Tulsa Remote: We're In!

30 years.

Some time ago, the thought struck me.

My parents are still around. They're about 30 years older than MsBoyink and I. Barring any accidents or medical events, and if genetics has any say in the matter, we could have another 30 years on this earth.

30.

Years.

The next question came quickly.

Are we going to stay here in Ava, Missouri for that 30 years?

Don't misunderstand.

We've loved our time here, treasure our experience in the community, and have made life-long friends.

But....

It's been four years.

Comfort became Complacency

We've fallen into a routine. Daytimes, I work from a rented office across town. MsBoyink tends the house, preps meals, and volunteers with our church. Evening finds us on the couch scrolling social media, reading eBooks, or watching movies.

Ava is isolated. Getting out of town for live music, big-box retailer trips, or antiquing requires three hours of driving, $40 in gas, and getting home after dark.

The couch is always the easier choice. But I can't do this for another 30 years. If our years on the road taught us anything, it's that there's more to life than staring at screens.

New Job as Catalyst

Getting a remote job changed things. New worlds of opportunities opened up.

We decided our adventures didn't end here in SW MO. We put an ear to the ground to listen for what was next.

Fulltime RVing?

I'll admit. I nosed around the RV market. I looked at factory rigs, custom campervans, and school-bus conversions. It's fun to look, but MsBoyink and I have a strong "been there, done that" feeling about full-time RVing.

Even while on the road we tried to not repeat experiences. Going back to it now feels like going back to a safe, known, old life. It's not an adventure.

Caretaking

I subscribed to the Caretaker Gazette. 

If you haven't heard of Caretaking, it's a bit like camphosting or workcamping. You provide labor in exchange for benefits that might include lodging, salary, and other benefits.

Many gigs require ground and building maintenance, animal care (horses especially), and managing guest properties. Most are on private property, but the occasional lighthouse, observatory, or fish-farm shows up.

Overall the gigs sound like too much work for someone with a full-time job. We don't want to be that tied to a chunk of land that we don't own.

Digital Nomad Visas

After 16+ years of being a remote worker, suddenly I'm trendy.

All because COVID blew up remote working.

Savvy countries looking to entice visits from all those now location-independent workers are offering "Digital Nomad Visas" with easier processes and better terms than before COVID.

Exploring outside the US is intriguing (admittedly more to me than MsBoyink). But with a house we want to keep, aging parents, and our finances not quite where we want them to be, the timing doesn't feel right.

Relocation Offers

Get paid to move?

Yep.

Other countries aren't the only entities marketing themselves to remote workers. Enough cities in the United States are offering relocation incentives to remote workers that new websites have popped up to track all the offers.

Tulsa Remote

Tulsa was an early player in the relocation incentive game. Launched in late 2018, they've imported over 1900 new residents as part of their grant-funded Tulsa Remote program.

And that's only ~3% of the people who have applied.

Part of that level of interest is because Tulsa offers more than money. They also give you a membership to a coworking facility and plug you into a community busy with events and gatherings.

We took greater interest in the program after our friends at 40FootHouse got accepted.

With a busy arts, music, food, and culture scene Tulsa appealed to our goal of living a walkable, big-city life with more to do at night than sit on the couch. We want to add that to our "lifestyle collection" of suburban living, fulltime RV living, and small, rural town living.

Tulsa is just three hours from Ava. Time-wise it's about the same to visit either of our kids.

So we applied.

After a months-long process that included interviews, background checks, and income verifications, we were accepted into the program this week.

We have a year to make the move, then commit to a year of residency.

Deja Vu All Over Again

It kinda feels like 2010 all over again. We have a one-year adventure waiting for us to figure out what to do with our house and all the stuff in it.

We want to keep the house. We don't want to lose it as a low-cost place to live if we need to. But do we mothball it? Rent it out? Put friends in it?

We have more questions than answers.

But we've been here before. And we've missed the excitement of not knowing exactly how things are going to play out. We often see the hand of God in these moments, supplying what we need from an unexpected source.

We're assuming this transition will take roughly six months.

At the Tulsa end, our next step is to visit for a guided tour. We need to get a feel for the city and decide where to apartment shop. We've scheduled that for early November.

At this end, there are an overwhelming number of house and garage projects to get done before we go. So, we'll make lists and start focusing on the next doable thing.

Speaking of which, I need to get busy!