These aren't specific to remote living, but I'll answer them anyway . . .
What made you move from New York to New Mexico?
Two big reasons: One is that the majority of our families live in Arizona now. We wanted to get closer to the cousins, aunts and uncles, and most of the grandparents (the lone exception being the MiL, whom we sadly left behind in New York).
The other is that the cost of living is SO much lower in New Mexico. This enabled A. to work less, and us to buy a house that we now own outright, and just generally not deal with the financial strain of living in a place with high taxes and multiple fees for things like vehicles.
How did you find your house and the area you wanted to live in?
A. drove through here a couple of times years ago on his way to and from college, which he attended in Tucson, Arizona. He had a favorable impression of the area, and so when we started trying to find a place within a day's drive of Tucson, he thought of here.
He also did a lot of research about cost of living, schools, climate, etc., because he's really into data. The school issue eliminated a lot of communities we were considering.
The school district here maintains a couple of houses that are technically "teacherages" that they can rent out. So the first house we lived in was one in the village that we rented from the school. The house we live in now was for sale then, but we wanted to rent first to make sure we wanted to stay here. The house we bought was literally the only one for sale in the county, so that made it a pretty easy decision.
And lastly, although this wasn't phrased as a question in Monica's original comment . . .
How did you overcome fear of the unknown and the obstacles to moving cross-country to an entirely unfamiliar place?
This is something I have much more trouble with than A. does. He thinks of new places and moving as exciting adventures, and simply assumes that he will deal with any obstacles as they present themselves.
I, on the other hand, worry and fret and really, really hate feeling unsettled.
However.
It was my great good fortune to grow up as a military child. Thus, I saw my parents move a family every three years, often very long distances (Hawaii to Alaska, for instance). They bought and sold houses; my mom found jobs; and my siblings and I went to new schools, found friends, and all turned out pretty well.
Having had that experience as a kid means that, although moving is not my preference, I know it can be done. I knew I could do it, and I knew my kids could do it. So when it seemed as if moving was the best option for us, I did it despite my natural inclination to avoid big changes.
Okay! I would say this is the end of this series, but we all know by now it will never end until the questions do. So tune in next Wednesday to see what comes next.
9 comments:
Sad to see it end. Great read!
Linda
I would say this would be a never ending topic.
Love all of these questions. I don't know why you living so remotely interests me so much, but I think it's because I know I will always live in a pretty urban area. I work in the financial industry and I don't foresee my company ever allowing me to live in a remote area. Which I guess raises another "random" question ... Does your husband work remotely for a large corporation or does he work for himself as a contractor? Have you guys found it pretty easy to get highspeed internet or do you have issues with that? I know for my family we cannot live without internet and we all have hotspots (provided by work) so that if our internet ever goes down we have a back-up and then we also have hotspots on our phones for our personal devices as well which have been a godsend from time to time! lol!
Another random question ... without 100% knowing what the future holds, would you say that any of your kids will choose to not live in a remote area when they grow up? Or do you think they will remain close to you guys??
Lindsay C.: I answered the first couple of your questions a few weeks ago. As for the last two questions . . . that's one of the exciting (and terrifying) things about having kids: You just don't know what their lives hold. I suspect at least a couple of them will live rurally eventually, but we'll just have to wait and see.
Ok. I've waited till the end for the really big, most-important-of-all question: how long does it take Amazon stuff to reach you? Is two-day shipping for us two-week shipping for you? Or is it more like five days instead of two? There's getting to be a lot of stuff that Target just won't ship, which I'd find super annoying.
Oh, and is there a traveling veterinarian available for animal needs? Our pets deeply resent the 10 mile trek to their vet...I can't imagine having to haul one 100 miles.
Awww! Thank you SO MUCH for answering and understanding my not-well-thought-out questions/statements! You're amazing!
-Monica
With dh working in textiles, we moved probably 10 times before our oldest started college. Oddly enough, I spent the first 22 years of my life in the same 300 person town, so moving became fun. Today, dh and I have been living in hotels because our rental house was sold. Nothing is available, so its tough going.
Jenlee: Why did you have to move a lot to work in textiles? Like to different countries, or factories or something? I'm really sorry about your living situation right now. I hope you can find something more permanent very soon.
I am endlessly fascinated like Lindsey C. I have another community question.
What kind of community events or get together are near you ? Or is that that the beauty of remote living ?
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