Need some advice re: making the right decision

[suejai]

We are trying to decide where to move. We both want to move from where we currently live, but keep waffling back and forth as to where. Our choices are Prince Edward Island on the east coast or Vancouver Island on the West Coast.

PEI pros:
- housing is wicked cheap, we could get a house with lots of property for well under $140,000. Some houses are under $40,000 with 10+ acres if we are willing to gut them and renovate.
- We would be basically debt free. This is a good thing because we have no real retirement savings at this time.
- DH is from the east coast, although from New Brunswick not PEI, and my brothers both live in NB about 3 1/2 hours away.

cons:
- DH's sons live on Vancouver Island, which is across the country.
- It is a fairly depressed area of the country, but DH does have networks into his industry in the area; plus he is looking to work overseas.
- DH would have to commute from Alberta for a couple of years or until he finds something in the area. While DH works in Alberta we would only see him once a month.

Van Island pros:
- we would be close to DH's sons.
- Very little snow and short winters.

cons:
- housing is expensive. We would be in the same financial boat as now with a fair sized mortgage.
- DH still has to commute to Alberta, but the trip is much shorter and cheaper

As I write it out and try to make it make sense it is becoming clear which direction would be the most wise. The whole point in moving in the first place is to set ourselves up for retirement, as we don't want to retire here, and I'm fairly certain that putting ourselves more into debt would be the wrong direction . I guess the choice is already made, it's just hard to move all the way across the country from your kids (they may be my stepsons, but I helped raise them, so I think of them as mine too).

Thanks for reading my ramblings. What advice would you give, am I on the right track or out to lunch?

And before anyone asks, the reasons are long and many as to why we have no retirement savings at this stage in our lives; bad I know, but it is what it is.

 

[rowbear]

I would have a hard time intentionally choosing a scenario where I only saw my spouse once a month.

I have a hard time believing that there are only 2 options and I think the reason you are having a hard time deciding is because the 2 options you have constrained yourself to are very undesirable.

I wouldn't move either place until I had completely exhausted all other potential options.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

You cannot move to PEI based on the current info you gave us. Your DH will need to secure a job there first and then you can move there.

Seeing you once a month, which translates to he lives somewhere else that you are paying for, will put you in further in debt that will not go toward housing.

So my advice is to secure employment on PEI first and then move. Do not put the cart before the horse.

 

[suejai]

Thank you for the reponses, they are both valid points.

However, I should have mentioned that DH already works away from home and has living arrangements with a friend who lives in the area, and he has the option of living in camp. DH currently works a 9 day on and 5 day off schedule which will shortly change to a 10 in and 4 out schedule. So I already only see him twice a month. If I hadn't already been living that lifestyle I would never consider it either. But it's how the oil industry in Alberta works; there are thousands of people who commute to Alberta from all over the country.

The other point I should add is that these two areas are the only two where we would consider retiring.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Thank you for the reponses, they are both valid points.

However, I should have mentioned that DH already works away from home and has living arrangements with a friend who lives in the area, and he has the option of living in camp. DH currently works a 9 day on and 5 day off schedule which will shortly change to a 10 in and 4 out schedule. So I already only see him twice a month. If I hadn't already been living that lifestyle I would never consider it either. But it's how the oil industry in Alberta works; there are thousands of people who commute to Alberta from all over the country.

The other point I should add is that these two areas are the only two where we would consider retiring.

Yes but you said the commute will be longer which translates into a larger expense, right? Plus the travel to see the kids on the coast? I have no idea where you are now in relation to the kids.

While I know it seems trivial the added expenses add up.

I would sit down and crunch numbers and see what works out better. Itemize your stuff on paper and see where it leads you.

 

[trip]

I would choose Prince Edward Island solely based on my love for the Anne of Green Gables series.

Seriously, good luck with your choice.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

Fellow Canadian here! I've visited both PEI and Vancouver and love both areas for different reasons.

What I'd suggest is going to BC but looking for an area that is less expensive. There are cheaper areas once you get a bit further away from Vancouver. Here are my reasons:

-if you are looking for a place to retire, weather is going to matter, and the weather in PEI can be pretty rough in the winter. Vancouver area is much milder.

-family matters. If you have the option to be close to your stepsons, I think you should do it. There may be grandchildren at some point if there aren't any now and I think you'll want to share in their lives more than if you were on the other side of the continent

-living in a somewhat economically depressed area means lower housing prices, but also fewer amenities - something that will also matter when you are older and retired

-the commute back to Alberta will be MUCH cheaper and shorter, and your husband will have a better chance of finding another job in BC, ending that commute sooner

Those are my thoughts, anyway.

Teresa

 

[suejai]

Fellow Canadian here! I've visited both PEI and Vancouver and love both areas for different reasons.

What I'd suggest is going to BC but looking for an area that is less expensive. There are cheaper areas once you get a bit further away from Vancouver.

Oh I agree, that is why we are looking at the Nanaimo/Parksville area on the Island. But it is still fairly pricey. We will probably start looking at condos or townhouses rather than detached houses with property.

-living in a somewhat economically depressed area means lower housing prices, but also fewer amenities - something that will also matter when you are older and retired

Now that is one thing that I admit I hadn't considered, and a very good point. Initially, it seems like a good idea financially to go to PEI but I'm really going to look into it a lot more before we make a final decision. We are just in the beginning stages of the whole process.

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[rowbear]

Thank you for the reponses, they are both valid points.

However, I should have mentioned that DH already works away from home and has living arrangements with a friend who lives in the area, and he has the option of living in camp. DH currently works a 9 day on and 5 day off schedule which will shortly change to a 10 in and 4 out schedule. So I already only see him twice a month. If I hadn't already been living that lifestyle I would never consider it either. But it's how the oil industry in Alberta works; there are thousands of people who commute to Alberta from all over the country.

The other point I should add is that these two areas are the only two where we would consider retiring.

Why not buy a house that you can afford now, start saving some money, and worry about retirement when you actually retire? You seem to be backwards on this whole deal. The only people who can really control their destiny in retirement are people who planned for it. Since things have not worked out that way for you why not try to get some planning and saving done so you do have some control.

I think you need to seek out a financial planner. It appears to me that you need some professional guidance. This deal where you pull up stakes, head to some new area of the country, and hope it all works out sounds like a dream more than a plan.

 

[shortbun]

Yeah, I was wondering why you'd go somewhere so remote with NO retirement savings and NO jobs yet consider it 'setting ourselves up for retirement.' Seems that the rest of the plan-jobs, money in the bank(so to speak) and no mortgage need to be in place prior to the move as opposed to what you're planning. But I'm always hyper organized and practical about these things. I know some people fly by the seat of their pants and make it. Right now, however, the world is full of people who's flight(by the seat of their pants) failed miserably. They are out of work, losing their homes and moving onto the doll or into homes with relatives. Good luck.

 

[rowbear]

Yeah, I was wondering why you'd go somewhere so remote with NO retirement savings and NO jobs yet consider it 'setting ourselves up for retirement.' Seems that the rest of the plan-jobs, money in the bank(so to speak) and no mortgage need to be in place prior to the move as opposed to what you're planning. But I'm always hyper organized and practical about these things. I know some people fly by the seat of their pants and make it. Right now, however, the world is full of people who's flight(by the seat of their pants) failed miserably. They are out of work, losing their homes and moving onto the doll or into homes with relatives. Good luck.

I know, right? There seems to be a few steps missing. While I know it is no fun to move it seems to me that moving someplace where the commuting cost is less and the house costs less as an interim step makes more sense. Then save money like crazy and perhaps you will be able to retire where you want to retire instead of where you have to retire.

 

[RC Fan]

Have you spent any time in PEI?

 

[suejai]

Why not buy a house that you can afford now, start saving some money, and worry about retirement when you actually retire?

We have a house that we can afford now, it is just not in an area where we want to stay. And the idea of moving to PEI, where the housing is cheaper and we would have no mortgage now, rather than in 10 years is rather attractive. I'm not sure if you noticed our ages in my signature , but DH is already 51, so we are admittedly starting late in retirement planning.

Yeah, I was wondering why you'd go somewhere so remote with NO retirement savings and NO jobs yet consider it 'setting ourselves up for retirement.' Seems that the rest of the plan-jobs, money in the bank(so to speak) and no mortgage need to be in place prior to the move as opposed to what you're planning.

- I wouldn't really consider either area remote, especially Vancouver Island.
- DH has a job and would continue working in that job, he would just commute as a great number of people do in his industry. We cannot live where he works.

Rowbear - this is the conundrum we face: either the housing is cheap but no work and further away or closer to his work and expensive housing. I'm not sure I understand your last point - these ARE the places we would want to retire to, we don't have to retire.

RC - not in PEI specifically but DH is from the east coast, just across the straits from PEI and we lived on the east coast for a while when we were first married. I love the area and have always wanted to move back. We have also lived on Vancouver Island, it is where we met, got married and had DS.

In any case, we are currently leaning towards going to Vancouver Island on the west coast as DH's sons live there and it provides more opportunities for me to go back to school, as well as for DS14.

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts.

 

[yoopermom]

We live in an area similar to PEI (rural, remote, fairly depressed financially, but cheap to live here), and, while I love it, it has been OUR DS14s home his whole life. If you have a child that age you're going to be moving with, I would go to Vancouver, where it'd be easier to make friends, more extra curriculars, higher education for you, etc. I would not leave future grandchildren for any amount of retirement savings in the world, sorry!

Good luck to you, and I'd love to see PEI someday since AOGG is my all time favorite book ever!

Terri

 

[RC Fan]

RC - not in PEI specifically but DH is from the east coast, just across the straits from PEI and we lived on the east coast for a while when we were first married. I love the area and have always wanted to move back. We have also lived on Vancouver Island, it is where we met, got married and had DS.

I am actually a New Brunswicker myself, so naturally I would pick PEI. I just wondered if you had spent any time here in the Maritimes.