Do you see a theme here?
We are currently weighing and assessing which of three paths our future will take. Similar in some ways, each has a different ending, and the path we choose will determine how other future ideas and plans will play out. To be honest, we would be happy with any one of them.
- Path #1: Rent an apartment on the Oregon coast, sell the car soon after we arrive and lease a new car that gets better mileage, and then stay put in Oregon. This plan is dependent on finding a suitable rental in a place we want to stay – Cannon Beach, Manzanita, or Newport.
- Path #2: Rent an apartment in Portland for a couple of years, but one that is smaller and costs significantly less than we’re paying now. We’ll keep our paid-off car and continue to save, then move south to a city on California’s central coast. My home state has been calling to me and Brett would love to live there.
- Path #3: Rent in Portland for two years, again living in a nice, but smaller and less expensive rental. We keep our paid-off car and save as much as we can. Then we sell the car, store all our household goods, and move back to Kauai with just what we can carry in our suitcases. We either rent a furnished place there or buy basic household goods and lease a car.
Ending up near the ocean is the main goal. If we can’t find something that suits us out at the coast Path #1 is not going to happen. It is proving difficult anyway as there just aren’t that many apartments out there that would fit us and the ones that would are expensive. On Path #2 we could look forward to living near the ocean on California’s central coast although everything would cost more (and Oregon is pretty expensive today all on its own) and we’d pay more in state taxes. We’ve crunched all the numbers though and it’s doable.
Kauai still holds a strong, special place in our hearts, but the entire effort to move back would take a lot of work and coast the most. Once there we would face finding a rental that would accept our dogs which could take a while. Kauai seems to be (over)crawling with tourists these days and we’re not sure how we might feel about dealing with that. Locals are begging visitors to come but then please go home. This path has us wondering if our presence now would just add to the many problems locals are having to deal with as well as pushing aside another local from the housing market.
Which direction we will choose will become clearer in another couple of weeks but for now all we can do is wait and see how things shake out.
I would propose a #2a, which would involve going directly to the central California coast. Moving twice involves more wear and tear on yourselves and more expense as well. I would go where my heart lies and find a way to go there directly. But that’s me. Looking forward to seeing which option you and Brett choose!
Believe me, I would love to be able to go straight to California, but by the time we had decided on a location we were locked into the move to Portland. And, we believe it will take a bit more planning to get us down there and Portland is a comfortable spot in the meantime. We have so few things to pack these days (and I’m frankly surprised how quickly the packing is going) so another move doesn’t faze me like it once would have. And who knows? We might end up enjoying Portland this go round.
I’m like you in that I need to be near the ocean, and I would pick #3 Kauai! But that’s just me. I haven’t been there since 2019 and have no idea what the situation is there these days, plus, I’ve only been there as a tourist, not a resident. If I were you, I’d go to Portland and take it from there. You may not be interested in any of the other options by then or you may come up with some different options that aren’t even on your radar right now.
Kaua’i is still a strong contender, which is somewhat surprising to us after all this time. We feel like we should have “gotten over it” but we never have. We’re going to ue these next couple of years in Portland to ge our thoughts together about it, but California is turning out to have a pretty string pull as well. We’re just going to have to wait and see how we feel in another year or so. We’re happy though to have things narrowed down this much.
It’s understandable that you haven’t “gotten over” living in Kauai. It’s an amazing place and you and Brett were fortunate that you had the opportunity to live there. If you can find a way to make it back there, I’d say go for it. Of course, there are issues to consider such as distance from your family and finding a place that allows dogs, but there are ways to handle both and if that’s really where you want to be, then why not? Or, you could live in Portland for a year, California for a year, Kauai for a year. Just a thought.
A return to Kaua’i is pretty high on our list of where to go after Portland, and we are talking more and more about how to make that happen. It will be a very hard move for us though, mainly because we have dogs now. We would store our household goods in Portland though and start fresh there because it’s cheaper than moving all our things, minimal as they are now. Same for the car – either lease there or buy an older used car.
I love your idea of rotating between Portland, California, and Hawaii but it would be Brett’s idea of a nightmare!
I think you should skip ahead to #2 now. It is obvious that you are not super excited about Portland anymore. You might be out a little money now with changed flights, different shipping locations, etc., but it will be a lot cheaper in the long run not having to move twice. If I were in your shoes, I would cancel your flights and car shipment and drive to California (make it an extended road trip and explore the country along the way). Have your household goods stored by the moving company. When you get to Cali you can do short term rentals until you find your home base and then have your belongings delivered to you. Good luck in whatever you decide – it is always fun to be part of your adventures.
We are feeling pretty happy and excited now about our return to Portland, but I think we will be ready to move on in a couple of years. Brett said the other night, “let’s make a list of all the things we want to do in Portland” but when I said OK he said, “we’ve done them all! We’ll just repeat the things we loved.” Fine with me. I’m most excited about being able to spend time with friends again – we’ve been in contact and can’t wait to get back together again to set the world straight!
If we move to California after Portland we’ll bring our household goods. If we go to Kaua’i we’ll store our stuff in Portland and just with our suitcases and the dogs and get what we need there – we can live with very little these days. We’re equally divided between California and Kaua’i, with the island having a little bit of an edge.
We would pay HUGE penalties now for cancelling our contracts with the movers and the car transport. So, Portland, here we come!
It all sounds great and exciting! I would probably lean in on 1. or 2. but I am putting the fact that having to cross an ocean and then fly across country to see your kids would be more difficult on all of us as we age. I know you love Hawaii though and I could be so wrong.
We would definitely do a move to Hawaii differently than before, that’s for sure, arriving with just the dogs and what we can get in our suitcases. We live so much more simply these days than we did in the past, but we also never want to sell all our stuff again – we lost a LOT of money doing that. Better to pay to store what we have now so it’s available if we need to return to the mainland.
We can handle the long flight if we break it up. We’d most like fly back to Seattle, stay there for a day, and then proceed back east rather than trying to do it as one long flight.
It seems you wouldn’t have to make a decision between 2 and 3 for quite a while as the first 2 years in Portland would be the same. We love our life in Ventura now but like you, I miss Kauai. We moved 2 dogs there with us so am happy to answer any questions about that. Just know the process takes 3-6 months.
That’s what we like about it – #2 and #3 give us time to think about things. Healthcare, shopping, etc. would just be easier in Portland too, but the coast really calls to us.
We do really worry about taking the dogs to Kauai, and know we will need a couple of months in a temporary rental to find a place that will take the dogs. It’s frankly what stopped us from returning this time. We’re waiting to see how the dogs do on the flight back to Portland. Tilly willingly will go into her crate; Kaipo, not so much. And with our luggage it’s going to be a struggle at the airport.
I have a question about move number one. If I understand correctly, you are shipping your car to Portland and you are going to sell it shortly thereafter and lease a new one. Could you cancel shipping your car with your mover? If you can, you could sell your car where you’re at right before you move. I know it’s very expensive to ship a car Would it work out for you to lease a car quickly after you arrive in Portland, Or even take a car service around until It’s time to buy a new car? I know you carefully plan things out, so perhaps there’s a reason why this doesn’t make sense
Good questions! We had thought about selling the car here and leasing, but moving a lease from one state to another can be tricky because of licensing, taxes, etc. Tennessee has a 7% sale tax on auto transactions – in Oregon there’s *no sale tax*. So, we have to most likely pay sales tax here and not get a rebate once we got to Oregon. We eventually decided to keep the car and get it out to Portland and decide once we there whether to keep it or sell and lease. We’re having it shipped because the cost along with airfare is less than it would cost us to drive west (hotels, food, etc.) If we move out to the coast we will definitely lease sooner rather than later because we will have to do a lot more driving there. In Portland we’ll keep the car because we’re able to walk more and/or use public transportation.
Given our advancing years, both early 60s, one thing that my husband and I discuss frequently as we plan what we hope is our final move, is how would the other cope in any of our proposed destinations both financially and socially if one of us should die. As they say live your dreams as early as possible in your retirement as it only gets harder as we get older. Think it is time in your 70s to shoot for the stars because you can always step back to a more affordable location if required in a decade.
After this stay in Tennessee we’re in more of mindset to go where we want to, for a while anyway. I think our kids just want us to be somewhere we can get good healthcare and services, and they don’t think we’ll stay in Portland more than a couple of years. We see Portland as a place to catch our breath and reground ourselves to moving to another location, either California or back to Hawaii.
Brett will be close to 80 years old in another two years. Let me just say I hope I am in as good physical shape as he is when I’m that age!
Given how much you said the gray winter months bothered you (which I REALLY understand), I predict you’ll be somewhere sunnier in a year or two. Or at least heading in that direction in the winter months.
Agree that now is the time to do what makes you happy. DH just turned 80 and, while he is in great shape right now, there is no denying that we have less time left. We both have some longevity genes, but we also have less energy than we had 10 years ago. It’s just reality.
Brett and I both think we’ll only be in Portland for a couple of years, just to catch our breath really and get our self in shape to move on. We love the city but know the weather will have its way and we won’t like it.
Our kids thankfully seem to get that this is the time for us to do what we can before seriously settling down. We know we don’t have much time left to do the things we want to do and see the things we want to see. We’re having to accept that there are things we just won’t get to do and having to come to terms with that. We’re very grateful for all we have been able to do in our lives and that we’re still in a position to make plans for the future at our ages. But, as you say, we just don’t have as much time left nor as much energy.
BTW, I read once that longevity genes only account for about 30% at most for one’s actual longevity. How long we live is more based on lifestyle and mindset. Both of us have (near) ancestors that had long, full lives but we’re also into the age territory many others didn’t leave. It’s sobering but we keep doing our best.
I agree and am not surprised by that statistic re: longevity genes. I’ve got a large extended family and we’ve also seen quite a few early departures. 😬 As one of my friends always says, we just have to be grateful for every day and live while we’re alive!
I am grateful for each day I’m given although I know I could take better care of myself. I’m already using some of my body’s backup systems, but I remain hopeful.
You mention healthcare. It is getting harder and harder to find healthcare. And I live three blocks away from world class hospitals and doctors here in Boston. At least that is what we have found. Maybe because you were in the military it is easier for you to access it. I don’t know. I had to wait nearly a year to see my new primary care doctor for the first time since I was a new patient. I tried to get back into my old primary cares practice but she would not take me back since I was gone 5 years. Even though we moved back home we had to find a new dentist (our old one retired). a new periodontist (same retired). Luckily I live around the corner from a very good Urgent Care but still it has been hell for us.
I was surprised that it’s so hard to find a provider, especially in Boston! A year’s wait to see a new primary care physician? That’s *almost* unbelievable.
Maybe though we have just been lucky. Our military benifits take care of payments but we’ve always been on our own when it comes to finding a doctor. Brett has had a great Dr. here; mine has been awful. Great dermatologist though. Dentist here has been awful too and super expensive. I honestly wonder what we’ll find in Portland although we’re eligible for care through OHSU (Oregon Health and Sciences University). Fingers crossed we can get back in with them – their care has always been superb. We have a good dentist there too. But now you’ve got me concerned.