Cully: Living the (retired) Life

My wonderful friends and neighbors, Michael and Judy, just purchased the home where they will live during their retirement years. It is a lovely ranch in Cully with main level living and bonus area in the basement. It has the most fantastic outdoor spaces: a big deck for entertaining, a private Zen courtyard and a delightful vegetable garden with space for their chicken coop. The location will allow them to walk to Beaumont village and to bike to almost everywhere in NE Portland and beyond.

Reaching this milestone has been a process in itself. They first needed to come to terms with the fact that they would have to leave their beloved home, where they lived for more than 30 years and raised their family. That also meant saying goodbye to their precious garden growing in their oversized lot, lifetime friends next door and the Irvington neighborhood.

Once they were sure that a move was necessary, they considered several options. The idea of joining a co-housing community based on sustainability values was very appealing to them, so they signed up on a development project that ended up failing and then try to purchase a home in an already established one. Their offer was not accepted and learning about the way these communities operated left them a little hesitant. Switching gears, they tried to purchase a lot where they could build a house according to their specifications. They learned a lot about city requirements, sustainable design and the financial implications of such an endeavor and, once again, their discovery process convinced them that that was not the way to go. Finally, they found their place in a thoughtfully updated mid century house, simple and honest, just the way they are.

The seller accepted their offer as back up, since another buyer had placed an offer while they were still considering to build on a lot. But this house just rang true to them and decided to try their luck and hope for the best. Sure enough, after a week of waiting for a miracle, the first buyers withdrew and the sellers offered the house to Michael and Judy. The rest is history, as they now can’t stop making future plans on how to make the few improvements necessary to fit their needs.