Are you kidding me? Here we are back on the road, only two weeks after a grueling road trip through Mexico. The night we got home from Mexico…I looked at Claudia and said…”I’m beat. Absolutely dead tired. My back hurts. My head hurts. My butt hurts. Even my eyes hurt. No more trips for a while”. A month driving 3,500 miles through the interior of Mexico will do that to you.
And then…we unpacked, took stock of our trip and realized that….yep….as hard as it was to head back out after just getting home, we had to get back in the saddle and continue our search for a great (not just a good, or an “OK”) place to live. And the clock is ticking. Summer…and the unbearable Arizona heat it brings…will be here before we know it. Get the damn suitcases back out. Poor Tuck…he just looks at the suitcases and wags his tail as if to say…”I’m ready Mom and Dad”. What an amazing dog. We love him so much.
Anyway, back to the story. Since we have already explored (and more or less scratched off the list) Florida, Georgia, California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming…and most recently Mexico, one of our last potential areas to consider is Texas, specifically the Austin area. Why Austin? Here’s a start….a moderate climate, great culture, great food, an amazing music scene, affordable housing costs, access to great health care, an international airport nearby, a great mix of residents both working and retired, access to great shopping if we need it, within a days drive of other major cities to explore and last, but not least, enough “stuff” to do to have a fun and productive retirement. It’s no wonder Austin makes the list every year of great places to live or retire.
So here we are in Georgetown, TX, a rapidly growing and very popular suburb of Austin. Georgetown is located on the North side of Austin. We just arrived late this afternoon after a 9-hour drive from Van Horn, TX, so we haven’t had much time to explore yet. But what we have seen so far is really promising. The town has a beautiful restored town square, recently voted the most beautiful town square in Texas. We got Tuck and took a half-hour walk around the square. Even on a Sunday night, there wasn’t a parking space to be had around the square. People were out eating, drinking, walking, enjoying the Christmas lights, etc. Nice! A good sign. The sidewalks don’t roll up at 7:00 here. Even on a Sunday night, a lot of the restaurants were open until 10:00. That isn’t typical, even in Scottsdale.
Tomorrow we’re going to check out the town and a lot of neighborhoods within a reasonable driving distance of downtown. More info and pictures tomorrow night.
Thanks for “watching”.
Cheers,
Wayne, Claudia and Tuck