Looking for Retirement Heaven? I've found it!!

We have the delightful septic problem here in californias central valley where building is allowed to proceed unchecked.

In my area, the county gleefully issued 10-15k building permits to construct homes with septic systems until the density caused the wells to become overloaded with nitrates. Fortunately one of the local cities bought up the wellwater utility for pennies on the dollar and then let us know that if we voted to allow them to incorporate us and start taking our property taxes, that for the low, low price of $4000 a unit we could have city water brought to us. Oh and by the way, since CA law requires that the nitrate level be below a certain amount, that if we said no, they'd just shut the water off.

So what exactly was the county doing with all that money they collected for building permits if making sure they werent overbuilding septic system based properties?
 
I'll do you one better- out of district home owners with failing septic systems petitioned the city to allow them to use our plant.  We agreed if it didn't increase density (cause re-zoning) because failing systems are a health hazzard.  During hearings on this issue some third parties argued that the city shouldn't cooperate because the water from septic systems recharges the aquifer!! 

Our property tax statement has a storm water management fee itemized.  After a home (and sleeping family) was washed into the Sound we looked around wondered where the $ went, so asked in a city counsel meeting for an explination.  It turned out that the $ were going into general funds.  After they established a separate account and had to account for their expenditures there were significant improvements. 

I really think our city employees and officials do what they think is right at the time, but it is important that they spend the $ collected (whether it be building fees or taxes) on what they say the money is for -  not do what is expediant that fiscal year.

In business and our personal financial lives, it is the unexpected financial hits that give grief.  A retiree has lots of options.  Take time to read these little known public documents before purchasing a home.
 
MRGALT2U said:
Hi Zipper!  That does not surprise me.  A little surprised you'd
admit it.

JG
Click to expand...
JG, what does your political philosophy accomodate as to interventions such as governmental management of, uh, effluent?  I admire the liberterian approach but also like the idea of laws re what somebody can put into our collectively shared food and water supply. Thanks.
 
windsurf said:
JG, what does your political philosophy accomodate as to interventions such as governmental management of, uh, effluent?  I admire the liberterian approach but also like the idea of laws re what somebody can put into our collectively shared food and water supply. Thanks.
Click to expand...

Well, I never proposed no government, just minimal. I think protecting the
"collectively shared food and water supply" is a legitimate function of
government. Promoting the general welfare, etc. etc. But, let me give a more personal example. Today, one of my (new) neighbors introduced himself
and informed me that the owners of a vacant (waterfront) lot next to him
were parking an RV there. He protested to the county and they
went against him by a 3 to 2 vote. Now, I wouldn't want a trailer parked
permanently next to me either. However, I generally believe that you should be free to do what you wish on your own land, unless you are actually harming
someone directly. Thus for me, this would be a hard call. I would like to
preserve my immediate neighborhood and would welcome any help in doing so,
but where do you draw the line? The next thing you know we will have
leash laws and doggie poo rules, and you know what I think of those :)

JG
 
JB said:
Oregon is one of my favorite states. This is to add to what's already been said.
[/qoute]

Yes, Oregon is definitely worth considering as a place for retirement because of its coast and mountains.
Click to expand...
 
Point Roberts:

Close to Vancouver, but relatively isolated. Virtually no infrastructure. Said to be mostly Canadians’ vacation homes. Lots of trees. Reminds me strongly of a small town on the Oregon or Washington coasts, but very close to the big city. Inconvenient to cross the border for everything. Some kids live there and are bussed to the “mainland” through two border crossings each way. Fire protection is said to be virtually non-existent, since it comes from Whatcom County—two border crossings away. Nice little marina. Rich folks, moslty. I liked it anyway.

On retiring in Oregon.

Portland:

I grew up in Portland and my parents spent their last days in an excellent nursing home south of Portland. Not what I would call a low-cost area to live. State income tax and relatively high property taxes, I believe, but no sales taxes. Perhaps the best thing would be to live across the Columbia River in Vancouver, Washington (sales tax, but no income tax) and shop in Portland. There is also a large community of live-aboard boats and houseboats where the Columbia River meets the Willamette River that always looked interesting to me.

There is plenty to keep you busy. Portland has mountains, two rivers, beaucoup trees—and rain. Dynamite scenery--when you can see it through the clouds. Expect all outdoor activities to be conducted in the rain, in the cold. Winter days are dark. Can be depressing, especially for a teenager. When you are acclimatized, you can happily play golf in the dark in cold drizzling rain.

All of the arts are very strong there—in-door stuff, y’know. An urban planner friend once told me that Portland was the smallest city in the world and Seattle was the largest small town in the world. There are several universities in and around town. I found it a very stimulating place to grow up.

When you are tired of the rain in town, you can drive to the coast, where it also rains. Several good beaches.

There is good skiing in the Cascades east of town. Beyond the Cascades is Eastern Oregon, where it is high country, much more sun and a lot less rain—perhaps high-country desert. Much more attractive for an outdoors lifestyle. Bend is a neat little town.

It is possible to live in Portland without a car if you select your place carefully, but you will need one to fully enjoy the area. By the way, Portland has a big international airport close in, on the Columbia River.

The Portland area, which is the population center, is definitely left-coast, just so you know. However, the rest of the state is rural, agricultural and red-neck. An interesting balance. When I was growing up, Portland had two newspapers, but it has been a one-newspaper town for a long time now. Sort of like seeing with one eye.

Did I mention that it rains in Portland?

Ashland in south-west Oregon:

Drier, high-country desert, in the mountains. Sort of hot in the summer, sort of cold in the winter, but lots of sunny days and not much rain—basically, excellent weather. Skiing close by. Small town, local college, a retirement area with relatively expensive housing. Wine country is nearby. My sister and her extended family have retired there, which is interesting as Ashland is very liberal and they ain’t. Ashland is also home to the performing arts centered around the Ashland Shakespearean Festival. They are not interested in the Festival, but we drag them when we all visit in the summer. You still need a car, but the distances to good stuff are shorter.

My family reports that medical care in Ashland, specifically for the aged, is excellent.

Wish I could afford to retire there.

Ed
 
Good summary

Born in Vacouver, WA and grew up in Kelso/Longview - go Scoties! U of W, Boeing, etc - was 26 years old before fully realizing that Idaho was not a surburb of Brooklyn, NY like my Dad used to tell me.

The SO thinks it's too much like PA - never wants to see snow again - likes New Orleans. Sold the old homestead (1957-1993) in Kelso and moved Mom down here.

August is a good time to visit.
 
Unclemick,

We lived in Red Stick for a couple of years around '80 or so on a project. Loved it. A little steamy and a few mosquitoes and the wife was allergic to one of the popular flowering bushes, tho. If I ever win the lottery, I want to go back and learn how to be a Cajun. I used to listen to KBON out of Eunice on the internet ("Swamp-pop" music--i.e., bad country [is there any other kind?], zydeco and Cajun [I want a recording of "Who killed my pig?"], with ads in the craziest French accent you ever heard), which was a gas, but I don't know if it is still available. I did find one or two other Louisiana stations webcasting, but can't hear them over a telephone modem these days.

Love the eatin' down there.

But then, you know all that.

Laissez les bon temps rouller!

Gypsy
 
Ed_The_Gypsy said:
Unclemick,

We lived in Red Stick for a couple of years around '80 or so on a project.  Loved it.  A little steamy and a few mosquitoes and the wife was allergic to one of the popular flowering bushes, tho.  If I ever win the lottery, I want to go back and learn how to be a Cajun.  I used to listen to KBON out of Eunice on the internet ("Swamp-pop" music--i.e., bad country [is there any other kind?], zydeco and Cajun [I want a recording of "Who killed my pig?"], with ads in the craziest French accent you ever heard), which was a gas, but I don't know if it is still available.  I did find one or two other Louisiana stations webcasting, but can't hear them over a telephone modem these days.

Love the eatin' down there.

But then, you know all that.

Laissez les bon temps rouller!

Gypsy
Click to expand...

"Red Stick".....love the name! Have not spent much time in La. One trip
to NO and maybe 3 "just passin' throughs". Speaking of picturesque place names, my Dad was born in Kentucky near the "town"? of
Gravel Switch on the banks of "Old Milk and Mush". Man, you can't make this
stuff up :)

JG
 
unclemick2 said:
Good summary

Born in Vacouver, WA and grew up in Kelso/Longview - go Scoties! U of W, Boeing, etc - was 26 years old before fully realizing that Idaho was not a surburb of Brooklyn, NY like my Dad used to tell me.

The SO thinks it's too much like PA - never wants to see snow again - likes New Orleans. Sold the old homestead (1957-1993) in Kelso and moved Mom down here.

August is a good time to visit.
Click to expand...

Your SO sounds pretty cool to me. I think your whole set up is neat, fish shack and all. Now if we could just do something about your Democratic party
leanings :)

JG
 
I have this fond hope - should I make to 70 or so - SG will send me my curmudgeon certificate - and I can found a viable third party movement.
 
Ed_The_Gypsy said:
On retiring in Oregon.

Portland:

I grew up in Portland and my parents spent their last days in an excellent nursing home south of Portland. Not what I would call a low-cost area to live. State income tax and relatively high property taxes, I believe, but no sales taxes. Perhaps the best thing would be to live across the Columbia River in Vancouver, Washington (sales tax, but no income tax) and shop in Portland. There is also a large community of live-aboard boats and houseboats where the Columbia River meets the Willamette River that always looked interesting to me.

There is plenty to keep you busy. Portland has mountains, two rivers, beaucoup trees—and rain. Dynamite scenery--when you can see it through the clouds. Expect all outdoor activities to be conducted in the rain, in the cold. Winter days are dark. Can be depressing, especially for a teenager. When you are acclimatized, you can happily play golf in the dark in cold drizzling rain.

All of the arts are very strong there—in-door stuff, y’know. An urban planner friend once told me that Portland was the smallest city in the world and Seattle was the largest small town in the world. There are several universities in and around town. I found it a very stimulating place to grow up.

When you are tired of the rain in town, you can drive to the coast, where it also rains. Several good beaches.

There is good skiing in the Cascades east of town. Beyond the Cascades is Eastern Oregon, where it is high country, much more sun and a lot less rain—perhaps high-country desert. Much more attractive for an outdoors lifestyle. Bend is a neat little town.

It is possible to live in Portland without a car if you select your place carefully, but you will need one to fully enjoy the area. By the way, Portland has a big international airport close in, on the Columbia River.

The Portland area, which is the population center, is definitely left-coast, just so you know. However, the rest of the state is rural, agricultural and red-neck. An interesting balance. When I was growing up, Portland had two newspapers, but it has been a one-newspaper town for a long time now. Sort of like seeing with one eye.

Did I mention that it rains in Portland?

Ashland in south-west Oregon:

Drier, high-country desert, in the mountains. Sort of hot in the summer, sort of cold in the winter, but lots of sunny days and not much rain—basically, excellent weather. Skiing close by. Small town, local college, a retirement area with relatively expensive housing. Wine country is nearby. My sister and her extended family have retired there, which is interesting as Ashland is very liberal and they ain’t. Ashland is also home to the performing arts centered around the Ashland Shakespearean Festival. They are not interested in the Festival, but we drag them when we all visit in the summer. You still need a car, but the distances to good stuff are shorter.

My family reports that medical care in Ashland, specifically for the aged, is excellent.

Wish I could afford to retire there.

Ed
Click to expand...
What you didn't mention is Portland's transportation system. I understand that many are proud of it, but that it has its detractors. Any views?
http://www.trans.ci.portland.or.us/
 
Ed_The_Gypsy said:
The Portland area, which is the population center, is definitely left-coast, just so you know.  However, the rest of the state is rural, agricultural and red-neck. 
Click to expand...
This goes in spades for most of Eastern Washington, and SW Washington south of Olympia but north of Vancouver. Many of these folks in the wooded areas hung their hats in the Southern Appalachians before coming out here to work in the woods. Back in the 70s my wife and I were thrown out of bars because "We don't serve Injuns."

But my all time greatest Eastern Washington story took place one early AM in a motel in Omak. My wife and I had made a long drive, and we had a few drinks to relax and were just getting it on when a young Indian woman bursts into the room, grabbed my wife by the arm, pulled her out from under me, and warned us to get out of there because wife's husband was coming after her.

We both felt confused, because she had only one husband, it was me, and I was already there and reasonably happy with the way things were going. The interloper, who was somewhat drunk, insisted that my wife was her sister, that I was causing her to commit adultery, and that we didn't scram fast we were both as good as dead.

We decided if DW looked enough like this gal that she couldn't tell it was mistaken identity, we would have little chance with the aggrieved husband. By this time the lady who ran the motel was in our room screaming at us to get dressed and get out.

So we did.

Several months later I went back, and found out that the motel owner had spotted DW and called her "sister" in a farcical attempt to avoid murder in her motel.

Just one of many interesting events from rural Washington, which I mostly would not recommend for retirement for the average ER couple.

Ha
 
HaHa,

Thanks for sharing your story about rural area. That's one of the reason that I want to live very close to a metropolitan area. I think that's pretty much the same in other parts of the U.S. also. As an example, we live in Minneapolis. The people are friendly and most do value diversity. However, the attitude changes drastically as you move into the rural area, i.e., Hibbing or iron mine country.

Spanky
 
Portland's transportation system: planners convinced the community that freeways don't solve congestion but they do give you options. The light-rail system, MAX, has never lost a bond issue.

Seattle is a horror story.
 
I left Portland long before light rail came to town, but I am sure it works fine. It isn't utilized as much as it might be, apparantly. I once saw a photo of a coyote laying on a seat in one of the cars. It got in at one distant station and enjoyed the ride.

The bus system and a ten-speed bicycle were all I needed for many years. They will still serve the hardy.

Gypsy
 
The City & County of Honolulu is finally getting ready to raise the excise tax from 4% to 4.5% to pay for building a light-rail system. It's been controversial to say the least, and this is a debate that's dragged on for three decades in one of the nation's most solid Democratic one-party states.

Portland has been touted as one of the success stories. In fact the City Council members had to make numerous trips there (and many other places) to verify their research.

I'm just glad I'm not commuting anymore. Although apparently I'm gonna start paying for it...
 
Nords said:
The City & County of Honolulu is finally getting ready to raise the excise tax from 4% to 4.5% to pay for building a light-rail system. It's been controversial to say the least, and this is a debate that's dragged on for three decades in one of the nation's most solid Democratic one-party states.

Portland has been touted as one of the success stories. In fact the City Council members had to make numerous trips there (and many other places) to verify their research.

I'm just glad I'm not commuting anymore. Although apparently I'm gonna start paying for it...
Click to expand...
Don't you think Honolulu needs something?? It's a mess, IMHO! Of course, if it costs as much as H-3, probably not worth it? Isn't H-3 the most costly interstate per mile anywhere?

p.s. How much does the bus cost these days? I didn't use last trip, but I remember (I think) it was about 65 cents or so for a complete roundtrip.
 
Eagle43 said:
Don't you think Honolulu needs something??  It's a mess, IMHO! Of course, if it costs as much as H-3, probably not worth it?  Isn't H-3 the most costly interstate per mile anywhere?

p.s.  How much does the bus cost these days? I didn't use last trip, but I remember (I think) it was about 65 cents or so for a complete roundtrip.
Click to expand...
Hey, Eagle, you've been around. Let's do a thought experiment-- compare Honolulu traffic to (1) the Washington DC beltway (especially in winter), (2) the LA freeways (take your pick), (3) the San Diego freeways, (4) Norfolk metropolitan area, (5) Boston, (6) Manhattan, (7) your favorite Texas military town-- but you get the point.

At least our traffic jams can only wrap around the island once-- that's about 30 miles. The thundering rush-hour herd makes the worst commute-- Waialua or Ewa to downtown Honolulu-- about 90 minutes. Otherwise, unless there's an accident with a fatality that closes the highway for an investigation, rush hour moves fairly briskly at 20-25 mph. (Or so my spouse tells me.) There's been a big improvement with contraflow & carpool lanes during rush hour. Other trouble spots are being widened or additional roads are being built.

The H-3 crews have an official t-shirt that was passed from parents to kids (when the kids got their union cards and joined the crew) during its 25-year construction. On the back in foot-high letters it says simply "H-3". On the front, the logo is a pig with wings. It (the highway, not the t-shirt) was built at over $1B/mile (in 1970s-1990s dollars!) and even required a special act of Congress.

The latest spin is that we don't need to make more or bigger roads, we just need to reduce the peak load by 10-15%. Originally that was going to be more buses at shorter intervals, but it really chapped the bus company's accountant's hides to see people getting to work faster on buses that were less than 110% full.

The version before that was going to be developing Kapolei into a second city & auxiliary govt workplace. That's still happening but people aren't willing to wait another 5-10 years for the infrastructure to develop.

The "Vanpool" concept has been changed to big honkin' SUVs. That's catching on fast!

The bus is basically $2 for an adult one-way trip. There are bus passes, senior/student discounts, etc but it's still over a buck a trip at best. I don't see people throwing away their car keys for a light-rail version of the bus, even if it goes all the way from Honolulu to Waianae. But I could be wrong...
 
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