Man, this morning when I woke up in Idaho it was 27 degrees and threatening to snow. The forecast showed a high of 33 and more snow. Windy and gray skies, I knew it’d be a great day to stoke the fireplace and plan some warm-weather vacations. And while I do that, I know the conversation will come up to “Why did we decide we wouldn’t move to Timbuktu in retirement”…
I was right. As soon as I suggested a warm-weather vacation, we quickly started discussing friends who had retired and moved to Timbuktu. Sure, it sounded like a great idea when they talked about it before they moved. And sure, somedays it still sounds like a good idea. However, we’re pretty well set in Idaho. We’ve got our friends and family here, our favorite fishing holes, our business, four seasons and a “dry heat” in the summer.
Here are a few more reasons we won’t retire and move to Timbuktu:
- It’s muggy. I mentioned above that we have a “dry heat” in Idaho. The humidity is low as we live in a high desert region. If it’s 90 degrees here it’s still not unbearable, and you aren’t overcome with the feeling you need to shower as soon as you get out of the shower because of how damp and miserable the air is.
- It’s very hot in the summer. I’m not one to complain about the heat, at least not the “dry heat” our Idaho summers have. I love sun shiny days with a light breeze, and the way our Idaho nights cool down considerably. Timbuktu is just hot in the summer, stifling hot, and it doesn’t really cool down much at night.
- It’s very crowded. So many retirees and tourists fill the roadways, pack the restaurants, crowd the beaches and converge like vultures in all the places we’d like to be. In Idaho we’re lucky, because there aren’t millions of people hanging out, hitting the buffets or filling our favorite fishing holes. When we talk about the traffic, it just means we had three cars in front of us at the red light. There are no traffic jams. We don’t have stop and go traffic. Well, let me take that back. Our version of traffic jams typically involve the deer herd we have living in the valley that sometimes cross the old highway and cause a slight delay as we all appreciate watching them pass by.
- We don’t really have bugs, at least nothing like Timbuktu has. Mosquitos, chiggers, cockroaches, silverfish…We can sit out on our decks as late as we like without having to worry about bug spray, lighting citronella candles, or thinking about how many bug bites we’ll have in the morning.
- Our wild animals seem tame compared to sharks and alligators! Sure, we’ve got moose, bear, and wolves, but most of the time they leave us alone, and we know how to live with them. Sharks and alligators are scary and have so many teeth!
- Our little region in Idaho doesn’t really have severe weather. Timbuktu has tornadoes and hurricanes! We get a few spots of rain here and there, some big winds that might take down a tree limb or two, and snowstorms. But nothing that decimates entire towns in a handful of minutes or raging storms that last for a week!
What I guess I should have titled this is “We Love Idaho and Have Grown Deep Roots Here and Love Traveling to Warm Weather Locations in the Winter, Like Timbuktu, but Don’t Want to Move or Maintain Multiple Homes”…
See, we do this about this time every year. We get tired of the cold, the snow, the shoveling and the gray days. We get the bug to go somewhere warm, and then start talking about how great it would be to live there. We have to remind ourselves that the seasons will change, the tulips will bloom, the snow will melt, summer will come and we’ll quickly remember why we made Idaho our home and why we choose to stay here in Idaho.
Do you guys ever wish you lived someplace else and then figure out ways or reasons why you stay put? We’d love to hear where you “Won’t Retire and Move to”.
The H.A.R.D. apparel line, HARD-Wears, made its debut in Daytona Beach, FL. And for the classy, beautiful women, the ones you dream about, a Dame’s apparel line is also in the works. But we are about more than just looking good. H.A.R.D. is a mindset, an attitude. A lifestyle that asks, reflects and answers HARD questions…
The creation of Half Ass Retired Dude was initially geared towards the Baby Boomer generation – the 78 million people born from 1946 to 1964. These are people in early retirement or those who will be retiring in the near future. However, as we began to ask these questions of ourselves, we realized we shouldn’t just target people our age. H.A.R.D. does not advocate quitting your job, but it encourages you to evaluate what you want and need. In most cases it just asks you to look at life differently. This is also something you shouldn’t do alone. Before making any hasty decisions, seek some advice, get a mentor, pray. A wise person always seeks counsel. Learn more about H.A.R.D. at https://www.hard-wears.com/contact us at https://www.hard-wears.com/contact/.
