I love my location here in rural NYS, but hate the politics and they've gotten much worse since 2020. Last year I was bound and determined to move to Florida, near where my life-long buddy and his wife winter for 7 months. During the summer they are about 11 miles from me here. But I have an entire machine shop to get rid of and it's not easy. They're all old machines, nobody in industry wants them, probably the only market would be for tinkerers. Not to mention actually going to FL and finding something, then cleaning out my house and barn here and selling it. Been here for 40 years and have mountains of junk. Plus I'll be 72 in August and despite being in good health, just thinking about all the above gives me a headache.
We're thinking of moving to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, which is where I grew up. My wife didn't plan on staying at the recovery center that she started, but knew that it was something that needed to be done, and decided to take it on. I didn't want to push for a move because this was a huge accomplishment and I felt she wanted to stick with it longer. But she's growing tired of some of the internal politics involved, and she brought up the idea of selling our house, camp, and land up north, but only if we could get enough for it to be able to afford some land and a home in the UP, as well as any other expenses involved. If we do this, we probably wouldn't be moving to my hometown because housing prices are on the high side there, although there is a possibility of buying some undeveloped land and putting a small house on it, similar to the building we have for a camp up north, only maybe just a bit larger. If we were to build on some land, we'd go with something very small since that would be easier to maintain and cheaper to heat. That would probably be my first choice no matter where we ended up, although if we came across a suitable house at a good price, we'd consider that too. Prices are much lower in the former mining areas of the UP since there isn't much of anything for people to do for work nearby. So that's a possibility, too. I'd like to be close enough to my hometown to be able to attend my hometown church now and then but, otherwise, anywhere in the UP would put me in the position of being able to visit and receive visits from family members, other relatives, and old friends. Somewhere in the forum I mentioned this possibility, I think, but we're past the thinking about the idea and into the planning stage, although it's still not a sure thing. We're comfortable here financially and if we were going to make a move, I'd want it to be a financially comfortable one, and into something that we own, not rent. Preferably, something near a small town but not in a town unless it's a very small town. In other words, I don't want to be thirty miles from the nearest neighbor, but I'd rather the distance be in miles than in feet. I like Maine and have enjoyed living here, but our closest friends here have mostly died, moved away, or don't get out much anymore, and neither of us has relatives here. I love the camp and land, but it's nearly three hours away and, some years, I don't even go there at all.
I'll keep an eye out. I was looking into somewhere a bit lower but Michigan is cheaper than Wisconsin.
It's too early to find the land yet because we wouldn't have the money. I do look around often, but just to have an idea as to prices and availability. The order would have to be to first sell the land and camp for enough money to buy land and a building in the UP. We would then still have a place to live while we're setting up a home in the UP. Whatever we get for the house would go toward other expenses. We have 100 acres and a camp up north, and I expect that will go for more than the house will. I have known people who would sell their house only to have a large part of what they got for the house go to rent and storage while looking for a new place to live.
I grew up in the southern UP, just over ten miles from Wisconsin. I was born in the hospital in Marinette, Wisconsin, across the river from Menominee, Michigan.
That's the ideal spot to be in...buying a place without having to sell the current residence. I was fortunate enough to have that when I bought my place here in the fall of 2009, and didn't sell my existing home (and then move) until the following summer. I was able to freely negotiate a good deal on either end without external pressures. I can't imagine the stress of having to time the purchase/sale/moving all at once, or having to look for a short-term rental...as though moving once isn't stressful enough.
\ Bruce, like you said your 72, so mistakes at our age are costly financially and mentally. You can't take that stuff with you but then you may not really be ready to part with it, only you know what's best for you, I know I'm very lonely here since we left both families to have a ranch and organic nursery, which neither came to be after serious injury. 25 years later we're tied to this place. We like independence but for how much longer are we able to keep up the labor it demands of us. Storm, 'Nicole' just left us with lots more to clean up.
Probably not, and it wouldn't be the best time to make a move either unless it was into a ready-to-go home.
That is a good point; but on the other hand, with all of the talk about food and fuel shortages, people are trying to move out of the big cities and be more self-sufficient, and Ken’s place does have a small cabin on it. If he advertises it as a “bug-out property”, it might sell really fast right now. It sounds like Ken and Michelle have a good plan for moving; so whenever they do sell the property up north, then they can start making arrangements for the place in Michigan. I would be thinking of somewhere warmer, but they are both used to the cold snow and ice for months on end.
I was thinking that the ice and snow would make it difficult to get to the camp and actually see what you are buying while it's covered in snow. I'd prefer to see the property in the warmer months, but that's just me.
I totally agree with you, @Beth Gallagher , and no way would I want to move that far north anyway. I think that Ken has posted pictures from the property that he takes in the summer, so he can include some of those in the ad, too. Tromping through 3 feet of snow is just not my thing anymore…….. been there, done that……. Staying where it is warmer from now on (God willing).
You need a snowmobile to get back there once the snow is deep enough, that is, unless you want to walk a couple of miles in snowshoes.
Groan!! Snowmobile...not so bad. I would worry about the interest rates on anything you or you prospective have to finance. I got caught in the Jimmy Carter financial fiasco in the late 1970s with a move, and it was the worst decision I ever made. How about internet access? Would you have satellite uplink, or can you get conventional connections in the areas you are looking at? I had a uncle who had property and a house on the lake at Gladstone. It was a beautiful place, although I was only there one time for a short visit with my new wife. The interest rates are what I would worry about since the election is over. I suspect they have been held in check so as to not affect the election. One of my sons just moved from Indianapolis to Kansas City, and he got a screaming deal and all worked out for him.
I don't plan on financing anything. If I can't afford to buy it outright, I'll stay where I am, and since we earn a living through the Internet, that would be something we'd know about beforehand.