I'm still trying to get over the fact that I'm turning 50 next year and then this old age stigma looms in the near future! Oh no.... AARP is knocking on the door! Not sure how to feel about all this!
We as a family have pretty much lived the nomadic life... not living in one place for more than 4 years at a time. The military life has been good to us, I must admit, they have taken good care of my family for many years now. They pay for our moves, send people to pack up our household and unpack us at our new home, give us long transition vacations and put us up in nice hotels along the journey. We have excellent insurance and housing allowance.... they've just about done everything but wipe our snotty noses through the years and now that it's time to cut the apron strings..... I think I'm getting a little nervous.
So! It's time to find a place to put down roots! You'd think it would be relatively easy, I mean, you pretty much should have an idea what kind of house you want, towns you like etc..... but no.. I've lived in many towns across the US and not one of them fit all of my criteria for the perfect retirement location! That's not good!! OK... I have approximately 2 or so years to figure this out!! Where to begin.....
I guess a good place to start would be to make a simple list of my "must have" requirements for a perfect new home.
Must haves:
Must be on the West Coast! It's were I'm from... and plus, I've seen the other side and I don't think I could do it long term.
Must be near a relatively large city and near a fairly major airport. I don't want to live in the city but I want to be close enough to take advantage of all that it provides.
Must be "military retirement friendly". It can vary from state to state for the military retired when it comes to taxes and health care so that would make it a major factor on my list.
I want to be near beauty! Meaning trees and parks and mountains and flora and fauna... you know, the great outdoors. Places to hike and just breath in the fresh air!
This is a big one for me... Must not rain for months at a time without a break! I grew up in Oregon so I know rain, and this California native can't take it anymore! Ok, I know it's necessary, and I don't want to scorch the earth but.... enough already! Just give me a place that I can count on sunshine for most days in the summer and I'll be a happy camper!
Must have good shopping! I've lived in places that have the best malls and great stores (including an Ikea which is one of my favorite places to just browse), places to go antiquing and, oh yeah, must have craft stores! And then I've lived in places where Walmart was considered the "mall"..... I prefer the aforementioned please!
Blah, blah, blah, I could go on with this list forever! Let's get right into it shall we!
First place my husband and I are considering is Spokane Washington!! Anyone know anything about Spokane?? Cause I know next to nothing about it. My husband came home one day and said "why not Spokane, people at work tell me it's great!" and I said "It's part of Washington and Washington has more rain then Oregon!" But apparently not, at least not this part of Washington.
Spokane is considered the sunny side of the state of Washington. Spokane's annual rainfall is 18.8 in. as opposed to say Astoria Oregon, (where we previously lived), is 67.13 in. a year. CHECK! It averages about 174 sunny days a year. Portland Oregon only 68. Not bad! It does get cold and snows in the winter but I don't mind that so much.
In my research of Spokane I went to a forum where someone else asked the question "What's it like to live in Spokane?". Well from what I read, quite a few responses were negative. The city is dirty... there's lots of crime... the economy stinks.... there's no nightlife.... it's too hot... it's too cold.... there's no work.... there's nothing to do! I was starting to get discouraged and I got close to discounting Spokane all together. Then another person who retired in Spokane and has lived there for 5 years just loves it! Couldn't say anything bad about the place! Hmmmm maybe the negative people are trying to steer us potential invaders away so they can keep Spokane to themselves!! HA! It's still on the table then!!
Here's a few pictures I found from my research of the area to give you an idea what it's like.
Hmm, looks decent. Typical mid-sized downtown.
Traffic doesn't look bad at all!
Now that's a river!
Mount Spokane State Park. Beautiful!
River Park Square mall looks pretty nice too.
Ahh and there's the airport!
So the hunt for a permanent home begins! I think it's going to be tough to decide, but the first prospect looks promising already! Wish me luck and I'll keep you posted on future location choices!
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