Thursday, April 9, 2015

If Not Now, When?

As my husband and I contemplate retirement two years down the road, God willing, our thoughts have naturally turned to "home" aka California.  We have been away 18 years now.  Prior to that, we spent an additional 10 years living in other states.  Most of our friends remained and we make an effort to return home as often as possible to see everyone.  We miss them, we miss home.  It makes sense to want to retire back where we started, where we are comfortable, where it doesn't snow every other damn day.

Mother Nature has other ideas.  The ongoing drought, four years without a break, is taking a toll I'm not sure I want to pay.  Where is the water going to come from?  What are the 38+MM California residents going to do?  What will the farmers do?  What is it going to cost to live there in the future?
NASA’s top water scientist says California only has about one year’s worth of water left in storage, and its groundwater – often used as a backup for reservoirs and other reserves – is rapidly depleting. He suggests immediately rationing water.  rt.com 3/15/15


This is not a pretty scenario. We want out of the freezing cold in the northeastern U.S. but don't want to jump out of the frying pan into the fire.  

Of late, we are toying with the idea of a two year trial run in Italy.  It's been a dream for a long time but we're taking it much more seriously now.  Just last week, ex-pat blogger Mary set up a Skype session with us to tell us about living in Italy.  She's been there 6+ years.  She's a wealth of information and, even without sugarcoating, she makes living in Italy sound like a wonderful adventure filled with warm, friendly people with that zest for living, eating and enjoying their lives.  The whole thing is scary but wildly appealing at the same time.  



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2 comments:

injaynesworld said...

Those pictures are mortifying. We have Lake Cachuma where I live that is little more than a pond now. Italy sounds fabulous. I'd go with that plan! :)

Anonymous said...

I know one thing, people in the rest of the country will have to get used to not having fresh produce at their beck and call anytime they want it. I don't know who is going to feed this country.

I recently read a scary prediction (I can't remember where, and I didn't bookmark it, dang it) that the whole midwest is heading for a decades-long drought, 50 or 60 years down the road. I don't know how much credence to give that, especially considering that here in Ohio we seem to get more than our fair share of rain. Of course, we're just on the eastern edge of the midwest region, and our weather patterns often align more with the mid-Atlantic region's.

A good friend of mine from high school who has lived in California and Nevada since we graduated is very greatly considering moving to Italy with her husband, not only for the ease of life, but for political reasons as well. It sounds tempting.

Christina

Christina
by Cole Scott