09:48 – Last night I mentioned to Barbara the idea of moving up to the Montana/Alberta border area when she’s ready to retire. I was a bit surprised that she not only didn’t reject the idea, but was actually enthusiastic about it. I guess that makes us both a bit weird. Although it’s starting to change, most people still retire southwards to warmer weather. We both want to retire northwards to colder weather. Well, not that I’ll ever actually retire. But the idea of severe winters doesn’t deter either of us in the least. That’s what snowblowers and 4WD and wood/coal stoves are for. In a few years, we’ll probably take a few weeks off and drive up to look around. Or more likely take the train and rent a car. It’s close to a 5,000 mile (8,000 km) round trip.
I mentioned some of the downsides: the area is very lightly populated, so there won’t be much in the way of cultural resources and other facilities common in more heavily-populated areas. It might well be a two hour or more drive to the nearest Costco. She pointed out that we’d seriously considered moving to New Hampshire back in 2000, but the showstopper was the lack of broadband Internet access anywhere we wanted to live. I suspect that won’t be a problem nowadays. Even many small, remote towns have broadband, often from a choice of two or three providers. Actually moving our stuff that far would be a major hassle, but it’s doable if we decide to do it.