How finances, health, and quality of life shaped our decision.
What we did about the last-third of our lives. where to retire. I guess it dawned on us that Chicago wasn't cutting it any more and another place might fit our back third better.
About thee years ago, Terre and I GOT serious about
My wife and I are retiring to Oregon from the Chicago metro area. Precisely to Troutdale, the eastern edge of the Portland metro area. Since they have master regional planning this is as far east the metro will grow. A half of mile to the east begins the Columbia Gorge, national scenic area.
Yes we considered several other areas during a nine year search. But for me, my mind was made up about three hours after hitting town in 2010. While I may appear to be rationalizing our decision my real goal is to share our thoughts and considerations as well as offer a candid, open and honest decision making process for assessing their retirement situation and hopefully making the most of it.
They say Portland is a young persons town but I strongly feel it can serve as a mecca for aging baby-boomers who are seeking a more rebust, nature-oriented retirement lifestyle. a place were I saw a whole lot of peers.
In the end the decision was largely the result of gut-check and inttuition; what do we like, want and can afford for our last third of our lives. (30/60/90). It had the 'feel' right.
So what were our requirements, resources and issues, plotting out how to cut-loose, move and re-establish oneself in another place going to happen. Well, fear not because I'm a master at the planning, logistics and operations of moving.
In all candor, health issues and the economic collapse influenced our decisions overwhelmingly.
Part 2 - the mine-field of issues.
Part 3- the puzzle, creating and putting together the pieces.
It can feel like an overwhelming task to physically relocate especially the older one gets. Besides while I had moved a great deal throughout my life, Terre hadn't ventured far from her origins - like just a few miles.
Moving involves several distinct elements.
- Picking a place.
- packing/disposal - what to keep.
- new residence
- actually moving
- setting up and getting established.
- what to do with your time once settled.
First, let me describe the field of play:
- cancer survivor
- birth issue
- heart issues/weight
- employment/ age discrimination
- economic collapse of Fall 2008.
- poor accumulation of assets.
-lived off of savings/ slow cutting of expenses.
- student loan debt.
- health care debt.
- frustration/mild-depression.
So reached a conclusion that the presnt ebvironment wasn't working and as I have done in the past -plotted a new location. My partner, frozen in hestitation at the thought of moving still desparately wanting to move,
What motivated us to chose Oregon -
COST OF LIVING
- the perception and reality of affordibility.
- relative to where we were(are)
- fixed expenses vs. total income.
- trade-offs - taxes/energy/food/congestion/availability
My research indicates places generally don't differ much by 10% in costs. If its better than 10% less expensive than that's a very good sign. Fixed costs ideally should come in around 50% of total income.
THE SUPPLY OF PUBLIC/PRIVATE ANEMITIES.
- generous supply of assets.
- the stuff you need to live
- gov't/business/social-cultural/financial/healthcare/employment
LOCATION APPEAL
- nicer than where we are at present.
- ocean/ mountains
- ecologically fascinating bordering on beautiful.
- adequate sized urban/suburban environment with sufficient and unique satellite cities.
- an attractive, reasonable scale social environemnt, more humanistic.
- stronger economic basis than mid-west or Pgh.
- good growth potential (economis/social/cultural)
[ the areas arounf the tri-met are all primed or in the process of being developed - urban nodes build on a station much like the 19th century america around the railroad (station). I expect a population growth of 5-10% over the next decade absorbed principally through these nodal density upgrades.]
THE MIND-SET
- liberal/progressive attitude
- magnetism
CLIMATE/WEATHER
- can be outside more than not
- no extremes
- limited summer in the AC.
- lower need to warm in the winter,
- rains more frequently but no strong storms.
- ability to be more physically active.
- less precipitation than chicago/Pittsburgh/ Wilmington.
- Besides I look better in a sweater than in speedos,
- ignore climate change/global warming all you want - along with increasing energy costs I don't want any physical destruction or high energy costs.
- pull out a us map - where:
no Gulf Atlantic coasts/ no deep south/ no rural-great plains
Troutdale is surrounded on two sides by other suburban cities - Wood Village (retail/residential) to the west and Gresham (retail/residential/mass-transit link) to the south mixed with adequate/some open space. Both offer 80% of what we need on a monthly basis (the amenities) within a five mile radius. Troutdale itself has a gentrified downtown (upscale/toursit) with half undergoing rehab/redevelopment. To the north there is the Interstate crossing east to west, an encased outlet mall of 25 stores, scattered warehousing/transporation, parks and the river. about half developed/half open space.
Eastward - zoning protected, sandy river - nature-water corridor, farming/rural residential, national secenic area-protected forest/natural beauty.
Saturday, April 27, 2013
THoughts on Education
Four things:
- reasonable attempt to reach each child.
- is child there and ready to learn.
- size of the group. Major problem.
- does the teacher know how to teach.
- reasonable attempt to reach each child.
- is child there and ready to learn.
- size of the group. Major problem.
- does the teacher know how to teach.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Monday, November 19, 2012
The republican conondrum
Now that America has heard the top ten reasons why romney lost (going on 25 at last count), the truth is obvious, the republican message sucks.
1. Your messenger was carrying your message; romney did not create the GOP platform or pander to all of its radical constituencies on his own. Do the republicans really plan to ditch the homphobes, true believing radical Christians and those who see America as it existed fifty years ago? Romney never criticized the nut jobs nor distanced himself from their comments. Why?
2. The modern day GOP is built on separatism and dividing the country; it is called maker vs. takets, job creators vs. welfare queens, the successful vs. the food stamp nation; ready to actually practice some real inclusion with that idealogy? Talk with a republican and within a few minutes you'll hear the 'us' and 'them' line of bs.
3. Government is never the solution, it is always the problem; that is except when you want the public to bail out the banks which gambled us to the brink, when you insist on favoring industries which required corporate welfare even when profitable and when you continue to use government as tool to enforce social policies which your side favors vs. what the majority believes.
Reform requires real commitment to changing your bad habits; and the first step in that is to admit you might have some. So far what we have seen from the Jindals, Barbours and others is totally cosmetic and not substantive.
1. No one likes a loser particulary after you have chosen that loser as your standard bearer and spent a few billion to get him elected;
2. Victory has a thousand parents; defeat is an orphan;
3. Nothing is so clarifying as to have your candidate and his (your?) message rejected by a majority of the electorate.
1. Your messenger was carrying your message; romney did not create the GOP platform or pander to all of its radical constituencies on his own. Do the republicans really plan to ditch the homphobes, true believing radical Christians and those who see America as it existed fifty years ago? Romney never criticized the nut jobs nor distanced himself from their comments. Why?
2. The modern day GOP is built on separatism and dividing the country; it is called maker vs. takets, job creators vs. welfare queens, the successful vs. the food stamp nation; ready to actually practice some real inclusion with that idealogy? Talk with a republican and within a few minutes you'll hear the 'us' and 'them' line of bs.
3. Government is never the solution, it is always the problem; that is except when you want the public to bail out the banks which gambled us to the brink, when you insist on favoring industries which required corporate welfare even when profitable and when you continue to use government as tool to enforce social policies which your side favors vs. what the majority believes.
Reform requires real commitment to changing your bad habits; and the first step in that is to admit you might have some. So far what we have seen from the Jindals, Barbours and others is totally cosmetic and not substantive.
1. No one likes a loser particulary after you have chosen that loser as your standard bearer and spent a few billion to get him elected;
2. Victory has a thousand parents; defeat is an orphan;
3. Nothing is so clarifying as to have your candidate and his (your?) message rejected by a majority of the electorate.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
(1st draft) - The utopian vision
of hindsight. Longing for the 50's and 60's.
The recent election of 2012 brought into focus an almost mythical characterization og the 1950's. The nmedia likes to characterize the c omposition of the republican/ tea-party/ right-wing base as the white man who longs for the 1950's.
Well who is the people who long for the 1950's. Most likely not those lived them as adults. Think about that - 18 in 1950 would make one 80 today so its mostly those who were children are the majority that make up the group that romanitize the 1950's
But what are the social/ economic eleements the characterized the 1950's?
1) jobs / empolyment\
2) level / state of education
3) characteristics of the population then vs. 2012.
4) taxiation
5) transportation - auto / air / rr.
6) make-up of work.
7) only country left standing
8) WWII - political/economic-mass production / labor force.
9) the incentives to relocate between states and cities.
10) myth of free market
11) right to work [anti-union]
12) emerging from WWII as the only power
13) the mercantilist empire
14) the white world vision thing
15) gthe 1950's last vestige of the regional economy that came to be as the USA developed in the USA as it grew and evloved.
16) the agricultural transformation -
The recent election of 2012 brought into focus an almost mythical characterization og the 1950's. The nmedia likes to characterize the c omposition of the republican/ tea-party/ right-wing base as the white man who longs for the 1950's.
Well who is the people who long for the 1950's. Most likely not those lived them as adults. Think about that - 18 in 1950 would make one 80 today so its mostly those who were children are the majority that make up the group that romanitize the 1950's
But what are the social/ economic eleements the characterized the 1950's?
1) jobs / empolyment\
2) level / state of education
3) characteristics of the population then vs. 2012.
4) taxiation
5) transportation - auto / air / rr.
6) make-up of work.
7) only country left standing
8) WWII - political/economic-mass production / labor force.
9) the incentives to relocate between states and cities.
10) myth of free market
11) right to work [anti-union]
12) emerging from WWII as the only power
13) the mercantilist empire
14) the white world vision thing
15) gthe 1950's last vestige of the regional economy that came to be as the USA developed in the USA as it grew and evloved.
16) the agricultural transformation -
The
other thing about the agricultural-industrial complex is that it has gutted the
populace of the ag states, turning them from the self-reliant small
farmer-citizens into financially disenfranchised farm laborers. This is a key
driver for the anger. They distrust the federal government for good reason- ag
policy has destroyed their way of life. And as a consequence, the nation as a
whole has lost an important part of what made us great- small farmers and the
small local industry of tinkerers that they foster was traditionally one of the
engines that fuel manufacturing innovation- and serve as a stabilizing political
force.
Monday, October 15, 2012
The things that influenced me. (4-27-2013)
1) Well, isn't it always one's mother - rreading/travel/nature/family-ancestors/architecture-design/history/
2) The location - the earliest english experience west of the appliciations/railroads/industry/technology
3) G. Washington - prototype of leader
4) Thomas Edison - the practical creative/technology
5) Braddock expedition - military/ logistics
6) Brownsville - economics/patterns of development/evolution.
7) roots of architecture/urban design. - Colonial villages/walkable places
2) The location - the earliest english experience west of the appliciations/railroads/industry/technology
3) G. Washington - prototype of leader
4) Thomas Edison - the practical creative/technology
5) Braddock expedition - military/ logistics
6) Brownsville - economics/patterns of development/evolution.
7) roots of architecture/urban design. - Colonial villages/walkable places
Sunday, September 30, 2012
The best read on the elction yet!
Watch for it. That moment in the debate were it becomes clear that the zingers are not enough, or the other gimmicks they are training him for run their course and he's left standing there with just himself, his authentic self to draw from. Obama will be kind if not even generous in the moment, but make no mistake he will finish Romney right then and there. Because that's what a winner does when it's winning time. - BadGimp @ DemocraticUnderground 9-30-2012.
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