Category: Moving

Some Other Things We Like About San Miguel De Allende

Posted on by Laura & Brett

Here are a few other things that tipped our decision to San Miguel de Allende over Strasbourg:

  • Food: We know where to buy food in SMA, from small produce stores, open air markets, organic food stores, bakeries, and grocery stores (including the fabulous City Market). There’s still more to learn, but we have a solid foundation of knowledge to begin with.
  • Clothing: Something that appealed to both of us is that clothing is much more relaxed in SMA than it would be in Strasbourg. I actually worried about what clothes I would need in France and how much that was going to cost me as women “dress up” much more there. In SMA, being as fashionable won’t matter as much (if at all) and both Brett and I won’t have to buy new wardrobes before we leave, including winter coats, more sweaters, etc.
  • Dining out: This is another area where San Miguel de Allende overtook Strasbourg. We can afford to eat out every week in SMA if not twice a week. There are so many great restaurants – from taco stands to fine dining – lots of choices. We love Alsatian cuisine, but dining out in Strasbourg wouldn’t happen very often.
  • Exercise: We won’t need a car in SMA, so will have to, for the most part, walk everywhere, but we see that as a big positive. It will take us a while again to acclimate to the altitude and the cobblestones again, but this time we’ll know what we’re up against.
  • The expat community: I complained a lot about the number of expats in SMA, and we were there in the off season! I know it’s going to be much worse during the winter months but we will either adjust, stay at home more, or travel during those months. However, expats in SMA carry loads of knowledge and are happy to share, and there are many activities we can get involved in if we want – it will be much easier to make (more) friends there than in Strasbourg. We see those things as positives. There is an expat community in Strasbourg, but it’s much smaller and much less active.
  • The language: Brett and I started out learning French early this year when we were convinced we were going to France, but about two months ago we switched to Spanish even though we hadn’t made a final decision between Strasbourg and SMA. French was very difficult for both of us, especially the pronunciation. I’m moving much more quickly through Spanish as things I learned in the past come back and we both should have a good foundation by the time we relocate (although we won’t be conversational). We will continue with Spanish lessons once we’re settled in SMA.

In the end, it came down to accepting that life in Strasbourg would be more of a challenge for both of us with life in San Miguel de Allende easier overall, and we chose easy.

What Happened to Mazatlán?

Posted on by Laura & Brett

When we arrived in Tennessee, we had decided to settle in Mazatlán, on Mexico’s west coast, following our time here. To us, it seemed the best of both worlds with a low cost of living and a location near the ocean.

As we talked more about our decision, we realized we knew nothing about Mazatlán other than it was in Mexico. We didn’t know anyone there, any of the neighborhoods, where the stores were, if a car was required, and so forth. Nothing.

While we love traveling to and exploring new places, we decided this was not the way to move to different country, especially at our ages. We needed to think instead about locations we had visited before and gotten to know, even if only for a few weeks. It was necessary to go back to a location we liked, where we knew people, and where we knew we could be happy.

That decision narrowed our list quite a bit, with Strasbourg rising to the top for a while, and San Miguel de Allende close behind and eventually overtaking Strasbourg as our top choice.

Mazatlán remains an option, but only after time spent in SMA and more familiarity with Mexico. We look forward to visiting Mazatlán, learning more about the city and getting a feel for whether it would ultimately be a good place for us to live. It may turn out to be a great second location in Mexico, but it’s not the right place for us to start out.

We Have a Winner!

Posted on by Laura & Brett

Brett and I have come to what we feel is a very firm decision about where we want to relocate when we leave Tennessee. We have hashed this out up and down, front and back, inside out to right side out again, and were growing thoroughly tired of it all. So, we made a decision. And, Brett agreed it was okay for me to talk about it. If we change our minds, we change our minds.

Here are the factors that most affected our decision:

  • Location B is more affordable that Location A. Although the cost of living in both locations is fairly close, Location B is overall slightly lower than Location A. Rent is more affordable in Location A (17% less than Location B), but utilities and other housing needs are much, much higher, making it more expensive in the end. In Location B we can rent a fully-furnished home and pay less for utilities; in Location A we would once again have to start from scratch and buy everything from furniture to kitchen goods to maybe even large appliances. We could afford to do so, but after doing that twice in the past three years, there is a sour taste in our mouths whenever we think of starting over from practically zero once again.
  • Location B has better weather. Year-round sunny weather again won the day for us. Location B boasts nearly year-round sunshine, whereas Location A has an annual climate that varies from deeply cold winters to hot, humid summers. We didn’t like going through winter here last year nor do we enjoy Tennessee’s hot and humid summers, and knew we would probably soon be complaining about the weather and wondering what we were thinking if we moved to Location A. Location A would also require us to bring and own more clothing for the different seasons.
  • There’s more for us to do in Location B, at least from what we know now. Location A offers more opportunities for further travels, but Location B has more that appeals to us within the community which we acknowledge we will want and need as we age further, and travel becomes more difficult. Location B has a stronger expat community, another important factor in our decision. In the long run we will be less isolated there.
  • Location B is a better place for us to age. Besides the sunnier year-round weather, Location B offers good healthcare options and good dental care. However, healthcare in Location A is overall much better, but we looked beyond doctor visits, medications, hospital costs and so forth, and realized in Location B we could afford to hire someone to help us later in life, if needed, from housekeeping to shopping and general care. Although Location A has excellent services for the elderly, we most likely could not afford household help there, and we felt we would have a difficult time accessing senior services, especially because of limited language skills. This ended up being the most important factor in our decision, and Location B was the big winner.
  • Family members are happier with Location B than Location A. Location B is closer, and less expensive to get to from the United States. Our family all think it’s a great location for us.

Location A still had a lot to offer to and of the two, it was closer to our hearts. Letting go of our dream to live there was difficult, but in the end we decided to go with the location that just made more sense in so many more ways. There’s more overall that we considered, from visas to fashion to politics, but the above points are the ones that closed the deal. Could we still change our minds? Of course we could, but I don’t think we will this time.

So, time to spill the beans and announce our decision (with Brett’s approval):

Location A: Strasbourg, France

Location B: San Miguel de Allende, Mexico!

More to come later . . . .

Location A or Location B?

Posted on by Laura & Brett

One of the reasons Brett has asked that I not reveal our future location is that once we do, we always change our mind. Well, guess what? We are once again questioning what we believed a month ago was a firm decision on where to go plus a back-up location.

Since I posted earlier this month that we’d made a decision, we have been going through a process of maybe Location B instead of Location A would be the better choice in the long run? The two top locations on our list share many positives which led us to once again looking more deeply at both. They both feel like a good choice for us (for different reasons) and we know we could be happy in either place. Location A had been feeling more right for us than Location B for a while, but now Location B is making its move.

Here are some of the positives both places share:

  • We have spent time in and enjoyed both cities.
  • We have friends in both cities.
  • The visa process for both locations is fairly easy and straightforward, and we have more than adequate income to qualify.
  • We love the local cuisine in both locations.
  • The languages spoken in both places are both one of the easiest for an English speaker to learn (not that it’s easy for us). We wouldn’t have to learn a separate writing system, for example.
  • Public transportation is good in both locations, and it’s very possible to get around by walking. A car would not be needed to live in either city.
  • The cost of getting from Location A to the U.S. and vice versa is a bit more expensive than getting to Location B. But, the process of travel to and from both locations is straightforward.
  • Both places offer good healthcare, although Location A is better overall. Location B offers better dental care.
  • The cost of living in both locations is very affordable. Some things cost more in one place, other things cost less. For example, rent is approximately 17% less in Location A, but utilities and other costs are much higher than Location B. Taxes in both areas are low to non-existent.

Each area of course has positives that the other doesn’t have, including the weather, more and better travel and cultural opportunities, and so forth.

Over and over we keep asking ourselves, What are we really looking for? We know no place is going to be perfect, but it feel like there is one factor we haven’t thought of that would make either Location A or Location B the better choice for the long term. For now though, we are extremely grateful to have two good, solid choices in front of us and the time to make the right and best decision for our future.

Future Plans & Some Goals

Posted on by Laura & Brett

Brett and I have made a decision about where we are going to go after we leave Tennessee, but he has asked me not to write our decision until a year or so out from our departure, and I’ve agreed to his request. In his opinion, there’s still too much we need to accomplish before we start announcing where we’re going. But, there are things I can bring up now, about our goals and plans for the future, and some of the things we have already been working on.

The biggest and most important factor we have to consider when it comes to where to live post-Tennessee was that it has to be a location where I can continue to afford to to stay if Brett predeceases me. The majority of our retirement income comes from his military retirement, and while I would be able to keep the benefits (healthcare, travel, commissary and exchange privileges, etc.) if he dies before me the military income will cease. I would continue to receive the pension he earned post military, and his larger social security benefit (but give up my social security). The total loss of income would mean I would receive a considerably smaller amount than we currently do. There are places we could afford now, like Honolulu, but if something happened to Brett I could not afford to remain there.

There are several locations in the U.S. where I could live on the smaller income . . . but I don’t want to live in those places, and none of them are close to where our children live. The kids have all said they would help to support me no matter where I lived, but I don’t want to have to depend on them if something happens to Brett nor put that burden on them.

That leaves remaining affordable options for us that we would consider outside of the U.S. We have long dreamed of living overseas, and see this next move as our last chance to make those dreams come true.

So, refining an earlier list, we we came up with a dozen criteria to use for evaluating different locations, including both needs and wants. We realized affordability could not be the only guide, and we set out to find a location that would be both affordable and somewhere we truly would love to live. We came up with this list:

  • somewhere we’ve been before and could see ourselves living
  • cost of living that I could afford if Brett predeceases me
  • ease in acquiring long-term resident visas
  • proximity to our children
  • good healthcare and dental care
  • a climate we could live in
  • good public transportation/no car required
  • low taxes
  • the ease of learning the language
  • safety
  • proximity to U.S. military facilities
  • travel opportunities in, from, and around the area

Although we thought we had settled on Mazatlán, we felt we should expand our horizons and ended up evaluating other places in Mexico as well as locations in Europe and Asia in order to make the best decision for us. We also decided we should have a back-up location, just in case our first choice might become unviable for some reason.

Both of us are satisfied and happy with our overall decision and are now working on making it a reality.

In order to make a future move as easy as possible, we also developed a short list of goals we want to accomplish before leaving Tennessee:

  • Save a base amount of $30K+ to cover relocation costs. This is the amount we believe will be necessary to cover visa costs, transportation, rental fees, furniture and other household goods that may be needed to set up housekeeping, as well as other incidental costs that will arise from a move to another country. We also want to have a nice cushion in place for things we can’t think of or don’t know about now. A portion of this will come from the sale of our car.
  • Learn as much of the language as we can before we go. We don’t expect to be fluent or really even conversational, but we want to have a solid foundation of basics to start out. We will continue taking language classes after we arrive.
  • Stay active, and keep ourselves in good shape and good health.
  • Think very carefully about what to take along with us, what to store, and what to get rid of. We have to get this move right because there will be no do-overs. We plan to give some our furniture to one of our daughters, and leave some other pieces and household goods in storage in Tennessee because we don’t want to start from scratch again if we eventually have to return to the U.S.

So . . . that’s where we are now, and what we’re working on. Our budget is currently set up to get us where we want to be without having to feel deprived or resentful while we’re in Tennessee. It is still going to require vigilance, determination, and some sacrifice to reach our goals, but as in the past we know we can do this if we set our mind to it, to make our future dreams and plans a reality.

Want to Live Overseas? A Checklist

Posted on by Laura & Brett

Clockwise from the top left: Croatia, France, Ireland, Mexico, Japan. (All photos courtesy of unsplash)

Have you ever thought about living in a foreign country? Maybe not forever, but for a few years? Have you dreamed of working overseas, or retiring to a country and/or place you love?

Brett and I were fortunate to spend six and a half years, courtesy of the navy, living in Japan, and we caught the bug for overseas living and what it can offer. After several false starts, we plan to finally make our move to a foreign country after we leave Tennessee.

There are many things to consider when thinking about where to live, and which country or countries could be a good fit. One of my favorite blogs, Poppin’ Smoke, all about military travel and everything that goes with it, had a great article a few weeks ago about all the things that need to be considered if you’re thinking about a permanent or long-term move to a foreign country.

Living somewhere is very different from visiting. I cannot stress this enough, and cannot tell you how many stories I’ve read of big moves overseas and returns to the U.S. in under a year because someone hadn’t thought through all the realities of living somewhere different. Anyone thinking of living overseas should seriously consider staying in a place for several weeks to a couple of months to get a feel for daily life before making a move. Brett and I visited and lived in places during our travels where we knew by the end that it wouldn’t work for us.

I asked Brett what he thought, off the top of his head, was the number one issue to consider when choosing where to live overseas. He said it would be the cost of living, but no, the answer is: what kind of visas are available? If there is no visa that fits your situation, then living long term in that country is not an option no matter how much you want it or can afford it. We would still jump at the chance to live in Japan, but there is no visa for retirees that would allow us to stay there for more than 90 days (our son and daughter-in-law cannot sponsor us either). Have you dreamed of retiring in England? For most, there is no visa that will allow a retiree to stay more than 180 days per year. Permission to live long term in New Zealand requires a retiree investment of $750K NZD ($470K USD) plus have an additional $500K NZD ($313K USD) in savings. Ireland also has strict monetary requirements to obtain a visa. Just because you would love to live somewhere doesn’t mean it’s possible, and research is necessary to know where on can qualify for a long-term visa, retirement or otherwise.

Below are other things that must be taken into account before making a decision about a possible move overseas:

  • Financial considerations are at the top of any list. What is the cost of living in your preferred location? Numbeo is a great website for finding current prices in almost any location. You can compare different places and see which place better fits your budget. What is the tax situation in another country? Will you have to pay income tax there? Is your retirement income exempt? Can you work there? Many retiree visas do not allow the holder to work in that country. Also, will you need or want a car or rely on public transportation? And, do you want to purchase a home in another country? If that’s your dream, what are the rules for that? What would it cost to ship your household goods to your chosen location?
  • Is there high quality, accessible health care available? If national health care is available, can you participate? If yes, when or how? If not, what kind of separate health insurance is needed? We are fortunate that our military insurance covers us anywhere in the world, but it does not include repatriation insurance (return to the U.S. for care, or of our remains if we die overseas). Medicare cannot be used for healthcare overseas, but if it’s dropped, it’s not available if necessary when back in the U.S. for a visit.
  • Are you a good fit for the culture? Are you more comfortable in a relaxed or more rule-bound culture. Japan, for example, is very rule-bound when compared to the United States, both legally and culturally. Things are often done in ways that seem foolish or don’t make sense to us, but it’s how they’re done there. Are you able to change and adjust, or tolerate different ways of looking at things? Do you speak the language of the country where you want to live, and are you willing to learn a new language or plan to stick with English (which is possible in some places)? Can you adjust to a different cuisine? And, are there other expats in the area? If so, are there too many or not enough?
  • Will the political environment of another country fit with your personal views?
  • How safe is the country you want to live in? Some places, or places within a country, are less safe than others, and it’s imperative to know where those places are.

If you’ve ever considered an overseas move, it’s important to figure out why you want to live overseas without having to rationalize those reasons to both yourself and others. Do you want the travel opportunities an overseas location might provide? Will the cost of living help your budget stretch further? Do you enjoy being surrounded by a particular culture and feel comfortable in it? Or, do you just want to get out of your native country? All of these are valid reasons for relocating to another country, but you should take the time to know why it’s the right decision for you, and why the location you’ve chosen is right for you as well.

Our Airbnb Home

Posted on by Laura & Brett

I told Brett the other day that after seven months in our apartment it still feels like we’re living in an Airbnb. I like our furniture, the personal accessories and art we kept and display in the apartment from our time in Japan and our travels, and yet it really doesn’t feel like “ours.” It feels temporary.

And to that we both said, “Good!” Temporary is where we want to be right now.

We will most likely be spending three years in Tennessee versus the original two we signed up for. Our daughter-in-law’s position is initially for two years, but most consuls stay for three, and she doesn’t feel she can accomplish what she wants in just two years. Also, they would like our grandson to finish middle school here. We’ve said we would stay for an additional year, but that’s all.

Our daughter-in-law and we have discussed moving after our leases expire this summer, either to a new apartment complex, or to bigger apartments within the complex here. Nissan has a big presence here, and there are apartments near their headquarters that she has seen and likes. There are more Japanese people living there as well, which would be more pleasant for her. But neither of us wants to pay the fees or the costs of moving our stuff to a new apartment complex. A move to a bigger apartment here would be much easier, but again there would be costs. Every time we talk about it we both seem to get to a point where we remind ourselves that where we live now is temporary; it’s not forever and maybe it would be best if we stay where we are until it’s time to go. We have six months until our leases are up for renewal, so we have time to think about it some more and decide. I would love a bigger space than what we have now, but have also come to appreciate the big positive of living in this smaller space – there’s absolutely no room to add or accumulate anything above what we currently have. M would like a bigger space now that our grandson is here, but both she and I dread the prospect of moving or doing paperwork again.

Brett and I are going to keep most of our things when we leave Tennessee. A few pieces of furniture will go to YaYu (coffee table, dining table, chairs, and side table), but for the most part we are keeping everything else and will put it into storage here. We are done with selling everything and then having to start over again somewhere else if we end up doing that in the future.

So temporary it will be for a while longer in our “Airbnb home.” Our goal for the remainder of our time in Tennessee is to be comfortable but unattached, and what we have now fits the bill perfectly. No matter how long we stayed in an Airbnb when we traveled, we eventually moved on, and it will be the same here.

Too Many Expats?

Posted on by Laura & Brett

Our friend Denise posed a great question last week in a comment: I would be curious to hear your thoughts about expats, and specifically why you are opposed to a larger expat population where you settle. I attempted to answer the question in a reply to her comment, but realized that the answer required not only more room but quite a bit more thought on my part.

The number and presence of expats we encountered in San Miguel de Allende was a new experience for Brett and me. We have wracked our brains and memories trying to remember any other location we’ve visited where we encountered so many foreign residents. We know that large expat communities exist in cities like Florence, Bordeaux, or Lisbon but we never encountered any Americans or Canadians in any numbers other than on the wine tours we took in Bordeaux (one of my fondest memories there is the young American girl who sat next to us on the tour bus so, she said, she could hear American English spoken. She’d been in Bordeaux for almost a year and missed hearing and speaking English. We included her in our conversation both coming and going on the tour and had a great visit). We’ve visited Japan many, many times but rarely run into other expats during our stays, and certainly not in the concentrations we encountered in San Miguel de Allende. Expats seemed to be present everywhere there, in restaurants, shops, markets, walking down the streets, etc. We ate in restaurants where every customer was an expat or tourist, and the waiters spoke English to everyone. We walked down streets of Centro and other neighborhoods and heard nothing but English spoken. Other than the gardeners and other occasional workers, we heard only English in the condo complex where we stayed. Everyone we met or encountered was nice, and the easy availability of English certainly made our time in SMA easier, but it was a strange experience for us and in the end one of the things that put us off living there in the future.

San Miguel de Allende is not an especially big city although it is expanding and growing. It’s a charming place to visit, full of history, bright colors, colonial architecture, beautiful churches and parks, extensive shopping, and a lively and affordable restaurant scene. The cost of living, compared to the U.S., is enticingly low, but it’s actually one of the most expensive cities in Mexico. Americans have been coming to SMA since the post-WWII years, when GIs came to live in SMA and study art on their GI bill funds and Stirling Dickinson opened the Instituto Allende. The city is now a haven for artists, and after being named the Best City in the World in 2021 by Condé Nast Travel & Leisure, it’s a place tourists, both foreign and local, feel they need to see. So many had sung its praises that we felt we should experience it too. Many visitors, especially retirees, fall in love with the city while they are there and decide to relocate. There are real estate offices all over the place, and building going on everywhere as the city expands to fill the need for housing. Prices are climbing however – currently the median price of a colonial home in Centro has risen to over $500K.

The number of expats and tourists we encountered in SMA reminded us somewhat of our time on Kaua’i and the changes we saw happening. We had the unique experience of living there for around a year while the island was closed to tourists, and then witnessing how quickly things changed as visitors, mainland investors, and wealthy retirees returned when the island opened back up again. The explosion of the island housing market was one of most noticeable changes, with prices rising into the stratosphere as properties were snapped up at inflated prices. Young, local families became completely priced out of the market. Also, once-quiet venues and beaches became filled with visitors who didn’t want anyone, local or otherwise, messing with their “Kaua’i experience.”

Encountering so many American or Canadian expats in SMA, I often thought, Do you know you are changing things here? Like pebbles tossed into a stream, expats cause places to change in ways that might not be immediately recognizable or affect them. While the cost of living might be low for an expat, the prices that locals pay for housing, for food, for other necessities go up, sometimes rapidly. Local water sources and other infrastructure become more strained, and traffic in and out of cities, and in the city centers, becomes crowded and often stop and go. Expats do bring benefits to a city, including charitable efforts, but those benefits can be harder to see or not seen at all until after a long time has passed. We weren’t especially looking for it, but during our time in SMA we didn’t see a whole lot of exchange between expats and the local community other than on the surface. Expats tended to cluster with other expats, although we know it did go deeper than that in some cases.

Will we cause things to change by moving to Mazatlán and becoming expats? Of course. Will there be lots of other expats there? Probably. We look forward to meeting some of them, making friends, and learning from those who have lived there for a while. But we’re also hoping for numbers where expats are not to be found everywhere, every day, in every place we go. Our goal will be to find ways to make a positive impact on our new location, to add to it versus just reaping the benefits, and to get to know our neighbors.

The number of expats in San Miguel de Allende was uncomfortable for us. While we weren’t looking for some “authentic Mexican” experience while we were there, we were unprepared for the numbers and presence of Americans and Canadians we encountered. We are educating ourselves about Mazatlán now so we know what to expect, where we might want to live, and so forth and educating ourselves to fit into the culture rather than having the culture fit us.

That Didn’t Take Long

Posted on by Laura & Brett

Brett told me the other day that he never wants to move again. It’s not that he’s fallen in love with Tennessee, but he said he’s tired of all the packing, unpacking, setting up, etc. that goes with moving. Our last few travel experiences didn’t help his mood: the long plane flights and schedules that were changed without notice, lugging the big suitcases around, driving a big van through all sorts of crazy weather and having to unload it every evening and load it again in the morning, and on and on. At age 72 he said he’s had enough.

While I still enjoy and look forward to traveling, our experiences since we left Hawaii have left their mark on me as well, and I admit to being somewhat relieved to be settled again with our own things, even if many of those things are actually new to us. I honestly did not enjoy the whole moving part of the past few months, but also know that I don’t want to stay in Tennessee for more than two years. I know that means we’re going to have to pack up and move once again.

I’ve promised Brett though that next move will be our last, and that someone else will move us and do all the work. One of the reasons I’m so fierce about saving once again is that if we are not going to do it ourselves, we are going to have to pay someone else to pack our things, load a truck, move our stuff, and unpack at our destination. I’m all done with that part of moving.

We are 100% decided at this point that when we leave Tennessee we will head to Mexico, to the city of Mazatlán on the Pacific coast. We enjoyed our time in San Miguel de Allende, but knew that while we could happily live in Mexico, SMA was not the right place for us for a variety of reasons.

Why did we choose Mazatlán?

  • It’s beach town on the same latitude as Hawaii but with a much, much, much lower cost of living. We can easily afford an oceanside modern condo or apartment, or a house with an ocean view and Pacific breezes as well as a housekeeper (and gardener if needed).
  • We thought the cost of living in San Miguel de Allende was fantastic, but Mazatlán’s COL is even lower. We can live very well there on half of our income. The other half can be used for travel, investment, and saving. And, I can continue to afford to live there if Brett predeceases me.
  • The city has an international airport with direct flights to several American cities (two hours from Phoenix, for example) as well as Mexico City. We can fly from Mazatlán to the U.S. and either up to the northeast to see the girls, or over to Japan. We could afford to visit Japan and the girls every year as well as travel to another destination in the world.
  • Although our health and dental insurance cover us worldwide, good health and dental care are available and extremely affordable in Mazatlán. As we age, we can also afford to hire home health assistance if needed.
  • There is a large expat community in Mazatlán, but not an overwhelmingly large one like there was in San Miguel de Allende. There is a tourist season, with an influx of snowbirds and visitors, but nothing approaching the numbers of SMA or cities further down the coast such as Puerto Vallarta or Acapulco.
  • The city has well-run public transportation, and we would not need a car there (two of our daughters are already interested in purchasing our car from us).
  • Mazatlán’s weather is hot and dry. It can be quite hot during the summer and into the early fall, but the rest of the year is pleasant and warm. There are numerous walking venues, and a long, accessible beach. The city is known for it seafood, shrimp especially.

Will we move all of our stuff to Mazatlán? Yes – it would be an affordable move. We like the stuff we’ve purchased here and if it holds up we plan to keep it.

Mazatlán has everything we want, from an oceanside location to a low cost of living that will allow us to continue to travel while still being settled somewhere. We will get everything we want at a cost we can afford. We’ve got two years to go here in Nashville, but we’re back in savings mode once again so that when the time comes we’ll be ready to make our move!

Brett & Laura Have Left the Building

Posted on by Laura & Brett
Saturday evening’s final sunset view

We met our landlord yesterday morning at 8:15, turned over our keys, and were out of our apartment before 9:00 and on our way to breakfast at the Kalaheo Cafe. After breakfast we headed up to Princeville for a very enjoyable (and long overdue) visit with our friends Joy and Les, then headed over to our condo at 3:00 and promptly collapsed. The condo is small, but it’s nice to be sleeping on a real mattress again. We also have enough space and appliances to make our own meals for the rest of our time on Kaua’i.

Our condo is small but has everything we need for a comfortable stay!

Last Thursday the apartment’s new tenant asked us if we would move out on Saturday so she could move in a day early, but we told her via the landlord we had paid rent until May 1, and would be staying the night unless she was willing to pay for a hotel room for us (she wasn’t). The apartment was clean as a whistle when we left on Sunday and our entire deposit was returned. Such a difference from our last move-out experience!

The yard was in full bloom this past week. We’re going to miss the yard most of all, I think.

Besides cleaning the apartment all last week, we took care of some other business:

  • I consolidated my student loans to a Direct Federal Loan. I sort of wish I had done this earlier, but I had been afraid I would have to take on a much higher interest rate. However, it turned out my new interest rate will be just .375% higher than my old rate. Because I will again have a direct loan from the government versus a private lender I will be eligible for maybe some of my loan to be forgiven if rumors of that turn out to be true. President Biden is not going to forgive every student loan out there, or even forgive $50K from everyone’s balance, but an amount may be forgiven based on a sliding scale and/or have the interest reduced, maybe to 0%. We’ll see. Whatever happens, having a direct federal loan is all-around better for me for a variety of reasons than what I was previously locked into, and we have committed ourselves to paying off the balance in less than five years, forgiveness or not.
Our little guy is going to stay little. He’ll maybe only weigh 9-10 pounds when fully grown.
  • We got a puppy! Brett and I have missed owning a dog and decided we were ready for another. Our previous dogs were all rescues, but after much thought and a LOT of research we decided we wanted a puppy this time. We found a reputable breeder located near Nashville that had the breed that we were looking for and we made a deposit on a male Shih-poo (Shih Tzu and toy poodle mix). Shih-poos are smart, affectionate, hypoallergenic (they don’t shed), and are devoted to their owners. They require regular grooming, but only every 2 to 3 months. We’ve named our little guy Kaipo, Hawaiian for beloved boy or sweetest boy. He’s currently eight weeks old, but the breeder is going to continue to provide care until we can pick him up in August as well as make sure he is up to date on vaccinations. Our granddaughter is over the moon as she will be away from their family’s beloved Boston terrier for the next two years, but now will have our little guy for her to play with and help train.

We’re expecting a quiet week coming up; the only big tasks we have left are turning in the modem to our Internet provider, getting our wills witnessed, notarized, and mailed off to our son in Japan, and mailing the inflatable mattress to YaYu. We hope we’ll be able to sit out by the pool this coming, or maybe even go to the beach up here (the condo comes with beach chairs & umbrella) but the weather is expected to be less than ideal all week so that probably won’t happen.

One last look back as we headed out the door.

One week from today we’ll board a plane and leave Kaua’i once again. We didn’t think we’d be coming back when we left in 2018, and yet when the call came for Americans overseas to go home in 2020, Kaua’i was where we headed because it was home. Setting up again was a crazy ride, but with help from some very kind people on the island we found a great apartment and were able to get it furnished. Kaua’i has been a wonderful, safe place to ride out the pandemic, and we’ll always be grateful that for almost a year we were able to experience the island without any tourists to contend with (they are currently visiting in record numbers, even more than pre-pandemic). We plan to come back to Kaua’i once more though, for our 50th anniversary, but for now, it’s time to move on to new adventures!