Thinking about a move..

I hear all this talk about being lonely and I have to shake my head. I have suffered with agoraphobia my whole life (so far) and could count on one hand the number of friends I've had in my 54 years. However, forums, like this one, have opened an entirely new world to me. I can stay home and still meet and visit new people; and when I'm uncomfortable I just log off.

My kids give me a fit sometimes. I have a new travel trailer; used only once for two days a few years back. I bought a new Harley-Davidson motorcycle some years ago that sits in the drive in the summer and in the barn in the winter; except for when my sons-in-law take it out to "blow ot the carbon." I've put 3,000 miles on my Jeep (it's a '99 model) and I think the kids have put most of those miles on it.

But I'm not lonely. I have my family.

By-the-by, Herself is looking for a position as a Pricinpal in one of the schools in Montana. She figures to see more of the US, and if I go, maybe I can go Mule deer and Elk hunting.

Haggis @ Wolf Cairn Moor

Hi Y'All,

This is probably totally irrevelant to your situation. But........
A couple years ago, about 4, I was looking at retirement, from Ford
Motor Co. with 37 years service. And, we really did a lot of research
on Montana. We made a short Vacation trip up there, in 2000-1-2, each year.
We were looking at the Western Slope of the Rockies, and that big river
complex, between the Rockies,and the
Bitterroot Mountains. Up on the Bitterroot,
Lehigh,Southfork, Missoula River, and up in there.
We tracked the weather, on WeatherUnderground, for two years, to check it
out. We found the temperature extremes, in that particular area not too different from Indiana.
We looked at the Towns of Hamilton, Darby, Missoula, Thompson Falls, and
Sealy Lake. The real estate prices were not extreme, compared to Indiana,
perhaps a little lower. I have a decent retirement & Sharon is younger than I, so she still works. I'd had the place in Indianapolis suburbs, for 32 yrs. And realized some cash from that.But............
We got figuring the cost & expence of the move. We figured all the CHANGES, we'd encounter.The long distance from the 7 grown Kids & 16 grand-kids.
The fact, that at 63 yrs. old I REALLY am not ready to start over. I'm not that young any more.It would have been a one-time, one-way-only move. It scared me.

So we found our Dream Place, in SW Indiana. 13 Acres with a 1 acre pond.
It's just about all rolling hillside. The only flat spot is where the house & garage are. It was a fixer-upper. so it has given me a bunch to do to keep me busy, in my retirement. Lotsa little things to fix up! But, we got it for only
$112,000. A STEAL. There are bargains. You just have to have the Time to search, & the Money to put down.

We have no livestock. But I brought my birdfeeders down here from the city.
More Goldfinches Hummimgbirds & PurpleMartins, than I've ever seen, with deer, coyotes, rabbits, chipmunks, & raccoons, in the yard & around the house.
I'm very Content! I'm happy, out here on my Hill. I have my own DREAM PLACE.
I'm Where I need to be.

But I LOVE MONTANA. It is STILL my "Other Dream Place!"

I hope you find your Dream Place up there. It sounds like a GREAT Place for Younger Folks to Get a new Start. Good Luck, in All your Endeavors.
May the Gods Smile on You & Your Family.
Enjoy Montana!

__________________
Be Intense, always. But always take the time to
Smell the Roses, give a Hug, Really Listen, or
Jump to Defend your Friends & What you Believe in.
'Til later, Have Fun,
Old John

I wouldn't relocate to an area strictly because of a job. Job's change, jobs don't last,companies don't last forever. I've moved from state to state a few times, I never had a job when I got there.
I have no idea where you live in PA or what you want to do but surely before you move to Montana for a job there are better options around you.

__________________
"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self confidence"
Robert Frost

Around here Erie, PA it is dull alot of business are closing up we can thank the mayor for that... Minimum wage is like $6 hr No driving jobs available that pay anything but maybe $400 gross a week if your lucky... If I bite the bullet and go to work (kids are 11, 10, 8, 6) Then that means a min wage job and paying for daycare or a babysitter and gas to go to said job. By the end of the week Do I really make anything NO Taxes eat up everything... We are looking out West because of the job offers he had had. He has looked into many places and talked to many people about the jobs health benifits and so forth...

Now possibly maybe even Colorado... Around the Denver area.. I have been there before and I like the area.

We are still up in the air about what we are going to do but work around here right now is tough to find. Unless you do the min wage thing and $200 a week is not going to support a family of 6 when you have a close to $900 mortgage payment....

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Shelby

Meg Z has a lot of valuable info on moving. Great advice on the preparations. I, too, was a military brat. And I still do it, have moved 49 times.

Let me give you some hints on how to move your stuff. That's where my expertise lies.

Start packing now. But pack wisely. Have a couple garage sales. Get rid of everything you can. If there is furniture you can get rid of, do it. Books are heavy to move, so get rid of as many of them as you can. Pare down to just the essentials, but there are a few things to keep just for convenience sake.

A kitchen table and chairs. It's not fun to have to sit on the floor and eat.

At least one dresser. Just for underwear. Everything else can be hung up on hangers.

If anyone has back problems, a bed is nice to keep. It won't hurt anyone else to sleep on the floor, and the kids probably will like it anyway if you make a game of it.


You can start packing wall hangings, decorations, books right now.

Collect smaller moving boxes. Large boxes strain your back and are awkward to carry and move. I would rather move 100 smaller boxes than 20 large ones. About the only thing you really want to put in larger boxes is stuff like Tupperware.

When it gets really close to moving, get some disposable plates, utensils and cups. Eat simply. Sandwiches and frozen pizza are great for this. You can pack up most of your kitchen a few days before the actual move.

Mark your boxes well. Mark it with the room that it goes in and what is actually in the box. "Mom's stuff" doesn't tell you whether it is for mom's room, the kitchen or the bathroom. Use a fat permanent marker.

Have 3 or 5 boxes marked with "Last box" This will be filled with the last stuff you pack that you want to be the first you unpack once you get to your destination.

If you haven't been saving your newspaper for recycling, go to the newspaper office and ask for a roll of newsprint. It's cheap and packs stuff well. Those little plastic shopping bags that are piling up under your sink work great, too.

Tape the boxes well. Packing tape is great for the especially heavy boxes, but regular masking tape is fine for anything else.

Write 'fragile' on anything that is the least bit breakable. And write it LARGE.

If there is something particularly valuable, keep it in the car with you. If you HAVE to put it in the truck, then write something like 'misc. JUNK' on it.

If one of you is going to drive the moving truck, and the other your main vehicle, and you have an extra vehicle, make sure that vehicle will fit on the trailer you intend to haul it on. Budget rented me a trailer for my truck and then it didn't even fit. I had to ride the Greyhound back to my last place and drive the route a second time once we got to our destination. It would have been nice to know so I could have planned differently.

Overall, Budget was better to work with over U-Haul. I've rented from both, but despite that one incident with the trailer, I've found Budget more pleasant and helpful and less expensive. I've worked with a few others as well, but some of them have out of the way places to go to to return the trucks.

By the way, rent the dolly if you don't have one. It really saves your back.

Contact the chamber of commerce of the city you plan to move to and request a relocation packet. They tend to cost anywhere from $10 to $25, and they are well worth it.

__________________
Just feed me chocolate.