It took me a long time to find my acreage in the woods, out of the city limits, but most importantly...surrounded by good folk who live in the woods for the right reason. I highly recommend it. Good for the soul. Left Wilsonville in 2001 and haven't looked back...although if I were young and single, I'd probably live in the city...my Portland friends mostly bought places in Milwaukee or the city and don't even bother owning cars. Rent them when they need one and are computer geeks by day and bicycle to get around. being single and.finding a mate out here in the sticks would be brutal!
When I first moved to my ranch that I had in the 90s, a neighbor told me, he had lived there his whole life and had never even seen the Pacific Ocean. I was impressed.
Actually, If I were a young fellow with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, I would only have a minimum condo in the city where I worked. A home where ever the hell I wanted it, no doubt out in the countryside some where. My wife and I have talked about our days when I worked in Cupertino and the Labs, Santa Teressa and Almaden why didn't we just have an Condo in the Santa Clara valley and a Home in say, Capitola. Hell, I was on an Airplane half the damn time anyway.
I've done that in my single days...lived in a small studio in Taipei for years, walked to work, didn't need a car and traveled a lot more than I do nowadays. When I moved to the east coast of Taiwan after marrying we had a car we wouldn't drive for weeks...motorcycle took me all around the island.
I like where I live in Henderson. My last neighborhood felt like it wasn't even in Vegas and our new one is closer, Winco is 5 minutes away and my work is 10 minutes away. But, we live on top of the mountains to the South and it feels remote even though I can hear a low hum from the freeway down the hill. Best of both worlds. If you count solid rock as country.
Yeah, after we came back from a sailing cruise, we bought another home in the valley after I road a 750 to work each day for about 4 months. From our boat to the Lab. Still had not figured it out and bought another house in the wrong place.
My end goal (in life) is to die when I'm old. But my short term goal is to eventually move further out from the city and kind of live a simple life. Of course, that might be different if I was married, or had kids. As long as the city I live in has a Fred Meyer close by, and a decent place to get lumber/wood, I'm fine.
Better switch to BiMart. Freddie made me a believer just this week. Their story in Coos Bay is the place where I got my prescriptions filled. They raise the price of each of my three prescriptions by 4 or 5 times what was the price. When I ask why? They said they were in business to make a profit. So, I was there to pick up one prescription and I could not think of anything to say other than, well keep this one and put a bow on it! Perhaps you can get your profit. Check with Walmarts list of drugs for $4 for 30 days, $10 for 90 and all three are still on the list. The line is a hell of a lot better at BiMart than WalMart and they will price match. Bye Bye Freddy.
I have an uncle who lives in Scappoose on the top of the town in the mountains, he's lived there for probably 30 years. About as pro 2nd amendment as it gets. His gun arsenal would make Randy Weaver blush. He had a high ranking job with the government working for HUD and helped put New Orleans back together. He worked there under the Clinton and Bush administrations. He's loaded $$$ but lives a very modest lifestyle. He's a farmer who has horses, raises cattle and pigs before he slaughters them and gives to friends and family and for his own personal use. The first gun I ever shot was a .357 magnum in his backyard when I was about 8 years old. It gave me whiplash and put me on my ass. He's a Democrat who has never voted anything but. He's also one of the most knowledgeable people I know and can ream just about anyone there is in a political debate. Tears apart the average Democrat stereotype.