LOL – I said I wasn’t going to write this week, but guess what I’ve been doing!
For the past several weeks, day after day after day we have talked and talked and talked some more about where or whether to settle, have over and over the pros and cons of each option again and again, have made lists, and have debated whether we wanted to buy a house again or not (we even went so far as to get a pre-approval from our bank to see how much house we could afford) or buy a car.
We changed our minds several times, and went back and forth, with a new option added to our list at one point, not that we needed another one in the mix. But, eventually we were able to come to a decision.
I now believe that our indecision is what brought on or worsened my insomnia – once we made up our minds all of that went away (well, that and a drastic reduction in the amount of caffeine I consume). All I could think about every night was where should we live? What’s the best location for us? It was driving me crazy and keeping me awake.
The order of our final list feels right. Nothing has been chiseled into stone yet, but we can finally start thinking more about and working toward what comes next.
Here is the new list, and how we ordered our choices:
- San Clemente, CA. I’m still a California girl at heart. And, I’ve always loved San Clemente and the surrounding area (Dana Point and Laguna Beach) – back when we decided to leave Portland, it was the #2 area on our list after Hawai’i. The opportunity to live there now ticks off a lot of the most important boxes for both of us though: warm, sunny weather, low humidity, being close to the ocean, and friends living nearby to name a few. It’s eas(ier) for family to get there, and a place people love to visit. Our biggest hurdle will be finding an affordable place to live – coastal prices in California can be like Hawaii’s, or higher, but we’re into living small and simply these days so that will help us find something affordable. We’ve definitely decided we don’t want to buy again, and we’ve also pretty much decided that we’re not going to buy a car, and that we’d like to try to get by without one for as long as possible. However, there’s a trolley service in the San Clemente area that can get us around somewhat and otherwise we will use a rideshare service like Uber or Lyft, or we’ll walk. If we want or need to take a longer journey we’ll rent a car. Also, Amtrak connects San Clemente to both Los Angeles and San Diego – San Clemente is located halfway between the two cities.
The town of Laguna Beach is connected to San Clemente via Dana Point by the trolley service. - Another year of travel. This option sort of popped up unbidden, but once we started talking about it we became interested in the idea, and realized we could continue if we wanted. There are still many places we want to visit, and we’ve come to see that a longer stay in each place works best for us rather than moving around ever few days or so. However, while the thought of spending time in new places is motivating, it also feels a bit exhausting right now. To be honest, I was more enthusiastic about the idea than Brett – he would rather settle down and then travel once a year or more, staying in a place for a month or so and being Occasional Nomads versus Full Time Nomads.
- Northern Arizona. This was our mystery location, another choice that just sort of popped into our consciousness, but once it did it really took hold. We liked the area a lot when we visited in 2017, and there were several locations to consider: Flagstaff, Williams, Prescott, and Sedona. The big drawbacks for us were the extreme dryness and lack of water, and the cold winters, but we otherwise love the natural beauty of the area, and the proximity to the Grand Canyon and other areas in Arizona and the southwest. We’d absolutely need to purchase a car here though, something that eventually made this location less appealing.
- Strasbourg, France. This option went to the bottom of the list not because we don’t love, love, love Strasbourg, but because as we talked it over and got into the weeds, we could see how complicated it would be, from the language to applying for a visa to finding housing to the kids visiting and so forth. A move there is really more than we want to take on at this stage of our lives.
One of the biggest factors contributing to the order of our list as well is that beginning in 2021 we will need to contribute somewhat significantly to the cost of YaYu’s education at Bryn Mawr during her last two years there. While all the girls currently receive generous financial aid because of all three being in school at the same time, that number dwindles to two next year because Meiling graduates this June, and beginning in the fall of 2020 it will be just YaYu attending college. She’ll still qualify for aid, but it won’t cover the full cost, and we want to help her through enough that she won’t need to take out student loans, or at the least, borrow very little (both Meiling and WenYu will graduate with no debt). After crunching the numbers, a simple life in Southern California actually puts the least amount of strain on our income, even with the high rents. Although California has high taxes, we’ve done the calculations with our income and ours shouldn’t be much, especially if we don’t own a car.
We also want to set aside money every month to cover the cost of a long-term visit to Japan every 15 months or so (for at least a month) and for other travel as well, and we have to buy some furniture too, so all those are some other financial considerations.
Anyway, a decision has been made and we can now move on to planning what comes next and when. It is a big relief to us to finally have a decision, and we’re feeling very good right now about where things are.
The Occasional Nomads 
It looks lovely and sounds very practical for your needs.
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It really was the best choice for us, and I think the one where we’ll be happiest too.
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It may be the exhaustion of getting home from Argentina, but I’m teared up right now. I’M SO EXCITED TO HAVE YOU RIGHT UP THE ROAD!!! What an awesome way to start my day! And BTW, Argentina was amazing, simply amazing.
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OK, first: Argentina is amazing. Buenos Aires was the first city we visited and it’s remained in our top three favorite cities. We’re hoping to go back again!
One of the primary reasons we decided on San Clemente/Dana Point/Laguna Beach (we’d live in any one of them but prefer San Clemente) was that you would be so close by and we could see you more than every other year! I will keep you updated with dates, etc. but it looks like we will be arriving in early December.
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I am really looking forward to being able to pop up to see you, or have you come down. How crazy will that be?!
I’m curious where in Recoleta you stayed? We were in an AirBnB just off one of the main streets, which was fine if we walked the other way to find a market and restaurants, etc. We all preferred San Telmo and Palermo Soho, but we ended up in really great areas there as well. I will definitely be going back!
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San Clemente sounds lovely. I have fond memories of Laguna Beach as a side trip when I was in SoCal on business a few years back. You really can’t beat the weather in that area. And, while we love N. Arizona, every time we visit we discuss whether we would move here. We’ve concluded we would rather visit. While the winter seems long in the Midwest in Jan & Feb,the other seasons are quite lovely, and we enjoy them all. And we, too, like being near water.
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I have so many good memories of San Clemente from my childhood. I know it’s changed, and so have I, but I know it will be a great place for us to live for many reasons. We almost went with Northern Arizona, but there were too many issues for us with cars, houses, etc. Plus, we wanted to live closer to where we knew people. We can always visit Northern Arizona.
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Lovely choice!
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It is beautiful there, and I know we’ll love the relaxed California lifestyle.
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I know you said you weren’t going to blog this week but I thought “I’ll go check and see if maybe she posted something”. I’m so glad I did!! Yay for deciding on what you’ll do at the end of this year of travel! (Especially since it was causing/adding to your insomnia) San Clemente sounds like a perfect choice. I’ve never been to that part of the country but it seems to tick all of your boxes. I have visited Sedona and I absolutely loved it. That was a long time ago and I’m sure it has changed dramatically. I’d love to go back at some point to visit.
My aunt recently invited me to travel with her to Zurich. She’ll be attending a conference there and then we are going to do a bit of traveling afterwards. I’m going to suggest Strasburg as a place to visit. 🙂
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Have a wonderful time in Zurich. And Strasbourg – I hope you get the chance to go. If you know you’re going for sure, shoot me a comment (on any post) and I can tell you some great places to visit as well as eat.
Both Brett and I are feeling happy and relieved right now – we know where we’re going next! Now we can start getting a plan worked out, dates set, and so forth. I think it’s going to be a great landing place for us.
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Great choice. I think it will work out the best for ease of future travels for both you and your family. Congratulations.
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We’ve already been talking with the girls about it and they seem happy with the decision as does Brett’s sister and husband (they come out to LA and San Diego frequently) and other friends.
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Great choice! After five years of retirement, we’ve learned that one of the most important things is being somewhere you really, really want to be. That will make it worth the inconvenience and sacrifices you may need to make. We were just in that area last weekend and it is lovely, everything you described. Best of luck in your housing search🤞🤞🤞
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I agree – we knew we had to be somewhere where we could live the way we want, like without a car. And I wanted to be near the ocean – I spent a lot of time near it growing up (in San Clemente), and living in Hawai’i was a dream come true for me, so this ticks off those boxes. Plus, the good weather means we’ll be outside more and get more exercise. We will be living small, and the budget will be tight, for the first couple of years, until we get our daughter through college. But we both feel it will be worth it.
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Love San Clemente. If you can afford it, than that would be a first choice for me as well. Oh, I love to be next to the beach. I wonder about nine month rentals in that area (with Air Bnb for the summer).
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We plan to rent a small apartment to start, maybe even a studio. One unexpected benefit of our travels has been learning to live in small spaces, and we’ve discovered we like it. Plus, the house we rented on Kaua’i was less than 800 sq. feet, and four of us did fine in that space, so Brett and I know we can easily manage 500-600 sq. feet, or maybe even a bit smaller if we have to. Housing is expensive, but there are places that fit our budget.
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Mazel Tov! Your decision makes sense. It’s also an easier flight out of California for Kauai! Our weather remains chillier than usual and much drier. I think you’d be happier than those hot days of humidity you tolerated here. What an exciting year you’ve had and it will be fun to continue following your travels.
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Oh Joy, I miss Kaua’i so much! But, with the girls all on the mainland (and all three back east for a while) this gives us our ocean and good weather without having to worry about the long, expensive flights over. And, very little humidity, the main reason we’re not heading back east (well, that and those winters!). I can’t wait to get back to Kaua’i though. Hope you and L are doing well!
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It sounds like it ticks all the boxes for you. So good that you’ll be able to get around without a car. Although we had a car the two years we lived in Seattle, we didn’t drive much, relying on the bus, light rail and mostly our two feet (had rainsuits, although the two years we were there were pretty dry). Wish we lived in town that had better public transportation and walking.
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Learning more about the trolleys is what really sold the area in the end. Plus, our DIL told us she has a friend that lives and works in LA without a car and uses Uber to go to and from work, etc. and it still costs less than owning a car! Once we put those two pieces of information together San Clemente went to the top of the list. We came to hate having to get in the car to do anything when we lived on Kaua’i, and vowed that wherever we settled would be walkable.
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Soooo excited! And Bob of Satisfying Retirement Is too! 😉
I’m not sure if you’re aware, but the trolley system now extends through San Clemente, SJC, Dana Point and Laguna. And there are free things to do all the time here, truly. Plus, opportunities to volunteer and thus attend free events at many local places. And $5 Happy Hour events everywhere, and . . . OK, I’ll stop now!
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We are very excited! In the end, it was the trolley system that put San Clemente at the top. For now it looks like we will come back to Portland at the end of November, take a couple of days to get grounded, then pick up our things and head south. By the way, we are open to not only San Clemente, but Dana Point and Laguna Beach -wherever we can find an affordable rental (Dana Point seems to have the most right now). I will be in touch soon – I am loving all your travel photos – SE Asia has moved to the top of my bucket list!
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Congratulations! When I saw the photo at the top of your post, I thought it was somewhere in Hawaii and you were going back to Kauai! I’ve never been to San Clemente and had no idea it is so beautiful so I can see why you’d want to move back there. I’ve only been to San Diego, LA and San Francisco, but I’ll have to check out that area next time I’m on that side of the country. I have to go on a business trip this summer so I’m hoping to have time to check it out. One more place to add to my list of places to visit that I’ve learned about from reading your blog! 🙂
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Congratulations! There is a sense of relief once a decision is made and the limbo stops.
The photo is stunning. Hope you find the perfect place…and with ocean views!
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It is a relief!
San Clemente and that whole area is, really. I think it’s going to be a good place for us. I’m not sure about having a place with a view (extra $$$$, just like in Hawai’i), but as long as we can easily get down to the water I’ll be happy.
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Ooh, so very excited for you! This sounds like a great fit. And, adding San Clemente to our list of possible destinations when Nick graduates in 6 years. Maybe we’ll take a few recon trips to check it out & get a chance to finally meet up. 🙂
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I think it’s going to be a good fit for us as well. The first couple of years will be lean as we help YaYu, but once we’re through that we’ll be able to enjoy it all even more. And, I would love to get together if you’re ever down that way!
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I have so, SO much enjoyed following along on your travels!! I admire your thought process of where you will now settle down. I’ll continue to follow along on your journeys!
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