My wife and I will be moving this late spring, and taking our votes with us.

[MineralMan]

Her friends all live in the West Metro area of the Twin Cities. We live in the northeast corner of St. Paul. I'm 75, and tired of snow removal and yard maintenance.

So, we're going to buy a townhome in a West Metro suburb. It will be a more or less even trade for our current home, and we can afford to make the move, so it's going to happen.

As solid, lifetime Democratic voters, we're going to do our best to shift the voting pattern in the place we will live.

I like that.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

1. Daughter lives in Minnetonka

Eden Prarie is nice too. It is where her office is off Shady Oak.

[msfiddlestix]

2. It's a win win, both for you and your wife, and for the community.

If I were able, I would relocate to a more "red" area, just to be a life long Blue voter.

I only wish I had made a point of doing that earlier in life, and encourage friends and family to join me.

So it gives me hope when I learn of others making these choices. And of course it makes sense in terms of life style. Don't need to be maintaining property any longer.

[cilla4progress]

14. I live in a red area,

surrounded by trumpers. One wrote his name in FLUORESCENT orange on a boulder above our place.

No picnic.

[msfiddlestix]

26. yuck

these white supremacists sure are proud and stupid.

[DownriverDem]

31. Really?

I prefer to live where it is more "blue".

[trixie2]

32. Me too!

[Pantagruel]

3. For the most effective voting results

I was hoping you were going to announce a move to Texas or Georgia. I'm seeing a fair number of young IT libs following their jobs to TX, gives me hope.

[Hortensis]

51. Otoh, a somewhat red district anywhere is exactly where

they can make a difference. Local and state governments are where most things happen, and of course the districts send congressmen to DC.

My husband and I intended to be part of the blue wave when we joined our son in GA, but we kind of blew it when we moved near a lake my husband liked. Unfortunately, that district is one of the most conservative in the nation, and most of our votes are as "wasted" in that respect as they would be in a blue city flooded with extra blue votes. We did get to vote for Biden-Harris, Ossoff and Warnock though!

[magicarpet]

4. Sounds like good advanced retirement planning to make life less strenuous down the road.

Happy relocation to you and your wife.

[Hortensis]

5. Positive change in the most important ways, and we know you'll make friends

and be friends to your fortunate neighbors wherever you go and whoever you're among. Have you chosen the townhouse yet?

[MineralMan]

6. Not yet. We have to wait until Mid-May to start the actual search.

The money to make a cash purchase will be available then. Our plans are to buy and move, and then do whatever fix-ups and repair are needed on our current house and sell it a little later. Well, we're not doing them - someone else will be. I'm hoping to make the move sometime in June. We'll have lots to do to get ready, for sure.

My wife is looking at what is available, in general, and where. Property is selling almost instantly here, though, so none of the places she likes will be there when we buy. However, we're getting a good idea of what to expect on the market. We're quite flexible and not all that picky, so it won't be difficult. I expect to have a purchase agreement in hand within a week of starting our actual search.

Then, it will be a matter of clearing out what we won't take and selling or junking that stuff. Big-ass roll-off dumpster will be in our driveway, and we're going to be brutal with accumulated stuff. Both of us want to simplify and rid ourselves of unnecessary stuff.

It will be a lot of work, but we'll be a lot better off in terms of complexity after making the move.

[KS Toronado]

10. Big-ass roll-off dumpster?

One man's junk is another man's treasure. Maybe sell all your "junk" to a wheeler-dealer who enjoys buying & selling?

[MineralMan]

28. We'll have a big moving sale.

What doesn't sell goes in the roll-off. Some bigger stuff will go on Craigs List or FB Marketplace. The scrappers will get a chance, too, at some things.

If someone shows up and makes an offer on it all, SOLD!

Trust me, though, I'll fill that roll-off. We've already filled two of them in the past two years.

I'm leaving the snowblower and mower, along with some other stuff, for the next owner. Both are only two years old, so they'll be a good bonus for the sale.

[orleans]

49. good luck on your move and wishing you much happiness wherever you land

here's a couple unsolicited suggestions:
when i had to sell my house i threw out very little. what i couldn't take with me i gave away to people in the neighborhood and made a hundred trips to donate at goodwill. i was hopeful that a lot of the stuff i gave them would find a home; glad i wasn't putting it all in a landfill and could instead recycle things. maybe you could donate most of what you aren't taking with you.

also, i bought a condo. my first experience with one. i've learned that a lot of two or more story condos have stacked pipes (or something to that effect) and if you are on the first floor & upstairs neighbors pour grease down the drain (and disinfecting wipes) and the pipe clogs it backs up into your kitchen sink (and it's disgusting to come home to see the backwash of their backup in your sink). (a plumber noticed there was also a grease ring near the top of my sink and told me i was lucky it didn't overflow onto the floor).

sometimes there is weird things happening with the toilet--like when you walk past the bathroom and hear a sound and notice the toilet is bubbling (and foaming) and acting like a fucking fountain.

and if they don't have carpeted floors in the unit above you then you can hear a lot of things that get dropped on their wood floors simply by sitting in your living room. or sleeping.

and if you live upstairs then you have stairs to climb and lug all your groceries (including cases of beer/wine/water/pop) up a lot of stairs.

in a perfect world i would have moved to a townhouse, one story, ground level, with neighbor's wall on the other side of my garage wall.

i wish i had kept my snow shovel. the snow plowing company isn't that great where i live either.

unsolicited advice. or warnings. lol

[LittleGirl]

13. Consign stuff, if it's in good shape

I would love to downsize too but also look for consignment stuff to replace what I get rid of!
Like a good trade.

[Hortensis]

17. Sounds like a plan, and of course cash in hand is a much happier

position than other buyers will be in. We've also been looking for a new little winter place in a MH park with a marina; I am fairly picky, though, and with people holding off selling because of Covid, thus few offerings in a hot market, we haven't bought. Flexible and not too picky is a huge asset and guarantees you'll soon be satisfied and ready to have fun making your new home. And discovering new ways to fill maintenance time. .

We're also needing to simplify; though without the impetus you now have to get it done, that seems to want to take up a whole stage of life in itself.

[reACTIONary]

44. I used the two homes at once strategy...

... to make it easier over all to move. One thing that annoyed me is that the insurance co dropped us because the old place was unoccupied. Had to pay for a special class of insurance. You might want to look into that.

[MineralMan]

45. Thanks. I've already got that set up.

[Baitball Blogger]

7. Live long and prosper.

[bullwinkle428]

8. My brother and his family have lived in Plymouth for 20 years, and

they love it. It's a great area, from all my visits there.

[question everything]

23. And is curretnly represented by a Democrat - Dean Phillips

[MineralMan]

25. Plymouth is one of the places we're watching.

Eden Prairie, Hopkins, and Maple Grove are also on the list.

[Mister Ed]

41. I like Hopkins because it's a town.

Like Stillwater, where I make my home, Hopkins is an old town. It has a history, and a downtown area. It was eventually engulfed by the Metro suburbs, but retains its identity.

Maple Grove, as far as I can tell, is just a vast ocean of shopping centers that are virtually inaccessible without a car (perhaps to discourage patronage by people other than affluent suburbanites?). I don't like it a bit.

[Liberal In Red State]

43. I have a Brother in Plymouth and another in Circle Pines. Before moving south - I lived in

Minnetonka, Edina and West St Paul. My son went to Carleton - so we visited family a lot during those years. Other than winter and the summer mosquitos 🦟 - I ❤️Minnesota! Good luck on your move.

[gab13by13]

9. Maybe you can vote twice?

Just kidding. I'm getting close to the same situation. Just got back from a lawn mower junk yard to replace a tire/wheel on my riding mower. Not going to need it for a while since it's snowing here in Pa. Well almost snowing.

[jcgoldie]

37. I thought all of us Democrats did that already

At least I remember the former guy saying something to that effect...

[MineralMan]

42. Not in Minnesota...

[Prof. Toru Tanaka]

11. Hope your move goes well and

I hope you and your wife enjoy a nice long retirement together. Enjoy!

[SaveOurDemocracy]

12. A townhome sounds like stairs. Will you be looking for single level living?

Good luck!

[MineralMan]

24. Stairs are fine. I go up and down a flight to my office about 20 times a day.

We're going to be looking for a place with a first floor master bedroom and bath, though.

[empedocles]

15. Stairs are enforced exercise, which is good, as long as you can do them.

[groundloop]

16. Yes, but stairs SUCK first thing in the morning before stiff knees have had a chance to loosen up.

[empedocles]

19. Aging does not cause stiffness, stiffness causes aging

[FailureToCommunicate]

33. Good one! It sure was true in my father's case. At 88 he could still sit down to the floor, and

get back up without using arms.

[LizBeth]

39. +1. For sure. I am sure to plant each foot before bringing the other down, lol. AH, to get old.

[Wild blueberry]

18. Cheers!

Your kids, if you have them, will be so grateful that you pared down. It's a big upheaval, but you'll be so relieved on the other end. Good planning!
By the way, my friends in Minnetonka (poll workers, too) tell me they just won ranked-choice voting in their city (only applies to mayoral and city council elections so far, but it's a start).

[Borchkins]

20. My son is a freshman at Univ of Minn Twin Cities.

However, his vote is needed in our home state of Wisconsin to get rid of Ron Johnson and support Tony Evers next election.

[BobTheSubgenius]

21. We all like that. :)

Best of luck in your new home!

[groundloop]

22. I'd hoped to help Alabama learn to vote bluer when I moved ..... so far I haven't done much good

[question everything]

27. How far west? The Third District has been represented by a Democrt, Dean Phillips

[MineralMan]

29. If he's in our district, we'll vote for him.

Can't hurt. That area could go either way, really, and has in the past.

[piddyprints]

30. C'mon down to TN!

We rarely have to shovel snow and we really could us your votes!

Seriously, though, I have to hand it to you. I've moved 20 times in my life, 9 of them since I got married almost 45 years ago. The last one almost did me in. I knew beforehand that I would regret it, but my husband wanted to do it. Now we have too big of a house, too much property to maintain, too many animals to care for. But I'll let the weeds grow up around me before I'll be pried out of this house. I just don't have another move in me, and I'm a decade younger than you. You're obviously made of better stuff! Good luck with it all!

[mnhtnbb]

34. I just made my 17th move in January since

I married the first time in 1972. This last move has done me in and I swear I'm going out of this house feet first!
I turned 70 last month.

[Warpy]

35. NM has gotten bluer since I've lived here

and I have to wonder if it had something to do with all the copies of The Nation I've left in laundromats and waiting rooms over the last couple of decades. Stranger things have happened.

Or maybe just getting paper ballots in 2005 after the egregious election theft in 2004 just showed what was here all along.

In any case, places do change over time. The west used to be the most progressive part of the country and can be that way again.

Good luck to you in pushing your corner of the upper midwest a little more to the left, and I hope that townhouse doesn't have too many stairs. Stairs suck when you get old.

[mnhtnbb]

36. Good luck with the move!

I bought a single level house as my last and forever home with an HOA that maintains the front yard and cleans gutters. No snow removal here in NC. I have a courtyard that has just enough yard to provide a naturized garden that I maintain. Containers on the patio and covered porch.

I can't handle stairs anymore after three joint replacements so a townhouse wasn't an option.

[Hortensis]

52. Sounds nice. I'd want a nice space to putter in my garden also. :)

[GoneOffShore]

38. Good luck with the move! I do understand getting tired of snow removal and yard maintenance

Not having to do gardening (which I have always hated - outdoors, bugs, sun, sweaty) was a big plus when we moved here.

[LizBeth]

40. I am not familiar with West Metro. I have bene looking at homes there for about a year or so.

I considered moving there. My son is in law school and will probably get a job there. But I decided I can't leave Oregon. I like your idea of a townhome. That was my consideration moving there, getting a condo that has snow removal instead of a house.

[samplegirl]

46. We Downsized five years ago

to a condo sized ranch all on one floor.
Sadly we are still stuck in Ohio.
Trying to talk him into relocations again in about 3 years. He will be retired then.
Who wants to be stuck in a red state?? And all the snow for the rest of our lives?
Not me!
Good luck you have time to plan this all out!!!
Best wishes!

[Bristlecone]

47. I like that too. Best of luck w the move - when it happens.

[spanone]

48. 👍🏼 👍🏼 👍🏼K&R 👍🏼 👍🏼 👍🏼

[retread]

50. How long have you been in your present home? Back when we were much younger we moved around a lot.

Surprising how much crap we accumulated in a few short years. We have been in our present home over 35 years. Just finding a place for a new treadmill in the half basement is a major production and took weeks of discarding "treasure" that I haven't seen or used in a decade or more. I can only imagine moving to a new place!

[MineralMan]

53. 17 years. The one before, I was in for 30 years.

Stuff accumulates.