I have almost written this post several times but then things keep changing so I held off. I think this is a good time to catch everybody up, so here goes.
We came into Tuscon with the intention of looking for a “home base” and spent several weeks doing just that. We tried out a 55+ community and looked at multiple pieces of land . Although I love the activities and convienences of a 55+ community the $8K per year rental fee for the very tiny lot space is just too steep for me for in a place we wouldn’t live year round. And honestly even if we did live here year round the closeness of neighbors and yearly rent hikes turned me off. There was a section where you owned the land and just paid an HOA fee, but the list of rules was a mile long and again ddn’t feel like us. That being said if I ever found a 55+ community that had larger plots and less rules I would definitely consider it. I do love having all the conviences and facilities right where I am staying. And I really like the people and sense of community.
Simultaneously we were looking at land and overall we probably saw 50 different plots. Finding affordable land out here isnt the problem but rather finding land that meets our requirements. We are looking for a piece of property that we can put an RV on and eventually a barndo/mobile home. We wanted at least 1/2 an acre which pushed us more rural. That isn’t a problem for either of us but finding land with access to electric and water in the more rural areas was a challenge. We wouldn’t mind running electric from the road, but we absolutely don’t want to be part of a well share after learning that well shares can’t guarantee you will get your fair share of the water.
Also the roads are often not maintained in the rural unincorporated areas and without four wheel drive there were pieces of property we couldn’t do. I tried a real estate agent but he was pretty worthless so I spent hours researching and visiting properties so we saw alot of duds. The other thing that I struggled with was the “vibe” in most of those places. Scary dogs, vehicles on blocks, and KEEP OUT signs abounded which made me worry about the safety of the property when we weren’t there. The whole point is to have a place where we can store some stuff and I need to feel reasonably sure my things will be safe.
Also I have to say the views largely sucked in those more remote places. I would really like a nice view and no developer has snagged those sites for a reason. The closest we came was a really old community with large lots and little rules. Every property had a 1970’s trailer or house on it but they were priced right, had services and the views were amazing. They would require tons of sweat equity to remove or completely refurbish what was already there but we were up for the challenge and one place in particular we got close to pulling the trigger on. Turns out though that until I am 59 1/2 (I am 58) I can only take 50K out of my 401K tax free and no way could we get a traditional loan on one of these properties.
It was a great learning experience though and I am going to carry the criteria we established with us on our travels. I like Tucson a lot, but I think both of us could use a little more green in our lives. I would really like to live at about 4,000 feet for a variety of reasons, and lots of places meet that requirement. If you think we have too many requirements, you aren’t wrong, but keep in mind we don’t HAVE to buy anything and Lee isn’t that keen on a home base to begin with because it will slow down our traveling.
Speaking of traveling, Lee has put together a basic route for the year and we start on 3/8. If all goes well, we will see Big Bend, the Black Hills, Upper Michigan, and the Florida keys, all places we struggled to go to because of concerns with cell coverage. We have Starlink now and it is working exactly as we need it to, although we will see when we get out of the city. The coverage is more important than ever because I just started a new job at a new company! (Buried the lead, didn’t I?)
I don’t change companies very often but a couple of months ago a friend reached out to see if I knew someone with my skillset who was looking and I said “what about me”? My previous company was pushing folks back into offices and there was an extreme bias towards people living in Milwaukee where the main office is, to the point where I asked Lee if he would be willing to move there. Thankfully he said no and then my friend reached out and I am now working for the first time as a Director in a company that truly doesn’t care if it’s workers are remote. Every single person I told I lived in an RV thought that it was very cool and since the executives are spread all over the country, no one cares where I am. BUT I have to have solid video conference level internet, but I have met numerous working travelers here who say Starlink worked great for them. Hope so!
So, that’s where things stand. With two vehicles (which we still love) not working on travel days, so it will be short hops on the weekend and then 1-2 week stays in each location, or more if there’s lots to see or we really like it. We are both excited about “Travel 2.0” and the next phase of our journey, and as always I will let you know how things go. Thanks for following along!
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