# The Great Escape has Begun



## jbolt

Having lived in the San Francisco Bay Area all my life I have seen this area change dramatically over the years and not for the better. I commute 60 miles each way to work and back and over the past 13 years my commute time has doubled or more. There are just too many people here and more are coming. Other than marry the right woman the smartest thing I've done was buy a house when I was 23. Had I waited much longer it would have become near impossible to afford to live here.

My wife knows how desperate I am to get out of here but has been reluctant to commit to moving. Back in March her cousin in Oregon called and said the house next door was up for sale. To my surprise she wanted to take a look. By the time we could get up there it already had an accepted offer but hat got my foot in the door and we have been actively looking ever since. Over the past months we have made several trips up to the area to look at homes but just were not finding what we wanted.

This past week a home came up for sale that hit all the marks we were looking for and at a price that was too good to be true. We wondered what was wrong with it but had to look anyway. The day before we could go we had a previously scheduled appointment to have our dog spayed and our two children are away for a month so my wife would have to stay home with her. To add to it at the time the main route Highway 5 was closed due to the wildfires in Norther California. I decided to make the trip alone on Saturday anyway. 

I left at 5 am and by the time I got to where the road closures were it was now open but the smoke was as thick as dense fog and lasted for 60 miles.  I made the trip up in seven hours. The house and property were exactly what we were looking for. Stick built, not manufactured. 3 bed 2 bath with attached 2-car garage and laundry in the house. On acreage with privacy. The interior is dated but extremely well cared for. Heating, cooling, water heater and well system have all been updated recently. Owned by a sweet 90 year old lady. The property also has a 12' x 34' storage shed with concrete floor and electricity AND (drum roll please) a 28' x 36" shop with 12' ceilings, concrete floor and electrical!

I called the wife and she agreed we should put in an offer that day. The listing agent happens to be in the same office as my agent so my agent had a leg up on how to best present an offer that would make it easy for the owner to accept. By the time we submitted the offer there were already three other offers with another coming. Real estate in southern Oregon is nothing like the bay area so I put my faith in my agent to do the best for us as I would have probably over bid. I was on edge we would get out bid.

We got the call on Sunday afternoon that our offer had been accepted and we are now currently in escrow. We should take possession in the third week of August. We don't plan to move until the yougin's are out of college which is another three years so in the mean time we will rent the house and then update the interior before we move in.  The shop and storage shed won't be part of the rental so it will give me time to get the shop insulated, the interior finished and electrical laid out the way I want.

I haven't been this excited in a long time and will be counting the days!!!!!!


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## Superburban

Good luck, moving sucks. But the right property makes it worth while. Its great that you have the time to plan it all out.

Congrats.


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## markba633csi

Cool man, a fellow Mt. Viewan with similar ideas.. I was thinking Port Orford or slightly inland, lot of nice properties on Zillow
Mark


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## brino

Congratulations Jay, that's great!



jbolt said:


> . The property also has a 12' x 34' storage shed with concrete floor and electricity AND (drum roll please) a 28' x 36" shop with 12' ceilings, concrete floor and electrical!



Incredible. I bet you're already arranging your equipment in that space in your mind.

Smart that you got some time to get things figured out.

Oregon , eh? So I guess you'll be re-reading posts about preventing rust.

-brino


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## Kiwi Canuck

Jay, sounds like you got yourself a great new place.

BTW moving is fun when you're making a great move which sounds like you are.

Look forward to following along and seeing some pictures of the new shop once you start making progress on it. 

David.


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## jbolt

Superburban said:


> Good luck, moving sucks. But the right property makes it worth while. Its great that you have the time to plan it all out.
> 
> Congrats.



We've moved once and I had a fourth the amount of stuff I have now. The good thing is we will be able to move over time and not have to do it all at once.



markba633csi said:


> Cool man, a fellow Mt. Viewan with similar ideas.. I was thinking Port Orford or slightly inland, lot of nice properties on Zillow
> Mark



Ha! you know my pain. I have not been in the Port Orford area. We chose the Grants Pass area due to my wifes last remaining family who we are close to and it is still within driving distance of our current home which we plan to keep and rent once we move.



brino said:


> Congratulations Jay, that's great!
> 
> Incredible. I bet you're already arranging your equipment in that space in your mind.
> 
> Smart that you got some time to get things figured out.
> 
> Oregon , eh? So I guess you'll be re-reading posts about preventing rust.
> 
> -brino



Yeah I was thinking about the rust issue. The current owners late husbands wood working equipment were still in the shop and they looked to be in good shape despite the shop not being insulated. Average rain is around 30 inches so it may not be too bad.

We plan on spending some time at the house over the Labor day weekend. I plan on measuring the house and shop so I can start planning.





Kiwi Canuck said:


> Jay, sounds like you got yourself a great new place.
> 
> BTW moving is fun when you're making a great move which sounds like you are.
> 
> Look forward to following along and seeing some pictures of the new shop once you start making progress on it.
> 
> David.



I'm absolutely looking forward to it but now I'm committed to finishing all the deferred maintenance on this home so that will keep me busy in the mean time.


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## jbolt

Pictures of the shop.




Front half inside. Rolling barn doors will have to go!


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## TomS

Good for you!!  And your wife.  Sounds like you have a solid plan.  Moving can be a lot of work but with your excitement can actually be something to look forward to.  As you know my wife and I moved three months ago.  We worked our butts off getting ready to move and unpacking when we got here.  It was a very satisfying experience.  I'm certain your move into your new house will be as satisfying as was ours.

I wish you well.


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## markba633csi

Paradise with a concrete floor


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## HMF

Congrats! I would love to live in San Francisco, but it is just too expensive.


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## mattthemuppet2

good for you, that's a beautiful part of the world for sure!


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## Silverbullet

Super , I'm hopping the people buying my block meet my price. I have commercial business and residential where I'm at and every house or business has been devoured by some big money somewhere. I'm the corner on a main drag and side street . He'll need my side street to add access to what they build there. So I'm hopping to sell.and move to a better and Hunter friendly state south of us. Not Maryland for sure.


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## jbolt

Nelson said:


> Congrats! I would love to live in San Francisco, but it is just too expensive.


Fortunately I don't live in or near SF. Have you been to SF lately? It was nice(r) 50 years ago. I did a lot of construction work there in the late 80's early 90's and didn't care for it then. I still have the unfortunate pleasure of having to travel to the city for work on occasion. It is really awful. It's so bad now they had to create a separate department within the city government to deal with human waste complaints.


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## HMF

I haven't been there lately, I am sorry to hear that. New York has become horrible too.


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## diamond

Congrats and good for you man!  I managed to escape the Bay Area 5 years ago.  Do not regret that at all.  Now I have cows for neighbors (and only then in the winter), room for my horses at home, and a 40x50 shop building.   My work has me back down there just often enough to remember why I left.   Traffic and over crowding is horrible.  Yet everyone who lives there seems to think it's "normal".  I don't get it.


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## jbolt

diamond said:


> Congrats and good for you man!  I managed to escape the Bay Area 5 years ago.  Do not regret that at all.  Now I have cows for neighbors (and only then in the winter), room for my horses at home, and a 40x50 shop building.   My work has me back down there just often enough to remember why I left.   Traffic and over crowding is horrible.  Yet everyone who lives there seems to think it's "normal".  I don't get it.



Good for you! 

In a perfect world I would rather move to the Sierras north of Truckee in the Portola / Graeagle area which is my my favorite place in the world. Unfortunately it is still in California. Oregon has its quirks but I'm hopeful the area we will be in will retain it's sanity.


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## jbolt

Woo Hoo!! We closed escrow yesterday. It's now a reality. We will be heading up over Labor day weekend to spend a few days at the property and meet with a property management company to get the rental process started.


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## brino

Congratulations!


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## TomS

That is good news, and congrats.


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## jbolt

Thanks guys! It's going to be a looooong three years....LOL


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## jbolt

We finally took possession this weekend and are spending a few days here before it gets rented. Working on a few electrical and plumbing issues to get ready for renters. Also met with a contractor today to get a quote to get the shop insulated and finished on the interior. It is really beautiful here and I can hardy wait to move here permanently.

Having coffee with the deer this morning.







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## Old Mud

jbolt said:


> We finally took possession this weekend and are spending a few days here before it gets rented. Working on a few electrical and plumbing issues to get ready for renters. Also met with a contractor today to get a quote to get the shop insulated and finished on the interior. It is really beautiful here and I can hardy wait to move here permanently.
> 
> Having coffee with the deer this morning.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk




    " Having coffee with Dinner this morning".    Great place.


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## jbolt

Well we are getting the full experience of mountain living. Southern Oregon is having one of its worst years for wildfires. We have been furtunate that the winds have been in our favor keeping out the smoke.

Yesterday evening a fire broke out about 2 miles east of us. Air support only got a few drops before it was too dark to fly. Fire grew to 250 acres overnight. We lost power when the fire started and are still without. The house is all electric and we are on a well so we have no water.

While the prevoius owner took good care of the home the property has had minimal maintenance. We are currently clearing defencible around the house, clearing gutters and sweeping the roof. Wind is still in our favor so fingers crossed. Air support stared up again a few hours ago so hopefully they can get a handle on it. So far all we know is one structure has been lost.

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## TomS

jbolt said:


> Well we are getting the full experience of mountain living. Southern Oregon is having one of its worst years for wildfires. We have been furtunate that the winds have been in our favor keeping out the smoke.
> 
> Yesterday evening a fire broke out about 2 miles east of us. Air support only got a few drops before it was too dark to fly. Fire grew to 250 acres overnight. We lost power when the fire started and are still without. The house is all electric and we are on a well so we have no water.
> 
> While the prevoius owner took good care of the home the property has had minimal maintenance. We are currently clearing defencible around the house, clearing gutters and sweeping the roof. Wind is still in our favor so fingers crossed. Air support stared up again a few hours ago so hopefully they can get a handle on it. So far all we know is one structure has been lost.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk



Be safe.  Wildfires can change direction without notice.  Clearing defensible space around the house and outbuildings is wise.  The Carr fire in Redding nearly got our daughter and so-in-law's house.  Came within inches, literally, of burning it to the ground.


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## jbolt

TomS said:


> Be safe. Wildfires can change direction without notice. Clearing defensible space around the house and outbuildings is wise. The Carr fire in Redding nearly got our daughter and so-in-law's house. Came within inches, literally, of burning it to the ground.


They did a great job of containing the fire and kept it to 200 acres. With all the fires over the summer there are a lot of resources availible plus the state stepped in and helped. As far as we know only two homes were lost which is hard to imagine since it broke out in a populated area. We got our power back within 24 hours. We also had a pleasant suprise when a private fire company showed up yesterday to check on the property. Seems they are contracted by our homeowners insurance. They will provide first line of defense if we are ever threatened and if we are not there will take measures to remove fuels around strutures, seal eave vents and make sure there is good defensable space. We had no idea this was part of our insurance. 

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## mattthemuppet2

that's pretty amazing, glad it turned out ok. Most cases of properties burning down during wild fires are due to wind borne embers landing in eaves/ vents/ chimneys and so on, unless an entire neighbourhood is wiped out. Might be worth investigating fire home defense improvements (on top of what you've already done) for the future. There's a whole industry out there providing products to protect homes. I looked into it a bunch after the Kinglake fire outside Melbourne Australia while we lived - really crazy time, 5 days over 45C, sun blotted out by smoke and ash raining down the whole day.


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## Janderso

I know the Medford area smoke was terrible for weeks this summer. I use to live in Walnut Creek, I commuted to Milbrae. Yep, Bay Bridge every day.
I hated that commute. In 1986 my wife and I moved up to the Chico area. Never looked back.
It looks like you have a couple babies there. If it is Like Paradise, where we live, the deer have their babies in your yard and they come back to give birth next time around. 
Congratulations, you got out of the big city and found some peace and quiet. That is a bit of culture shock.
I can't imagine how I would move my big machines during a move. The experience was daunting one at a time as it is.
Enjoy.


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## TomS

Glad to hear the fire is out and you and your house are safe.  Now you can get back to enjoying the tranquility of your new home.

BTW - deer in the yard are nice to have but they eat everything in sight.


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## jbolt

mattthemuppet2 said:


> that's pretty amazing, glad it turned out ok. Most cases of properties burning down during wild fires are due to wind borne embers landing in eaves/ vents/ chimneys and so on, unless an entire neighbourhood is wiped out. Might be worth investigating fire home defense improvements (on top of what you've already done) for the future. There's a whole industry out there providing products to protect homes. I looked into it a bunch after the Kinglake fire outside Melbourne Australia while we lived - really crazy time, 5 days over 45C, sun blotted out by smoke and ash raining down the whole day.



The county we are in does not have regular fire service so we contract to one of the two private fire companies in the area. As part of the service they will come out and do an evaluation of the property and make suggestions for improvements. Once the fire season slows down and they are less busy I will have them out to do that. 

I have close to 1000 trees on the property which about 30 are dead.  I'll have an arborist out to make suggestions on what needs clearing out to keep the rest healthy. Fortunately there is not much in the way of dead fall or branches but there is a ton of needles and leaves that need to be cleared out. Something the wife and I will work on over the next few years.


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## jbolt

Janderso said:


> I know the Medford area smoke was terrible for weeks this summer. I use to live in Walnut Creek, I commuted to Milbrae. Yep, Bay Bridge every day.
> I hated that commute. In 1986 my wife and I moved up to the Chico area. Never looked back.
> It looks like you have a couple babies there. If it is Like Paradise, where we live, the deer have their babies in your yard and they come back to give birth next time around.
> Congratulations, you got out of the big city and found some peace and quiet. That is a bit of culture shock.
> I can't imagine how I would move my big machines during a move. The experience was daunting one at a time as it is.
> Enjoy.



Ugh commuting Walnut creek to Milbrae would suck. 20 times worse today than in 1986. I have been commuting from Mountain View to Lafayette for the past 14 years and in that time my commute one way has gone from 1 hour to almost 2. 

We have a few more years here until my son and daughter are out of college. We will be renting the Oregon home during that time except for the shop and storage shed so we will be able to move over time. When we get closer to the final move I plan on purchasing a 16' cargo trailer and moving my equipment as we make trips back and forth.


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## jbolt

TomS said:


> Glad to hear the fire is out and you and your house are safe.  Now you can get back to enjoying the tranquility of your new home.
> 
> BTW - deer in the yard are nice to have but they eat everything in sight.



Thanks Tom, unfortunately I'm now back at work in the bay area. I'm well aware of what deer can do. I can't count the number of clients I have had over the years that moved into the hills and then complained about the deer. What ever plants the previous owner planted around the house don't seem to be bothered so they must not be tasty to the deer. Not sure how much wildlife we will get once we move permanently and the dog has free run of the property. She's never seen a deer so I'm not sure what she will do. Our previous dog tried to take of a deer when we were in the Sierras and got her but kicked.

How's life in Nevada?


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## mattthemuppet2

jbolt said:


> The county we are in does not have regular fire service so we contract to one of the two private fire companies in the area. As part of the service they will come out and do an evaluation of the property and make suggestions for improvements. Once the fire season slows down and they are less busy I will have them out to do that.
> 
> I have close to 1000 trees on the property which about 30 are dead.  I'll have an arborist out to make suggestions on what needs clearing out to keep the rest healthy. Fortunately there is not much in the way of dead fall or branches but there is a ton of needles and leaves that need to be cleared out. Something the wife and I will work on over the next few years.



good plan - hopefully you'll never need it to payoff, but with the way fire seasons are extending and fires are getting larger it may well do. I went to several research talks by wild fire researchers when I lived up in WA and it was really interesting to hear about different strategies and changes in planning standards some communites (eg. Bend, OR) are considering to improve fire resilience. Lots about things you mention above, but also lots on landscaping and buffer zones.


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## jbolt

mattthemuppet2 said:


> good plan - hopefully you'll never need it to payoff, but with the way fire seasons are extending and fires are getting larger it may well do. I went to several research talks by wild fire researchers when I lived up in WA and it was really interesting to hear about different strategies and changes in planning standards some communites (eg. Bend, OR) are considering to improve fire resilience. Lots about things you mention above, but also lots on landscaping and buffer zones.



We will do what we can to minimize our exposure but there is always a degree of accepted risk when choosing to live in a wooded area.


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## TomS

jbolt said:


> Thanks Tom, unfortunately I'm now back at work in the bay area. I'm well aware of what deer can do. I can't count the number of clients I have had over the years that moved into the hills and then complained about the deer. What ever plants the previous owner planted around the house don't seem to be bothered so they must not be tasty to the deer. Not sure how much wildlife we will get once we move permanently and the dog has free run of the property. She's never seen a deer so I'm not sure what she will do. Our previous dog tried to take of a deer when we were in the Sierras and got her but kicked.
> 
> How's life in Nevada?



A dog will certainly keep the deer at bay.  They don't like anything that makes noise.  It's been strange in northern California in that the deer have been eating plants they never touched before.  Some say it's because of over-population and the lack of food.  Don't know but they managed to strip all of the plants around our pool to nothing but sticks.

Thanks for asking.  Nevada is great!  Seems there is something going on every weekend and several days during the week.  Weather has been wonderful.  A hot day here is 100.  In Redding 100 degrees can be the low temp.  Ask me again January - LOL.


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## Janderso

I have to agree about the deer. We live in Paradise, Ca. This is a community in the foothills at about 2,000 feet.
This year the deer are eating plants they have never touched. We have 3/4 of an acre that is landscaped. When choosing plants, we kept the deer in mind.
We have lived in this house for 32 years. In fact, when I get home from work, mama and her two babies come up to me with those soulful eyes and beg.
For the first time, the mom took some graham cracker from my hand. These deer are born and live on our property. They know we are not a threat.
The only thing that I can think of is we lost our 15 year old Jack Russel in May.
Strange behavior.


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## Dabbler

Jbolt, you seem to have landed the perfect property!  Good fortune on the rental and migration plan!


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## jbolt

Janderso said:


> I have to agree about the deer. We live in Paradise, Ca. This is a community in the foothills at about 2,000 feet.
> This year the deer are eating plants they have never touched. We have 3/4 of an acre that is landscaped. When choosing plants, we kept the deer in mind.
> We have lived in this house for 32 years. In fact, when I get home from work, mama and her two babies come up to me with those soulful eyes and beg.
> For the first time, the mom took some graham cracker from my hand. These deer are born and live on our property. They know we are not a threat.
> The only thing that I can think of is we lost our 15 year old Jack Russel in May.
> Strange behavior.



I'm not worried about the deer. The property has been there since 73 and not fully fenced so they must not like what little landscaping is available. I prefer my landscaping on the wild side anyway. No green thumb here.

I'm sure the deer won't appreciate the dog when we finally make the move.


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## homebrewed

Welcome to Oregon!  You are near some of our favorite Oregon country.  We are a bit further north (near, but not in, Portland).  If you like outdoors activities like hiking you are in a great location.  One must-see that's relatively nearby:  Crater Lake.  Another:  Oregon Caves.  The latter is a bit unusual because it's not a limestone cave -- it's marble.


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## jbolt

homebrewed said:


> Welcome to Oregon!  You are near some of our favorite Oregon country.  We are a bit further north (near, but not in, Portland).  If you like outdoors activities like hiking you are in a great location.  One must-see that's relatively nearby:  Crater Lake.  Another:  Oregon Caves.  The latter is a bit unusual because it's not a limestone cave -- it's marble.



Thanks Homebrewed. It will be a few years before we can make the move permanently. We just go the house rented out and I'm soooo jealous that they are living there and not me. I love the area and can't wait to be there full time. I used to complain that time went by faster the older you got but now time has come to a slow crawl while I wait for my kids to finish college.


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## jbolt

Wife and I just got back from a week in Oregon working on the property. Oregon rental laws are a bit weird in that per our lease agreement we can only be on the property from 8am to 6pm Monday through Friday. Tenants have been great and would probably let us be there on the weekends but we would rather not intrude on their personal time as much as possible.

On our last trip we completely cleared out the shop, pulled out all the in-wall wiring and power washed the floor in preparation for a contractor to come in to install a new insulated overhead door, insulate the walls & ceiling, drywall and paint. He finished up a couple of weeks ago. What a difference.

Shop before.




After.




The photo above is after I did the crack repair and ground the floor in preparation for the penetrating sealer. There is no vapor barrier under the 40+ year old slab and during the winter moisture comes up through the slab. Unfortunately I did not take photos of the crack repair. 

The crack repair was done with a urethane crack repair product called Emecole 555. It is a two part system that is very viscus and cures in about 15 minutes. The cracks were routed out with a v-groove diamond blade on an angle grinder to about a 1/4 inch depth. The crack is then wetted with the urethane and back filled with fine silica sand while wet. After back filling with the sand another coat of urethane is put on to saturate the sand. It is a hectic process with such a short working time but allowed me to to the grinding immediately afterward.

Repaired cracks after grinding.




For the moisture issue I found a product Called BoneDry that penetrates the concrete to create a moisture barrier within the concrete itself. Most sealers are not supposed to be used without a vapor barrier under the slab. In some cases the hydro-static pressure can rupture the concrete. As a construction consultant I do product specification and was skeptical of the manufacturers claims. They are also a company who aggressively markets to the DIY homeowner which is not always a good thing when looking for high performance products. Fortunately I was able to find a contractor who does remedial work for the Navy who has been using the product for over 10 years without out any adverse affects so I went forward with it. Time will tell. 

Because of the age of the floor it was necessary to grind the entire surface to make sure it would accept the sealer. My wife took a photo of me blowing out the concrete dust after grinding the floor. This was after I swept it out twice!




After putting on the vapor barrier I installed storage platforms on both sides that are 8 feet off the floor to take advantage of the 12 foot ceiling.  I won't really know the final equipment layout until I have the equipment there but figured with this configuration I could put in work benches and upper shelves/cabinets or full height storage in some of the 2 foot deep bays.

Me putting on the final surface sealer to protect the moisture barrier. 




Despite the hectic week of working on the shop, cutting down a few dead trees and raking another 10 yards of pine needles we loved every second just being there.


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## mattthemuppet2

fabulous, that'd be my dream of a shop and probably a location to live too!


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## Janderso

Looking good man.
Stay healthy and enjoy the ride.
I'm really looking forward to having some time in my life for the things I enjoy.


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## stioc

Congrats! Hopefully in 7yrs I should be posting something similar leaving this gawd awful over crowded expensive as heck place filled with arrogant asshats. Now to convince the better half that moving out of CA doesn't mean we're severing ties with the kids. They'll be starting their own careers and adult lives for themselves.


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## jbolt

stioc said:


> Congrats! Hopefully in 7yrs I should be posting something similar leaving this gawd awful over crowded expensive as heck place filled with arrogant asshats. Now to convince the better half that moving out of CA doesn't mean we're severing ties with the kids. They'll be starting their own careers and adult lives for themselves.


I hear you on that. I am so ready to get out of this state. 

Keep working on the spouse. A year and a half ago I would have never thought I could get my wife to move. Now she is just as eager to get out of here as I am. Funny how things can change.


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## jbolt

With the shop ready to occupy we started bringing stuff up on our regular trips there. Since we are moving over time I purchased a 7' x 14' cargo trailer. I had gotten some quotes on moving all at once and they came in around 15K to move the household and my equipment. As we are making 3-4 trips up a year it was a no brainier to spend 6K on a trailer. A round trip withe the trailer only costs me an extra $100 in fuel. 

I got the lights in the shop installed and to my good fortune our company was dumping five medium duty shelving units and two 3' x 6' storage cabinets so those found their way to me.

On our last trip I moved my mill and some shop items. I set the trailer up with an in-floor mounted winch and picked up some ramps.  I made of some brackets to fit on the end of a wood 4x4 that has an axle for a flat free wheelbarrow tire. The 4x4's are bolted to the bottom of the machine and then the machine is winched into the trailer. Once in the trailer the wheels are removed so the 4x4 sits on the floor. The 4x4 provided lateral stability. I also added some tabs to the brackets to screw to the trailer floor. 

I'm terrible at remembering to take pictures and failed to take any of moving the mill but we just loaded my lathe the other day and I took a couple after it was loaded. Works pretty slick though the tires at the head stock end were marginal for the weight of the lathe.


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## stioc

Awesome! that looks like a largish enclosed trailer. What are you pulling it with? Any big climbs on the way like the grapevine down south?


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## jbolt

We have a 07 GMC 2500 HD crew cab, 6.0. The only real climb is over the Siskiyou's near the border. Not too bad in good weather. I do miss my old deisel.

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## Dabbler

jbolt very nicely done!  nice welds too!


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## jbolt

MOVING SUCKS! Sorry, had to be said....

I am so glad we are doing this over time. I can't imagine trying to do this in a short period of time. Taking the last load of my shop up next week.  Also half my home office.

I had hoped to have the shop moved in four trips. This will be number six. It is nothing short of astonishing how much stuff there is once it is all pulled out in the open and boxed up. My shop was so packed I had to pull stuff out into the driveway to sort and box. One Saturday morning of sorting and packing I had a couple show up and start browsing thinking it was a yard sale. 

Another issue was everything in the shop is HEAVY! One load was mostly metal stock that put my trailer near max weight so volume wise it felt wrong. Wife and I managed to move the lathe and two mills ourselves. Loading and unloading went really well using the bolt on wheels and winch. At least all the heavy lifting is done so when we start moving household item it will be a breeze.

The silver lining to the Covid is my office officially closed and I'm now working from home full time which gives me 3-4 extra hours a day I would normally be commuting. 

13 months and counting..........


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## Janderso

Jbolt,
I'm really excited for you. The shop has a good start.
I just reread my post back in September of 2018. In November 2018 we lost our home and all our stuff.
Take the fire side of things very seriously. Just know, when a fire is out of control and the authorities are overwhelmed, you are on your own.
Trust me.
I hope you have a long and happy retirement.


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## NCjeeper

Just ran across this thread.


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## jbolt

Janderso said:


> Jbolt,
> I'm really excited for you. The shop has a good start.
> I just reread my post back in September of 2018. In November 2018 we lost our home and all our stuff.
> Take the fire side of things very seriously. Just know, when a fire is out of control and the authorities are overwhelmed, you are on your own.
> Trust me.
> I hope you have a long and happy retirement.


Thanks Jeff,

Points well taken. I'm glad to see you and your family rebound from your experience.


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## Alcap

Just found this thread too and will be following your move/adventures at the new place , Good luck !


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## jbolt

This thread needs and update!

2020, what a screwy year. I have had a pretty tight plan for our move including time and finances. When our state went into lockdown we were forced to work remotely and work came to a near halt as the industry worked out how to function with the circumstances. In June my company decided to close both offices permanently. My associate, who I was getting 90% of my work from, decided it was a good time to semi-retire. This had never been a discussion between us. He knew my situation and we had had a lot of discussions about working remotely once I made the move. Work was intermittent through October and all but non-existent in November and December. Things were not lookin good. My biggest fear was having to get into my retirement savings which would hinder what improvements we could do to the new place. I decided to keep moving forward and figure it out as we went. 

We made six trips to the property in 2020 to move my shop and other non essential household items. In June we had broadband brought into the property. The only broadband options were satellite, cellular or spot beam. My first tenant had cellular and said it was terrible, satellite was to expensive and too slow for my work so my only viable option was spot beam. Because our property sits on top of a knoll we have no clear line of sight to the tower on the mountain 3 miles away. The broadband company came out and did a drone survey. They gave me two options, put in a 100' tower with guaranteed signal or they could try and install the antenna in a tree with an 85% chance of success. The only risk was the $220 fee for an arborist to climb the tree to verify if it would work. At 10 grand for a tower we opted to try the tree install. They carefully picked a tree that would not be blocked in the future by other trees and sent their man up. Works perfect! The only downside (maybe) was the tree was too far from the house to run the Ethernet cable directly so we had to run it to the shop (oh darn). From there we will do a wireless bridge to the house.

My first tenant, who are great people, had been paying their rent on time even though both being out of work since the Covid shutdown. To the displeasure of my property management service I had deferred raising their rent since they were taking exceptional care of the property and were keeping up with the rent. Oregon is allowing renters to defer there rent at the expense of the property owner which is creating a lot of problems. Some people do not seem to grasp, or just don't care that they will still be on the hook for the rent in the future. The extra unemployment they were getting was allowing my tenant to stay. When that ran out in July they made the decision to move to another state where they could afford to buy a home. I was sorry to see them go. The silver lining (for us) was that the terrible fires in the Medford area had displaced so may people that there was a line five deep wanting to rent. Housing was already scarce before the fires. We had a new tenant in within two weeks at a rent 20% higher. She is an IT professional who works from home with two high school age boys that was looking for a place for a year or less while she looks for a home to buy so it worked out perfect for both of us.

Since we had purchased the property I had been looking for a small used tractor to help with yard maintenance. In 2019 we hand raked, loaded and hauled off 20 cubic yards of pine needles, leaves and branches which took a total of 10 days over several trips. I really didn't want to do that again. For whatever reason tractors retain their value and anything worth purchasing was 20 years old and selling for 70% of new. With the current situation and an unknown work future I agonized for a while if this was a good idea right now. My wife gave me that "Look" when I suggested we buy new. Despite some resistance I went with my gut feeling and made the decision to buy new. In August we had a new Kubota compact tractor delivered. With the tractor we raked loaded and hauled 40 cubic yards in two days. The wife is now fully onboard with the decision. The only downside is she now wants a new riding mower.

At home here in the Bay Area I still have a lot of work to do on this house to get it ready to rent after we move. With the extra time with no work I have been able to get a lot of work done. The downside is it still costs money! So I finished painting the house, repainted and reroofed the back patio cover, rebuilt the garden shed. Built, painted and installed a light box for the skylight I put in the kitchen 26 years ago.  Painted the new entry door and sidelight I put in last year. Finished the front landscaping, cleaned out the attic, insulated the ceiling (now that the attic was cleaned out!). Being a construction professional and too cheap to pay someone I usually self perform most tasks, plus it is always a good excuse to buy new tools . I can tell you at 56 years old and carrying more weight than I should, crawling and contorting into the tightest recesses of our attic to install batt insulation probably should have been one of those jobs hired out. I could barely move for two days afterward I was so sore. 

2021, a new year. Back in early December with no work in sight I began reaching out to other people I know in the industry for work prospects. The responses were positive but being the holiday season most everyone was winding down for the year. So I crossed my fingers and waited. The first week after new years my phone began ringing. I now have three more companies to do work for and another to meet with this month. The Covid situation has shown that we can work remotely and be productive which has set the stage for me to work from home in another state. My new clients have no problem with where my location will be.  January was a full work month and February is looking to be the same. Huge sigh of relief!

7 months and counting!


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## Cadillac STS

Consider purchasing a "Cyclone Rake" for those pine needles and grass clippings.  Clean up will be a breeze.  There are YouTube of it in action.  We got one for leaves and it has been really nice and easy.  No raking.


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## diamond

Been enjoying your story, thanks for updating!   We also are working out our escape from CA and just (today) dropped an offer on a place in Prescott AZ.   It has a nice 1064 sqft shop with it's own 200A service, fully insulated & half of it is 2 story providing for storage.   Fingers crossed they take our offer.   If they do I'll have to start my own escape thread!  lol


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## Papa Charlie

@jbolt Congratulations, on finding your piece of heaven.

I grew up in Tillamook Oregon and looking forward to retiring in Oregon. For now I am stuck in Washington state, which sadly is not much better than California, at least in the area I am. Won't end up in Northern Oregon this time, but are looking at the South West corner from the Cascades to the the Coast and below Roseburg. We still have just about 17 months left, seems like a long time until you think of all the things we have to get done. Will most likely build from scratch. Depending on what we find that fit our check list.

We moved up to Washington from Antioch, CA in 2010 when work was almost non existent. I know the commutes, not good. Worst was from Napa to S. San Francisco. That was a 126 mile round trip with the majority of it in heavy traffic.

Looks like you might be in Jackson County, nice area. A little warm for me. Wish you all the best in your new home and of course the shop. Nice that you will be able to take your job with you. Probably able to expand into Oregon clientele.


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## Aukai

Glad things are going in a positive direction


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## mattthemuppet2

great update and I'm glad you made it through all that stress and mess intact!


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## jbolt

Cadillac STS said:


> Consider purchasing a "Cyclone Rake" for those pine needles and grass clippings.  Clean up will be a breeze.  There are YouTube of it in action.  We got one for leaves and it has been really nice and easy.  No raking.


Yeah I have looked at those. I have also seen some interesting DIY setups. 

Currently I have a 60" straw rake on the back of the tractor. I use that to drag stuff to a path where my wife uses the riding mower and a Agri-Fab sweeper to pick it up and take to the main pile. Anything within a 100' of the main pile I just drag there. The sweeper does a surprisingly good job. I never intended to get the sweeper but our cousin loaned us hers to try and within 10 minutes of use my wife ran over a stump with it damaging the front. I bought our cousin a new one and kept the damaged one. It is now battle reinforced for 'wife' use.


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## jbolt

diamond said:


> Been enjoying your story, thanks for updating!   We also are working out our escape from CA and just (today) dropped an offer on a place in Prescott AZ.   It has a nice 1064 sqft shop with it's own 200A service, fully insulated & half of it is 2 story providing for storage.   Fingers crossed they take our offer.   If they do I'll have to start my own escape thread!  lol


Oh I know that feeling... Sounds like a great place. Keep us posted.


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## jbolt

Papa Charlie said:


> @jbolt Congratulations, on finding your piece of heaven.
> 
> I grew up in Tillamook Oregon and looking forward to retiring in Oregon. For now I am stuck in Washington state, which sadly is not much better than California, at least in the area I am. Won't end up in Northern Oregon this time, but are looking at the South West corner from the Cascades to the the Coast and below Roseburg. We still have just about 17 months left, seems like a long time until you think of all the things we have to get done. Will most likely build from scratch. Depending on what we find that fit our check list.
> 
> We moved up to Washington from Antioch, CA in 2010 when work was almost non existent. I know the commutes, not good. Worst was from Napa to S. San Francisco. That was a 126 mile round trip with the majority of it in heavy traffic.
> 
> Looks like you might be in Jackson County, nice area. A little warm for me. Wish you all the best in your new home and of course the shop. Nice that you will be able to take your job with you. Probably able to expand into Oregon clientele.


Our place is in Josephine County. North end of the valley about 12 miles above Grants Pass. The weather is pretty moderate. 

Northern Oregon is too Cali light for me. I'm not a coastal person but it is beautiful over there. I hope you find what your looking for.


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## extropic

Just found and read your thread. Watching now.

Congratulations on your progress.

I escaped to southern CA about 17 years ago.


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## brino

I have one small quibble with this statement:


jbolt said:


> We made six trips to the property in 2020 to move my shop and other non essential household items.


The use of the work "other" could imply "more of the same non-essential items".....but that can't be right!
You mean it to differentiate the two priorities of stuff like "to move (the most important stuff) and other non-essential", right?  

Are you having problems sourcing building materials in California.
I know some projects here are being slow-rolled or even stopped due to that.

Congratulations on the progress, especially during such a weird time.

-brino


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## jbolt

brino said:


> I have one small quibble with this statement:
> 
> The use of the work "other" could imply "more of the same non-essential items".....but that can't be right!
> You mean it to differentiate the two priorities of stuff like "to move (the most important stuff) and other non-essential", right?
> 
> Are you having problems sourcing building materials in California.
> I know some projects here are being slow-rolled or even stopped due to that.
> 
> Congratulations on the progress, especially during such a weird time.
> 
> -brino


HA!

Not sure on materials. The last home I built was in 2005. I do consulting work for the construction insurance industry.


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## Papa Charlie

jbolt said:


> Yeah I have looked at those. I have also seen some interesting DIY setups.
> 
> Currently I have a 60" straw rake on the back of the tractor. I use that to drag stuff to a path where my wife uses the riding mower and a Agri-Fab sweeper to pick it up and take to the main pile. Anything within a 100' of the main pile I just drag there. The sweeper does a surprisingly good job. I never intended to get the sweeper but our cousin loaned us hers to try and within 10 minutes of use my wife ran over a stump with it damaging the front. I bought our cousin a new one and kept the damaged one. It is now battle reinforced for 'wife' use.


I like the cost of the Pine Straw Rake over the Cyclone Rake. Not much to go wrong with them and can generally be fixed with minimal cost.
Which Straw Rake did you get?

If we end up on the East side of the Coastal Range, will probably end up in Josephine also. Looking at Coos County as first choice. Neither the wife or I can handle high temps. Having grown up near the Northern coast, there is a huge difference in weather just a few miles inland.

I hope you make the escape soon. It is sad to see where the Bay Area has gone over the past 10-15 years. Keep us abreast of your progress and again, congratulations.


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## jbolt

Papa Charlie said:


> I like the cost of the Pine Straw Rake over the Cyclone Rake. Not much to go wrong with them and can generally be fixed with minimal cost.
> Which Straw Rake did you get?
> 
> If we end up on the East side of the Coastal Range, will probably end up in Josephine also. Looking at Coos County as first choice. Neither the wife or I can handle high temps. Having grown up near the Northern coast, there is a huge difference in weather just a few miles inland.
> 
> I hope you make the escape soon. It is sad to see where the Bay Area has gone over the past 10-15 years. Keep us abreast of your progress and again, congratulations.


There is just too many people here now. The sense of community is gone. We used to know most everyone within a block or so and now its just our immediate neighbors. 

The straw rake I have is a Titan 60".


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## Papa Charlie

@jbolt
I know what you mean. It got worse after 2008. Our neighborhood in Antioch was very friendly, people would take walks after dinner, talk with each other, I knew the majority of my neighbors. Mix of white and blue collar workers, kids playing in the street. Afterwards, ended up with several shootings in the area, no one was out walking, most of the businesses had been robbed near us, people moved in from Richmond and Oakland and brought with them their issues.

We were sad and happy when we escaped in 2010. Got only 30% of what our home was worth. Washington was pretty nice at first, a reprieve from the hell we left, but it has changed up here. A lot of chrime, homeless, drug addicts, you know the story. Wife is scared to go out. Can't wait until we retire and are able to move.

Thanks for sharing. Our plan is to find piece of land between 2-5 acreas. One of the tools I will be purchasing is a tractor. Depending on the lay of the land, attachments will vary, but I have a list depending on what we end up with. Been really contemplating a backhoe or skid steer, at least initially, but once established may go to a tractor/loader config. Nice thing is that equipment is holding it's value, so you really don't loose.


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## jbolt

Papa Charlie said:


> @jbolt
> I know what you mean. It got worse after 2008. Our neighborhood in Antioch was very friendly, people would take walks after dinner, talk with each other, I knew the majority of my neighbors. Mix of white and blue collar workers, kids playing in the street. Afterwards, ended up with several shootings in the area, no one was out walking, most of the businesses had been robbed near us, people moved in from Richmond and Oakland and brought with them their issues.
> 
> We were sad and happy when we escaped in 2010. Got only 30% of what our home was worth. Washington was pretty nice at first, a reprieve from the hell we left, but it has changed up here. A lot of chrime, homeless, drug addicts, no know the story. Wife is scared to go out. Can't wait until we retire and are able to move.
> 
> Thanks for sharing. Our plan is to find piece of land between 2-5 acreas. One of the tools I will be purchasing is a tractor. Depending on the lay of the land, attachments will vary, but I have a list depending on what we end up with. Been really contemplating a backhoe or skid steer, at least initially, but once established may go to a tractor/loader config. Nice thing is that equipment is holding it's value, so you really don't loose.


It is a real shame what has and is still happening. I've been to some pretty sketchy places in the Bay Area for work. Been robbed twice, had my car broken into several times and once caught in the crossfire of a gang shooting while at a HUD apartment complex in Richmond. It is so bizarre to leave an area of significant wealth and then within a few miles drop into what feels like a third world country. With the current laws the police don't even respond to petty theft anymore. 

Where we are in Mountain View it still has a very low crime rate but we have seen petty theft and burglary rise some with people coming from out of the area to cause trouble. 25 years ago we didn't have to lock our doors.

The only downside to our area in Oregon is the meth addicts'. They seem to be responsible for a lot of theft. Our place is on a private dirt road with 12 other properties. We are third of a mile in from the paved road. The entrance to our road is not real inviting so no one ventures up so things are safe there. Even though we have only up there a few weeks a year I know most everyone of the road. Everyone keeps an eye out for each other. Its a good feeling.

We have 3-1/2 acres. When we first started looking at property I didn't think I wanted more than a couple acres to deal with. If I were to do it again I would like to have around 10.


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## Papa Charlie

If I could, I would buy more, but it comes at a cost that my retirement funds won't support. I want that cushion between me and the world. Having a private road where someone stands out if they don't belong is essential. Too much property also shields those that don't belong from the eyes of your neighbors so it is a give and take situation. Trouble with land that is larger than 5 acres is, unless you have deep pockets, it puts you in an even more remote area where utilities and services are farther away and more costly to get. Fortunately, the private road seems to extend your property line beyond the legal point and provide that cushion without the additional expense.

Oregon has its issues that is for sure. But the people that I know in the Southern part of the state are not the same as the Portlandia types in the North. If any one is planning to be along the I-5 corridor, then they need to be back away from it. The criminals use I-5 as their get away resource and don't generally venture too far away to prevent standing out or getting caught up on one way in and out roads.


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## 7milesup

Very interesting read on your adventure Jbolt.  
I bought a Kubota BX2380, which is the series down from yours.  Bought it when I had 1.5 acres.  Now I have 22 and it is almost too small, but still works well for what I do.  One of the best purchases I ever made.  Made a land plane for it last summer to take care of my driveway.  It works well.  

I used to take the rich & famous in and out of Sun Valley a lot back when I was still flying.  Clint Eastwood filmed a movie up there, which is memorialized on sign before you get into Hailey (I think).


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## jbolt

We gave our tenants their 90 day notice today! I can hardly wait. I just want to go now.

Kind of hoping my tenant moves out early. I still have a lot to do on the current house to get ready to rent. I have done most everything I can do while still living here but will probably take 3-4 weeks to finish up once we are out. Work has been really good this year so I think I am going to hire out some of the painting and landscape work. 

So 90 days and counting until we finally move!


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## matthewsx

jbolt said:


> We gave our tenants their 90 day notice today! I can hardly wait. I just want to go now.
> 
> Kind of hoping my tenant moves out early. I still have a lot to do on the current house to get ready to rent. I have done most everything I can do while still living here but will probably take 3-4 weeks to finish up once we are out. Work has been really good this year so I think I am going to hire out some of the painting and landscape work.
> 
> So 90 days and counting until we finally move!


Great news. Also like that you’re doing what I recommend for anyone leaving this area, if you own your house here rent it out rather than selling.

If you’re happy in the new place in a couple of years then all is good but you haven’t shut the door on coming back.

Im one of the lucky few who have been able to pull it off but coming back to the Bay Area isn’t easy.

John


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## diamond

Oh man, I know how excited you are to see the end.  We are finally at the end of our great escape from CA and it's been grueling.   After 5 trips back and forth pulling trailers (one of which was moving our horses) we literally just finished unloading the last uHaul truck load last week!  Though it was nice to be able to take a lot of time to get moved into our new place then put our old place on the market, I'm so glad it's over.  From the time we closed on our new house to now being permanently here in Prescott was about a 3 month process.  So I know how anxious you are to get it over with!

In this insane real estate market here I got really lucky and scored a nice shop all finished out and ready for me to customize it.  Trying to build a structure right now with lumber prices the way they are and builders backed up would be heck.   I am itching to get started on the shop but gotta keep the wife happy so the 1st priority is on getting the house unpacked and set up.  Everything in the shop is still packed up in boxes and my machines are still on the flatbed.   I've got a long project ahead but it's gonna be fun.  The nice thing is after having built my first shop, I can learn from my previous mistakes.  Now I can do all the things right I wished I had before!


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## jbolt

matthewsx said:


> Great news. Also like that you’re doing what I recommend for anyone leaving this area, if you own your house here rent it out rather than selling.
> 
> If you’re happy in the new place in a couple of years then all is good but you haven’t shut the door on coming back.
> 
> Im one of the lucky few who have been able to pull it off but coming back to the Bay Area isn’t easy.
> 
> John


Thanks John, our plan is to rent the house for 8-10 years and then see where we are at. We own both homes outright so it makes the most sense to rent. Like you said it also gives a way back if necessary but I hope that never happens. I have lived here my whole life and I am done. Way too many people here now.


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## Papa Charlie

I am so jealous of you two. I have 12 more months starting this July. But it is getting closer.

Congrats to both of you.


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## jbolt

diamond said:


> Oh man, I know how excited you are to see the end.  We are finally at the end of our great escape from CA and it's been grueling.   After 5 trips back and forth pulling trailers (one of which was moving our horses) we literally just finished unloading the last uHaul truck load last week!  Though it was nice to be able to take a lot of time to get moved into our new place then put our old place on the market, I'm so glad it's over.  From the time we closed on our new house to now being permanently here in Prescott was about a 3 month process.  So I know how anxious you are to get it over with!
> 
> In this insane real estate market here I got really lucky and scored a nice shop all finished out and ready for me to customize it.  Trying to build a structure right now with lumber prices the way they are and builders backed up would be heck.   I am itching to get started on the shop but gotta keep the wife happy so the 1st priority is on getting the house unpacked and set up.  Everything in the shop is still packed up in boxes and my machines are still on the flatbed.   I've got a long project ahead but it's gonna be fun.  The nice thing is after having built my first shop, I can learn from my previous mistakes.  Now I can do all the things right I wished I had before!


Excellent! Glad to hear you made it.

We have been moving stuff over the past 2 years in a 7 x 14 enclosed trailer. We took our 9th load up last month. The first 5 was my shop, equipment and material. All the shop stuff was heavy so the amount of stuff we could take with each load was limited.  I think we have 2 or 3 more to move the last of it.

Between going through and getting rid of stuff, packing, working on the new property, getting this home ready to rent and working mostly full time I haven't had any real time off since we started this in 2018. I am ready for a break.


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## jbolt

Papa Charlie said:


> I am so jealous of you two. I have 12 more months starting this July. But it is getting closer.
> 
> Congrats to both of you.


Moving or retiring?


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## Papa Charlie

jbolt said:


> Moving or retiring?


Retiring and hopefully moving to just west of your new neck of the woods


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## jbolt

Papa Charlie said:


> Retiring and hopefully moving to just west of your new neck of the woods


Duh. Now I remember. Are you actively looking or have found a place? 

I'm not real happy about the decriminalization of hard drugs. Just going to make things worse. The drug trade organizations are getting bolder. Last week they shut down an illegal grow about 5-6 miles from our place. 142 green houses, 30,000+ plants. It is unfortunate the state and our county walked into the legalization of pot with no real plan.


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## Papa Charlie

Still looking, we are concentrating on Coos County. The climate in Josephine County is a little too hot for us and the basin collects wild fire smoke which is not good for the stints I have in my heart. Although it is not completely letting out some areas in Josephine and Douglas counties.

Hard to say where we will end up. As we approach the end of this year the search will heat up. Currently just monitoring, of course if the perfect situation were to arise we would jump on it. Partially, we have been waiting as we will be using the funds from the sale of our boat to finance the majority of the land and land development. We are moving off the boat in November to make the final prep for it to go on the market in February. If something comes up before we sell, I can finance with some of my retirement funds and then reimburse the funds when it does. Most boats of our size, up here are selling pretty fast. So hoping that condition remains.

Sadly, the government in Oregon is less than desirable and seems as though they want everyone pacified (drug induced). Hopefully, either we can get the current regime out or become a part of Idaho. One is as difficult as the other. Just learned that they have passed some laws that regulate private water wells. Currently it only covers wells that are shared by 3 or more homes. In those cases they can tell you to shut it down if they decide the water tables are being pulled too low. They are working on ways to address single home supply wells but haven't gotten that worked out yet.


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