Is The Shop Good Enough?

pontiac428 said:
Don't make the mistake of thinking that moving out of California will save you money on the cost of a house. No, sir. Lots of areas are expensive these days if for no other reason than being places that are nice to live. I live in the Seattle area, outside of the city but within the public transportation footprint. My house is 90 years old, 600 square feet, with a damp basement (I built the shop, so that's not factored in), and I am embarrassed by my house's high appraisal value. But that's not my comment. I think you should remodel and update the things about your current place that you want to change. A set of granite(like) countertops probably wouldn't cost more than the cost of rental vans and trailers to move to a new location. Bring your house up to your standard, and if you still decide to leave you can recoup some of those expenditures. Seems better to me than just walking away.
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Bremerton, I really like it there. We have friends in Port Orchard.
Visiting a couple years ago on July 4th was memorable. In Washington you can buy really cool fireworks.
A Pyromaniac like me was like a kid in a candy store. They sell all the good stuff out at the reservation.

When the sun is out, it's one of the most beautiful spots on earth looking over the Sound.
 
I am right with the thinking of most here. I am almost debt free. I owe a small amount on my boat and that will be sold for the down on the retirement home. No way around making payments on a home and I will never rent (God Willing!). Sadly, I will take on a mortgage when I retire, but that isn't all bad. If all goes as planned, what I end up with and what it costs me will be two different things, since I will be the overseeing as contractor on the project.

I really don't need a lot. Living on the boat for the last 10 years I have found that out. But I still have my hobbies which seem to use up a sizeable amount of money, which is my competition shooting and of course my tools. Beyond that I really don't have any other interests that redirect my funds.

If I had a home, and was happy with the area and general home itself, I would not be contemplating moving. Much cheaper to update than to buy and move which will result in changes to that home as well.
 
Janderso said:
Bremerton, I really like it there. We have friends in Port Orchard.
Visiting a couple years ago on July 4th was memorable. In Washington you can buy really cool fireworks.
A Pyromaniac like me was like a kid in a candy store. They sell all the good stuff out at the reservation.

When the sun is out, it's one of the most beautiful spots on earth looking over the Sound.
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Bremerton is getting very expensive. If I were to stay in Washington, I would look at Sequim, WA. Farther away from everyone. But this state is tax happy and getting worse. I could not afford to stay here after retirement. My money will go farther in Oregon than here. It is as bad if not worse than when we lived in Antioch, CA.
 
Janderso said:
We have friends in Medford. I really like the Jacksonville area. Beautiful. It's kind of a tourist area though.
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I grew up in Tillamook on the coast will probably end up in Tillamook County. But we have looked extensively in the Medford and Grants Pass areas. If I had to make a choice between the two, I would pick Grants Pass area. Nicer area, more wooded and prices are a little bit better. You can still buy some pretty good pieces of property in the area within 20 minutes of town or less. If it were me I would go to the West of I-5 instead of East. Getting the cooling air from the coast at night. Not a lot but enough that can at times make a difference. Temperatures are similar to your area now. But I don't deal well with hot weather and the older I get the less I do.

Oregon has some pretty favorable tax laws for retirees. The difference for me between Washington (very similar to CA) and Oregon is about 10 years on my retirement money. I am 64 now and don't plan to retire until 66 and won't take SS until 67 based on my calculations which prolongs things the farthest. Even with planning on the same income I have now (income less the money I am putting into my 401 and other investments), that means I will be able to maintain that spending with escalation well into my 90's. Of course assuming I make it there.

Now if you want to get out of the I-5 corridor then there are other options which include the coast or inland like Klamath Falls up to Bend. For the coast, the largest city is Coos Bay/North Bend. Very nice area. But beyond that you get into very small towns that often look very run down, especially since the lumber business died. Without the lumber, there is little to sustain the townships unless it is tourism and that has its own problems like Lincoln City. I hated it back in te 60's and 70's. Hasn't gotten any better.
 
San Diego and Morro Bay weren't expensive living on my boat out on a mooring. $125 and $175 per month. Cambria is another story. My daughter married into a ranching family and lives 3 to 4 miles out of town on the ranch. I have no idea how much land the family owns or how many head of cattle my son-in-law runs. He takes very good care of my daughter and grandkids.

Be careful about counting on your 401K to support you in retirement. I thought that I was pretty well set. Then the crash of 2009 occurred and I lost almost 70% of my life savings. Not working I had no way to replace that money and had to pull money out to live. The only thing that saved me was we still had the family home in San Clemente. That is the only reason why I am debt free today and am able to care for my elderly mother.
 
Hoping my wife thinks of me as "her shop"; I'm pretty sure she's not looking for a bigger, younger or better equipped shop. Been married 29 years, and still going strong. I probably run across gals every day who could be considered better looking than my spouse, but I don't care. I'm happy with the one I have not looking for an upgrade or any changes.

I think of my shop much in the same tone. Sure, would be nice to have a hoist if I wanted to wrench on a car. Sure, would be nice to have a Haas VF2 VMC instead of my Tormach 1100 and Bridgeport CNC. Sure, would be nice to have a little more space. But I'm grown to be very comfortable with the shop I have. Maybe looking for a minor upgrade here or there, but continually comment to my wife, "You know, I really like the way our shop is coming together".

We're spoiled and know it. We've both had very good jobs for many years and haven't done anything too stupid with our money. Got our daughter through law school a couple of years ago, son is about finished with a computer engineering degree. The house has been paid off for 8 years, haven't had a car payment in 20 years. Good to be us at this point. We got there by not buying too many what could be called frivolous things. I remember my wife being soo ****** at me when she opened up Christmas gifts of a 5-carat tennis bracelet, 1-carat solitaire necklace and 1-carat stud earrings. She didn't appear mad when she opened the ice up in front of her sister and sister-in-law. But I heard about it when we got home. She wanted a Case 580 backhoe to develop our property. Yeah, she does have a sister, but they couldn't be more different, I got the pick of the litter.

Bruce
 
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BGHansen said:
Hoping my wife thinks of me as "her shop"; I'm pretty sure she's not looking for a bigger, younger or better equipped shop. Been married 29 years, and still going strong. I probably run across gals every day who could be considered better looking than my spouse, but I don't care. I'm happy with the one I have not looking for an upgrade or any changes.

I think of my shop in the same tone. Sure, would be nice to have a hoist if I wanted to wrench on a car. Sure, would be nice to have a Haas VF2 VMC instead of my Tormach 1100 and Bridgeport CNC. Sure, would be nice to have a little more space. But I'm grown to be very comfortable with the shop I have. Maybe looking for a minor upgrade here or there, but continually comment to my wife, "You know, I really like the way our shop is coming together".

We're spoiled and know it. We've both had very good jobs for many years and haven't done anything too stupid with our money. Got our daughter through law school a couple of years ago, son is about finished with a computer engineering degree. The house has been paid off for 8 years, haven't had a car payment in 20 years. Good to be us at this point. We got there by not buying too many what could be called frivolous things. I remember my wife being soo ****** at me when she opened up Christmas gifts of a 5-carat tennis bracelet, 1-carat solitaire necklace and 1-carat stud earrings. She didn't appear mad when she opened the ice up in front of her sister and sister-in-law. But I heard about it when we got home. She wanted a Case 580 backhoe to develop our property. Yeah, she does have a sister, but they couldn't be more different, I got the pick of the litter.

Bruce
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Only 1 time did I ever buy a vehicle on time. It was a 1978 Ford Bronco. At the time I was selling my repair shop and my daily driver was a 1977 Ford F150 full time 4 wheel drive. I loved the truck, but at 11 mpg it was expensive to drive. My accountant suggested I buy another vehicle on time to minimize monthly expenses, sell the other truck with the business and use the proceeds to pay off the new truck. It took a few months to work out the details as to what the buyer was interested in. When we finally settled the deal I decided that rather than pay off the new truck I would use the money for some home improvements and new furniture.

All seemed well and I just kept sending in the monthly payments. When the thing was finally paid off I got a final statement from the bank. That's when I realized that all the time I'd spent negotiating the price of the new truck was for naught. I could have paid list price cash and spent less money. The interest on the loan had more than negated the discount I'd negotiated wit the dealer. Lesson learned. I've never bought a vehicle on time since then. I just put an amount that would be equal to the monthly payment in the bank each month and pay cash when it's time for a new vehicle.
 
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