Britton and I have been having a lot of hardcore discussions that get to the heart of “what do we want to do with our lives?” Then we laugh and think, do other people have these strange conversations as often as we do? I have no idea, but I know that we’ve been having them a lot lately.
While our plans and ideas can change on a dime if an opportunity pops up (like a property with acreage in Colorado or a smokin’ deal on another rental), we think we have some semblance of a plan. So here goes. I think we are going to stay in Colorado working and saving for as long as possible (with the uncertainty of my job, that is one of the unknowns) until we have saved up enough to pay off another of our rental properties. At that point we believe we will be more financially secure. With all the news coming out of Puerto Rico talking about lack of employment and the consolidation of most of their banks into Banco Popular we think this would be wise. Plus, if everything, including housing prices, drop through the floor in Puerto Rico we’ll be better poised to jump on those opportunities.
So we’re not sure still on the exact ETA, but we do have an exact number in our head of how much we need to save up. And in this lanscape of unknowns, something exact is comforting.
We are getting another roommate here in Colorado and we really think we could make something similar (like a guesthouse) in Puerto Rico work out once we have our safety net of outside income locked in. We like meeting new people and know how to run rentals, so we think this would be ideal. Heck, if we can get people that want to live with us in Greeley of all places, you’d think Caribbean paradise would be a snap! So, onward and upward we go. Slow and steady and all that.
We are always talking about the next 5 to 10 years and beyond. Our friends think the same way too. However the discussions have ratched up a notch lately. Partly due to our age, late 40’s, and the instability of our current and future economy. My not having a job also fuels the need to discuss. In addition to the bank consolidation, the announcement last week that there may be a vote for Puerto Rico to become a state/or not.
We hope you win the lotery so you can move here sooner!
Wil,
I heard about the vote whether or not Puerto Rico wants to keep its status or “change” and change could be any number of things. With the new political administration in PR, it seems that that change would be toward state-status, but I don’t know. I think if I lived in PR, I wouldn’t mind most of the way it currently is, but I would like representation in congress and to be able to vote for president.
Jeff,
The lottery would be nice, although I’ve heard that most people who win the lottery end up about the same or worse than they were before winning it, so maybe it’s one of those things “be careful what you wish for”. We don’t need lottery-sized funds; we could do it now, we just want the extra security in order to live the way we want to down there. We only need another ~5 figure number to make this thing happen. So we could take a risk and jump now, or take the more secure route. Lately security has been hard to come by, so we’ll try it for as long as we can stand….
Well, here is my 2 cents….Congratulations on making a decision…that is a good sign…but as Jeff said, I too wish I had another pair of friends in the Rincon area that when we went to our house we could count on seeing you guys…that being said… I would never go to Colorado…it is cold even in the summer…brrrrrr….so make it happen for now in Colorado and when it is the right time, your Caribbean life will be waiting for you. I think you guys would make a great B&B pair, I love B&B in Lancaster, so I know you guys would be great with the guest…you have the personality.
Thanks Rosa for the encouragement! Colorado is actually quite warm in the summer…in the spring and fall it could be nice or not, but it can get into the 100s in the summer! We have both an air conditioner and a fireplace, so that says a lot about the fluctuations here! Some people actually love Colorado winters: snow boarding, skiing, snow shoeing, ice skating, snow tubing, the whole works. We enjoy the warmer months a little more and can’t wait for year-round summer.
It’s to bad you don’t have a house in PR yet because I already found you a renter or roommate. She owns a bar slash headshop slash pornshop slash vegan dinner in Lincoln City OR. She vacations in PR over the summer. As far as the endless summers I will bet sand dollars that you will miss the change of seasons. I did living in Santa Barbara, then again you could just take a cruise to Alaska.