If I can stand the mosquitoes, lack of quiet and people, which can all be mitigated...
Cons to stay: It is considered a drive for most friends, I would like more visitors. When I get older during retirement this could bring me to isolation.
I don't want to make the move when I need to, but now when I'm capable to make adjustments.
Often, I elect to just stay home rather than drive into town for social and cultural functions. I stay in town nearly half of the time at DF's place anyhow.
I'm sick and tired of having a dangerous surprise meeting with a rattlesnake in my yard each year, having to look under furniture before sitting, and watch every step with a potential for trauma. Walking like a warrior gets old, sometimes it is nice to just feel comfortable outside.
I can't really be barefoot on this desert. The wind blows needles everywhere.
I live in too much house for myself, and DF doesn't want to leave the city.
There will less elbow room around here, as the years go by.
I've had a good run, over twenty years in this gorgeous natural setting, the last ten most of my time out here and naked. There is less new and amazing and I know that I can have greater variety in nature elsewhere, but I won't be as intimate with a natural setting as I have become, by living here.
I will be more tied down to an extent here financially.
More inexpensive water and difficulty organic gardening to desired scale.
What "in town" looks like:
A modest home, with a good sized yard, walled in and private. Placed to mitigate city noise, which is mostly traffic. Stores may be within a bicycle distance. Much less gas cost. Maybe the community sweat in my backyard, a regular gymnasium atmosphere a couple of days a week. The new one would be closer, anyway. More water for organic food production and maybe a water feature to swim or lie about. Perhaps DF would retire in partnership instead of two households.
What replaces the nature at my back door? Spending at least 7 out of 30 days each month, hiking and camping, in all sorts of places. BArefoot all over living outdoors, in a garden around a home. Taking advantage of the optimum weather when it happens
From all the time that I spend in town with DF, I know that I'll need to get out often, but my possibilities will be greater, as I am not tied down to work schedules...just part-time, or a few months labor each year at Christmas, or just falling back and living on what I have...possibilities.
I have a portable wood burning stove to attach to a large canvas tent, bed of nice air mattress, and nice oriental wool rug floor. Hot water shower (adequate), a toilet, stove, and good food...nude glamping. Even a computer to write with. It all packs up into my 4x4 which takes it into the remote back country like I sometimes write about at my website. The hiking and exploration is one exercise, but I love to just focus on the body in the moment, to stretch, to work out, yoga, chi gong. There is more movement in living in the woods, even glamping, so the effort is the health that my body requires. More squatting, more bending. Call it a portable summer house, for a week, two weeks, two months, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Oregon....
I don't think that I'll miss the staying in one natural convenient place so much, when I can now spend as much time as I feel in a variety of new adventures and cozy options with nude walks still out of my door.
I spend lots of time indoors now anyway. That is looking out of windows, or occupied to not even look out of windows.
Less of a home...I'm not into that anymore, I just need cozy, adequate, a bit of personal flare. I can create that in town, or DF and I can put together a place with enough space for two.
I've got 42 saguaros on this property. I'm taking a few with, then stuff the yard with less pricky vegetation, edible, an inviting living space outside.
Jbee