The decision to retire someplace without snow and ice was made when I was flat on my back on the sidewalk in Minnesota. The black ice was invisible, and I had stepped off my front stoop, and the next thing I knew I was staring at the sky. I was conscious, and carefully moved each limb to identify any pain or broken bones.
After a moment of stunned realization that I was mostly OK, I rolled over onto the frosted grass and managed to assume an ungainly upright position.
Six months later, I moved to Oregon and retired. I thought I might build an ADU — accessory dwelling unit — or buy a condominium. I rented first to get a feel for the metropolitan area, and where I wanted to live longer term.
I would need to invest $150,000 in the construction of an ADU or the purchase of a condo. I moved twice in two years, until landing in a community I love A few months later, Covid hit and the prices of real estate soared. Five years later, that $150,000 is easily $300,000.
I had owned houses for thirty years.
I’ve owned houses in different states — New York, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. I owned a week-end/vacation cabin for three years in Minnesota, meaning I owned two places.
While in theory, I gained capital in real estate, I spent a lot on ongoing maintenance, insurance, taxes, and maintenance. Plumbing, electrical work, a water table that moved, a large yard to mow… I was devoting a lot of precious hours to the headaches of maintenance. Oh, sure, it was fun to redecorate and choose paint colors, but even those choices resulted in some disastrous outcomes.