I grew up in SoCal. My dad had been born there before 1900, so the family roots were deep. I got engaged at 16, married at 18 and moved to Europe with a GI hubby. Dad got sick, I went home. On our 1st wedding anniversary, hubby1 was living with a former high school friend and engaged to a 16yo. That was too crowded for me.
I got engaged a lot, but didn't remarry for a while. In the meantime, I moved from L.A. to San Bernardino and lived in the college dorms, then apartments, then I rented a 2 bedroom house. There was a married couple and single guy living in it, everyone was supposed to move out. The couple did, the guy didn't for 3 months. By the time he left, I was hooked on him (we'll have been married 45 years this summer).
He moved to the desert, I moved to the beach -- for work. I followed him to the desert. We got married. Our first house was WWII military housing in a military town, city lot, in the high desert. That job ended. He got work with a big computer company. He moved to GA temporarily, then FL. I sold the CA house and moved to FL. We bought a new house, city lot, lake in the back yard. The company transferred him to NH. Sold the FL house, rented a duplex. After looking 6 months, I found a log home on an acre of land, near a dead ski resort. We bought it. We're still here.
We are looking for a retirement home, New England won't work, too expensive. We can't stay where we are. No family. Nearest supermarket is 9 miles away. We can get groceries delivered, at $25 a shot.
He telecommutes and we don't know how far away we can be from the job.
We're trying to make this place as self-sufficient as we can, without killing the resale value. I've been looking in IL for our retirement home. (We have family there.) Found one last year which would have been perfect: house, garage/workshop, land, pond, chicken coop, veggie garden. The people who bought the house bought just the house.... not the accompanying acreage.