With just five months left in Tennessee we finally know where we’re going next. And, surprise, surprise, it turned out to be somewhere other than the three choices we thought we had decided on (if nothing else we stay on brand). Meiling said she’s fully prepared for us to change our minds a couple more times before we go but Brett and I are done and happy about it.

The number one factor driving this decision was financial. If Brett predeceases me, I will have to survive on just slightly over one-third of our current income. So, the major question guiding our choice was: can I afford to live (someplace) on that lower income?

San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, started out as our top choice. While the not too distantly past cartel violence in Mexico wasn’t a deep deterrence, we figured out we didn’t feel comfortable being those expats that move to SMA to enjoy the restaurants and lifestyle without being able to speak Spanish and with only surface knowledge of Mexican culture. We also weren’t crazy about the number of expats already living there and that arrive every winter. We planned to take language lessons once there but knew competency in the language would be an extremely difficult endeavor for both of us and we would never be fluent or completely comfortable in Spanish. I could afford to live in Mexico on my own if something happened to Brett, but don’t think I would want to. We eventually decided Mexico would not be ideal as a full-time, long-term residence. We still plan to visit again though.

California was in second place on the list and we investigated several southern California locations and a couple in northern California we thought might work for us. In the end though economics won out as we figured out living affordably and comfortably in California meant potentially having to downsize our living space and/or lower our standard of living a bit. More importantly, remaining there on my own would be too expensive, and maybe too expensive even for Brett on his own too. So California very sadly became a big NO.

That left Tucson. As we crunched the numbers and looked at housing, taxes, and other costs, we realized we could live there very nicely, in a large apartment or even a house, and still have a good bit of income left over every month, similar to what we would have in San Miguel de Allende. We would not have to lower our standard of living, and either one of us could stay if something happened to the other. However, neither of us felt any real enthusiasm for moving there and knew that would become a problem, probably sooner rather than later.

At this point we debated once again going back to Hawaii. We figured out how much that would actually cost, discussed how difficult the move would be, and debated for several days whether it would be worth it for our sanity if nothing else. We also looked at islands other than Kaua’i. In the end we knew the expense of moving Kaipo and Tilly as well as our household goods, and the reality of finding a place to live that would accept our dogs, was more than we wanted to take on. We could do it, but it would take a LOT of effort and wipe out much of the financial gains we have made these past couple of years. And for all that I could not afford to stay there if something happened to Brett so we said a firm and final no to going back to Hawaii.

Frustrated, unhappy, and back at square one once again, we asked each other what was the ONE THING we wanted in a location and we both had the same answer: to live near the ocean. On that point we were united and we let it take us to a decision.

Although we don’t know exactly where we’ll end up, we will be heading west to Oregon in September and will spend up to a couple of weeks looking for a place to live on the Oregon coast. We feel more enthusiastic and right about it unlike any of the previous locations we’ve considered. Seriously, we cannot find a flaw, including the weather (there is more sunshine on the coast than in Portland). I can continue to live there if something happens to Brett, we can get back east to see the kids, the seafood is superb, and getting to Portland and back can be a day trip. We know we can tolerate those gloomy winter days if there is a beach nearby to walk on or the ocean to look at.

And if we don’t find somewhere suitable to live on the coast (housing is very limited)? We’ll stay in Portland. We know it well, and we know how to get to the coast from there.

So, planning is going forward and in September, westward ho we go!