half acre
In no particular order, with Odin on my lap as I type this, here are some thoughts about places to live.
Winston-Salem. Barring any unforeseen changes of situation, I’ll probably move back there in a few years, once L is graduated with a bachelor’s, has a career job, and P has some solid direction, college-wise. That was always the expectation when I accepted the new job back in January, although, to my employer’s infinite credit, they didn’t mandate a specific timeline for the move. But it’s job I intend to keep, and I do like the area, all the more since the visit back in late April, which helped me view it with fresh eyes and appreciate it even more (side note: It’s going to be challenging to visit again between now and Christmas given how special the previous trip was). Cost of living is a bit less than here, and the climate is a touch cooler. It’s also much closer to the ski resorts up in West Virginia. And I like North Carolina’s feel and politics more than Tennessee’s. The only real downside is it’s more flat, with no major river, so it lacks Chattanooga’s sense of place, although there are landmarks around, depending on where I choose to live.
Seattle. B lives here, as do D&R, and I would love to move there, but I think career opportunities have passed me by. Cost of living is considerably higher as well, and it’s on the other side of the country from my parents and brothers. In a perfect world, I’d love to relocate to that coast, but realistically, it’s a process that should have been started a long time ago, when I was married, and D really had no interest. It would have been too much of a shift. Still—I can’t tell you how fantastic it would be to be able to hang out with B in person whenever I wanted. I really can’t think of anyone else who coheres in terms of perspective on life, general energy level, shared lived experiences, and so on. I miss him a lot.
France. Given that I work remotely full-time, I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t fantasized about moving over there and just working from 2 PM to 11 PM, the corresponding working hours in that time zone. I made it work while we were stranded there for an extra week and a half back in 2022, after all. As much as I’ve experienced, I’ve just barely scratched the surface of all the little nuances of the towns, cities and countryside over there. My memories are draped over the landscape like a blanket, but only sit on the surface; living there would be a chance to burrow down into the texture of the place, the smells and sounds, the little shops and restaurants, the hiking trails and traffic patterns. The silver lining of our unexpectedly extended stay is that by Week 3, I realized “I can do this.” I knew where to get groceries. I knew where the best baguettes were, and where the cheap gas was. I could make real headway talking with the pharmacist, or banter with the waitstaff at a restaurant. Coming back was particularly cruel after that epiphany. But it has all the same challenges as Seattle, with a few more besides, like a work visa and such. Still—I would make lifestyle sacrifices for the sake of trying.
Hayesville. The retirement dream, although if I could move there before retiring and work remotely out of the Hayesville house, I’d do it in a heartbeat. But as discussed here, it’s a little complicated. Given that it’s somewhat closer to Winston-Salem (4 hours vs. 6+ hours), I wonder if my company would be OK with me moving there directly instead of the intermediate step of the city. It has it all: Small town life, a strong sense of place, located in NC, family connections and just…the air, the smell, the sound of the wind as it ruffles the dogwood in the front yard—it’s home. As for the house itself, I’d fix it up and modernize it somewhat. I wouldn’t gut it and start over, but I’d definitely consider moving some walls around and opening up the kitchen and dining area, etc. Given that it only has a carport, I’d have to figure out some solution for the cars, but that’s a challenge I’d be more than willing to take on for the sake of living there. Maybe I could rent space at a nearby garage, or even just find a workable storage solution. On another minor note, I’d like to figure out a solution for the trash so I wouldn’t have to take it by the dump on a regular basis. I wonder if I could persuade the local trash service to stop by the end of the road? That’d be nice for long-term living there. All that said, it is a fair drive from ski resorts, or an airport, and the closest real hospital is 20 minutes down the road in Murphy, so there are downsides, but even so, I’d be a fool to dismiss it for relatively petty reasons.