The Road Home

The Road Home
There is no place like home.

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Why We Are Here

Hello, Frank here.

We received an interesting comment on our post, "I Can't Think of a Thing to Write", which, by the way, was the post before this one. We've been receiving comments from N.W. Illinois for a good while now and I'm going to try to give an accurate assessment to his question. I really don't know if it's a him or a her, but I'm going to respond as if it's a him. Then I don't have to him-haw around playing semantics.

His question is, why did we move to southeast Oklahoma. But, here is his comment in it's entirety. 

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"Hello Fern & Frank, For having nothing to say that was an interesting read. This is N.W. Illinois again, been a while. It's too cold to plant anything in the ground here. A week ago the ground was covered in snow! Yuck. The weather has improved this week, 65 deg. on Mon. 3/30/15. On the note of something to write, how about telling us why you picked Oklahoma to retire in, what's the advantages over say N.W. Illinois. Other than the fact our growing season is three months shorter or we have more snow."

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There are a lot of parts to the answer here, as to why we moved to Oklahoma. So I'm just going to start.

Fern and I were both born and raised in Texas, but we didn't know that about each other until we met in Stillwater, Oklahoma. She was
a normal aged junior, and I was about ten years older and trying college again on a full time basis. What brought us both to Oklahoma State University? Well, Fern's dad passed away when she was a young child, and in about ninth grade her mother married a man from Oklahoma. His wife had passed away a couple of years earlier. So her mom left her college teaching position and moved to southeastern Oklahoma where her new husband lived. That is how Fern ended up going to Oklahoma State University.

My case is a little bit different. I'm a big city boy, born and raised. I have pulled two tours in the military, both of them short tours. I had been researching major universities, not located in major cities. Oklahoma State University, OSU, was kind enough to offer me about 36 hours of good solid credits for my military training. So that's what brought me to OSU. 

Fern and I met in Biology 101, and just about two years later we got married. A couple of years later we completed our education we started looking for jobs. That started our teaching career in Oklahoma. We worked in Oklahoma for six years, not anywhere close to southeastern Oklahoma. We took jobs in Alaska for one year, came back to Oklahoma, and worked for nine more years. We are still not in southeastern Oklahoma. Then we moved back to Alaska and taught there for eight more years.

During our sixth year in Alaska ten acres of land became available that was in the vicinity of Fern's family. It was a nice, pretty, square ten acres, and each summer when we would come down here to visit her folks, we would look at assorted pieces of property. We really didn't plan on living on this land some day, it just seemed like it was a good investment. Even after we bought the ten acres, we still continued to look at other pieces of property.

Now, what brought us here? Well, let me back up a little bit. We had also very casually looked at locations in Washington state, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Oregon. But there was nothing that ever really flipped our switch. And upon doing a little deeper research, not all, but most of these states have restrictive water rights, and that's just not something we were looking for.

But the major reason for not moving to any of these states just mentioned, was the snow and the cold. We had just spent eight years in some climates in Alaska that were, to say the least, extremely bitter and harsh. As a school principal, I had to shovel snow on a regular basis. Then, about my fifth year, I injured my lower back, which I still suffer from that injury today. I knew that I never in my life wanted to shovel snow again.

Now I'm going to back up one more time. The last couple of years in Alaska, I started noticing some very dangerous trends in the
economy. This was about 2006. Now, I'm by no means an economist, but some things I saw going on in the financial world started to give me grave concerns. I started educating myself about the financial world, and to me it became apparent that the economy was in a death spiral. I did not want to be in remote bush Alaska when things spiraled out of control. So, in 2008 we quit two successful administrative positions, sold our condominium in Anchorage, rented two big UHaul trailers, and made our last trip down the Alaska highway. 

Which, on a side note, cell phones don't work on the vast majority of the Alaska highway. So we purchased two GMRS handheld walkie talkies, and that's how we communicated while we were driving down the Alaska highway. That was the beginning of my jump into ham radio.

I'm going to back up one more time. A really interesting thing happened about four months before we left Alaska. There is only one house that bordered our ten acres, and the lady that owned the house happened to know Fern's mom. She mentioned that she was going to sell the house, and asked Fern's mom if we would be interested. The day that we got here from Alaska, the next day we picked up the keys and the house was ours. I can't help but believe that we had some divine help there. We already owned the ten acres, and now we had one acre with a house that attached to it. That's how we got here.

Now, let me share some benefits of being here. A lot of folks don't know this, but southeastern Oklahoma is a mountainous area. Ok, ok, they're not the Rocky Mountains and they're not the Appalachian Mountains, and some folks would just call them big hills. But whatever you want to call them, they are what they are. And they are beautiful. There is one medium sized town about 30 miles away. There is a fully functional town about 60 miles away. And there are two big towns, or what we call big towns, in different directions about three hours away.

Taxes overall here are less than most other states, and that includes income tax. There is an income tax here in Oklahoma. We have crime here, but it is less than the national average, especially out in the rural areas. The schools here are as good as they are anywhere. Yesterday I was out in my backyard sighting in a rifle. About two miles away is a huge national forest. About a mile in the other direction is a large wildlife refuge. We can grow things successfully about seven months a year. And there are some things that will survive year round. It's hot in the summer, it's humid in the summer. I know most folks think of Oklahoma as the dust bowl, but not the southeastern part. We are heavily treed, with mountains. It says so on the map.

It can get cold in the winter, but on average it normally doesn't get any colder than 20 to 25 degrees. We get snow, but you can normally sweep it off of your porch. On occasion we get ice storms which shuts everything down. We do have tornadoes and some violent thunderstorms. But these are things you learn to live with, because you have violent thunderstorms just about everywhere. Most states have the occasional tornado. But we don't have hurricanes, we don't have mud slides, we do not have tsunamis, but we do have wildfires. 

Something that some people will find probably a little surprising is that not one precinct or district or polling station had a majority vote for Mr. Obama in either election. You read that right. Not one. You can take that for what it's worth. So, if you think that Wyoming is conservative, welcome to Oklahoma. 

We also have more churches than we do bars. That means that church has a significant influence in everything that happens here, especially in the rural areas.

This part of Oklahoma has a higher unemployment rate than the national average, and it has for many years. There's just not a lot of wealth in this part of the state, if you judge wealth by the amount of money someone has. But you will see a man driving a tractor with his child sitting on his lap. And you will see a family fishing together. I guess you can judge wealth by other values also.

Okay, I'll try to get back on topic now. When Fern and I left Alaska and moved here, we did not have jobs lined up. At first things didn't look like they were going to pan out. Fern would get an offer at one
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little school and I would get an offer at another little school, but our entire married life and teaching career, we've always worked in the same district. Maybe not the exact same building, but very close by. Then one day we interviewed at a school and the superintendent there offered us both teaching positions. That was around July 4th. It was starting to look like we might need to apply in Alaska again. But, again, the good Lord was with us, and He gave us two teaching jobs, me at the high school and Fern at the elementary. I taught there three years and retired. Fern taught there six years and retired. You see, God has been very good to us, and for that we are truly thankful. And I really believe that, too.


Okay, let's review. Why southeast Oklahoma? It's beautiful. The winters are survivable even if we didn't have heat, as long as we had shelter. There aren't many folks here in this area. We can grow food almost year round. If need be, we can harvest game. The climate is not harsh on our livestock. The water laws and rules are easily livable. The folks are ultra conservative. The vast majority of people are Christian. The folks here are just decent, hardworking people for the most part. The taxes are kind to retired folks, and to everybody for that matter. No national politician is ever going to retire in my neighborhood. That's another thing to be truly thankful for.

On a serious note. If there is a collapse, and for whatever reason there is no electricity or power, this part of the world is survivable. Those states I talked about earlier. If you live inland, away from the major population centers, the winters are not survivable without external assistance. Maybe a few very young and very hardy might be able to, but the majority will not. And I'm sorry to say that, but these are facts. A lot of folks may think that with -20 degrees below zero temperatures that they are going to be okay. Well, they're not. That is an illusion. 


So this is why Fern and I settled in southeast Oklahoma. There is going to be a collapse in our society, because it is already starting. It's a big ship and it takes a long time for it to stop. The economic and social trends that I seriously started following in 2006 have not halted or reversed, if anything, they have accelerated. This big ship is grinding to a halt. If you can't see it, I'm sorry. But this area is survivable. 


N.W. Illinois, I hope this answered your question. I want to thank you for the comment, and I want to thank you for reading. But first and foremost, I want to thank God for giving me the ability to see what is happening. And I want to thank my wife of 32 years for always being by my side. I am truly blessed. 

We'll talk more later, Frank

28 comments:

  1. That was very interesting, Frank. Thank you for your answer to NW.

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    1. C.M. thank you for reading and thank you for the comment. You are more than welcome.

      Frank

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  2. Now that was very interesting... thank you. Here is another possible topic, if you feel like addressing it. Why do you chose to not reveal your name or the town you live in? And I might do the same... but what is your viewpoint on that? I read another blogger who has a great blog but who has stopped posting, (cause she thinks thousands are going to show up on her doorstep???)

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    1. Beth, Frank is probably being cautious as most people should be. I lost that chance long ago and finding me is super-duper easy. I'm not always happy about that.

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    2. Hi Beth. I tend to agree with Adrienne. We don't use our real names for security purposes. There are just a few too many whackos in this world, so therefore, we use pseudonyms. It just makes life easier and much safer. Now we do have a handful of relatives who read our blog and know who we are, and there are a couple of folks at church that also know, too. My concern is still the mentally insecure people. Good question, and thank you.

      Frank

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  3. That was a great article, I enjoy and am inspired by you both.

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    1. Janet, we are here because we are supposed to be here. Life can be very complex, but at the same time, it can be very simple. This is where the Big Guy wants us to be, and I listen to that little voice. Thank you for reading.

      Frank

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  4. I love reading your stories (both of you.) When I meet people I always want to know about them. We're in North Idaho for many of the same reasons. My hubby teaches guitar, banjo, and mandolin as well as running an online company selling instructional material which allows us to live most anywhere.

    When we moved here from AZ (both of us are from the Twin Cities in Minnesota, but managed to escape) we didn't know at that time what a good decision it would turn out to be. That was about 30 years ago and many of the reasons you're stating for OK apply to us in today's world.

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    1. Hello, Adrienne. It's a pleasant feeling to understand and realize that one is where they should be. Happiness comes in all different shapes and flavors. Get ready. Dark times are coming.

      Frank

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  5. Frank,

    I'm a new follower, living in central Oklahoma. I enjoyed reading this post, thank you for explaining why you, and Fern picked SE Oklahoma your home.

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    1. Hi Sandy. I'm glad you enjoyed our post and feel comfortable. Please take the time to peruse through the past articles, and please comment anytime you choose to. Thank you for reading.

      Frank

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  6. Thanks for sharing your journey and the reasons for your locating in Oklahoma . You hopefully will encourage folks to put serious thought into where they can live and survive . Things like growing seasons , water availability , population centers , weather patterns , affordable land and so forth are vital factors that we looked at 7 years ago . We lived in a county of 200,000 people and now live in a county of 4100 , with only 1 traffic light .
    The deciding change factor for us was the economic situation in this country and the fact we see no easy solution to fix it , it must be changed . I am 3 score and 12 , so it is never too late to make a change in life . My wife and I have absolutely no regrets for our move or our lifestyle change . We put our faith in the Lord and He has lead us into a very happy retirement .

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    1. Thank you for sharing also. It's a good feeling to not have doubts. When I was younger I would question things that I knew were right. Now I am just comfortable, because I know where my source comes from. We can find happiness just about anywhere. If we are preparing for a cataclysmic event, then we might need to seek happiness elsewhere. Thank you again.

      Frank

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  7. Thank you for explaining why you live where you do. You have beautiful property and the ability to grow for a very long season is tempting, too. However, no way in heck could I live with the threat of a tornado. Earthquake? Yes. Volcano..mmmm yes, too. We are 3 score 17 and have lived in Eastern Oregon High Desert for 25 years. We are about to pull up stakes and head for north central Idaho. Kind of scary at our age, but nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

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    1. Tewshooz, anytime anybody makes a major move, it's scary. It should be. There are just so many unknowns to consider. Hope your move goes well. Would it be possible for you to share with us why you are making the change? I always found that part of Washington and Oregon to be really beautiful. Thank you for sharing.

      Frank

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    2. It's interesting what we each decide is acceptable in regards to what we can live with. I guess I'm used to tornadoes, having lived in OK for 62 years. I don't like them but I'm as prepared as I can be. Earthquakes? No. Even though in central OK we get a lot of them, however minor they are compared to California's. Volcanoes? No way!
      Kudos to you for having the courage to make a life change now. I've found with every major change I've made in life has been ultimately good.
      Jeff in OK

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  8. Thank you for the back story, Frank. We're solidly in the midwest, as well, as I saw fit to escape the northeast several decades back. We also seem to have been lead to our lives here by the Lord, so I'm not asking many questions, I'm just grateful.

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    1. I have found that if I listen to what the Lord is telling me, my life goes a lot better. But I've spent a handful of decades being a tad bit hardheaded, and didn't always pay attention. But life is good now, and that's where I am. Happy. Thank you for your comment.

      Frank

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  9. Thank you for your history, Frank. Our reasons are rather similar, we made a list of what was important to us and went looking in several different states, landing here in OK because it was the best fit. Water, and no snow, were high on our list.

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    1. Hi, Kathi. I read about folks that have their hearts set on moving to some part of the northern Rocky Mountains, and I'm happy for those folks. I'm especially happy that they're not coming to Oklahoma. I'm happy that the retirees from southern California have moved to Idaho and Montana, for the same reason. I'm happy that they're not coming here. I'm glad that folks find something wrong with the part of the country that I live in. And I'm glad that they're not coming here. They just don't know what they're missing, do they? Take care.

      Frank

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  10. I have been isolated and snowbound enough to know it is not something I want to deal with any more....the isolation is okay but combine it with loss of power and perhaps loss of heat or wood supply could be devastating. I just spoke to friends who had a fire burn their 4 year wood supply to unexpected ash, just one more thing to make me realize winter has to be manageable as we age and especially if we want to be self sufficient. The areas we have looked at in Kentucky have higher unemployment and more churches and the people are wonderful and actually have common sense and family values. Kind of makes you think about wealth and its destructive influence.

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    1. Hello, Fiona. I've heard people criticize the south all of my life. And there are some big towns in the south that I choose not to go to or through. But, they have big towns in the north too, that I choose not to go to or through. And don't forget the west, they have those big towns also. But I like the southern mentality, and this is where I plan on staying. There is just something different about the folks below the Mason Dixon. Take care, Fiona. Happy hunting.

      Frank

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  11. Enjoyed your story. Isn't amazing how God directs our lives? Putting us where he needs us even in places you never dreamed you would be. Sometimes He puts us in a quite place so we can find that much needed peace we all seek and few are able to attain. God bless!

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    1. M.E. Well said, my compliments. Fern and I really enjoy the quiet. We have no television. The only time we ever listen to the radio is when the alarm clock goes off. Quiet is good. It seems to help bring your body closer in touch with your spirit, or soul, if you prefer. You've got some pretty baby goats. Your herd is growing. Thanks for the comment.

      Frank

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  12. Frank & Fern, Thanks for sharing you're thoughts and reasons for living in OK. This "Guy" from N.W. Illinois gives it an A+. After reading all the responses, those of us that follow you share common interests and long for the America we all grew up in and remember. I do not believe I will offend anyone who follows this blog by saying God Bless & Pray for America! Until next time, Larry from N.W. Illinois.

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    1. Hello, Larry, nice to make your acquaintance. There are a lot of like minded people out there, but we are by far, a very small minority. I don't know what's going to happen, but I do know that as things continue to get worse, and it appears to get worse daily, from not one but multiple areas or disciplines, I just know that someday, and I feel in the near future, that things are going to be real bad. Larry, thank you for the contributions you make, and may God be with you.

      Frank

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  13. Great post! I would love for every blogger to answer this question. it's interesting!

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    1. SFG, thank you for the comment. I guess from a slightly different approach, we are here to improve our skills so that someday when we return home, we will have increased our talents. We all choose different paths, some appear to be similar in nature, but I believe that whatever we do, we do it to find favor with Our Father. Take care.

      Frank

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