Modest Retirement is your window into the journey that Brian and Anita are on toward developing a retirement place in the western United States. What better place to start the journey than to find out a bit more about this couple and their history!
Meet Brian
Brian grew up in western Washington State, not far from the city of Seattle. He was the third of three children born to his parents. Brian attended a mixture of public schools and private Christian schools. After graduating from high school, Brian attended Walla Walla College (now Walla Walla University), where he met Anita. After a brief stint at Walla Walla, Brian enrolled at Seattle Central Community College in Seattle, where he trained as a commercial baker. Brian’s parents were avid outdoor enthusiasts and gave him many opportunities to enjoy outdoor recreation in the beautiful Pacific Northwest – skiing, backpacking, mountain climbing, and hiking. He has reached the summit of Mount Rainier seven times. He has also reached the summit of Mount Saint Helens four times before its famous 1980 eruption.
Meet Anita
Anita is the third of four sisters in her family. At the time of her birth, her parents were serving as Christian missionaries in a small village in northern Mexico. Shortly after her birth, her family returned to the United States. Her father worked in the agricultural programs at several private Christian secondary schools throughout much of Anita’s childhood, so she had the opportunity to live in numerous locations from Arizona to Oregon. After graduating from a Christian high school in western Oregon, Anita enrolled at Walla Walla College (now Walla Walla University), where she obtained a 2-year degree of Dietetic Technician.
Life Together
After getting married in the summer of 1978, Brian and Anita settled into life in their first home, a fixer-upper in Algona WA. They both worked at a health bakery/natural foods store nearby.
In 1980, they purchased almost 1.25 acres of land outside of Enumclaw WA. Their new home was a single-wide mobile home, and the property provided them with enough space for a large garden. Brent and Carrie were both born during this phase of life. Several years after moving to Enumclaw, they purchased a used greenhouse structure. The greenhouse was assembled on their property, and served as a great place to grow abundant crops of greenhouse tomatoes! While living at this location, the family had the opportunity to own many different types of animals – dogs, cats, rabbits, chickens, goats, ponies, and a horse!
In 1990, the family replaced the single-wide mobile home with a double-wide – placed on the same property. It was great to have more living space and three dedicated bedrooms for the family!
Throughout much of Brent and Carrie’s childhood, Anita was a stay-at-home mom, and the kids gained much of their primary and secondary education through home learning.
In 2001, with Brent planning to attend a private Christian university in Tennessee, Brian interviewed for and got a job as a baker at the grocery store run by the university. The Enumclaw place went up for sale, and in the fall of 2001, Brian, Anita, and Carrie made the road trip from Washington to Tennessee. Brian and Anita purchased land on a hillside near a beautiful rural valley in Tennessee in 2002, and the process of building a house began! A builder friend from Washington worked for a while with Brent and the family as the house was framed. Brian hired out the installation of the roof trusses and roofing, and then eventually obtained the services of a general contractor to oversee the finishing of the main part of the house. In early 2003, the home was ready for move-in!
The Tennessee property provided enough space for gardening – a continuing passion for Brian and Anita. Of course, there were some adjustments getting used to gardening in a different climate!
Brian worked for several years as a baker, before transitioning to a management position within the University-owned grocery store. It was a great job that provided him with ample vacation time, excellent retirement benefits that built up during his years of employment there, and great camaraderie with co-workers! During the Tennessee years, Anita alternated between different jobs (primarily food service related) and being a stay-at-home wife.
Their time in Tennessee provided many great friendships and opportunities for Brian and Anita. It was also a time when Brian was able to build up a small retirement investment (something that didn’t happen at his bakery job in Washington). But they had a longing to move back west eventually. A retirement in the western United States sounded like a great idea!
Going Forward
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