Long, strange trip
I'm just going to summarize the past six months and let it go at that.
Our plan was to go full-time RVing using the retirement money from my job. The central problem was the three-month wait between the resignation date and the issue date of the retirement check. By my last day on the job, we got rid of most of our "stuff" in preparation for this.
We began our three-month wait in Tennessee, living in a relative's house that we had been offered for "as long as you need it." After two weeks, we were asked to leave.
We spent about the next six weeks living with another relative in Weirton, West Virginia. The country is beautiful in the Northern Panhandle; unfortunately, the economy is terrible.
December we spent in Columbus. Loretta received a sum of money during this time, and we spent the last two weeks in a motel in Grove City.
Finally, my money came. We bought a truck to pull a travel trailer, then suddenly realized that being homeless for three months had left both of us not wanting that for a lifestyle. We decided to go ahead and move to Tucson, Arizona, and hope for the best.
We already knew that Tucson has low wages. That didn't change. At some point after I studied it, unemployment rose. The only jobs readily available are those previously filled by illegal immigrants. The State of Arizona has found ways to chase the illegals out of the area, so now nobody remains who is willing to work for $6.00 an hour. On the other hand, apartment rents run lower than I expected. When the illegal aliens left the state, they left plenty of apartments vacant, so that end of the real estate business is hurting.
We did not expect new allergies in Tucson. The allergy issue that Loretta brought with her increased. I found myself with allergies I had never had, and even our dog, Lil, wound up on Benadryl per the vet.
Of course, we found plenty to like about Southern Arizona. People there "live in a picture postcard," as one of them put it. From almost anywhere outdoors in the city, a nice view of mountains awaits you. The winter weather delivers high temperatures in the 60s and 70s most days, with little or no rain and low humidity. Most of the people seem glad to be there, too, and we didn't find many grouchy people at all. That's refreshing. There's more, but this is only a summary.
After a couple of months, we realized that we were about to run out of money. Neither of us saw any signs of getting good work, and neither of us had the energy to keep looking. We decided to rent a truck and take our stuff back to Ohio.
By the way, renting the truck was a serious mistake. We could have replaced our larger items for about $500; the truck cost us $1100, not counting a huge amount in fuel. Do the arithmetic before you move things that might be easier to replace.
We are back in Ohio, living in the apartment complex where we began this adventure and looking for work. It would have been far simpler to just move, but we would not have the lessons from the trip or some good stories to tell.
Calvin
Our plan was to go full-time RVing using the retirement money from my job. The central problem was the three-month wait between the resignation date and the issue date of the retirement check. By my last day on the job, we got rid of most of our "stuff" in preparation for this.
We began our three-month wait in Tennessee, living in a relative's house that we had been offered for "as long as you need it." After two weeks, we were asked to leave.
We spent about the next six weeks living with another relative in Weirton, West Virginia. The country is beautiful in the Northern Panhandle; unfortunately, the economy is terrible.
December we spent in Columbus. Loretta received a sum of money during this time, and we spent the last two weeks in a motel in Grove City.
Finally, my money came. We bought a truck to pull a travel trailer, then suddenly realized that being homeless for three months had left both of us not wanting that for a lifestyle. We decided to go ahead and move to Tucson, Arizona, and hope for the best.
We already knew that Tucson has low wages. That didn't change. At some point after I studied it, unemployment rose. The only jobs readily available are those previously filled by illegal immigrants. The State of Arizona has found ways to chase the illegals out of the area, so now nobody remains who is willing to work for $6.00 an hour. On the other hand, apartment rents run lower than I expected. When the illegal aliens left the state, they left plenty of apartments vacant, so that end of the real estate business is hurting.
We did not expect new allergies in Tucson. The allergy issue that Loretta brought with her increased. I found myself with allergies I had never had, and even our dog, Lil, wound up on Benadryl per the vet.
Of course, we found plenty to like about Southern Arizona. People there "live in a picture postcard," as one of them put it. From almost anywhere outdoors in the city, a nice view of mountains awaits you. The winter weather delivers high temperatures in the 60s and 70s most days, with little or no rain and low humidity. Most of the people seem glad to be there, too, and we didn't find many grouchy people at all. That's refreshing. There's more, but this is only a summary.
After a couple of months, we realized that we were about to run out of money. Neither of us saw any signs of getting good work, and neither of us had the energy to keep looking. We decided to rent a truck and take our stuff back to Ohio.
By the way, renting the truck was a serious mistake. We could have replaced our larger items for about $500; the truck cost us $1100, not counting a huge amount in fuel. Do the arithmetic before you move things that might be easier to replace.
We are back in Ohio, living in the apartment complex where we began this adventure and looking for work. It would have been far simpler to just move, but we would not have the lessons from the trip or some good stories to tell.
Calvin
Labels: adventures, basic info, money, travel, truck rental
posted by Calvin & Loretta | 12:05 PM
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