Life with Sjogren's in AZ, NM, CA, NV

[Joe S.]

I am wondering if anyone here lives in these states. What is it like in the winter, in the summer? Are you living in a home, condo, senior community, apartment, or motor park?

Jan has started talking about spending winters down south in a state that has medical marijuana to help with her issues and mine. I think the yard work here in MN is getting to her. She now has to do all of the yard work that I used to do plus all of the house work. This is the last winter we have to spend here. It would be nice to have less pain.

[warmwaters]

Hey Joe - I'm starting to look for retirement areas too, and no winters is high on my list.

I currently live in Northern California, within 50 miles of San Francisco. I rent, and have typically been renting condos.  The upside of condo or apartment living is that someone else takes care of things like yards, roofs, or exterior painting. We have someone to clean, as that's something I can no longer do.

In my area, you start seeing flowers blooming in Feb, and it's usually summer by May. It stays pretty warm (it was 95 today, but that's pretty high) until October, and it isn't until late October that it feels like fall/winter.  It's very dry from about April to November, and then it's wet in the winter.  I find it very livable most of the time. 

The downside of CA is the cost.  Rent in the SF area is crazy, and LA is similarly crazy. You can look inland to areas like Sacremento or other less "high tech/high demand" areas for lower costs, but they'll not be cheap either.  Plus sales tax and income tax is pretty high.  However, CA is one of the states that has a lot of regulations to support people with health issues, and some good teaching hospitals and doctors.

See numbeo.com, which lets you compare the cost of living in two different locations.

I also looked at New Mexico.  New Mexico gets very hot in the summer, and has a small amount of snow in the winter. I looked at Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Albuquerque is a medium sized city that has a wide range of housing options from very cheap homes and apartments to really lovely houses that are not all that expensive. Most people have "dry" landscaping that requires less care.  Albuquerque is home to a big air force base, and you see a lot of retirees who are ex military.  Santa Fe is more artsy and "new-age", but in a really nice way. I sort of fell in love with it.  I did love the rugged mountains in the area. I found them beautiful.

[Joe S.]

Thanks, Warmwaters. We have grand kids in Canada and MN. My Mom spent 5 years as a snow bird between Mesa, AZ and Moorhead, MN. We went to see her for one Christmas and we were in shorts and t-shirts. I loved the fresh fruit. I did not like the heavy metals in the air of Phoenix that made it hard to breath. I think I would have trouble with the summer temperatures. For her it was natural to go there like most of her friends and relatives.

Jan's relatives are in Portland Oregon. She has a nephew in Fresno. Thank you for the web site. I will check it out.

[warmwaters]

Joe - we're also looking at Oregon.  It's a milder climate than my native New England, and the lush greenery there is in stark contrast to the deserts of the Southwest.

Eugene and Salem are two medium sized cities in Oregon which we're looking at, in addition to the Portland area. Eugene is home to the state university, which appeals to me, as I like the vibe of a college town. Salem is the state capital. 

As you are looking at all of this, don't forget to check out things like state tax and sales tax and property taxes, if you're thinking about buying a place. It's amazing how different these can be from place to place.

[donnahenry]

I live in AZ in a small desert town called Wickenburg. The winters are wonderful but the summers are becoming brutal for me. If you love horses, this is the town for you. Just 45 minutes from the big city and a couple of hours from Flagstaff and Sedona. Great place to be in the winter.

[jazzlover]

Ruidoso, NM? I know someone who has a condo there.

http://www.ruidosonow.com/

Are you sure NM has medicinal marijuana?

[SunshineDaydream]

I don't have any input regarding the livability of the states your are considering, but wanted to point out that medical marijuana (MMJ) laws vary widely in terms of the nature of MMJ permitted, the limited circumstances for which it may be permitted, and whether it is actually being prescribed in the states where it is legal. For example, some states allow use of the plant while others only allow non-psychoactive marijuana extract called cannabidiol. Some states allow MMJ for a variety of ailments or diagnoses, while others only allow it for terminal patients. In a few states where MMJ is legal, there is not much activity and few dispensaries because it is hard to find doctors to prescribe it. For those reasons, it is important to understand marijuana and its effects, and thoroughly research the actual laws and prescription activity levels.

NORML (National Organization for Reform Marijuana Laws) is a great resource http://norml.org/legal/medical-marijuana-2 as is ProCon http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000881

[Joe S.]

MN allows it but your doctor has to be certified to Rx it. I got my first sample in Washington. My friend with Sjogren's there uses it but has not said if she has an Rx for it.

Thank you every one for your response. I will check the Norml web site.

We have visited Jan's cousins in Port Land. Traffic on the Highways is a bit rough (roads) and dense with vehicles through Salem and it seemed like a nice town from the highway. The coast seemed to be over developed.

I am usually good up in Campbell River, BC except for severe storms. I also had a bad pre-reaction to an earth quake a 1000 miles south.

[nannysbaby]

I live in East TX.  The winters are cold and the temp can get down to 17 or 18 degrees for a night or two.  Then the temp will usually go back to the 40's.  It freezes (light) regularly through Feb., but if it snows at all, it only lasts a day or two.  Sometimes we have ice storms.  I was raised in MN and I know how fierce the winters can be, and so I will never move back there.  But TX summers are difficult to endure sometimes with it being upper 90's right to the end of Sept. as well as humid.

I also spent 17 years in south LA below New Orleans.  I remember summer after summer was cumulus clouds sailing through the sky and then rainstorms and then hot, humid, sticky weather.  Then there were hurricanes and more hurricanes.  My husband worked off Grand Isle and I often wondered how so many people who had been wiped out over and over again could stay there their whole life.  But the winters compared to East TX and spring came a month earlier than here in TX and I remember it was very refreshing living by the ocean in the spring.  I hope you can find what you are looking for.

[Judie P]

Hi, Joe S.  I live about 40 miles east of San Francisco.  If you are looking for winters that are not so harsh, I think we can help you.  I agree with everything that warmwaters had to say.  It is expensive to live here.  My husband and I own a manufactured home in Bay Point, CA, and since I purchased and paid for it, the two bedroom single wide lot is $600 a month.  We have a small side, back and front yard.  We have someone once a year (after the rainy season) to pull all the weeds, cut the grass and trim the trees.  If you are thinking about purchasing one of the new ones, then it is a different story.  They are triple wide, have three bedrooms, a fireplace, and a sunken tub.  The lot runs about $1,200 a month and if you are paying for a mortgage, that could be also $1,200 a month.  A new triple wide runs around $130,000 to $150,000.

I am not sure in what direction warmwaters is from San Francisco, but yesterday it reached 100 degrees in our area.  My SJS does not like heat and so I either have to have the air conditioning on all day or get sick from the heat.  I have several clients that have sarcoidosis, SJS, RA or something similar that do medical marijuana.  I believe a doctor has prescribed it and it was easy for them to get.  If you are low income in my area, you are able to get electric/gas assistance from PG&E.  My rheumy filled out the form for me and I pay much less than the average person.  Also, if you are within a certain income, we have Medi-Cal.  We still have the medicaid offer, but Medi-Cal for all low income people started with the affordable care act.  It pays for everything.  If you are on Medicare, you can get some of it paid for by Medi-Cal and you become what they call, "medi-medi".

I hope this helps.  Hugs, J

[Joe S.]

Thanks Judie P. and NannysBaby. As for income, SSI gives us about 2400/mo that is taxable. Non Taxable are my VA benefits. I had to sue for them since my military service was classified. It took a general with very high clearance to be able to open military file after 40 years of denying my DD214.

We currently have our home and vehicle paid for. We had our first mobile home (12x68) and it was used. From that we purchased our First home. A story and 1/2 656 square foot cottage a block from Jan's mother and a block from her aunt. We next purchased a Duplex here in the twin cities. We lost the duplex during the foreclosure crises. The bank stole $186,000 from us at the point of a gun their reprehensive held. So we paid cash for the house we are currently in rather than rent. By not paying rent, we have almost paid ourselves back.

We have been thinking about Condos, Park Models, and Motor Homes. I wish to keep rent as low as possible.

We are not in a rush but we are looking to visit the areas while on vacation to get a feel for them before we move.

I appreciation everyones suggestions so far. It may also help others on our list to think about where it would be better to live. Also doctors, clinics, and hospitals that are kind to us.

[Jenny]

Joe, I see you didn't include Florida in your choices. We are voting for medical marijuana approval in November this year. It's expected to pass. There are plenty of inexpensive mobile home communities.

[Joe S.]

Jenny, Jan and I used to have 5 weeks of timeshare in Florida. We used them during the month of Feb. When we came home winter was about over.

We have been to Florida with the Telephone Pioneers of America a number of times. Our service projects were mainly with the local schools of Orlando and Kissimmee.

The gators make a lot of noise when mating. The damp cold will cut through most clothing. Watching a night shuttle lift off was a great memory. The Coral Castle was an interesting trip. I have negative energy feelings about our time going through Miami. We spent a week in Lake City visiting with the number 2 Falconer in the US and her husband. The theme restaurants in the Orlando / Kissimmee are great for an evening out. The tide was out when we went to Cocoa Beach. I was upset to see how poorly people treat the ocean. I loved the tours of Cape Canaveral. The RenFest in Gainesboro was interesting but substantially smaller than the one here that I no longer attend because of the sun.

The sun overwhelmed me. We have spent a lot of time exploring a small portion of Florida on our vacation. So We are comparing those experiences to other places to live.

[Sweetcheex76]

I live in Los Angeles and I speak only for myself but I would do anything to move. Humidity is very low and it rarely rains. I am so dry even my lungs feel parched. For about 9 months of the year, I'm parked next to my humidifier and try not to leave the house.

[Joe S.]

Thank you for your input. So. Cal. is out. That is very good to know. Again, Thank you for your input.

Still looking at Coastal OR, WA, BC. Thinking about life on the road maybe. going to the best state for the time of year. Here in MN, the damp cold brings on Raynaud's and RA. Fingers, knees and hips are complaining. It should be fun when it is really cold.