After I sold my home in California, I decided that it was time to say goodbye to the Golden State and move somewhere a little more resident friendly. I thought about various places, such as Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Arizona, Montana, Wyoming, and Nevada. While they all had various appeals, the West Coast was out, primarily due to the liberal culture within those states. Eventually I decided upon Northern Nevada, and relocated there in 2016. Since then, Carson City has been my home.

In reality, my residence in the United States is just a placeholder, since, well prior to the Covid-19 lockdown anyway, I live in the Philippines. It’s nothing more than a room, really, in my daughter’s house. In return, I help out with groceries, utilities, stuff for the grandchildren, leave my truck there, and so on.

My wife still owns her home in California, but after we started filing taxes separately, I quit claimed the home and gave it to her for her own protection. So given that I no longer owned any property in the United States, I decided that moving to a state with no state income taxes was the right thing to do.

Most of the time I just stay in hotels or casinos. They are usually cheap during the weekdays and I just feel free bouncing around. Plus, drinks are cheap, and I get to test my hand at craps and Texas Hold ‘Em. The work environment isn’t bad either. I find myself a quiet corner of the casino, connect to the wi-fi, and day trade for a few hours to pay the bills.

Lately I’ve been thinking about actually buying a house around Carson City. Nothing fancy, just something to call my own. I imagine I can write off a big chunk of it for business purposes as well. The more time that I spend there, the more that it starts to feel like home. I don’t really know anyone here other than my daughter’s family, but that’s okay. At this stage of my life, I tend to enjoy my own company more than anyone else’s anyways.