Badger Blog

We plan to make our final decision on where to move after we return from our October trip to Portugal -- probably on November 9 (the significance of this day will be obvious to folks in the US). A big part of that decision will include the cost of living in different locations where we might live: how much does it cost to have a home, healthcare, food and enjoy our favorite activities and past times. But there is also the up front one time (so it is to be hoped) cost to actually move to a place and that is what this entry is about. Right now Portugal is our only official option and so I will list the detailed costs for a move there and will also include the costs for two hypothetical alternate destinations: a generic US city on the other coast and a generic Latin America/Caribbean country. All costs shown are estimates based upon my research. Horses Portugal :  $30,000 (for two horses). Includes transport to LA for quarantine, the flight to Europe, and transport to our boarding sta...

We have too much stuff. Household items, clothes, books, decorations, tools, parts, paints, furnishings and what not: we have a lot of it. And most of it needs to go. Maybe. Moving typically results in a reduction of our collection of stuff, and Elayne and I have moved from house to house within the Portland area a number of times, and then moved to and from Vancouver BC, which all helped to keep the aggregation of clutter down to a reasonable level. But we have lived here at our place in central Oregon for nearly thirteen years and so we have gathered more stuff than we have ever owned before. The general advice given for  international moves is to git rid of everything except for a basic set of clothing, items with sentimental value, or things you will need but cannot easily replace in your new home. For us this would mean at the minimum our clothes (neither of us have that much) and tack for Topaz and Taylor (which is an extension of the clothing category) plus some art work. Th...

Note that I use the word we a lot in this discussion, but to be honest I am the primary motivator for this move. Most of the time where I say we made a list or researched something I mean I did the initial work and reviewed the results with Elayne, and then adapted the results from her feedback and together we reviewed the new outcome (and repeated the process as necessary). Another caveat is that this particular entry makes the process look a lot more organized than it was. We actually started with France (based upon a whim and the fact that I had worked in Paris for a French company back in the early 90s) and then jumped to Portugal based upon input from friends, and only then began a more methodical approach to finding a new place to live. We're moving (probably) to Portugal, but how did we go from living in Prineville to deciding to live in Portugal? Making a List (or Two) and Checking them Twice (or a Dozen Times) We started by making lists, which is fortunately one of my fa...

Elayne and I plan to move in May of 2023, which has prompted several questions from friends and family that I thought I would answer here. Why are you moving? I retire at the end of January 2023 and am looking for a dramatic change in lifestyle. Specifically I want to live in a more urban setting with a warmer climate and easier access to sailing, scuba diving, and travel to interesting places. I also want to live in a more socially progressive community. For Elayne we need to be able to have access to horses and riding. I am allergic to practically everything in central Oregon, and finding a place where I do not need to be on constant doses of antihistamines and squirting drops of steroids into my eyes will greatly increase my quality of life. We want to move somewhere reasonably safe with affordable healthcare and health insurance, a society that embraces diversity and environmental protections, and is a place that meets the criteria I listed above. Why leave the US? Politically ...