1342 Webster St, Palo Alto, CA: This was the first home I bought back in 1960. I paid $16,000 for it. The place was a fixer-upper. It was depressing to look at because of its original dark brown paint inside and out, many weeds, and other not-so-good features. I found out later from a neighbor that the preceding owner committed suicide there. Anyway, I repainted it white inside and out, installed green shutters, built a white picket fence, etc. The neighbors loved me for that. Today, Zillow says this 3 bd 2 ba 1500 sqft home is estimated at $2,813,300. Wish I had kept it but my first three daughters were born there and we needed more room. So I sold it in 1964 for about $20,000. It was a very happy time in my life. The world was more sane then.
1535 Jamestown Drive, Cupertino, CA: This was the second home I bought in 1964. It was brand new and cost about $29,000. My first wife had her hands full with the three grammar-school daughters, so there were no new babies while we lived in Cupertino. Because it was a new house, I had my hands full with landscaping and other new-house issues. My best friend at the time was Tom Wong. His wife was a fantastic cook. I had some of the best Chinese dinners ever at their home next door. It was a nice neighborhood. The three daughters thrived there. Today, Zillow says this 5 bd 3 ba 2400 sq-ft home is estimated at $2,755,000. Another one that I had to sell, but this time because of an opportunity to live overseas. I think I got about $40,000 for it back in 1969. All aboard, next stop is Ireland.
Hello Ireland. We flew to Ireland in the dead of winter, December 1969, definitely not the ideal time. Daughter's ages were 9, 8, and 7. It was a little tough getting used to the jet lag and getting oriented. Actually, it damn hard for many reasons. To begin with, Ireland is so far north that the sun goes down around 4 pm in the afternoon in December which limited my time to search for a good rental. Add to that, cars drive on the opposite side of the road, that is, in the left lane instead of the right. With the steering wheel on the right side of the car, I was disoriented and fighting for my life to survive heavy traffic in downtown Dublin. Eventually, we were able to move out of our Dublin hotel to Dalkey, into one of several rental properties owned by Cyril Cusack, the famous Irish actor. We lived in the small Dalkey rental for a couple months until I found an irresistible and unusual rental called Lehaunstown House (many larger Irish houses have names instead of numerical addresses). Lehaunstown House was situated on 4 acres of land, had its own trout stream (never caught any), and was in a small village called Cabinteely, 8 miles south of Dublin. I don't have a street view of the place, but here is a Google-map view. The house was in the shape of a large semicircle, maybe 3000 to 4000 sq-ft. Needless to say, it was quite a change from Cupertino, CA. And the cost was dirt cheap, around $500 per month. Bear in mind that this was in the good old days. Ireland was still a very poor country because the European common market did not yet exist. Real-estate prices were incredibly cheap at that time. Living in Lehaunstown House was a great ride for awhile but eventually impractical. After about a year, we decided to move into a smaller place. I can't remember what I paid for 108 Shrewsbury Lawn, Cabinteely, County Dublin, Ireland (shown below), but it was still reasonably low in price and brand-new. The daughters were enrolled in a fine school called Mt. Anville and had made many good friends. Life was good for them. For the most part, Ireland was a wonderful place for a family to grow up. I'm not sure what it is like now because of the strange changes going on in these times. After living in Ireland for 7 years, we decided it was time to return home. We moved back to the states in 1976. Many years later in 2005, I visited Ireland with my second wife. The changes were huge. Ireland had gone from being one of the poorest EU nations to one of the wealthiest. It has a higher GDP per person than Germany. That's why it is nicknamed the "Celtic Tiger". Up the Irish! Next stop: California.
1314 Richardson Ave, Los Altos, CA In preparation for the move back to the states, I took a home-buying trip in the summer of 1976 to Los Altos, CA to check out available homes. After a couple of days, I had zeroed in on a half-built house at the above address. I first saw the house on a Thursday. There is an old saying "Never show a half-built house to a fool." I hoped I was not being a fool because I liked the location very much and could see enough of the structure to like it too. However, my wife back in Ireland had reservations about moving back to the states. She felt the family was safer staying in Ireland. I disagreed mildly and kept an open mind before deciding either way. Three days later, I drove back to Los Altos for a second look. Since it was a Sunday, I went to a nearby church to pray for help. The prayer was a simple request for any kind of a sign if possible. After leaving the church, I drove three blocks to the half-built house for another look. As I walked toward the front door, I could see that some worker had painted "108 S" along the foundation wall. My jaw dropped and my heart jumped! I could not believe it! My prayer had been answered. I got on phone and called my wife in Ireland. I told her to start packing because we were moving home." Then I told about my prayer and the answer. She then agreed to the move. Here is how the half-built house looks today: Okay, so what is so special about "108 S"? The address of my house in Ireland was "108 Shrewsbury Lawn". To add some additional emphasis to the answer, the housing authorities in Cabinteely had decided to renumber all the houses where I lived. In other words, a few months before my buying trip, all the houses where I lived were renumbered. My old address was 68 Shrewsbury Lawn and for some strange reason, it was changed to 108 Shrewsbury Lawn in time for my trip. Go figure! Of course, a skeptic would say the answer to my prayer was "Stay in Ireland." That never crossed my mind. Likewise, it did not cross my wife's mind either even though she preferred staying in Ireland. To the skeptic, I note that Carl Jung says there are no coincidences. I got in touch with the real-estate agent and closed the deal. I paid $130,000 for the 5 br 3 ba 2800 sq ft house. I added another bedroom and bath for use as a home office. Zillow shows the 6 bd 4 ba 3300 sq-ft house is valued at about $3,300,000. With inflation like that, no wonder some people hope to hedge by accumulating cryptocurrencies. By 1999, all daughters were all grown up and moved elsewhere. 1999 was also the year my first wife and I got divorced. Next stop: Corpus Christi, TX
I forgot to mention the birth of two more daughters, the first in 1974 and the second in 1976. I was then the proud papa of five daughters!
I forgot to mention my two dogs. I got the first dog when I was living at Lehaunstown House with its 4 acres. I figured big house and big property needs a big dog. So, I decided to get an Irish wolfhound puppy. I named him Thorn. Here is a picture of how large an Irish wolfhound can get: Thorn was not that big because he was less than a year old. But he was getting there. Unfortunately, he died several months after I got him because he ate some arsenic-laced meat that a bird dropped on my property. The Garda (Irish police) told me farmers elsewhere typically scattered arsenic-laced meat on their pastures to prevent predators from harming their sheep. Goodbye Thorn, rest in peace. Hello Rascal. My next dog "Rascal" was a stray who wandered into my next home's property. I initially throw rocks at him trying to get rid of him. But he kept coming back. Finally, I felt sorry for him and gave him some food and water. Of course, I then got hooked and kept him. I'm glad I did because he became my best friend for the remainder of the Irish adventure.
In 2012, my first wife (ex-wife) died and went to heaven. I believe she has seen the error of her ways and laughs every time I tell the following joke: Question: What is the difference between a battery and my ex-spouse? Answer: A battery has a positive side. If you like, you can tell the joke with a sharper edge by substituting "husband" or "wife" for spouse.
1002 Karnak Drive, Corpus Christi, TX This was my second wife's home. While I was still living in California, we met online talking about stocks. She was a Merrill-Lynch broker in Texas so we hit it off right away. As I got to know her better, we decided to meet in Texas. Am I ever glad that we did because she became the Love of my life. She was a great philanthropist, much loved throughout the Corpus community and affectionately known as the "Angel of the Coastal Bend" because of her generosity. Instead of buying the usual broker's yacht, she used to give away half of her income to charities. Great role model for me. She taught me that the contents of the heart are far more important than the contents of the head. Corpus is a beautiful city on the bay near the gulf of Mexico. The people of Corpus Christi are fantastic, very friendly, interesting, and down-to-earth. Corpus has some of best restaurants I have ever been in. And the prices everywhere were low and reasonable compared to places like California. I can see why droves of Californians are leaving for states like Texas. I heartily recommend Corpus to anyone thinking of moving to Texas. Real-estate is still reasonably priced. Zillow says my 4 bd 3 ba 2800 sf house has a current value of $360,000. Compare that to some of the sky-high prices in California! My dear angel and I did have 11 very happy years together. Unfortunately, she died in 2011 of a rare form of cancer called ampullary cancer. I then turned into a mess, but that a different story. Next stop: California
23445 Toyonita Rd, Los Altos Hills, CA In planning my return to California where most of my daughters were living, I went online and scoured Silicon Valley for a reasonably priced rental. I quickly gave up when I saw the prices of apartments had gone nuts in the SF Bay Area. So I decided to hell with it. I would spend a little more on a rental and get something fancy. Because my mother had been a maid and cleaning lady in the 1930s for rich people while I was growing up, I often would go with her to some very nice homes in Atherton and Woodside. I recall how Mrs. Miller in Atherton would cook German pancakes for me and Mrs. Tum-Suden would feed me and let me use her swimming pool, etc. I found out that rich people were extremely kind to me. I don't know what they are like nowadays, but in the 1930s, the ones I met were super nice. Because of my nostalgia for the homes of the 1930s, I decided to splurge a little by leasing an older house in Los Altos Hills, which is a very plush neighborhood. The place I found was expensive but perfect because it reminded me of those homes that my mom used to clean. I think the original owner of the place I leased had been an engineer like me. He may have been into Tesla-energy experiments because the garage (not shown) had a high pyramid-type ceiling and seemed like it might be channeliing energy of some kind. To me, it was like being back in the 1930s. The place had 3300 sf of living area and four acres of land. I used to watch the deer out of my kitchen window as they came on to the property. It was also great to have two of my daughters living with me. Great experience but eventually too expensive to continue. The cost of living, the heavy traffic, the unfriendly atmosphere, and other issues made it clear that California no longer worked for me. Finally, it was time to get out of Dodge. Next and Final Stop: Sparks, Nevada.
Sparks, NV The Eagle has landed. I absolutely love living here. Anybody thinking of moving to a great retirement area can add Sparks, NV to my earlier recommendation for Corpus Christi, TX. I found that both places have the friendliest people along with laid-back life style, low traffic, great restaurants, and many other good retirement features. I am currently renting a 4 bd 2.5 ba 2200-sf new home with all the home repairs, appliances repairs, and gardening upkeep included in the monthly rental of $2,500. Here is what my home looks like: Sparks NV is right next to nearby Reno, so I also have the casinos to gamble away my savings, see great entertainment, eat great food, and many other advantages that Reno has to offer like no state income tax, year-round events, more than 300 days of sunshine, and many others. Forget the cons because the advantages far outweigh them. Okay, looks like I'm through moving. It's been a great ride.
I like where we live but I also like the city life or I should say, what It used to be. Sounds like you have a great place to live and lots of social life. I miss the social life the most. Seems most of America is stuck at home now for one reason or the other. I had a great city life in Atlanta Ga. when I was young. Also in rural Stone Mountain, the best of both lives. In those days young teens could take a bus downtown Atlanta to Loews Grand 'Gone With the Wind', Fox, and other fine theatre's, not worry about being attacked. Even the bus drivers looked after us. Plus running through the woods in Stone Mountain.
Yes, I miss it. Was very peaceful almost heavenly when I lived there. Good to be back here in the states, but I will always have wonderful memories of Ireland. Later today, I will look to see if there are any virtual online tours of Ireland. Up the Irish!
Ah yes, the good old days when the bus drivers would look after your wellbeing. In a similar way, Ireland was so safe back in the 1970s that the kids could take short rides on the garbage truck through our neighborhood and be completely safe. Totally different world from today's nut house.
My grandmother came here from Ireland, grandfather was Scotch Irish and was here long before her, Fathers side had some Scandinavian ancestry. I was not fortunate enough to travel outside of the nation, Ireland and northern Sweden would be two places I'd have liked to have visited.