Having a guest here this week has been most instructive. Since our guest is a tax attorney, not to mention an extra class ham radio operator, and a genuine expert on the economic longwaves, it’s great to have a “fellow traveler” to this place to kick things around with. Thinks like “the future” and where to be when it happens…
As you know, sustainability is huge with us. I can see the handwriting on the wall, already. Just look at China and you can see how too much computer and too much government “social scoring” can lead to massive losses of personal freedoms. Including, by 2020, a government that will be able to control where and how you travel and a whole lot more.
Think of this as “post & you’re toast” governance.
Thought control – in a manner supporting a self-appointed government – is not what we like to think of as the pinnacle of human progress!
Still, it’s coming to our country as well..and sooner than later. All those servers up in Provo aren’t there to check growing conditions for us home gardeners or to get more accurate weather forecasts. They are used to build a national database on each of us “tax chattel.”
Aging, as we are, though having a good deal of life still ahead, we’ve come to the idea that another 10-years in the East Texas Outback isn’t a good plan. By then, I will be 80. Things taken for-granted now – like dancing around for 5-hours with a 35-pound leaf blower on my back – may be moved to the “too hard pile.”
For younger souls, though, there’s another reason to think in terms of Strategic Relocation away from Big Cities. In addition to climate change.
When you go back to the Middle Ages, you can study how Nation-States and City-States worked. As Wikipedia puts it, “Historically, this included cities such as Rome, Athens, Carthage,[1] and the Italian city-states during the Renaissance..”
A few are still in operation today: Monaco, Singapore, and Vatican City. But, the tie-up between cities and states is evolving as the new banner Techno-State.
This is a form of government where people work their butts off, but in the end they all essentially rent their lives from the government. There is no room for anything but “More Work, Citizen…work harder!”
We’ll pass.
Such governments require payments at many levels: In China, several are apparent: There is the matter of taxes, then there is “social scoring” and of course, there’s political affiliation with the right (dare I say only) Party?
Yeah, some Worker’s Paradise, China: The web reveals how the “Personal Income Tax Rate in China is expected to be 45.00 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations..”
Who can tax their chattel the highest? Our Federal Debt is pushing us down that road. For now?
The US approach is better – but not perfect. Taxes are going up quickly here, as well.
Since our tax fellow is from the Land of Kasich, we were shocked to learn that the property tax in Ohio runs 3.3 percent and in some cities, there’s a 2.5% income tax in addition to a state income tax. Toss in the Federal taxes AND sales taxes, excises, and a whole lot of others (federal gas taxes, taxes on liquor, and soon the pass-throughs of tariff increases) and we aren’t that far behind China.
The only plan to prosper is to get debt free as soon as possible and one way to do that is get rural but in a way where you still have good bandwidth. Land is cheap, fewer regulators, cleaner air, and less violence.
We want to continue living in a sustainable manner. We are already capturing carbon and we are harvesting energy from the sun, plus (when so driven) we’re able to grow basic vegetables and such. Everyone CAN do these simple (climate-friendly) things, yet how many do?
How many people actually think-through their energy footprint living in a city versus living sustainably and semi-rural?
The outline of what our “step-down” property will be is pretty simple:
- Less than 1,500 square feet.
- Single-level floor plan.
- Two bedrooms, two baths.
- All ADA compliant – lever type door knobs, too.
- Provision for a ramp entry should mobility ever become an issue.
We still want enough (fenced) yard (and a warm enough climate) to do some high-intensity gardening. Even so, a quarter-acre (10,000 sf lot) with a small house and garage on it ought to be enough.
We’ve done enough traveling that we’ve begun to sketch areas on maps that appeal to us (green) and areas that don’t. Have a look:
This is not to suggest that all the areas in blue are too cold. Sure, young and strong like Hop-a-long can handle the 30-below zones. We don’t want to fight with Ma Nature. Cooler than Texas in the summer, warmer in the winter sounds about right.
The red areas? As much as California has a pretty good deal in terms of property taxes, the population pressures, both self-arising and from neighboring Mexico have cooled our jets on those areas.
The yellow area is too prone to violent winds – tornadoes, hurricanes and the like.
While a case could be made (weakly) for parts of Nevada and down through northern Arizona, the area over to about Albuquerque is too sparse for us. We figure a minimum town size of 200,000 would be about right. Or, a bedroom community within a short medevac flight from first-class medical.
If you haven’t traveled from Las Vegas over to Albuquerque, it’s pretty enough country if you like dry, rocky land. There are some great areas along the route – from about Williams, Arizona where you can board a train for a ride up to the Grand Canyon and on over to about 60-miles east of Flagstaff, it’s beautiful. Until winter comes.
Then, the temps drop down into the extremes and Flagstaff being at 6,819 feet the air is thin and cold. Result: The growing season up there is only 105-days. We are more “climate conscious” than most because we understand heating degree days cost money. (We get the sense people living in mandatory heat areas – the Dakotas to Maine – who really believe in doing something about climate should move to a more sustainable climate!!!)
By contrast, the growing season in our part of Texas is about 260 days.
The red zones are, to our way of thinking, overbuilt or have geopolitical risk being near the border.
The reason for sharing all this with you it to help you get your “thinking cap” on.
Now, mentally overlay where the nuke plants are in America:
Oklahoma, Kentucky, and West Virginia look like reasonable candidates to us. Arkansas – Lake of the Ozarks area – was on our list until we looked at this map. Elaine was a “downwinder” once – during the 1950’s atomic tests upwind from Arizona…
You see, in Life, there is income and there is out-go. Income is what you make after taxes and the outgo is the billings associated with maintaining your life. The art of living is to have a good deal leftover for discretionary spending on whatever makes you happy. Simple enough concept? Not really – many people talk it, but damn few walk it.
If you focus on “sustainable” locations (not too hot, not too cold, long growing season) and then get into a medium-sized city, you can likely have a pretty good lifestyle. With luck, a 15-minute (or shorter) commute. and being “close to food” you can buy better local organic produce. With a fenced back yard, no reason not to put in a good garden, too.
With all the talk about climate change and such, it shocks me that more people haven’t figured out that our future – and sustainability – as more likely to be achieved in small to medium towns in the under 250,000 range.
The more we eye both aging – and what will be the “most sustainable path” for our children, the more we come to the conclusion that Big Cities are a has been.
Historically, it’s where people were moving when the farms ran into issues with pricing in the lead-in to the Great Depression. While Big Cities were great during World War II – and provided a huge manufacturing resource, something changed toward the end of the Cold War Era.
Big Cities became areas where civilian populations could be held hostage for political purposes. While we hope the threat of nukes is not as high as once was, new threats have appeared – like municipal water supplies and anything Internet-connected.
Ultimately, sustainability is about getting close to the resources you personally need and have to employ the fewest number of intermediaries to form your personal supply chain.
Sure, Amazon IS Seattle and Apple IS Cupertino…But if you can get on fiber in a town of 250,000, our thinking is that getting out of big cities while the “gettin’s good” wouldn’t be a bad thing, regardless of your personal demographics.
Write when you get rich,
george@ure.net
George, good thoughts. I would expand the ‘looking area’ to offshore destinations if you are an adaptable type of person/couple. Why? Cheaper living, so if Social Insecurity gets wacked you might still be ok. Climate can be a biggie as we do not seen to tolerate the cold as much. I am barefooted as I write this.
Our example is living on less than $2000 a month “Total” because we wish to. Includes dinning out when we feel like it and mini vacations or get a ways. Growing season is 3 crops a year or close to it. Climate is no heating or air conditioning. Major hospitable is 9 miles away. Nearest big town is 1.5 miles with a population of maybe 6000 in the surrounding area. Assistance as we get more decrepit is available at a very reasonable cost. Under $1000 a month.
Thanks for the ‘thinking’ articles, stay healthy and debt free. Cheers.
Gosh – where are you living?
We are living in Costa Rica. The area is called Zona Sul or Perez Zeledon. https://www.perezzeledon.go.cr It is south of the mountains from San Jose so mostly protected from the active volcanos, high winds of the Central Valley and the rains from the east. If times really get tough we have neighbours that farm the 2 acres next to the house and many different fruit trees. All of us down here (active social life) love the living and the climate. Easy drive to the beach for a visit. Need more info to ponder on, just ask and I will reply.
One thought TD – When I retired, living below my means was part of my DNA. But now at 70 I thought, the kids don’t appreciate anything you give them, the grandkids are taken care of, so I thought, why crimp when all that is going to happen is someone else will inherit all & enjoy themselves. So why not spend it on yourself. I’ll see if the feeling lasts.
If we could think of anything we needed – that’s our issue – what do we spend on thar5t we don’t already have 2 or3 of?
ECS, altho the $$ amount is low, we are not crimping. It is just that it is easy living on a lower income. We have all the goodies we had in the USA and have lived in many areas, North to South. Panama is cheaper but the people do not seem to be as nice. That is a BIGGIE, all the people (sept 1 or 2) are very nice, friendly and helpful. Best people that I have met in any country and I have been in serval from east to west. We gave the kids all that they wanted before we made the move. They did appreciate what we shared. PS, I am at 75 with a good easy lifestyle, but this is not for all people. We have been here for almost 5 years.
Good thoughts! I’d hate to move from my very sustainable location in the USA. I can live here easily on $1000/month or less and often do. I’ve got excess material goods – mostly supplies, tools, machines and materials. It would be hard to move quickly without delegating someone to liquidate them all. There’s enough wood here to keep the house warm in winter for the indefinite future, and A/C is almost never needed. Water tanks are cheap and I have three possible sources to keep them full. Gardening is possible, but after five years of trying, I’ll leave that to someone with a greener thumb. There’s no reactor upwind for many hundreds of miles.
What to spend money on? Kids are self-sustaining and doing well, and I’m (involuntarily) single. I can’t think of anything useful to spend money on, and I’d hate to just leave it all on the table. If/when I become decrepit(not yet in sight), do I even want to remain among the living, wasting resources for no good reason? That’s the question that nobody asks.
Is there a country where finding a worthy wife/gf is essentially guaranteed? I’m not aware of one. That’s the only reason to consider expatriating or even traveling at this point. Travel for it’s own sake can be had in spades in our own country with far less paperwork and cost.
Thoughts from the Southeast……
Avoid Atlanta like the plague. Heat and humidity in the Summer, which lasts from May through September. Insane traffic 24/7/365. Getting into/out of this transportation hub on the major expressways is often a crawl. The traffic/high population areas extend for miles outside of the I-285 perimeter loop in all directions. One benefit — all Amazon services like Prime Now avaliable in a large area here.
I can’t recommend any towns in North Georgia as meeting your parameters. The ones closer in to Atlanta are going to have that same heat and humidity problem. One odd thought though. Toccoa, at a higher elevation, is cooler. It has an Amtrak station. It is an hour’s drive to the Greenville, SC metropolis and one and a half to Atlanta. It has golf courses, a municipal airport and a regional medical center. Prices are low. I lived there long ago as a child. I always liked it. It is very green and hilly. And even though there is a private Christian college there, I never felt like people were “beating me over the head with the Bible” like so many places I lived in the South in my youth.
You might look at Asheville. I have not lived there but I know from friends that it is a woo-woo friendly place. They also tell me it is one of the more expensive locations in the region.
I have ended up in East Tennessee. I think the Knoxville area would fit your parameters, other than being too close to a nuclear reactor. One thing that bothers me greatly in East Tennessee is the roads. Except for major highways and expressways the roads have no shoulder. I can be driving along and often see a tree or fencepost six inches from the edge of the pavement. Where I would typically see a wide shoulder, or a slope to a drainage ditch on a road in Georgia, in Tennessee there is usually a steep ditch less than two feet from the pavement. I can’t take my eyes off the road to look around at all. The margin for error is just too narrow.
Happy home hunting to you and Elaine.
George
I lived most of my life in the deep south including three years in Arkansas. I also spent three years in Napa Ca. What I found that made a big difference to my bodily pleasure of living index was and is humidity.
Humidity in high levels quickly saps your energy when trying to work.
Living in Napa was super in terms of weather. It has a Mediterranean type of climate due to being close to the Pacific coast. As such I didn’t sweat a lot when working outside.
You need to factor in humidity as a big item in you search!!
Napa and Sonoma are amazing places and somewhat affordable. This is one of the Areas my wife and I want to retire to. My favorite is the area around Healdsburg along the Russian River from Cloverdale to Windsor and then out to Guernville, Monte Rio and Jenner. There’s a few casino’s about 20 minutes away too. It’s rural, but not too rural. You have Santa Rosa for major provisions…and San Francisco, just 90 miles or so south.
A couple of other considerations are Central Coast near San Luis Obispo and surrounding areas, and the foothills outside of Sacramento like Nevada City, Grass Valley, Auburn and Placerville. George…living in both the Midwest and here…I agree with Rocket Mike…the humidity zaps your energy and limits your time to enjoy the outdoors. If you are looking for a fountain of youth type,of environment…no bugs…near perfect climate, low utility costs…plenty of sunshine to keep your solar energy efficient…California…outside of the large cities where affordabilty is an issue….we have a lot to offer.
Having pulled the plug on full time employment and transitioning to so called “retirement” beginning year end the goal of sustainable lifestyle has been at the top of my goals for the past few years. I still am fortunate to have Mom still here however her health is deteriorating rapidly. This has, I believe, given me a forward look as to what I can expect on that front in about 20 years. You and I are the same age by the way.
For her, life anywhere but here on El Rancho de Chaos is not a subject of discussion so here we will stay to the end. Myself included. Ambulance response can be up to or over an hour but the Hospice nurses come everyday and the ride to the regional hospital is right at 45 minutes code 1.
Though I am not at the level of sustainability as Ureself, it is a goal I continue to reach for and am thankful you are there as a guidepost. SW Missery is not such a bad area given the climate and services. Wolfcreek is a consideration, “Pay no attention to that [reactor] behind the curtain, sad the Wizard”. I can even enjoy semi decent broadband via 4g hot spot but it is sufficient for me as I limit my wasted (except during UrbSurv and Pnomics) time online and front of the Looney Tube.
Feel free to look me up if you find your way nearby. I can point you away from the some of the bad places anyway.
73
Jim.. if my health and age would allow it.. the one place on earth I would love to live is in MO.. Dancing Rabbit…
https://www.dancingrabbit.org/
but then I am an old hippie at heart..
Once i get my storm shelter built ( god willing the weather allows it this next spring) I will turn my press over to them for building along with the extra solar i have..
beautiful people beautiful way of life.. simple..
FYI, the Ohio sales tax varies by county but can be as high as 8%.
Go Bucks!
Wisconsin is 5%, Kentucky and Michigan are 6%, Illinois 6.25%, and Indiana 7%.
I had to look them up — don’t recall EVER paying less than 8% in Illinois or Indiana, or 7% in Michigan, this millennium. ‘Seems like EVERYBODY’S got County, or Township, or Municipal, or all three, sales tax add-ons.
Petrol, cigarettes, and bourbon are noticeably cheaper in Kentucky than Indiana or Ohio (haven’t noticed, hopping to Ark, Ill, or Tenn, and haven’t been in Hatfield/McCoy territory in two years.) “State Line” cstores in Kentucky do to Indiana and Ohio folks what Indiana and Ohio cstores do to Michigan and Illinois folks (Cowboy Killers are ~$3.25 in KY, ~$6.25 in IN or OH, ~$9.00 in MI, and ~$11 in metro Chicago, IIRC.)
To the aware observer, observing the “interstate commerce” can get downright entertaining…
Remember, that “personal freedom” also has brought us much of the mess that we are presently concerned with. I’ve met just too many people in my life where “personal freedom” is their reason to abuse situations that makes life worth living. ;-(
Hmmmmm….. yes, i see your point. Many are both the perpetrator and the victim.
Personal freedom has cost mw many things. And other avenues of interest have cost me much as well.
Im actually not on earth to get houses, cars and chicks. I get those things. Buy that is not qhy im here on earth.
Im here to compete agaisnt myself against all these things; desires, instincts, pleasure seeking, conditions of comfort, addictions to damn you name it! (Cake, women, cars, money, work, spending, sex, cigs, drugs, etc. Etc) heavy emotions! Like crippling heavy emotions due to circumstances and events beyond my control.
My job is to push forward and to embrace all these things but not be bound by them. Not to be enslaved by them.
Sometimes i fail (temporarily) but i will fight with my last breath to not be bound to this world or anything in it. But the love in my heart and heartfelt thanks for all i experienced. The good! The bad! And the ugly!
Why not cover all of the bases. Go to Zetatalk.com and see where the land will sit after Nibiru passes us by. That will give you an overlay of what’s viable land, elevation, etc. IF you don’t believe in Nibiru, then fine, but if it is remotely possible and is the cause of the climate changing as it has been the cause in the past, then factor it in. We have. Read Mary Summer Rain’s Books, “Spirit Song”, “Phoenix Rising”, and “DayBreak”, and factor that in, we have. Read Dannion Brinkley and Edgar Cayce, and factor that in; we have. Mary Summer Rain’s work has lots of maps with similar items to consider. All the main cities are going to be liberal run Sheetle holes full of continual imported poverty to continually drain the taxpayers, rampant homelessness and increased crime due to decriminalizing $1k and under crimes, rules, regulations, Agenda 2030 modeling (formerly Agenda 21) and implementation; our city that we are leaving has increased property taxes $2k in 5 years, and expect that plus additional, to occur going forward. Imagine being in your late 60’s and 70’s trying to pay $1k a month in property taxes. Talking about unsustainable, the cities will be unsustainable, of course, TPTB already know all this; now you know, too.
IMHO… if .. and I mean IF.. Nibiru passes us by even if it was way out by pluto. (I do believe there is a planet out there). the catastrophic events would make life altering changes here on earth.. if there was a brown dwarf that passes us by.. the magnetic pull alone could flip the planet.. and if it pushed even a slight bit.. the earth could be totally uninhabitable.. so..taking this into account…
I put the effects of a rouge planet passing us by on my list of least worrisome things on earth for me to worry about.. I have a greater concern over the shenanigans of the puppeteers and the way they manipulate whole populations to do evil so they can add another digit to a sheet of paper..
they could just decide to eliminate one whole portion of the country and have the blessings of the legislators that would like idiots vote it as a necessity..
we will see ten million dollar loaf of bread first.. just my opinion here..
LOOB; I get it completely. That’s what WW1 and WW2 was about, causing whole countries populations to almost be wiped off the face of the earth, and I don’t just mean the Jewish folks, HUNDREDS of MILLIONS of other folks were destroyed. Yes, any time, that terrible EYE of Horus or Saurus (Soros) turns our way…..whatever can be done to other countries, can easily be turned upon the sold and controlled USA.
As a native Kentuckian, I would advise you to avoid Louisville and Lexington at all costs. Both have been ruined by liberal loons who are now entrenched. Hubby and I escaped to Southern Indiana a few years ago, which is better but still boring.
Also consider that the Ohio Valley is the WORST for allergies, and is very humid as well. Weatherwise, it’s either a miserable wet cold in winter (we were in MT a few years back and honestly 20 degrees of dry cold there is more tolerable than 40 here) or a miserable humid mosquito/tick riddled summer. Spring and fall are almost non-existent anymore.
Yes, about the cities. Evansville is a s**thole now, too. Definitely about the Ohio Valley. I don’t think there is any place in the states that compare, when it comes to allergies. The seasonal changes of temp wouldn’t be so bad, to me, if it weren’t forthe humidity. I think the worst part of living in Southern Indiana is, if you’re a customer of Vectren Energy Delivery, is the astronomical price you pay for heat and air conditioning. When looking into the costs, I found that they and Duke Energy were the highest costs in home energy in the nation. We moved to be closer to where my husband works, and have a coop energy service, and it’s 100% better!
I like Southern Indiana, despite the flaws as long as I’m not a slave to Vectren.
G – there is short paper out this week by Martin Armstrong of Armstrong Economics, about the coming global cooling period on Earth. He describes the Disapora from New England states to Ohio,PA, WVA. Armstrong cites official population records from that time period. He even cites a letter from John Q. Adams to his wife regards to the brutal winter that never ended that year. Also cited letter from Jefferson to Galitain regards the hard frost every month (12) of that year. Crops were devastated in the mid atlantic. This global cooling was the real reason why our ancestors moved out of original 13 colonies. Armstrongs thesis is cold KILLS, warming does not. Those historical letters and population statistics paint the story of the impact of the Maunder Minimum had on the population of the original 13.
Forget about the mid atlantic, 4 Seasons, ocean and mountains/skiing-hiking within 2-3 hrs drive, World class Universities, Hospitals, tons of “Bread & Circus” activities..no place for educated,active types like yourselves..
“How many people actually think-through their energy footprint living in a city versus living sustainably and semi-rural?”
phew.. speaking about that.. this weekend has been a busy one.. getting ready for the first major storm this year..
we heat our home with a combination.. gas furnace.. and a multi fuel stove.. usually we will burn grain in it.. but a few years ago grain and cherry pits were way to expensive.. I bought a pellet press and a grinder.. with the idea of grinding up yard waste and making pellets.. the thing with it is.. coal is cheap.. but it burns extremely hot.. so I picked up some coal dust.. to mix with the yard waste the plan to make a combination pellet.. the tough part was the heat of the press baked it in the die.. so another way had to be planned on..
first I bought quarter to half inch .. the stuff the power plants refuse to use.. but the fire was to hot.. it would shut down the circuitry in the stove.. half and half still to hot.. the mix I use is three parts to one part it gives the same heat value as cherry pits etc.. but doesn’t get to hot for the circuitry .. this worked.. then the problem of the tarry black exhaust.. phew. what a mess.. so as I starred at it I thought.. its a positive pressure stove.. to work you have to have the positive pressure in it.. take that away and the stove shuts down.. but now to get rid of the exhaust..why not do it the same way a jet engine does or a rocket stove same principle different design.. off to the cardboard boxes again and sissors.. cut out a stackable burn box.. the idea is with the positive pressure and the extension of the burn chamber the exhaust would be reignited on the way up burning up the nasty fumes.. took my cardboard creation over had it scanned and put in a cnc laser cutter then welded together.. now I can drop this on top of the burn chamber to extend it any time I burn coal.. did it work.. Like a dream.. no exhaust a clean burning multi fuel stove with the capabilities of burning coal wood pellet mix.. which is what I do..
since I keep about three years worth of heat stored this year I need to get rid of it and replace it.. so I told the kids to come on over and I would heat their home to.. I still can’t get them to have a burn chamber built they are afraid it will null the warranty of the stove they have..
by doing that we keep our home around seventy six or seven degree’s during the winter and it costs us about fifty cents a day to seventy five cents a day.. our gas furnace rarely turns on..
I wished I would have been the one to design this stove.. great design easy to use.. been thinking of getting one and making a couple of changes on it so I could use it as a forced air furnace..
https://www.acehardware.com/departments/heating-and-cooling/wood-and-pellet-stoves/wood-and-pellet-stoves/4903464?x429=true&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&gclid=EAIaIQobChMInee28br_3gIVkVuGCh2dnQEZEAQYAyABEgKNFfD_BwE
the reason why people don’t get solar is they buy the bull shot that the powers that be keep telling them.. I remember when the head of the power company came by and we sat down.. when we first put our system in they would have had to write us a check.. instead they called up and said you can’t have a meter that goes backwards..( loved watching it spin back) and would send out someone twice a week for a three month period afterwards the head of the power company came by and we had coffee.. he said we can’t believe that it works as good as it does here.. my response was.. you bought your own BS… the sun shines.. day and night how much comes through depends on what is in the clouds.. then I suggested.. why not embrace it.. don’t chase it .. but embrace it..when my mother passed on she was the last of our family whose ancestors go back to before out country became a free nation..and when my brother made the comment.. isn’t it sad that at the end of your life all that is left is a couple of boxes of assorted crap.. a few photos and the memories of what you stood for.. it hit home.. I worked day and night to earn a living there wasn’t any let me help you or why not go on a vacation together.. it was work dollar to dollar money money money.. the only thing I valued was what wasn’t worth valuing and I didn’t know it till I got sick.. and when we got home there was a round table with three ceo’s of three major power companies and you said on a round table that made us decide to go with it.. that no matter what in twenty five years we would see a five hundred percent increase in costs of our power.. five hundred percent increase.. now.. figure the minor increase last year.. break it down on a small business owner and you are looking at four cents an hour.. add the company and the owners and your looking at a situation where the small company has to make between twenty five and fifty thousand in a year to cover that minor increase.. of course they aren’t going to raise everyone’s wages and they aren’t going to raise the price of coffee or anything else.. they have to stay competitive. instead.. they will cut a few hours a month on every employee’s time to make up this increase..
at the power meeting they were talking having to pay off a two billion dollar cost on the power plant there is.. and to put in a solar farm.( in one area I might add. the drooling idiots couldn’t see it if it was shoved down their throats.IMHO) instead of building one humongous solar farm build a solar tree.. start at the furthest spot from the power plant.. maybe eighty or hundred feet tall.. every time you have a boost station.. a bad storm and the grid goes down.. well not everywhere each solar tree would sustain the power in sections.. and the cost of building the infrastructure would be less.. then for everyone that wishes to put solar on their homes.. give them the option.. you can put it on and not have any increases at all in your energy costs for a ten year period if you let us have the excess.. if you want the excess then you pay the power company increases.. a ten kw system easy enough and definitely cheap enough the last 3 kw system I got I got on sale rebate and rebate from the component company free shipping by the time it was figured out.. the system without install was around three hundred dollars.. average is a dollar a watt.. for a system.. ours paid for itself in less than five years.. I didn’t even consider the three kw since it is just backup power.. the real problem is you can’t touch it you can’t stroke it.. you can’t sit and smell it it just works for you.. not pretty.. its a work horse..
I might add.. I have been trying to make up for my shortcomings since I got sick.. what I stand for.. green energy… its cheap enough.. its sustainable.. but until the puppeteers decide we need to go there or they have found the next gold goat .. it won’t be acceptable the same thing with magnetic power generators or cold fusion etc..
I might add this gentleman died of old age one of the only ones that did die of old age.. but then everything he did was done for the govt.. he only had the privilege to play with the stuff he dreamed about
.. https://waterpoweredcar.com/herman.html
now some of his patents have been modified by almost every car manufacturer around to. not counting the air-force army and marines and navy have things he patented re-patented.. who would know..
George;
75 to 80% of the US population lives within 2 or 3 hours of our coastlines.Lots of space in the Big Middle of the USA, MAYBE LOWER COSTS OF LIVING TOO.
I live in Montana, bought a house at hight of Oil Boom,so I am striving to paY off the Mortgage befor I am 93 As you talk about your options I still believe you are in and have the Perfect location.Pray that some of your kids will believe so to and have the desire to move there to help in your old age. Extended family,old concept by very viable for thousands of years..