurricanes, humidity, cost of living, cost/availability of property insurance, locale amenities, mountains/lakes/oceans. When we find an affordable area it doesn't always have one of my requirements; the above mentioned mountains or lakes or oceans. Because my permanent place will have to have one of the three, I'm afraid. When I'm at the beach, that's my favorite place but when I'm in the desert surrounding by craggy mountains in the wintertime then that's my favorite place too.
And so we look and discuss locales and drive away undecided. When a single lady drove into our campground the other day I mentioned how much easier it was to back in a motorhome (they have back up cameras installed) than a fifth wheel and Denny said that perhaps that's what I should do instead of having a house. I told him that if I went that way, I'd actually go smaller with a Class C as those would be less expensive to maintain with smaller engines, smaller tires, better fuel economy, blah, blah, blah. I'd tow a small car to run around in, of course. Certainly it would be an option.
But are we seriously considering buying a house at this moment and stopping our travels? Not a chance.
5 comments:
Next time you're in 'Burque, you need to look at the north and south valley. Lots a beautiful areas with houses on 1 or 2 acres. We have lakes, mountains, desert, but no ocean. I know we have too much snow for you but if you don't have to get out in it....it's not that bad the 15 days a year we have it. How 'bout a time share on the ocean with a desert home as base?
Linda, the other
ps. Joe and I are going tonight when he gets home from work to your suggested website and check out the stuff...never again with the anti dingaling meds.
That would be a tough decision for each place has some drawbacks. I picked Arkansas for mild weather and have suffered hotter summers here than I ever did in Florida.
You are smart to look while traveling. Will be watching your progress.
My brother home bases in Ohio in the summer and RVs in Florida in the winter. Best of all worlds.
It looks as though you've given yourselves a lot of time to figure it out.
Congratulations on escaping the freeze.
(Instructions on how to get rid of word verification: http://thesmittenimage.blogspot.com/2012/02/no-more-word-verification-and-few-posts.html)
Thinking about leaving the road, and settling into a home must be a scary venture. I've been to two of the three destinations you mentioned, both are beautiful and relaxing. If you love the beach, you'll love living in either of those places.
Clara Aldridge
travel destinations
We've just gone - or are going thru - the settling into a "real" house again after 13 years of off and on again full-timing. Just bought a low cost house in Idaho - where I was born & raised and know the territory - and also a low cost mobile home in Yuma with a great workshop for my gourding hobby. It's being tough to actually give up the idea of full-timing... but it's my choice and partly because I want a home when I get old. But we're not selling the motorhome!!! Good luck with your choices.
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