HUGE Changes in a Short Time. We are Now Official California Escapees!
Sharing how our lives changed drastically in a little more than four years.
The past four years have been a whirlwind of change. In April 2018, we sold Johnny's Bar & Grill in Hollister, California, after over 22 years of ownership. In July, we hit the road in our motorhome for our first cross-country trip. I had a knee scooter in tow because I broke my ankle in June. Despite my physical challenges, we had a fantastic time.
When we returned home from our trip, we started packing up our beautiful Hollister home to put it on the market. We enjoyed RV travel and decided we didn't need a 2400-square-foot home to care for. We were on a little less than an acre. We had a koi pond, a pool, and lots of taxes and responsibilities that went with it. We'd owned our Shingletown property for six years by then, and Tommy had made many improvements. It was time to downsize and move north.
We knew that we wanted to leave California. Retiring there with all of the outrageous taxes was not realistic, and the crazy politics was more than we could take. Speaking of crazy politics, we were forced to put a house on the property because we had already installed the solar system. When the solar company installed the system, he said we could permit it later. He failed to tell us that due to California law, we could not get a permit for the solar system without a house on the property. That's why we put a beautiful 3-bedroom, 2-bath home on our property that we only lived in for a few months before putting it on the market.
We moved out of the house and back into our motorhome on the property to list it. We'd just been through our home sale in Hollister and experienced having to put away everything so that prospective buyers could tour a clean and tidy house. We had no desire to do that again. And besides, we were more comfortable in the motorhome than in our house. It never felt like home to us. We believe it's because God wanted us to leave our birth state.
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We sold our Shingletown home twice last year, and both deals fell through at the last minute. 😢 We were already traveling and doing everything digitally. After two disappointments, we took the house off the market since winter was around the corner. The home was completely off-grid, so a little winterizing was necessary. Thankfully, we had done business with well and solar companies that were quite familiar with our home. We paid them to take care of things for us and enjoyed our winter in Florida.
When March 2022 rolled around, we sought out a different real estate company and relisted the house in May. We paid our helpful solar and well folks to get everything up and running, gave California another sickening property tax payment, and prayed. With the Biden Administration's inflation and raising interest rates repeatedly, we got a lot less for our home than we had hoped. But, it sold!
I whined about it a little. Then I decided to concentrate on the good things. We sold our home when home sales plummeted. Tommy has been talking with the buyers, who feel they have found their forever home. The couple has two young children and a dog, and the property is the perfect family home. Tommy read me a text message from Tyler this morning, and he said that they thought finding our house to purchase was a miracle. He even said they would love to have us stay at the property and BBQ with them when we find ourselves in the area. I cried a little. 😥
The blessing of selling two homes in California to amazing families is overwhelming. I still get pictures from Marla of the Hollister house koi pond, fish, and cat. They spoiled the outdoor cats they graciously agreed to care for. When the old boy, Batcat, had to be put to sleep, Marla was devastated. She and John had gotten attached to him. John is allergic to cats, yet Sassy follows him all over the property. They love her and the house so much. God’s favor has been mind-blowing.
So, it's official! We are California escapees. We closed on our Shingletown property on August 1st. We miss our family and friends, but we are living the dream. We enjoy our travels, seeing new places, and meeting new faces. We are so blessed. Thanks for all of your prayers and support.
God is soooo good!
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RV Life with Tom, Cat, and Paddy
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