When you’ve been full-timing for nineteen years, lots of places can feel familiar. But in my mind, the next rooted place that we decide to call home will be what makes our hearts feel happy and at peace.

It will be a place where we want to grow roots, nurture new and old friendships, and explore our own backyard. And right now, we’re trying to decide, where exactly is that place? Alaska, or Colorado?

Do you go with your heart, or with your head?

We decided to nix that Canada trip thanks to horrifying fuel prices. At $7/gallon and climbing, we can’t justify that kind of expense even if we only take the truck and leave the trailer here in storage.

The Trans-Canada Highway bucket list trip is going to wait … again. Thanks Cheeto-in-Charge.

Meanwhile, as we settle into Fort Collins for summer, we’ve been asking ourselves: where do we want our next chapter to begin?

There’s only one of two possibilities in our book.

No other place has stolen our hearts like the North Country.

There’s no going back. Alaska has shown us what life is like with more open space, fewer people, rugged neighbors, seasons and terrain that challenge you to become stronger and wiser every time you step outside.

Alaska wants you to earn the privilege of living among her unearthly beauty. On some winter days it was exhausting to work so hard to enjoy it.

But honestly, the daily grind of the Lower 48 is more mentally tiring to me. It’s soul-sucking at times.

Ideally, we want to buy our old cabin back in Willow.

It’s got four acres and a rental unit, which would help cover the mortgage. Currently the landlord is trying to decide if she’s going to sell it. If she does, it’s Go Time.

Meanwhile, here in Northern Colorado, we’ve been looking to see what kind of property our money can get us if we decide to make the “smarter” investment.

Buying a property in the Lower 48 is the “smarter” decision … isn’t it?

You don’t have to be a genius to figure out that a return on a real estate investment in Alaska is going to be miniscule when compared to somewhere like Colorado.

We know the smart financial choice is to create our Colorado home now, and start writing that next chapter after full-timing.

We do love it here for so many reasons. The people, the scenery, the quality of life.

But based on the properties we’ve seen around here, making the “smart” decision isn’t looking too realistic. At least the way we want to do it.

The median price of a home around Fort Collins is in the high $500s. We need one with a second unit so a renter can help us pay the mortgage. We’re talking the high $650s, and so far, it’s not happening, as you can see.

This is a cute little fixer on one acre, with what we discovered to be a tear-down house, for $550k.

We’d have to throw another $150k into it to make it what we want. That’s not going to happen.

We’ve always loved this area, but with the way things are growing, you won’t be able to tell Fort Collins apart from Denver within 20 years. We saw that happen to Boulder back in 1998. Larimer County’s population is expected to grow by another 50,000 residents within the next 10 years.

That’s a lot of people. I’m not sure I can do it. Alaska may be the better choice for our sanity, as well as financially. You just get so much more for your money, on all levels.

Meanwhile, I’m grateful that our duplex is fully booked for at least another year, so we have until then to decide where we want to live.

We’re in a good place to decide that next step, and don’t need to feel rushed. At least, I’ll try not to feel that way.

It helps that last week we found a scenic, quiet, and affordable parking spot to land for a few months, on a private ranch close to town. It does come with a major drawback though, which Jim will certainly tell you about in summer.

Meanwhile, despite the downside of the location, I’m looking forward to some elbow room and solitude. We head over there once I check a second Colorado Marathon off my list on May 3.

Until then, we’ll keep looking, and waiting to see what the Willow landlady does.

What would you do? Buy with your head, or your heart?