Palm Springs Retirement?

 

Indian lot available in Palm Springs. Sure, I'm going to lease an Indian owned lot in Palm Springs. NOT!

Remember all that talk I've been having about retiring to Palm Springs? Well there is one big "thing" that I forgot about, the high real estate/school tax. For the type of home that Pat and I would like to move to, the real estate taxes would be just too high. It seems that I conveniently forgot that the main reason I moved to Delaware in 2006 was because I couldn't afford to live at our home in Pennsylvania anymore because of the high real estate taxes. 

I came to this brutal realization yesterday when a friend of mine told me he just bought a house in Cathedral City, near Palm Springs. He's paying close to a million dollars for his house but he won't have to pay a five digit real estate tax bill because he's a California resident who qualifies for a lower tax bill. Of course Pat and I wouldn't qualify for lower taxes since we are not California residents who would qualify for that lower tax bill.

Even though I now live in the low tax state of Delaware (no sales tax, low real estate taxes and I don't pay Delaware's income tax because my pensions are below the taxable rate), I still have substantial annual insurance taxes. Even though I have the so called "free Medicare", I still pay over $5,000 a year for Medicare and Medicare supplemental insurance, and that keeps going up. If Bill should die before me, then my sole income is Social Security and my small bank pensions. I probably could go back to work at the hotel part-time but how much longer can I work now that I'm over eighty? 

So there it goes folks, my dream of moving to Palm Springs for my retirement years. I'll just have to get by on an annual visit during Modernism Week in February of each year.

But you know folks, I have to put this into perspective. Look at those Ukrainain refugees who have lost everything they have because of the evil of Russia and Putin invading their country and leveling it for what reason? Just because Putin, who has more money than any one individual in the world is bored and wants to return Russia back to it's former "glory" of the Soviet Union empire. I'm sick to my stomach over that whole mess, the rest of the world is helpless to do anything to stop Putin. What's next for Putin? The Baltic states? Poland? The other former east European countries that the Soviet Union previously occupied after World War II? 

All my life I've lived under the threat of nuclear destruction and it seems as if at the end of my life I'm still living under that threat. But, and this is a big "but", I have been so fortunate to have the wonder life that I've had. I live in a beautiful home in southern Delaware that is paid for. If I can't move to a more beautiful home in Palm Springs, big deal. I am so much more fortunate than those millions of Ukrainians who did nothing to deserve the hell that has descended on them now from the Hell of their Russian neighbor Putin. One thing is for sure, Putin is finished because of what he has done. Unfortunately, he's taking a lot of innocent people down with him. 

Mom, Bill and Home

While searching through my thousands of pictures this afternoon I came across this picture of Significant Other and walking my Mother back to our old house in Pennsylvania.  This picture was taken shortly before we put our house up for sale in 2006.


I didn't want to sell our beautiful house which we built in 1980 on 6.845 acres of hillside, Pennsylvania woodland we purchased in 1976.  I had no choice.  I could no longer afford the ever increasing school and property taxes.  I had to put our house up for sale and move to Delaware where the taxes are lower and don't go up 15% to 25% every year.  


I had forgotten that I had taken this iconic picture of my longtime partner (we're in our 46th year now) and Mom.  Mom lived on the other side of the woods from our home which worked out well because we both could maintain our privacy but we were never more than a few minutes away from each other.


Mom didn't want us to move. 


We didn't want to move.  


We loved our home.  


We loved Pennsylvania. 


We had no choice.


Mom is gone now.  She died September 16, 2010.


Our old home in Pennsylvania is gone now.  The new owners defaulted on their mortgage and our once beautiful home and property is now a neglected Grey Gardens.   It was sold at a sheriff's sale this past November.  


Only Significant Other and I are left.  We are living in our new home in Delaware.  


I love our new home in Delaware but I do miss the home we lived in Pennsylvania.  Significant Other doesn't like Delaware nor our new home.  He doesn't like the flat, open landscape and lack of trees.  He still pines for our old home in Pennsylvania.  He feels like he lost a loved one when I sold the home.  


Just when I think I'm used to Mom being gone, I come across a picture like this that smacks me right in my face how much I miss her.  


Thank God I still have him.  

Sad Trip

The "Welcome to Pennsylvania" sign at the Delaware-Pennsylvania border outside Newark, Delaware

Hey Ron =

 

Hope you and Bill are well.  It's been a hot time around here has your area has escaped this warm summer? 

 

Forgive me for not keeping in touch....seems Mike and I are always on the go and travel more now than ever (we are fortunate to be able to do so).

 

While reading the fine print in the Daily Local News this morning, I came across a notice of "Upset Sales" being held Sept. 13, 2010.  These properties are for sale through the Chester County Tax Claim Bureau to satisfy unpaid taxes - could be municipal, county, or school district taxes.  Anyhow, I noticed that 161 Crawford is listed (the owner's name is shown as David Goldschmidt) and the amount owed is $17,405.92. 

 

I called the Tax Claim Bureau to ask how this works and was told that the $17,000 listed is theoretically the starting price of the auction for the home but the bidding could go much higher.  Sad to see your beautiful place in such a state.

 

Mike and I occasionally go up the driveway to look around - hopefully, the inside of the home is not damaged.  Those of us who live in the woods know that mold and mildew are a constant problem and you must stay on top of it.  I didn't see any damage from recent storms other than a lot of branches down on the ground.  We actually lost several trees.

 

Remind me of your mailing address and I will cut out this page of the paper and mail it to you.

 

Regards,

Becky

This is an e-mail I received yesterday from my former neighbor and friend Becky C.  It is in reference to our former home in Pennsylvania.  Early this morning Bill and I made a return trip to our former home.

Bill and I built our former home in 1980 from 6.875 acres of wooded land we purchased in East Brandywine township in 1976.  We sold our home in November of 2006.  We had over twenty five wonderful years in our wooded paradise.  Bill put unmeasurable sweat equity into our former home.  We raised three beautiful Pomeranian dogs at our home on 161 Crawford Road, Downingtown, Pennsylvania.

Last year another former neighbor of our told us that our former home was up for sale.  We were very surprised because the young couple from Florida who had purchased our home seemed so happy on the day of settlement.  I remember the young man and his beautiful blonde wife (I kidded him about how did he ever manage to get such a beautiful wife) telling me that his two young dark haired daughters would now have plenty of space to play.

Now to hear this news, that our former beautiful home is now going to be auctioned off for payment of back taxes.  What makes it especially sad is that Bill never wanted to move to Delaware.  I was forced to sell our home and move to Delaware because I could no longer afford to pay the ever escalating high school property taxes of Pennsylvania.  How ironic that our former home is now going to be auctioned off because of failure to pay those very taxes.

The trip today was very sad.  Our formerly beautifully manicured property is now overgrown with weeds.  The roof gutters are crammed with debris.  The three fish ponds that I had so lovingly cared for are now dark with dead leaves and the only occupants are frogs.  Long gone are the many goldfish who who were born, lived and died in those ponds for years.  

Bill at the entrance that he built to our former Pennsylvania home this morning

The leaf strewn entrance to our former garage - many a trip was made up this incline

Bill built this terrace, one brick at a time. It took him over 20 years to complete

The front of the house - the ivy and green mold is taking over

Me on the steps of the sunroom that Bill built, one brick at a time

The "grand staircase" of steps that Bill built - one brick at a time

One of the  three hundred dollar lamps that Bill put on top of his masterpiece

Gone are the days are the sounds of the happy "yap! yap!" of our Poms now replaced with the occasional breeze through the tall pine trees and the birds who now have taken back possession of their woodland home.  

The auction is scheduled to take place Monday, September 13th.  We will be there. If we had the money, we would buy it back.  But we don't.  One thing is for sure, whoever does buy our former home will be getting a bargain.  We spent many a happy day there.     Our dogs are still buried there, near one of the ponds.  Their ghosts still romp in the grass.

Me playing with Horace 1982 a year after moving into our new home

Horace looking at his new home 1982

Me posing for a 1985 Christmas card picture with "the kids" at the entrance

Me with Horace and his daughter "Babydoll" in happier times 

Note:  I'm keeping the "happy" music on this posting because this is the way I want to remember our former home.  Our dogs lived a long, good life on that property as did Bill and I.  We will miss it terribly.