First, Mary, we don't wear flip flops, we wear Walking Shoes all of the time. I don't even own a pair of flip flops. And, in the mornings here in December, you simply don't wear shorts...........at least we wouldn't. It's just too cool outside for shorts in the mornings.
I HATE moving and when I get to the new place, I hate it too. It is strange and new things need to be done. I don't have the routine yet nor the homey things a new place needs. Paint? You find out what is wrong with the place that you didn't learn with a walk through. Smells. plumbing noises. New noises in general. It is like buyers remorse. But in a month or so, I can see the progress and things to like.
I'm glad you asked. When I moved to the Rio Grande Valley of Texas to work at Duro Paper Bag Company, I hated it. I didn't like working at Duro because the conditions were far worse than we had at Champion. The heat was stifling, I walked around with a heat rash that wouldn't go away, people wouldn't speak English to me, and I was in a condominium whose manager who kept accusing me of things I had nothing to do with. However, while I never did come to enjoy working at Duro, I found that after I had been there a few months, particularly when I made the point that I couldn't promote someone to do a job that I couldn't train them to do, I found that most of them did speak English and began using English when talking to me. Plus, I conceded that it wouldn't hurt for me to make an effort to learn Spanish, either. I made some friends there, but after a few years, I went back to school and became an EMT and a paramedic, opening the most interesting series of jobs that I have ever had. Once my six-month lease was up, I moved from Brownsville to Los Fresnos, only about seven miles away. I learned that as long as I wasn't using air conditioning at home and in my car, I could acclimate to the heat. I got used to it and didn't get any more heat rashes. In the end, I made more lasting friendships in the Rio Grande Valley than I have anywhere else that I've lived.
Well, wife is still holding on to her "at home" job, hoping that she will get extended thru December now. However, she will not get paid for Thanksgiving, the day after, 2-days she is taking off in December for the NFR rodeo and Christmas. She does get a very nice salary (paid weekly), but has no benefits at all. She has worked for this Temp Agency and the Company a whole lot longer than she thought she would. Another move, to the northwestern part of Nevada, later next year (August) will be in the "planning stages" after we make a week trip to both Carson City and Reno. Like when we lived in Huntersville, NC, we already know we won't be staying here. We were in Huntersville for a year and two months.
I'm amazed by people who have lived in so many places. -I lived in the same town in Indiana until I was 9. -Then we moved to northern Virginia, and except for a year or so I lived in that same neighborhood for 47 years. -Then I moved to my current home in another part of Virginia 13 years ago. Of course, as Cody's experiences show, you can never really tell what a place is gonna be like to live in until you live in it. And having lived in the job-rich DC area, I was hesitant to let go of that security.
I have lived in a fair number of places as I have always felt I was a natural "drifter". I identified with Lee Marvin's song in Paint Your Wagon--I Was Born Under a Wandering Star, and when I was single I moved about every two years. Once married, it was changed to every six years, but once we reached Alaska, my wife refused to move once more. I got her to move from the Bush into the "more civilized" part of the state, but she would not move again. It was seldom because I was unhappy with where I lived, but it was more I have seen what I want to see here, so it is time to explore someplace else.
I don't move!!! Not gonna! Hubby had to rip me out of our last house, 4 miles west as the crow flies. We raised our three girls in a three bedroom ranch style house with one bathroom, even after my mom came to stay with us. I was fine, as I finished the basement to my liking with a 15x27ft italian quarry tile floor and a bar/tv room. I put a picture window in one wall with a beautiful mural of fall woods in it, a light for 'sunlight' and sheer curtains. Dave never went down there. When the kids were in high school, he had to buy a house that 'showed he was worth somethin.' Poor thing had worked in a factory all his life to raise the kids. We finally found a place that we could both handle. THREE bathrooms! And now the kids are all gone. I will say, separate bathrooms can hold a marriage together. But I have never really lived in a place where the place bothered me. I just changed things a bit to suit me. Not counting college dorms, I have lived in 7 places in my life.
Not counting college dorms or short stays, I have lived in 23 places, some in the same town, and I may have forgotten one or two.
We've been in this house almost 30 years (since 1994). I wouldn't mind having a single-story house but when I look at the prices of houses and rent now, I just cringe. We paid off the mortgage in 2008 and I have enjoyed that quite a bit.
Not including college dorms, I figure I've lived in 21 houses and apartments, scattered over 4 states and 2 countries. The next time I get tempted to move, I'm just going to burn down the house.....with me in it. I'll go "suttee" on the "settee".
I can’t even begin to count how many places I have lived either short or long(er) term. I do know that we’ve been here for about 15 years and even though we’ve briefly talked about relocating, simply picking up and going isn’t in the books. For one, we’d have to find a place that would accommodate my tools because I ain’t gonna leave them behind. Even moving them would take a full sized U-Haul. About the only thing that would separate me from my machines and hand tools is a threat of divorce but even then, I’d have to give my options some serious thought. I wrote “serious thought” because I imagine that flipping a coin will just not be looked upon very favorably. To be perfectly serious though, there are some places that we’d both rather be. Yvonne especially likes the landscape and dryer air of the west coast and I’m okay with just about anywhere as long as I don’t have to wade through snow and I have a place to hide out with my tools. All that said, starting over is something I’d just rather not do again but eventually, there will be a time when change will become inevitable. Yvonne has already written a couple of times on this very site as to what she is planning to do once I have met my demise which seems practical to me. If perhaps I am the last one standing (which is doubtful), I can envision moving into a scenario involving a large workshop next to a river with a houseboat on it. The bottom line is that Yvonne won’t be able handle all the stuff that has to be done with this house when I am gone and I can’t see me living here without her. So….again, when moving is inevitable and more practical, that’s when the skyline will change.
That is how we are feeling about this 2021 Dodge Durango we bought outright. No monthly payments, but the auto insurance here would choke anyone, however it is a 2021, not a 2005 (our last one). It's extremely nice to have a nice vehicle and most repair cost covered by Plans.
An article I read yesterday is stating that Henderson is quickly becoming the new Los Angeles, just like Denver has. However, for those that don't like snow/really cold weather, stay in Los Angeles! But, there are a lot of jobs, for the "working class", in Henderson and Vegas, so that's a huge draw here.
Since this Cody thread is about his wife having difficulties finding employment back in 2019, I will post my moving resume, on another Cody thread addressing relocation. It is sad to me that anyone over 70 has to take on full time employment in order to save money and also live comfortable, but we cannot return to youth and make more locative decisions for our retirement. What is done is done. It is good that your wife @Cody Fousnaugh has had such employment for several years now and can work at home. Her work has certainly opened a lot of opportunity for you to relocate, buy a nice rig, and enjoy things like eating out and rodeo. While her job may not offer any benefits other than wages, it sounds ideal since she enjoys her work and it can be at home.