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Yes, Pat, the cost of living is less down here, but I know a New Englander who was shocked that it wasn't nearly as low as he'd heard. Still, on our modest income we've managed to pay off a mortgage on a really big Victorian, so I'll always have studio space to spare.
This thread reminds me of my friends, Charlie and Laura, whom I've mentioned here more than once. He was an IBM suit at some point in the past, but hated it. He is now a woodworker, and Laura is a full-time artist. I don't know the numbers, but money is very tight with them. They live below the poverty level, and have to watch every penny like a hawk.
They couldn't be happier! They live on the coast in an A-frame house that Charlie built. They work very hard, Charlie in his shop, and Laura in her little studio, a movable storage shed in the back yard. They live in a touristed area, and Laura sells her work in the local gallery. Some pieces are reproductions -- greeting cards that she prints on her PC, so she can sell the same pieces over and over (a luxury that portrait artists don't have).
There's a lot of unspoiled coastline where they live, and they like to spend weekends exploring it in their sailboat, while Laura takes photos of the seabirds, to include in her paintings.
Sounds idyllic, and in a lot of ways it is, but it comes with no safety net. They have no savings, and no health insurance. When it's time to retire, they'll only have Social Security. Laura may be able to paint into retirement, but woodworking may be more difficult for Charlie in his golden years, so poverty is all they'll know. They really don't care. They spent a few days in my home earlier this year, and I don't think our relative luxury impressed them in the least. They coud easily see the noose that comes with it.
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