When we decided to return to California from Denver, it was with the belief that we should stabilize our situation, with at least a few months of working and living in a stable rental - to have a break from the wild uncertainty that developed toward the end of our time in Colorado.
There were times during those last few weeks in Colorado when we discussed having our belongings hauled out of storage for delivery to the temporary rental just so we could have a massive yard sale to clear the way for an immediate journey to Mexico of indeterminate length. We also considered leasing a longer-term house, and still might have considered buying if the right place had come along, but with the new uncertainty about our work prospects and general dismay with the prolonged groundlessness we were fairly quick to just embrace the California work opportunities and reluctantly bail out of Denver.
So in fact, things have worked out as we anticipated with California. Pat is trying to make his work responsibilities portable so we have the option to relocate elsewhere. I was also offered a position as a contract network engineer with the same company, which I accepted. All of this sets the stage for - something else - in six months.
The problem is (if it is indeed a problem) we don't yet know what it will be that happens next. We're in that stable eye of the hurricane for the moment, but it doesn't make sense to stay here paying big rent in California and working in stressful and demanding jobs indefinitely. The most likely options are shaping up as:
- Buy a house in Alameda. Very expensive, with huge tax burden and risk of declining value if the real estate bubble finally starts to deflate. Also, we don't envision wanting to be in California more that a couple of additional years, and the risk of declining value in that period along with transaction costs if sold make it seem an unlikely option. Even if values continue to appreciate, we could never rent the place out for positive cash flow if we wanted to hold it but relocate elsewhere.
- Return to Denver and buy an appropriate house in one of the nice neighborhoods we scouted. One third to one half the cost of California houses, with more upside potential (we think) and 15-20% of the property tax burden. Pat might be able to continue his work remotely, traveling out of the big hub airport as needed. I should be able to find contract or full time employment there. However, I might also be able to work on fixing up a rental property or our own home - enhancing its value for future rental or resale. This might be more valuable than working at a job. We would be close to Mona and Clark and the ranch in Wheatland. Downsides of the Denver move include the anxiety of returning to the scene of an initial setback, and harsh winters we don't look forward to.
- Buy a piece of property in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Pat works as above, I keep an eye out for a local opportunity in Cheyenne, and otherwise as above for me. Only an hour from Wheatland. Property even less pricey than Denver. Harsh winters. In the case of both Denver and Cheyenne, we would try to eventually make this a summer residence, with winters in Mexico - Merida or elsewhere. Or we could rent the place out for later income, and eventually sell for a profit.
- Tough it out here in Alameda for as long as we can, then liquidate our stuff and head for Mexico. This could be to Merida, with its brutally hot weather at times, in which case we would probably treat it as a real estate investment opportunity and also look for a place later in a more temperate part of the country. Maybe split our time between the two places. Or - as above - spend summers in Colorado or Wyoming and winters in Mexico. We might also consider just heading south for a large and long tour of different areas, including Guadalajara/Chapala, Morelia-Uruapan, Michoacan, and the more appealing West coast locations like Puerto Escondido.
As (if) you consider the above options, keep in mind that leaving here and heading for Mexico would mean freedom from the requirement to be employed - it's cheap enough living in Mexico to pull this off with a little luck, caution and courage. Any other scenario requires at least one of us to keep working.
Well, that's about all I can speculate for now. Time to go to the gym and farmers market in Oakland. If anyone wants to check in with an opinion by all means do so. Maybe we should set up a little web poll or contest - "Pick a plan for Pat and Stan".
As I experience fear and hesitation about whatever might happen in the coming year, I guess I should keep in mind the Western interpretation of the two Chinese characters wei and ji - one means danger, and the other means opportunity. Together they mean crisis. As life becomes (or is revealed to be inherently) uncertain and the ground beneath our feet shifts and subsides, this can be our opportunity to move on to what we really want to experience, or be available for.
Text © 2003-2004 Stanley J. Wolf
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment