Leaving California

Leaving California

Twelve years ago my wife and I bought a condo on the beach. After all of these years we have decided it is time to sell. It was not an easy decision. Many of our best memories from that time in our lives come from the experiences we gained at that property.

It is located in the town of Oceanside which is north of San Diego and just south of Camp Pendelton Marine Base. Prior to our purchase, the town had earned a rather seedy reputation because it catered to retired marines who did not return to their own home towns upon being discharged. As a result there were lots of tattoo parlors, nudey bars, prostitutes and beach bums around.

Don’t get me wrong. I love the marines and I really appreciate all of their sacrifices (as well as their families’ sacrifices) which have given us all so much. But my fondness for the people in the military does not change the reality of what Oceanside had become.

Well anyway, we completed our purchase just after the city officials decided to clean things up. New government buildings were constructed and the police began cracking down on all of the less becoming behavior. A new commitment was made to maintaining the beaches and now they rival any on the coast. Over time, some developers purchased many dozens of the older homes near the beach and replaced them with beautiful 2-story stucco homes. All of this caused property values to rise beyond anything we ever anticipated. That humble little condo became one of the best investments we ever made, even though we did not buy it for that purpose.

We have spent about 8 weeks a year at the 2 bedroom home-away-from-home. Our friends and family have also used it for a similar amount of time each year. Therefore, it has certainly gotten plenty of use and enhanced a lot of lives. We have gone for hundreds of walks on the beach and watched many, many sunsets. We have visited nearly every attraction within driving distance and some of them several times. There is not much more sight seeing to do.

Add to that, the woes of the general economy, which have not completely avoided us, and the particularly horrible state of the California real estate market (prices are dropping like a rock) and it just seems like our time with the property has run its course.

A couple of months ago we decided to list the property for sale and we recently received a contract that we accepted. If all goes as expected, which is not automatic because lenders have gotten very weird lately, the sale will take place in the middle of August.

Given all of this, we made an impulsive visit to the condo this week. We are trying to squeeze a few extra days in for ourselves before we wrap up this part of our lives.

We arrived yesterday and went to one of our favorite restaurants and started recounting some of the better memories which we harbor. As the week unfolds we will try to visit a few of our favorite places and recall some of our favorite moments.

I will keep you all posted how the week develops.