Kaitlin and I have a way of keeping things interesting.
As early as mid-December 2021 we had convinced ourselves that we had come to terms with the idea that we would be lifelong Michiganders. The financial stresses of trying to make the move to California had gotten to me long before that date. I had been unraveling. And while Kaitlin was doing her best to convince me that she could truly be happy in Troy, and while I largely believed her, I knew she’d be far happier in California.
But fast forward two weeks toward the end of 2021 and everything changed. I sat in the chair I’m currently sitting in as I type this, my mind racing, knowing what we had to do. It’s all Kaitlin and I could talk about as we visited her family here in SoCal for a month, the first visit since COVID. As we walked Pippa each day, we schemed.
How much could we afford? By when? What’s on the market? What would this plan look like? Could we live with her folks while we house hunted?
The weather, the scenery, being close to family, it was calling us back. And while I knew that moving from one suburb to another wasn’t going to satiate my desire to be closer to nature, I knew it would be a step in the right direction. We were convinced we would be moving to SoCal and we planned to do it in 2023.
And Then Came SLO
Then we went to visit some friends in San Luis Obispo. It rocked my world.
The hills, the ocean, the small town vibe and slower pace of life, the prevalence of the agriculture industry… It’s difficult to express how intense the feeling of home is for me there. The parallels to where I grew up are abundant. Except for one. The harsh winters are nonexistent on California’s central coast. The blazing heat of SoCal is also nonexistent with a year-round temperate climate. I fondly refer to it as “Fall weather”, my favorite Michigan season.
I knew that this is where we had to call home. It’s not that I’d never visited before. I had, quite a few times. But it had been so long… I forgot. I forgot how right it felt.
So for the second time in as many weeks the plan changed. The central coast was now the target for our move in 2023.
In fact we were so sure that this was going to happen that we snapped into action before we returned back to Troy. We had a couple houses that we hadn’t started renovating yet, and we knew we wouldn’t have the time and money to do them before our planned move. We had to get our financials fully in order to make things happen. I managed to sell one of them before we even returned to Troy.
We had a plan and it made a ton of sense and was financially responsible. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that we should try and make the move sooner. Kaitlin wasn’t a fan of that idea. It would be “too much”, she said. And “not financially responsible”.
Pulling The Trigger
But I REALLY didn’t want to do another Michigan winter. I just didn’t. And by mid May 2022 I was pushing her again about trying to move this year. I kept an eye on comparable homes to ours in Troy, watching the ones that would come up for sale. They were going for more than I’d expected, significantly more, and I made my final plea to Kaitlin. She was still against it, but I could tell she was softening. So I did the logical thing and invited a couple realtors over to take a look at the house.
We met with two realtors and one week later we were frantically preparing the house for sale. We’d be listing the house on Tucker’s birthday weekend in early June. Hiding out in a hotel for a couple days, the house sold within days well over ask. The whole thing was a whirlwind, but it was also the easy part.
Finding a new home and executing a cross-country move with two kids and a dog is no easy feat. Oh and we decided to turn one of our houses in Detroit into a short-term rental at the same time because… why not? Luckily, Kaitlin is an absolute maniac and it all worked out.
We’re now relocated in Arroyo Grande and absolutely loving life. The house, the location, everything is beyond perfect for us. I am convinced that had we had the luxury of taking our time, house hunting on the ground here, we would have failed to find something so right. I’m glad we had to operate under the limitations we did.
So What’s Next?
Kaitlin and I are ripping apart our new home, doing a full renovation like we did in Troy. It’s fun, exciting, and exhausting. I’m not sure how much we’ll accomplish this year but we have big plans. We’re currently working on building a 185 foot long, 5 foot tall retaining wall. The Allan Blocks are being delivered tomorrow and we’ll hopefully be laying the first row sometime in the coming weeks.
Hopefully, in the next couple years, we’ll be putting in an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU). The plan is to rent it as a short-term rental and generate some more income. We could use it now that our cost of living is much higher.
Some Lessons
Baby steps can have big impacts. My initial vision of moving back to California was living on acreage in San Luis Obispo. I’d estimate the cost of doing that, how I wanted, to be in the ballpark of $2MM – $3MM. I was driving myself mad trying to make that happen and I wasn’t going to move until we could.
My perception did a complete 180 when we visited. I realized how badly I wanted to be on the central coast. I was willing to do whatever we had to do just to get here, even if that meant renting for a year. I no longer cared about the “acreage” dream. I just wanted something we could call and make our home.
So this year was a big step in learning how to move forward toward a goal rather than simply realizing it all at once. Which makes sense, right? I mean that’s how most people operate. But I have a hard time with it.
I don’t know that I’ll ever have the acreage I envisioned. I’m not sure I actually feel the need for it any longer. But we do have some big goals and plans for the coming years and I’m excited to be gradually working toward those.
I’m excited about another year with whatever unknowns lie ahead.