future Guzzi parking

[lucydad]

All,

Note third, single garage on right side, and bump out to far right.  That is my future Guzzi parking (and Triumph).  Builder says closing is December 28th.  I have never, ever seen a house go up so fast.  Frankly, I will believe it when I see it.  Oh, and there is room for a Porsche?  Or something.  Not sure, will think on that next spring to summer.  New Miata intrigues me, or a CX-5, maybe a 1957 Chevy?  Very undecided.



Rode the Cannonade down, about 12 miles round trip, and fairly windy.  That makes for excellent cardio for this retired 61 year old.  I decided to take this Friday off from the relentless grind of getting our current house ready to market the first week of December.  House loan and rate lock should happen next week.  This is pretty intense and stressful, big money, big decisions, lots of moving parts stuff.  In the end though, it will be wonderful to have a house that really fits our post-retirement desires.  We hope for a quick sale of this current house.  The oil crash has had a typical down cycle impact though, but Sugar Land is not populated with so many oily types as west Houston and Woodlands.

It is a beautiful fall day here.  Tomorrow I will take the V7R out for a romp. 

[oldbike54]

 Geez Greg , how many people are gonna live there ?

  Dusty

[not-fishing]

Stairs? 

Who's going to clean it?     

Once I get my present house sold I'm looking for something around 1,000 sf or less with a 2400 sf Cave-Garage-Shop.

A man's got to have his priorities right.

[JeffOlson]

Ah, Texas! (My wife is from Garland, just outside of Dallas.) Very nice parking arrangements!

[lucydad]

Yep, this is TEXAS where cars are king!

House floor plan has master suite bottom floor, and a full guest bedroom and bathroom also bottom floor.  Upstairs is game room, storage, and two bedrooms and large bathroom, and an office nook.  Main office and kitchen/formal dining/casual dining/butler pantry/wine storage/laundry-poodle room/pantry also downstairs.  Full outside kitchen under covered patio is the future Tiki bar.  The floor plan is very open, and the kitchen-dining-living room can easily entertain many people.  Plenty of room for wandering Moto Guzzi rides to park and hang and slumber after a Mai Tai, beer or scotch.

Maid does the cleaning and yard crews do the yard work. I don't do much of that stuff anymore, put plenty of time in over the decades.

So, actually:  a great floor plan for two people, two poodles and the periodic Alzheimer's clinic.  No more going up and down stairs for Grandpa Larry.  Some day, maybe:  grand children visiting.  Fruit of 4 decades working in oil patch.  We ate plenty of beans and rice and lived in some real shit holes.  Its our time to enjoy a nice hacienda.

[jas67]

Congrats on the new abode!

[rocker59]

Downsizing into a retirement home.  Texas style.   

[ajwood]

Have them put in an elevator from basement to roof deck.

[drw916]

I no longer worry about Lucydad's always wanting a new bike.  It looks like he has the space and resources for whatever catches his eye.  Well done!

[Cam3512]

Downsizing into a retirement home.  Texas style.   

My retirement home will be like that only the living space will be the garage, and garage living space. I want LOW maintenance!

[JeffOlson]

Our retirement home will (hopefully) be many acres of land on San Juan Island with an Airstream trailer (at least until we build a cottage. Parking will be under the stars (not stairs), as it is now, hopefully with some gravel or, if I am fortunate, a deck or concrete pad...

Speaking of Texas, my wife's younger brother buys bank-owned homes in the Dallas area (large ones, too) for very little money, refurbishes them, and then rents-to-own them to buyers who haven't yet come up with the necessary scratch or credit for bank financing. Texas is booming, and housing values are very low compared to where I live (the Northwest).

[TBShorty]

I've been looking at those metal buildings you can put up anywhere.  I'm thinking an acre or so in the pines.  900 square feet for living space and 7500 for the shop.  A lathe, a mill, a band saw, lifts for car and motorcycle and my tools when I pack it up from 50 yrs. as a toolmaker.  Daydreaming is great fun.

[dlapierre]

Simply a counterpoint.... When I retired and bought a 1/4 section of farmland, the first priority was to fix up the loafing shed adjacent to one of two barns for the livestock and to repair the other barn, the hay barn. That took a year. After that was the task of making the old farmhouse more liveable. That meant getting rid of the old oil heater and running in a natural gas line, replacing the furnace, re-insulating the walls (which were stuffed with wood chips and newspapers), replacing windows, putting on new roof shingles and re-insulating the attic.
The result? Not fancy, but warm and cozy and much of it done with my own sweat, my own wood, my own sawmill.
I've got so much sweat equity into this place they'll have to carry me out on a stretcher before I give it up. My wife in onside with this sentiment, too.

[lucydad]

I hear you guys, I really do.   If it was just me:  a small rural house either in SW CO or perhaps northern NM.  Ms. LD has other ideas, and will not leave Sugar Land, nor Texas.  After watching so many friends divorce multiple times, I know compromise is essential.  It is ok, I can live with this house and situation and location and be very happy.  I can escape to our cabin in CO easily.  The house scale spun out of control.  In our many, many transfers with the oil companies--all forced, several times--every time we found a great location/house and were rudely and abruptly moved to a crap hole.  The worst was from Littleton, CO to Tunis, Tunisia.  Another was Lafayette, LA to here.  No choice:  march or career death with small children. It happened 5 times with "The Ohio".  So, hence:  finally  moving to a dream house, and not subject to some executive's whim deciding we have to move, yet again.

The materialism aspect bothers me.  I had two personal objectives:  a 3 car garage, and also a reasonable closet for myself, and a better long term situation for the bottom floor.  That meant two bedrooms and full bathrooms on the first floor.  Finding that floor plan is tougher than you might think. 

We are supporting the local economy, and keeping the energy/money flowing instead of hoarding.  We have been incredibly fortunate with non-stop employment and some lucky and fairly smart investing.  I am very grateful for retirement.  Given that, we will focus almost all our time, energy and money into this move for the next 3 months or so.  After that, I hope to get back to to a more free version of retirement.  It will be great to sleep in the new house the first night, and park the bikes in that third garage bump out. 

[rocker59]

We are supporting the local economy, and keeping the energy/money flowing instead of hoarding.  We have been incredibly fortunate with non-stop employment and some lucky and fairly smart investing.  I am very grateful for retirement. 

 

[oldbike54]

 Of course the correct response as to why you needed all of that room , " We needed a complete floor for my friend from Oklahoma when he shows up for a visit"  Right Greg ... Greg ... are you there ?

  Dusty

[not-fishing]

Ah don't worry about the big house tease - most of us have family in Texas and we know the advantages there.  As a Native Californian I will probably never leave, even though I want to.  The kids keep me here.

As to Ex's you're right.  Mine cost me more than a big house in California.

The rotten aspect of retiring in California is the taxes..............

The nice aspect is you can split lanes.

[lucydad]

Any of you are welcome to visit.  That is serious.  I hope to get more social in retirement...still in transition mode.

Heck, Okies are some of my best friends.  Really.

[oldbike54]

Any of you are welcome to visit.  That is serious.  I hope to get more social in retirement...still in transition mode.

Heck, Okies are some of my best friends.  Really.

 Winter rally at Greg's ! We promise not to get the police called ... more than once 

  Dusty

[lucydad]

That would be a great way to break in the new house and neighbors (?).  HQ would have to approve.  She is much more discerning than I am.

[oldbike54]

That would be a great way to break in the new house and neighbors (?).  HQ would have to approve.  She is much more discerning than I am.

 OH NO , we are just gonna show up , no warning . Heck , JN Smyth got away with it for years 

  Dusty

[Texas Turnip]

I'm happy that you have the house of your dreams and live in a city that suits you.

Let me explain my view. Financial advizors, lawyers and 7 marriages took everything I busted my butt for. I never got a tax write-off for interest, taxes etc. So when I turned 50 I decided to live as cheap as I could and let someone else pay 30% tax like I did.

People on this list and others from Cal to NH and WA to Fl have stayed at my little place in the country. It only has one bathroom yet hosted 15 and fed up to 20. I wouldn't sell this place for no amount of money as it suits my needs. One of the nice things about this list is we can discuss our likes with respect.

Enjoy your new home (I doubt if I could even afford the utilities)

Tex

[LaMojo]

Looking good.  When is the beer and BBQ open house party planned?

[davedel44]

I've been looking at those metal buildings you can put up anywhere.  I'm thinking an acre or so in the pines.  900 square feet for living space and 7500 for the shop.  A lathe, a mill, a band saw, lifts for car and motorcycle and my tools when I pack it up from 50 yrs. as a toolmaker.  Daydreaming is great fun.

Bardo minimum Baby!

[oldbike54]

Bardo minimum Baby!

 Uh , sure Dave 

  Dusty

[jbell]

Lucydad, sorry to break it to you, but it looks like all the siding fell off your house.   

Congrats.

[mjptexas]

When's the house warming party?  Shiner Bock on tap would be nice.