I'm in Colorado and semi-rural. We are close enough to get what we need, and far enough to have some breathing room (a couple of acres). We have always been very frugal, trading up from smaller homes with small mortgages, and this last house was bought more than 20 years ago when houses cost less $ but the $ were worth more... We have been frugal, and paid this thing off years ago. That just leaves the taxes, which are bad enough and not trending in the right direction...
I have always liked the country better than the city... low density is really the way to go for me... I do not think humans do well in very large aggregates, its not how we evolved. Village life with free trade and the ability to come and go is healthier IMHO... along with lots of exposure to the natural environment.
I think you will like the country.
Consider a couple of Blue or Red Healers, bright and bossy (perhaps like the wifey)...
PS: Be kind to the wifey... hard to do without them.
Well, the healers do shed. Comes with the territory. For that, a couple of Shark Lift Aways (from costco) and some roombas... and problem solved.
Re the healers: be sure and get some farm dogs, not the bread for the show types. The farm dogs are bred to move herds of cattle weighing half a ton each, and they are fearless, and smart, and bossy, because they need to be. They also love humans, and some are "velcro dogs", meaning, they get very attached to one human in particular. These guys are good to have on your side... and good company.
Your story spoke to me because while your "step down" was very different from mine, there are similarities. And it motivates to me to get back into my personal storytelling about the saga with my husband.
My husband was an Objectivist. We are talking dyed in the wool for decades. heh. So, as you might imagine, he was very much an idealist and I see shades of you, with your fancy car and the nice interior design on your former home, in our former life.
4 months after he died, I was on a plane to NZ, the estate sold off (actually, just the belongings, the house foreclosed because I could not afford a $6k/month mortgage on my own as a lowly uni professor... lol).
When I got to NZ I moved a 20 foot container of stuff (still kept WAY too much shit) into a 600 square foot apartment with a sink that was barely big enough to fit my dishes.
I cried.
It was a big hit.
But mostly, it was just that the house was a symbol of everything else that died when he died. Your fancy car and your house in the city was a symbol of something else that died.
I lived. After all, I was only returning to a lifestyle somewhat similar to that I'd had in grad school, all while being able to adventure in and call home to one of the most beautiful countries on earth.
I was free again.
And I found that over time, I liked that simple life much, much more. I learned to live with less.
When I lost New Zealand, too, last year, I grieved. I grieved deeply again for all I had lost. I started over again in 2014, and now I was being forced, once again against my will, to start over in 2021.
But I knew that I would live. Because I had lost something much worse before in 2014.
For many people, this pandemic is their first time grieving a big thing. They will learn how to grieve, and they will get harder, faster, and stronger, so that the next round of loss and grieving, if it comes, will be easier.
Thanks for your thoughtful reply. You nailed it about the grieving, as I finished this last night I wept more than I thought possible, for what has been lost. Your husband sounds like my kinda guy, and that house WOW. Living in Gaslight Nation is a real agony for objectivists, I imagine he would not enjoy the present moment :( Keep writing those personal pieces, they are always moving and I've shed more than one tear on your Substack. Hopefully, as you say, for people like myself who haven't known the deepest of griefs just yet this will serve as "the little death" that prepares us for the ultimate one. In times like these I try to never forget, there is hope. Keep hope alive! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3N_Lkgftc4
I thought that might be the case (on both). Filled in a little "Dude Where's My Hatteras?" detail on on my about page https://slugdaddyworld.substack.com/about. That mega thread is coming, soon as I recharge!
I'm glad Monica recommended your post today. I've subscribed. We live in TX, semi-rural, outside of Austin (wish I could be further away!) on acreage. We've been out here almost 10 years. I loved the idea of being out of a bustling neighborhood and having quiet. I'm not a people person, so not seeing people everywhere outside my windows was something I really was happy about.
When the pandemic came my husband said I made the right choice for us. It was so easy to avoid people, get outside and live as we normally did, our lives never changed at all.
I love the quiet country life. I grew up in very suburban southern California. I never thought I'd want anything different. But things change. I drive a truck now, too. A Ram. I'm on my second one and I love it. We were 100% sports car people, but not anymore. The truck also makes it easy to haul around my pack of dogs. Dogs love the country, too.
Change is inevitable, but sometimes it really is for the better.
I'm in Colorado and semi-rural. We are close enough to get what we need, and far enough to have some breathing room (a couple of acres). We have always been very frugal, trading up from smaller homes with small mortgages, and this last house was bought more than 20 years ago when houses cost less $ but the $ were worth more... We have been frugal, and paid this thing off years ago. That just leaves the taxes, which are bad enough and not trending in the right direction...
I have always liked the country better than the city... low density is really the way to go for me... I do not think humans do well in very large aggregates, its not how we evolved. Village life with free trade and the ability to come and go is healthier IMHO... along with lots of exposure to the natural environment.
I think you will like the country.
Consider a couple of Blue or Red Healers, bright and bossy (perhaps like the wifey)...
PS: Be kind to the wifey... hard to do without them.
Best wishes...
Thanks for your wise words, I will take them to heart. How are those Healers with shedding?
Well, the healers do shed. Comes with the territory. For that, a couple of Shark Lift Aways (from costco) and some roombas... and problem solved.
Re the healers: be sure and get some farm dogs, not the bread for the show types. The farm dogs are bred to move herds of cattle weighing half a ton each, and they are fearless, and smart, and bossy, because they need to be. They also love humans, and some are "velcro dogs", meaning, they get very attached to one human in particular. These guys are good to have on your side... and good company.
More great photos.
I have enjoyed your journey.
Your family are Clotshot refugees.
All the best,
Cairn
You inspired a thing. :)
https://themariachiyears.substack.com/p/losing-the-golden-residence
Your story spoke to me because while your "step down" was very different from mine, there are similarities. And it motivates to me to get back into my personal storytelling about the saga with my husband.
My husband was an Objectivist. We are talking dyed in the wool for decades. heh. So, as you might imagine, he was very much an idealist and I see shades of you, with your fancy car and the nice interior design on your former home, in our former life.
This was our house: https://www.houzz.com/photos/project-the-golden-residence-by-frederick-clifford-gibson-modern-staircase-san-francisco-phvw-vp~18554
4 months after he died, I was on a plane to NZ, the estate sold off (actually, just the belongings, the house foreclosed because I could not afford a $6k/month mortgage on my own as a lowly uni professor... lol).
When I got to NZ I moved a 20 foot container of stuff (still kept WAY too much shit) into a 600 square foot apartment with a sink that was barely big enough to fit my dishes.
I cried.
It was a big hit.
But mostly, it was just that the house was a symbol of everything else that died when he died. Your fancy car and your house in the city was a symbol of something else that died.
I lived. After all, I was only returning to a lifestyle somewhat similar to that I'd had in grad school, all while being able to adventure in and call home to one of the most beautiful countries on earth.
I was free again.
And I found that over time, I liked that simple life much, much more. I learned to live with less.
When I lost New Zealand, too, last year, I grieved. I grieved deeply again for all I had lost. I started over again in 2014, and now I was being forced, once again against my will, to start over in 2021.
But I knew that I would live. Because I had lost something much worse before in 2014.
For many people, this pandemic is their first time grieving a big thing. They will learn how to grieve, and they will get harder, faster, and stronger, so that the next round of loss and grieving, if it comes, will be easier.
Thanks for your thoughtful reply. You nailed it about the grieving, as I finished this last night I wept more than I thought possible, for what has been lost. Your husband sounds like my kinda guy, and that house WOW. Living in Gaslight Nation is a real agony for objectivists, I imagine he would not enjoy the present moment :( Keep writing those personal pieces, they are always moving and I've shed more than one tear on your Substack. Hopefully, as you say, for people like myself who haven't known the deepest of griefs just yet this will serve as "the little death" that prepares us for the ultimate one. In times like these I try to never forget, there is hope. Keep hope alive! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3N_Lkgftc4
Great song!
Robb was generally tearing out his hair over politics even back then. He might have lost his mind if he was still alive.
I thought that might be the case (on both). Filled in a little "Dude Where's My Hatteras?" detail on on my about page https://slugdaddyworld.substack.com/about. That mega thread is coming, soon as I recharge!
I'm glad Monica recommended your post today. I've subscribed. We live in TX, semi-rural, outside of Austin (wish I could be further away!) on acreage. We've been out here almost 10 years. I loved the idea of being out of a bustling neighborhood and having quiet. I'm not a people person, so not seeing people everywhere outside my windows was something I really was happy about.
When the pandemic came my husband said I made the right choice for us. It was so easy to avoid people, get outside and live as we normally did, our lives never changed at all.
I love the quiet country life. I grew up in very suburban southern California. I never thought I'd want anything different. But things change. I drive a truck now, too. A Ram. I'm on my second one and I love it. We were 100% sports car people, but not anymore. The truck also makes it easy to haul around my pack of dogs. Dogs love the country, too.
Change is inevitable, but sometimes it really is for the better.