My epiphanies re retirement and SS came in two parts. The first in my mid 30's when I had a friend move to WV and sort of homestead an old wood uninsulated cabin. During one visit, looked around, at both him and his neighbors, and realized it was possible to live and love and be glad with a great deal less than I had previously expected. My degrees in English weren't yielding great financial rewards, And it didn't look like they would in the future. I filed WV as a possibility for retirement.
Second one, I was living off the sale of my house in a 600 sq ft cabin in Cazadero on the Russian River. I was cleaning up after the January '95 floods. The relationship I'd come to California to fix was not getting fixed. I loved California, but knew I couldn't afford to live there. It felt to me that my predicament had only two possible solutions--get more $ or learn to need less. Getting more $ wasn't proving viable, so I voted for the other option.
WV. Came home, parked my stuff in a friend's garage and started looking for property in WV. Made trips up and down the state, asked friends for leads, talked to waitresses at roadside diners. . . . Bought land, camped all summer on it, made friends with locals, spent the winter drawing up plans. And built, with a lot of help from friends, this place. I still have no running water, but do have 110 gallon stock tank that gets filled once a month from the river--so I only have to carry from the room off the kitchen, and off the bathroom instead of from the river. Composting toilet still works fine. I love that my carbon footprint is minuscule. I adore what I see from every window and porch.
Taxes stay low, my kid helps in more ways than one. My closest hospital is an hour and a half away, so no golden hour for me if I get a stroke. But it's okay, it's a choice I made. My SS with the Medicare taken out hasn't reached $600/mo yet. I don't even feel especially poor, much less poverty stricken. What I feel is wise and very very lucky.
Liane and I are switching the Kimmy project from Quilt to sweet, fun and cheerful CARDS with inspirational messages. This way we can get the messages to Kimmy faster. Still send yours to me and I'll send them all together to Craig and Michelle. Please send word to anyone you mentioned the Quilt to. And thanks again! 🙂
My epiphanies re retirement and SS came in two parts. The first in my mid 30's when I had a friend move to WV and sort of homestead an old wood uninsulated cabin. During one visit, looked around, at both him and his neighbors, and realized it was possible to live and love and be glad with a great deal less than I had previously expected. My degrees in English weren't yielding great financial rewards, And it didn't look like they would in the future. I filed WV as a possibility for retirement.
ReplyDeleteSecond one, I was living off the sale of my house in a 600 sq ft cabin in Cazadero on the Russian River. I was cleaning up after the January '95 floods. The relationship I'd come to California to fix was not getting fixed. I loved California, but knew I couldn't afford to live there. It felt to me that my predicament had only two possible solutions--get more $ or learn to need less. Getting more $ wasn't proving viable, so I voted for the other option.
WV. Came home, parked my stuff in a friend's garage and started looking for property in WV. Made trips up and down the state, asked friends for leads, talked to waitresses at roadside diners. . . . Bought land, camped all summer on it, made friends with locals, spent the winter drawing up plans. And built, with a lot of help from friends, this place. I still have no running water, but do have 110 gallon stock tank that gets filled once a month from the river--so I only have to carry from the room off the kitchen, and off the bathroom instead of from the river. Composting toilet still works fine. I love that my carbon footprint is minuscule. I adore what I see from every window and porch.
Taxes stay low, my kid helps in more ways than one. My closest hospital is an hour and a half away, so no golden hour for me if I get a stroke. But it's okay, it's a choice I made. My SS with the Medicare taken out hasn't reached $600/mo yet. I don't even feel especially poor, much less poverty stricken. What I feel is wise and very very lucky.
Sounds like you made the right choice for you. Penny and I love the house we're living in, which is why we don't plan to move. Ever.
DeleteLiane and I are switching the Kimmy project from Quilt to sweet, fun and cheerful CARDS with inspirational messages. This way we can get the messages to Kimmy faster. Still send yours to me and I'll send them all together to Craig and Michelle. Please send word to anyone you mentioned the Quilt to. And thanks again! 🙂
ReplyDelete