OK, I might listen to some advice too (but spare me the 2nd opinions, Dr. Vinnie Boombatz already told me I'm ugly). I am looking into possibly semi-retiring and relocating. We have several different areas in mind and would appreciate any input about them.
I feel that we need to be somewhat close to a major city since I can't fully retire I would need to keep working, so employment for a guy with 40+ years in surveying, with the emphasis on boundary determination and research, but no training in the use of GPS and I haven't been much of a field person for the last 15 years. I also have some time in the use of the Design functions of Civil 3D, but I'm a bit rusty. Don't know if SWMBO will be able to rejoin the work force at this time either, proximity to major medical and major airport (still have relatives on the East coast) are also?ÿ considerations.
The most appealing seems to be the communities around Phoenix (Sun City/Sun City West preferably) due to the amount of amenities and clubs associated with them and the houses seem to be in an affordable range for our situation. I'm curios about the costs of utilities, particularly electric. I see some of the houses have leased solar panels, my research shows the costs of $150 and up per month. How high would the electric need to be to make this a viable offset? We are currently paying around $120/month for electric (lights, appliances and Hot Water, heat is oil, 2 - 3 gal/day) Our water is not metered, rather a flat rate of $140/month.
Henderson and Pahrump are other possibilities (Sun City Sumerlin appears to be way out of our price range). Certain areas of Henderson look to be affordable and a short commute into the Vegas area with all that good food and entertainment. Pahrump is a little further (1hr+-) commute, which may not be too bad (keep in mind I grew up in the Mid Hudson Valley where a 10 minute commute could be terrifying) Both of these areas seem to be growing also. One nicety is NV has no income tax, so Mesquite/St George (I know it's in UT) areas may be okay too. Laughlin/Bullhead City might be other considerations as well as Tucson/Casa Grande areas?ÿ
I have also researched the areas around Salt Lake City, but that just doesn't seem to be all that appealing.
Here's the research I've done, in case anyone's interested, some of the info might be a little outdated, but it's all recent within the last few months.
Now that I've rambled on and totally bored you to death, any and all input would be appreciated, Thank you.
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Phoenix gets beastly hot; are you sure you want to live in that kind of climate??ÿ I guess it's okay if you don't mind staying in air-conditioned spaces 24/7, but if spending time outdoors is part of your plan I'd look for a more temperate situation.
Where I live (Sacramento Valley, CA) we get anywhere from a half-dozen to several weeks worth of 100+?øF days every summer, and as I age it's increasingly difficult to put up with them.?ÿ But the saving grace in my locale is that it almost always cools down into the 60s at night.?ÿ Not so in Phoenix, and last year they had over 140 100+ days.?ÿ That'd be a deal-breaker for me.
We need a city surveyor in Las Cruces.
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Way cooler than and less expensive and less populated than Hell...er I mean Phoenix.
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HMU for more information.
HMU = hold me up
Why??ÿ Are you roller skating?
Pervericator!
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Hit me up.....the acronyms or otherwise thread clearing defined this one a few days ago..... ???? ???? ???? ???? ??? ???? ?????ÿ
This may be too far East for you but us folks nowhere near ??The Villages?, but close, rely heavily on their scandalous and ribald behavior for reading entertainment. ?????ÿ
@jim-frame, thanks for the reply
I am aware of the Phoenix weather, my brother used to live in Wickenburg and we visited there a ways back. I asked him about the area and he said it's not too bad, just get outside stuff done in the morning and it can get cool at night. I have also read that Tucson is at a higher elevation so it's a little more temperate, I would assume the difference between Vegas and Pahrump would be similar, when you take the street view drive between them there's actually snow on the ground. Like I said one of the big attractions to Sun City is the amount of activities and clubs they have, when you've lived in a place that doesn't have much to do other than fish and hike (which SWMBO can't do anymore), can't just get in the car and drive somewhere else for the weekend, you can see where a place like that might be attractive. I had also considered OR or WA, just not on the I-5 corridor (and NO, Cup-of-Joe, I don't want that ranch out by Glass Butte, if it's still available). Sacramento Valley sound a lot like it is in Eugene and Grants Pass.
How do you spell 'lobster'??ÿ See pic above.
@jitterboogie, thanks, I'll look into it.
My intent for including my career particulars was more along the lines of seeing if someone could just give me an idea of what kind of salary I could anticipate in the areas i stated, given my skillset and/or lack of other skills. I will look, but I'm assuming the position would most likely require licensure, I was able to obtain an OR license by experience, (put in retirement status 10 years ago, so it's no longer valid) and applied in AK by comity, but I lack the educational requirements (which it seems more boards are leaning toward education and not giving as much value to experience alone). I will check the requirements for NM and look at what Las Cruces has to offer (see my response to Jim Frame).
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By the way I got what HMU meant.
@flga-2-2, thanks, but I moved away from a hot, humid, sticky environment (at least in the Summer, Winters were like they are here in Juneau) almost 20 years ago, and only desire to be East of the Rockies for visiting. Went back a few times in July, August and September (Birthdays and Funerals) and was totally uncomfortable the entire time.
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OK, didn't read the caption under the pic.
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Understood.
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We also could use surveyors for adjunct faculty of the Survey engineering and Geomatics program.
The license may be less of a requirement for that avenue.
Just a thought.
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The NMBLPEPS will be interesting. Good luck!
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@jitterboogie, thanks again, always good to look at different possibilities, particularly since I don't have any time frame at this moment, could still be a couple years down the road, I just don't want to be making snap decisions at the last minute.
