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Roly Poly
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Roly Poly
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PostThu Apr 29, 2021 4:28 pm 
I’d like to get suggestions regarding places to retire. I don’t need a job (or want one, 😂) and places like Leavenworth and Cle Elum seem appealing. Or Bellingham, Carson City, NV, Lolo Montana. I’ve been stuck in Seattle due to needing specialist vet care for my dogs but assuming I will have another dog in the future, access vet care and medical care will continue to be important. A huge part of me wants to be a recluse in the boonies but that’s probably just an over reaction from being stuck here in Seattle for now. I would actually like to be in a place where I can contribute to the community, make new friends. Idaho is beautiful but this Seattlelite wouldn’t be a good fit there if you read between the lines. I really want to be close to hiking as one thing I’m really tired of are the long drives from a seattle to trailheads. Any ideas?

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Randito
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PostThu Apr 29, 2021 4:48 pm 
Get a van or an RV, live at trailheads and hike everyday. Wander south in the fall, north in the spring.

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cdestroyer
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PostThu Apr 29, 2021 4:59 pm 
lolo montana or more appropriately the bitterroot valley has become quite a haven for small ranchette off the gridders in fact a lot of the surrounding area around missoula is that way...I have a friend here lives on 10 acres, part old railroad track, part old sawmill next to the clark fork river, recently learned his property would bring him over 130,000. big cattle ranch here buying up property left and right as the old ranchers die off. a lot of what remains as wild country is parks of one kind or the other, mines or private properties. still there are parcels to be had----------

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Roly Poly
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Roly Poly
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PostThu Apr 29, 2021 5:06 pm 
Randito, that would not work, appealing as it sounds because the one thing I really want is to “belong” somewhere, to be part of a community. Last thing I want it to be a Nomadland movie. That was a depressing movie!

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Chief Joseph
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PostThu Apr 29, 2021 7:19 pm 
I would pick a small town in Idaho, Montana, or Wyoming. Priest River Idaho is a nice little town, plus you are right on the border of Wa, so you can shop across the the line in Newport, Wa. No grocery tax in Wa, no Sin Tax in Idaho. Priest River is less than 2k population, and you are a half hour away from Priest Lake, lots of hiking and recreation up there and not a really long drive to hikes in western Montana, Canada, or a bit further to Wyoming. Plus if you really like to shop you would be 30 minutes from Sandpoint, and about an hour to Spokane and Coeur D' Alene. And as you get older, being close to medical facilities is important. Avoid Newport hospital, but there are some decent facilities in Sandpoint and of course CDA and Spokane.

Go placidly amid the noise and waste, and remember what comfort there may be in owning a piece thereof.
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Randito
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PostThu Apr 29, 2021 9:49 pm 
Roly Poly wrote:
That was a depressing movie!
True, but part of her struggle was that she was broke. I full timed for 8 months. You can meet a lot of people and make friends as well as see a lot of beautiful places. I came back to the PNW because of family relationships. I still follow various vanlife and full time forums. The early months of the pandemic were very challenging as people were very afraid and out of state plate vehicles vandalized. Even if you can't envision permanently do full time, if you do it for 6 months , you can a range of locations to get a better feel for various locations before making a choice of where you want to settle.

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Pyrites
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PostThu Apr 29, 2021 10:23 pm 
...and become so irascible that when you hitch a ride (on one of your bombing runs, unknown of course to person giving you a ride) that in twenty minutes you get dumped on the side of I-5. You’re so scary that person stops long standing practice of giving rides. This is not a hypothetical experience.

Keep Calm and Carry On? Heck No. Stay Excited and Get Outside!
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cdestroyer
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PostFri Apr 30, 2021 6:47 am 
lincoln montana? wasn't that where the unibomber was, kazinski? lot of nothing there, not to far from towns tho

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altasnob
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PostFri Apr 30, 2021 10:46 am 
If you want to stay in Washington, but want something affordable, towns near the Canadian border such as Northport, Kettle Falls, and Metaline Falls all look interesting to me. They are all pretty redneck, but if want more cosmopolitan culture, the very liberal Canadian towns of Rossland and Nelson are a short drive away. And you are not too far from Spokane for Costco, airport, and health care.

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Schroder
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PostFri Apr 30, 2021 12:27 pm 
Is it the long drives to trailheads or being stuck in traffic as you approach Seattle that's the issue? I lived near Snohomish for 40 years and it probably couldn't get much better for access to trails on the west side of the Cascades from Rainier north to the border. Close to medical care too. Too many people are moving there though and traffic is steadily getting worse. We retired to Whidbey Island because being near the water is important to us as well as a rural atmosphere. It's a longer drive to trailheads in the Cascades but the Olympics are now more accessible and there's a lot of easy hiking here on the island. Lots of community involvement here and a surprising level of theater & arts. Serious medical issues are still addressed in Seattle, as it is for most of the state, and for trauma care we rely on a helo to Harborview. Pick your priorities carefully & then find the place that's suitable.

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Brian R
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PostFri Apr 30, 2021 11:53 pm 
altasnob wrote:
If you want to stay in Washington, but want something affordable, towns near the Canadian border such as Northport, Kettle Falls, and Metaline Falls all look interesting to me. They are all pretty redneck, but if want more cosmopolitan culture, the very liberal Canadian towns of Rossland and Nelson are a short drive away. And you are not too far from Spokane for Costco, airport, and health care.
Sorry, but almost every word of this statement is absolutely horrifying. I suspect the good people you diminish as "rednecks" in these beautiful places will do quite well without you.

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Schroder
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PostSat May 01, 2021 4:36 pm 
Wherever you consider, I suggest you go stay there for a month or two. We considered moving in toward Seattle after we sold our house so we rented an apartment. I didn't take us long to figure out that's where we didn't want to be.

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RichP
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PostSun May 02, 2021 5:59 am 
No place that has the things that you are looking for hasn't already been discovered by lots of other folks. Idaho is booming with people moving in from California and other areas and I can imagine most western states are seeing the same. It's a mixed blessing as it has created an injection of $$ but also created concern about changes in the way of life. Like Schroder said, I'd go out and do a fact finding mission in person and see what's out there. And rednecks can be some of the finest people on Earth once you get to know them. Here's an article describing where people are leaving and moving to: https://moneywise.com/life/lifestyle/americans-abandon-states

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cdestroyer
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PostSun May 02, 2021 7:19 am 
This little one horse town I live in has changed a little since I left in the late 60's. BUT! in the last few years big money has come and found things to their liking and have been buying buying and changing to suit themselves. Money I have learned comes from microsoft employees......

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altasnob
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PostSun May 02, 2021 7:29 am 
I never said rednecks were not nice people. But NE Washington tends to be deep MAGA anti-vax land, with a strong appetite for methamphetamine and lead tainted water. And just as Brian R is constantly questioning his life choice of residing in one of the most liberal metro areas in the US, I assume those from that very liberal metro area may be hesitant to move to NE Washington. Just pointing out the politics and cultural scene is very different across the border from there. Nelson's leftist roots date back to draft dodgers during the Vietnam War. Living in Canada could be an option but without any realistic ability to become a citizen or permanent resident, a US citizen is limited to 180 day visa. The US's primary home capital gains exception also makes it less of a good financial deal for an American to buy property in Canada. But if you really wanted to, you could spend 6 months or so a year in Canada and then travel in the US and internationally for the other half. You would still have to go to hospitals in the US, but again, Spokane is not that far away.

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