Short story: We found our retirement home that we love.
Longer story: My husband had never traveled much, outside of the west coast, until I brought him to Maine in 2016. He hasn’t been the same since (nor have I). The people, especially, have influenced him greatly, as well as the beauty of having four distinct seasons (he can’t wait until we can ice fish on our pond and snowmobile from our house to town). So, following that initial trip, we became students of Realtor.com! We had been looking to retire in Montana or northern Idaho but our trip to Maine that summer was an emotional “homecoming” for me. Tears started flowing (unexpectedly) as we drove from Boston up RR1, along the coast...and I’d never lived on the coast. I didn’t realize, until then, how much I missed the ocean, the architecture New England, and the people. Especially the people (hospitality, friendliness, integrity). I also have two older brothers, given up for adoption at birth, that retired back to Maine, and two “sisters” I’ve reclaimed. Life is about relationships. We do our best but it is difficult to cultivate relationships from opposite sides of the continent.
We prayed about finding the right property for us. We had to LOVE it, afford it, and be willing to sacrifice until retirement, if we found it prior to retirement. We found we could purchase a home w/land, or a home w/water (w/in our budget). Water won out. In the interest of retirement, it made more practical sense...less to take care of as we age.
This home was the last we looked at on our list that year; it wasn’t even on our list (thanks Deb)! We went by ourselves to look & see if we wanted to schedule a tour before we left. I stepped onto the dock & a Blue Heron flew over & landed on the dock about five feet in front of me. He looked straight at us, examining & tilting his head back and forth. After a minute or two, he flew off. This experience combined w/the loons calling out, made us sure that this home was worth it!