A good move

I have only moved once in the past 55 years.

When younger, we moved several times chasing college and job opportunities.

We lived in Grand Coulee for a couple of years before moving on to Idaho where we spent seven years.

When I told friends in Bothell that I was moving to Electric City, they asked why, as if I had done something wrong and was trying to avoid the consequences.

We lived in Bothell for 25 years, all in the same house, and only a half mile from my work.

It was an ideal situation, and then something happened.

The roads got jammed and it was nearly impossible to go anywhere.

Our corporate offices were in Bellevue, 15 miles away.  One day, making the call to come to corporate for a meeting, it took an hour-and-a-half to get there.  

That was the beginning of the end.

The Seattle area became jammed with people, and they all had to use the roads and freeways.

When we first moved to Bothell, we could drive to downtown Seattle and park right in front of the place we were going.

The same people who asked “why” I was moving to E.C. are no longer living on the west side; they apparently also got fed up as the quality of life there registered near zero.

People are on the move. California people have for the past dozen years owned the Boise Valley, prompting one politician there to say, “You are welcome here, but don’t bring your California ways with you.”

Northern Idaho has fared the same.

People have found that the more rural communities are not so bad.

We will probably one day experience the same. In the last census period, I think E.C. grew by a single resident.  

We moved here in the winter, two days before Christmas.  We had purchased our home nearly a year earlier and drove over from Bothell for long weekends.

At first, it was sleeping bags; then we moved a bed over and a small table, along with some cooking items.

This went on from March to December when a team of relatives packed a U-Haul truck and made the drive. The day we moved it was snowy all the way over and just two degrees above zero. Our son-in-law, Will Beck, drove the truck.

People have asked how we like living in E.C., and my reply is, “Not so bad.”

Merle Kennedy handled our house purchase, and when I commented to him that it seemed things were slow in moving on, Merle reminded me of why I was moving over here — to get away from the rush in the Seattle area. He gave me a wise response, and I will never forget it.

One thing I noticed immediately was that everyone waved at me. At first, I thought that maybe something was wrong with my car. However, I learned that people were just being friendly.

We are now concluding our 31st year here.

We couldn’t have asked to have such good neighbors. On one side we have the Stiegelmeyers, Dave and Dorothy; and across the street the Andersons, Howard and Denise. Both families regularly supply us with garden items, and in the fall Denise is good enough to provide multiple bouquets of dahlias, my favorite flower. She should enter them in the fairs because they are pretty and perfect.

Dorothy furnished us with raspberries and peaches this year.

What green thumbs! 

So, time goes on in E.C. Not much change and no push for it. It won’t always be this way, but no telling when things will change. Seems most people are content with the way things are, so why change.

Few cars, no traffic problems, only friendly faces. Who could ask for more?

It’s easier for us, being older; we have most things we need. Our great granddaughter Kaylee orders stuff for us over the internet, so we don’t really have to go anywhere. I had the years of excitement that travel brings and so it is nearly out of my system.

I still have a few places on my bucket list; they may have to wait for the next lifetime.

So for anyone interested, living in E.C. isn’t so bad.