Domicile/Base Decision?

[HalfShadows]

Q. Thanks for the input. That will be the start, Just as you described. But I have to wrestle with disposing of my house. Giving myself 4-6 months to make that decision.  I am getting edgy to hit the road. After solar installation in Portland, bringing SB home and outfitting it with food, water etc. for the road. Close up the house and Cruise.  Finishing the build on the road. Been sleeping on the Disco Cam bed, not too bad. I hope your road trip proves to be successful.

 

[HalfShadows]

Hey 1/2. I've been down in the Sierra this week. Glorious, no smoke. Stopped in Mammoth for internet.  It's nice to have a home base to travel from.  When I retired, I downsized and bought a small condo. Very cheap living, but cannot work on RVs, etc, on the property. Now have the van, and the condo works well as a homebase.

An inexpensive possibilty would be to just buy a few undeveloped acres in southern Washington or Oregon. Could be anywhere that' s cool in summer. Live in SnowBunny when there. Provides a permanent address, and with no house, you don't lose everything in case of a wildfire. Maybe install a Yurt hut for summer comfort. Pocket your other equity. Summer to north, winter to south.

(I see the Beast is gone, .

I was afraid of the Beast returning. Fortunately I am too physically and mentally weak to recall him. He has been on a shelf for quite some time, but he is always looking my direction.

 

[Jack]

The consideration is that So Dakota would be the pits to live in anytime of the year. OTOH, Montana, Idaho, Washington, or Oregon would make nice summer addresses. Then winter down south.

South Dakota must be one of those states folks either love or hate.  There doesn't seem to be much in-between.  What don't you like about S.D?  For me, the state I see as "the pits" to live in is North Dakota.  It's just flat, boring and lifeless.  One day there feels like a month.

It all boils down to opinions and preferences.  There are pros and cons to every location.  Some things are going to be deal breakers, whether it's weather, politics, scenery, people, or money.  Personally, I find Oregon and Washington to be gorgeous, stunning states.  But I would never choose to live in either of them.  Montana and Idaho, OTOH, are top contenders, along with Wyoming.

 

[wayne49]

"I can always sell it when the time comes"
Not a liquid asset.
You may have to take a loss to sell it quickly.
Or wait for the market to meet your price, if it ever does.

 

[HalfShadows]

No worries there

 

[QinReno]

But I have to wrestle with disposing of my house. Giving myself 4-6 months to make that decision.
......
I hope your road trip proves to be successful.

Back from the Sierra. It was just meant to be a week long break, to get away from the home projects (meaning onerous retiree hobbies  for a bit. July and August were too smoky to go, due to the fires. Weather is typically glorious this time of the year, warm sunny days and nights still well above freezing. All in all, good time. One more month, the boom comes however, cold and snow. 

As far as making a decision on the house, I would say, take a nice long trip first. Right now, the new lifestyle is mostly theoretical. A few weeks on the road to get everything in perspective. Sit in the desert or outback and contemplate the heavens. The house may look different, who knows.
http://www.reellifewisdom.com/the_f...ere_is_no_fate_but_what_we_make_for_ourselves

 

[HalfShadows]

Q. You don't know how much I need this trip. The clock is ticking. I am settling some affairs and finishing up the preliminary build on SB. SB is mechanically safe and sound now. I hope I run into a lot of snow. Nothing like being in a warm and toasty vehicle cruising thru the snow, stopping for a break. The crisp quietness all around as you look at the tracks you left behind.

 

[HalfShadows]

I am glad you had a good little adventure. I hope your batteries are recharged to complete some of those projects :s

 

[QinReno]

Q. You don't know how much I need this trip. The clock is ticking. I am settling some affairs and finishing up the preliminary build on SB. SB is mechanically safe and sound now. I hope I run into a lot of snow. Nothing like being in a warm and toasty vehicle cruising thru the snow, stopping for a break. The crisp quietness all around as you look at the tracks you left behind.

So what is the initial idea? Long trip or short? South or east? Seattle is great, because you can be in Montana, Idaho, or Oregon in less than a day. Three of my favorite states. If I were going to buy a small undeveloped plot to spend my summers, it would probably be somewheres between Missoula and Whitefish . 

I am glad you had a good little adventure. I hope your batteries are recharged to complete some of those projects 

I wish just "one" of my projects would ever be finished, LOL. Think google self-driving car, but 20" long, modified Axial Wraith. Many varieties of fun'n'games, mechanical, mobility, electrical, sensors, software, GPS, lidar. You will notice the roll cage, my previous car rolled over and fried all the electronics, so now it's all inside the roll cage.. 
- http://www.axialracing.com/products/ax90020

So it's fun to travel and fun to play. Change of pace is necessary.

 

[HalfShadows]

I plan on doing some personal business in North Dakota, spend about 3-5 days there, then on to Minnesota and spend 2 days there. After Minnesota going to Nebraska for a day maybe 2 . Then to Texas for a day or 2. After personal business I am going to wander towards the SW for a month or 2, then head back to Washington for Christmas with my daughter., check on the house as well. Then take off back to the southwest and maybe take in the RTR. After Texas I will just blow around like a fall leaf , no hurry to be anywhere. Might go to Florida to see an old buddy.

 

[HalfShadows]

So what is the initial idea? Long trip or short? South or east? Seattle is great, because you can be in Montana, Idaho, or Oregon in less than a day. Three of my favorite states. If I were going to buy a small undeveloped plot to spend my summers, it would probably be somewheres between Missoula and Whitefish . 

I wish just "one" of my projects would ever be finished, LOL. Think google self-driving car, but 20" long, modified Axial Wraith. Many varieties of fun'n'games, mechanical, mobility, electrical, sensors, software, GPS, lidar. You will notice the roll cage, my previous car rolled over and fried all the electronics, so now it's all inside the roll cage.. 
- http://www.axialracing.com/products/ax90020

So it's fun to travel and fun to play. Change of pace is necessary.

Sounds like you have your hands full with that li'l beast of a car.

 

[RVTravel]

QinReno, any tips on buying a condo or anything you might do differently? Thanks for any info.

It's nice to have a home base to travel from.  When I retired, I downsized and bought a small condo. Very cheap living, but cannot work on RVs, etc, on the property. Now have the van, and the condo works well as a homebase.

 

[QinReno]

QinReno, any tips on buying a condo or anything you might do differently? Thanks for any info.

Yeah. Sorry, can't tell you very much at this point. It worked out very well for me, mainly by chance.

I bought my condo several years after the Crash of 2008, which lasted longer in NV than in most of the rest of the country. Around here, the ARM interest rates reset several years later, and many people were wiped out who had overextended their finances in the early 2000s. People were naive, and the banks outright screwed them. The big banks took their percentages, securitized the loans, and passed the liability on to investor groups, who also got screwed in the deal, while the banks profited. 

I was able to buy it on Short Sell, with necessity to pay cash, for literally 1/3 of what it had sold for 5-years earlier. Now the market has recovered - Reno is in a real crunch - and the condo is now worth more than before the bubble. (ha, but I'm not ready to sell it, and move into my van full-time! I'm too old for that).

So, it was very much being in the right place at the right time, and having enough cash to buy it outright. I assume at this point that pretty much anything will need to be financed normally, unless you have a very large wad of money. However, what I would recommend is mainly looking for something - to buy, or even rent - that is located in a smaller town outside of any major city. 

There is of course a migration of people, especially younger ones, to the cities to find work, so there should be opportunities in smaller towns. Eg, RV-Sue traveled full-time for 7-seven years, but just recently bought a house somewheres in the Tombstone area, but it's also just an hour's drive from Tucson. So convenient on both accounts.
- http://rvsueandcrew.net/

Hope this helps a little bit.

EDIT: I should add that RV-Sue has been chomping on the bit to hit the road again. She's kept her van and Casita, and now has a relatively inexpensive homebase to travel from. Best of both worlds, to me. Live cheaply at home, live cheaply on the road. She was averaging about just $3/night for campsites over the course of 3 or 4 years.

 

[RVTravel]

Thanks QinReno! Yeah, even the small town away from a big city does help.

 

[QinReno]

Thanks QinReno! Yeah, even the small town away from a big city does help.

Also, from my experience .... outside of this forum .... most retirees who buy RVs will travel for 3 or 5 years, and then settle back to S&B. So one nice thing about being on the road for a while is you can travel to a lot of places, and over time likely find places that you like and would not be too expensive to buy/rent. And not be too far away from a real city. RV-Sue figured it out. Being retired like me, you don't have to commute everyday to work. Relatively inexpensive homebase, setup for travel, city not too far away. You have it all. I ended up in a city just by chance, but nowadays would go for a few miles out in a town.