Long Term Gun Storage.. Hit Hard Times

[4Freedom]

Wow, I didn't think I was going to get this many responses on this thread. What person wants to give up their most precious posession, their firearms? I want to say thank you for people's help and for the compassion people have. Since some people are curious and others are wondering about my situation, I can definitely expand on it. I had no clue that my body would fall apart like this at 41, but I guess that is how things go and I abused myself by working myself to death and trying to help our small struggling family business succeed. However, I am not throwing the towel in and in some ways I think I am being given a new opportunity in life, because I wasn't so happy with the type of life I was living. I was making not very much money, being somewhat taken advantage of in the family business and I was trying overcome odds that were not achievable. It's hard being a small family business in a world of cutthroat multi-national corporations who want to swallow up the little guys. I did it because I helped build the business and I was passionate about it. When you create and save a family business from failing , innovate a software product and help it flourish you become somewhat religious about it. That was my biggest mistake , sadly. Yet, I know many guys who destroyed their body making some big corporation rich and then just getting laid off and being unappreciated after 10+ years of service. I made little money, but I did help the family business survive and kept my family members from living in poverty. Sadly, the money wasn't fairly distributed and I suffered the brunt of the workload.

Anyway, there are a few pointers that I wanted to mention to some people who have a bit of a misconception of my situation. I apologize, because I was just explaining why I may have to store away my guns, but didn't go too deeply into it. I will actually be making around $50,000 over the next twelve months working for the software company I have been with for many years. I also have around $9,000 savings and still have good credit and will be taking out a small low interest loan to help out a little bit with relocation costs. I've sold off most of my good furniture and possessions, such as my $4000 La-Z-Boy sofa set and currently trying to sell some various things, such as persian rugs, electronics, exercise equipment and other things from my past life. Yeah, it bites, but I can live without these things. I'm lightening up my load and my move should not be too expensive, relatively speaking. The guy at the Penske place hooked me up with a good deal and got me $600 off my truck rental which is a huge savings. All my life possessions will be packed into a little 16ft Penske truck.. I use to have to fill up a 26footer. I kind of like being less encumbered though.

So, I am not exactly completely broke and destitute yet. This is why I was wanting to live very cheap, so I can save money while I train myself in new software technologies and spend the next year and half trying to launch my own online software business, do online-based freelance software work or even potentially find an online software job. The fact I cannot work a desk job anymore does limit me, but I feel there are still opportunities. If I end up working for a corporation through telecommuting though I cannot let it hinder my long-term goals of starting my own business, so I probably would work as an independent contractor and hire an attorney to sign any contracts. It is sad these days companies in the software industry will try to own you and all your personal work. It is quite a cutthroat industry in many ways.

Anyway, I appreciate the suggestions about how to store the guns and have been thinking of some of my own. I am very knowledgeable about gun laws in every state and have just taken a new course and applying (again) for my Utah CFP permit (which expired) and even getting an Arizona permit in addition to my Idaho permit. I am good in most states and know which states to avoid and which to disarm. I've got that covered and already did two cross country moves from Seattle to Charlotte, NC and then from Charlotte, NC to Denver, Colorado. Life has been a bit crazy over these last 2 years.

Anyway, I wanted to mention that I have now had a change of plans. I've decided that I will not move back to North Carolina. I have a good friend in Tampa, Florida area and he wants me to move there and is sympathetic to my problems. He says he will help me find an affordable place I can live down there. It appears Tampa is more affordable than Charlotte now and the lack of state income tax and car fees (which will pay for part of my move) will really help me save more money . It looks like I may even be able to afford my own place if I move to Tampa and it can give me the time I need to get back on my feet. As well, there is the potential if things get rough for me and I need a roommate that I could even store my guns with this friend. FLorida has pretty good gun laws, even better than North Carolina, overall.

I'm actually pretty excited about moving to Tampa and actually been desiring warmer weather , which is much easier on my joints than the cold weather and the high elevation of Denver has been rough on the joints too. My friend and his girlfriend are realtors down there and have some good connections to properties. As well, he told me Tampa is much more gun friendly than Charlotte and that I have a much greater chance of finding a gun-friendly roommate should I need to find a roommate situation.

I am so busy right now preparing to move and still having to do work for the business that I have not had time to do my physical therapy, which I regret. I am trying to hold out for my physical therapy until after my move. I'm doing light amounts of it, but my PT wanted me to go full throttle and I haven't. THe little amounts do help though. As well using my lay-down station has eliminated so much pain compared to sitting/standing. I was seeing a physical therapist who had a lot of confidence that I can recuperate from my sciatica. Sadly, I also have nerve damage in my neck from using a standing desk too many hours and that will be harder to recover from, but the neck pain is more manageable overall and has improved over the years slowly. It was kind of scary , as I went to a chiropractor who told me my sciatic nerve was dying and he expected I would end up paralyzed sooner or later. The Physical Therapist disagreed with him and I actually started improving when I started seeing the PT. When I went to the Chiropractor I was getting worse and worse because he just kept scaring the crap out of me; which I think maybe could have been his way of getting me to come in.. But, you just tend to believe the doctor you are seeing; but now I am doing lots of my own research. I agree with ClearConscious , not to be necessarily at the mercy of med doctors. Many want to give me drugs and get me on the operating table . However, I may need to go to Ortho doctor and get MRI if I want to apply for disability. But, I Hear getting disability at my age could be very hard. It is a long legal process that I hear could take a long time and would require paying a lot of money to an attorney. The government takes money much easier than it gives it.

As far as selling my guns, that is just not an option. I made some promise to some deceased family members that I would never sell or give up my guns, no matter what. If I have too, I will go back to my native Southern Oregon and go far out into some of the wilderness regions I use to hike and camp as a child and bury those suckers there with GPS coords and just pray for the best.. I just cannot allow myself morally or ethically to sell them. I know some may look down on me for this and I apologize. With the way things are going these days and with 2020 approaching, I feel it would not be wise to relinquish my gun collection. It is probably much smaller than most people's here. I just have about 8 or 9 long guns and 5 or 6 pistols with accompanying ammo/accessories.. But, its stll enough to be a challenge to lug around into a roommate situation. I do have a heavy safe.

I appreciate people's help here and thankful to have a community like NWFA that looks out for its members. I've been a member here since 2008 and the responses from caring members on this thread make me happy to stay a member here. I will also always be a Northwesterner at heart, even though I have left my beloved Northwest.

I'm definitely making note of each suggestion about gun storage, because in the worst case scenario it is good that I know how this can be done. Maybe, by some miracle I can find an afforadable place, keep my guns and get back on my feet

 

[The Heretic]

FWIW, if you have the right experience, you should be making closer to $100K or more. Of course, that depends on what you have on your resume, but $50K even for a junior s/w dev today is at the low end of the salary range. If you have the right tech stack experience for a couple of years you should be able to bump up your income and work only 40 hours a week in a non-stress environment.

I have BTDT; when I started out 30 years ago I worked 60-70 hours a week for $50K/yr for a small private startup because I wanted to prove myself. Went on from there, usually bumping up about $10K each time I moved to a new job. It is not uncommon for a productive dev to be making well over $100K today. So get the right experience with the in demand tech stack if you don't yet have it, and then set aside savings so you can be mobile in the job market.

 

[Flopsweat]

FWIW, if you have the right experience, you should be making closer to $100K or more. Of course, that depends on what you have on your resume, but $50K even for a junior s/w dev today is at the low end of the salary range. If you have the right tech stack experience for a couple of years you should be able to bump up your income and work only 40 hours a week in a non-stress environment.

I have BTDT; when I started out 30 years ago I worked 60-70 hours a week for $50K/yr for a small private startup because I wanted to prove myself. Went on from there, usually bumping up about $10K each time I moved to a new job. It is not uncommon for a productive dev to be making well over $100K today. So get the right experience with the in demand tech stack if you don't yet have it, and then set aside savings so you can be mobile in the job market.

Yes, if you've been a developer for 10+ years you should be able to make well north of $100K.

 

[Member 52301]

If you don't stay in the same state, as in just traveling through, you're supposed to be exempt. Now if you stop in said state, now you have to abide by said laws. So drive straight through, fuel up at most, and don't stop. Tired? Coffee.

I am VERY aware of the travel gun law that says that you are exempt if you are traveling through various states and IF you do not stop other than to fuel up, use a bathroom, get a quick snack or coffee and/or fill up your coffee thermos.

I don't trust some SPECIFIC state travel GUN laws because I have read enough crapola on the news where someone got stopped or they had a flat tire from a nail on the road and the honest gun person got into BIG MESS over some simple issue whether they were on a highway, expressway, 2 lane road, in a city and/or in a village.

That was why I chose the slower route that I did and it was for the scenery too. My last big hurrah heading out west. I got to avoid specific cities and states that tend to be more anti gun by sticking to one specific route.

I would not travel (Drive alone or with another person.) a long distance or a shorter distance just to get out of an anti gun state or make a long cross country move without getting enough SLEEP due to safety issues.

I edited this long post of mine due to too much information.

Take care.

Cate

 

[Member 52301]

Dear 4Freedom,

Thank you for the update posted above.

Best wishes to you no matter what you decide to do in all issues.

You have to do what works for you when it comes to your location, your profession, your health, what you choose to keep or not keep and how you move alone or with help.

I am glad to hear that you will have some friends in your new home state.

Take care!

Sincerely,

Cate

 

[bbbass]

Yep, disability was a fail for me after two years of effort because VA wouldn't help and I chose the wrong disability lawyer. I actually could have used a local advocate who is very passionate and experienced and things might have gone better. Just be aware that Disability does NOT care about pain... they only care about restrictions, restriction of movement, ability to pick things up, ability to stand or walk, etc. But things that are required for a job in the field you typically work in. Not being able to sit or stand may be valid. Just be sure to get more than 1 doc to say that on paper!!! Gotta have a doc that is willing to go to bat for you because the SSD will have more than 1 doc who is paid to justify turning you down.

Tampa is very nice. At least it was several years ago. My folks lived in Tarpon Springs, next to Tampa. The beaches are nice, if you can get out the fishing is good, but traffic is horrid. Of course, it's probably better than Denver.

 

[Boboclown]

Wow, I didn't think I was going to get this many responses on this thread. What person wants to give up their most precious posession, their firearms? I want to say thank you for people's help and for the compassion people have. Since some people are curious and others are wondering about my situation, I can definitely expand on it. I had no clue that my body would fall apart like this at 41, but I guess that is how things go and I abused myself by working myself to death and trying to help our small struggling family business succeed. However, I am not throwing the towel in and in some ways I think I am being given a new opportunity in life, because I wasn't so happy with the type of life I was living. I was making not very much money, being somewhat taken advantage of in the family business and I was trying overcome odds that were not achievable. It's hard being a small family business in a world of cutthroat multi-national corporations who want to swallow up the little guys. I did it because I helped build the business and I was passionate about it. When you create and save a family business from failing , innovate a software product and help it flourish you become somewhat religious about it. That was my biggest mistake , sadly. Yet, I know many guys who destroyed their body making some big corporation rich and then just getting laid off and being unappreciated after 10+ years of service. I made little money, but I did help the family business survive and kept my family members from living in poverty. Sadly, the money wasn't fairly distributed and I suffered the brunt of the workload.

Anyway, there are a few pointers that I wanted to mention to some people who have a bit of a misconception of my situation. I apologize, because I was just explaining why I may have to store away my guns, but didn't go too deeply into it. I will actually be making around $50,000 over the next twelve months working for the software company I have been with for many years. I also have around $9,000 savings and still have good credit and will be taking out a small low interest loan to help out a little bit with relocation costs. I've sold off most of my good furniture and possessions, such as my $4000 La-Z-Boy sofa set and currently trying to sell some various things, such as persian rugs, electronics, exercise equipment and other things from my past life. Yeah, it bites, but I can live without these things. I'm lightening up my load and my move should not be too expensive, relatively speaking. The guy at the Penske place hooked me up with a good deal and got me $600 off my truck rental which is a huge savings. All my life possessions will be packed into a little 16ft Penske truck.. I use to have to fill up a 26footer. I kind of like being less encumbered though.

So, I am not exactly completely broke and destitute yet. This is why I was wanting to live very cheap, so I can save money while I train myself in new software technologies and spend the next year and half trying to launch my own online software business, do online-based freelance software work or even potentially find an online software job. The fact I cannot work a desk job anymore does limit me, but I feel there are still opportunities. If I end up working for a corporation through telecommuting though I cannot let it hinder my long-term goals of starting my own business, so I probably would work as an independent contractor and hire an attorney to sign any contracts. It is sad these days companies in the software industry will try to own you and all your personal work. It is quite a cutthroat industry in many ways.

Anyway, I appreciate the suggestions about how to store the guns and have been thinking of some of my own. I am very knowledgeable about gun laws in every state and have just taken a new course and applying (again) for my Utah CFP permit (which expired) and even getting an Arizona permit in addition to my Idaho permit. I am good in most states and know which states to avoid and which to disarm. I've got that covered and already did two cross country moves from Seattle to Charlotte, NC and then from Charlotte, NC to Denver, Colorado. Life has been a bit crazy over these last 2 years.

Anyway, I wanted to mention that I have now had a change of plans. I've decided that I will not move back to North Carolina. I have a good friend in Tampa, Florida area and he wants me to move there and is sympathetic to my problems. He says he will help me find an affordable place I can live down there. It appears Tampa is more affordable than Charlotte now and the lack of state income tax and car fees (which will pay for part of my move) will really help me save more money . It looks like I may even be able to afford my own place if I move to Tampa and it can give me the time I need to get back on my feet. As well, there is the potential if things get rough for me and I need a roommate that I could even store my guns with this friend. FLorida has pretty good gun laws, even better than North Carolina, overall.

I'm actually pretty excited about moving to Tampa and actually been desiring warmer weather , which is much easier on my joints than the cold weather and the high elevation of Denver has been rough on the joints too. My friend and his girlfriend are realtors down there and have some good connections to properties. As well, he told me Tampa is much more gun friendly than Charlotte and that I have a much greater chance of finding a gun-friendly roommate should I need to find a roommate situation.

I am so busy right now preparing to move and still having to do work for the business that I have not had time to do my physical therapy, which I regret. I am trying to hold out for my physical therapy until after my move. I'm doing light amounts of it, but my PT wanted me to go full throttle and I haven't. THe little amounts do help though. As well using my lay-down station has eliminated so much pain compared to sitting/standing. I was seeing a physical therapist who had a lot of confidence that I can recuperate from my sciatica. Sadly, I also have nerve damage in my neck from using a standing desk too many hours and that will be harder to recover from, but the neck pain is more manageable overall and has improved over the years slowly. It was kind of scary , as I went to a chiropractor who told me my sciatic nerve was dying and he expected I would end up paralyzed sooner or later. The Physical Therapist disagreed with him and I actually started improving when I started seeing the PT. When I went to the Chiropractor I was getting worse and worse because he just kept scaring the crap out of me; which I think maybe could have been his way of getting me to come in.. But, you just tend to believe the doctor you are seeing; but now I am doing lots of my own research. I agree with ClearConscious , not to be necessarily at the mercy of med doctors. Many want to give me drugs and get me on the operating table . However, I may need to go to Ortho doctor and get MRI if I want to apply for disability. But, I Hear getting disability at my age could be very hard. It is a long legal process that I hear could take a long time and would require paying a lot of money to an attorney. The government takes money much easier than it gives it.

As far as selling my guns, that is just not an option. I made some promise to some deceased family members that I would never sell or give up my guns, no matter what. If I have too, I will go back to my native Southern Oregon and go far out into some of the wilderness regions I use to hike and camp as a child and bury those suckers there with GPS coords and just pray for the best.. I just cannot allow myself morally or ethically to sell them. I know some may look down on me for this and I apologize. With the way things are going these days and with 2020 approaching, I feel it would not be wise to relinquish my gun collection. It is probably much smaller than most people's here. I just have about 8 or 9 long guns and 5 or 6 pistols with accompanying ammo/accessories.. But, its stll enough to be a challenge to lug around into a roommate situation. I do have a heavy safe.

I appreciate people's help here and thankful to have a community like NWFA that looks out for its members. I've been a member here since 2008 and the responses from caring members on this thread make me happy to stay a member here. I will also always be a Northwesterner at heart, even though I have left my beloved Northwest.

I'm definitely making note of each suggestion about gun storage, because in the worst case scenario it is good that I know how this can be done. Maybe, by some miracle I can find an afforadable place, keep my guns and get back on my feet

Translation: He just didn't want to buy me beer.

 

[NCW_Robert]

Don't make this move, out of state, unless you really really have to. You can stay here in this state, move farther out of the city if need be and find cheaper rent? or home?. This solves your storage problem then work from home and if need be, take on room mates here, where you are in control. Do have the guns safely stored in your own home.

If you dont have a job waiting or good friends or family where you are considering to move to, then you really need to maybe rethink the move and don't do it.

Of all the ways to solve this except maybe for moving and then pawning them, this is what makes most sense but I'm not you so?!!!

------------------------

I dont know the software biz but I do know a few people in it and they are doing pretty well, hopefully your area of expertise will allow you some flexibility. I have hired a few people online 10 yrs ago to do some software development.

Checked a few yrs ago online and even the Indian programmers are sticking it to people and they are very difficult to do biz with because they want to stretch out your project, screw it up as much as they feel they can get away with. They will bid low and then drive up your cost to 5 times the bid amount once they have you on the hook. Scammers!!!...

There are a lot of people both larger and smaller companies, like me to will simply not launch a software project because of the online scam-a-thon that seems to be the software business these days.

I know if I could find a trustworthy software developer guy, I'd be much more likely to actually launch a few more projects business wise. There are many people like me who are really tired of the BS [scams] going down in the software industry these days.

I actually suggest signing on with some employment firms. Number one, they have work, number two, you will be able to get the word out there and the projects will be limited on scope due to the employment agency. When the contract ends the people you worked for will often try and cut out the employment firm and go direct with you, happens a lot, I mean all the time. There really is a lot of work out there right now and that should allow some flexibility so you can pick the better paying work etc.

Also you need to resign yourself to no more then 12 hrs per day of work with appropriate breaks. When working for yourself, from home it is vary easy to just keep going and going until you are ready to drop from exhaustion. You got to keep yourself from doing that but it sounds like that is maybe what you did and you realize that can not continue.

What ever happens best of luck.

~

 

[4Freedom]

I appreciate people's responses and taking them to heart.. It's a challenging time and its hard to explain everything. I'll see how things work out, but hopefully in Florida I can get things sorted out or find somehow to store these guns or maybe get lucky and find a gun friendly roommate who is a decent person to live with. If I could find a gun friendly roommate that would be my first choice, but they are not easy to come by these days. My collection is sizable enough where it would be hard to move them in.. It would be easier to have three kids and a dog it would seem.. Tough being a gun owner in this day and age

FWIW, if you have the right experience, you should be making closer to $100K or more. Of course, that depends on what you have on your resume, but $50K even for a junior s/w dev today is at the low end of the salary range. If you have the right tech stack experience for a couple of years you should be able to bump up your income and work only 40 hours a week in a non-stress environment.

I have BTDT; when I started out 30 years ago I worked 60-70 hours a week for $50K/yr for a small private startup because I wanted to prove myself. Went on from there, usually bumping up about $10K each time I moved to a new job. It is not uncommon for a productive dev to be making well over $100K today. So get the right experience with the in demand tech stack if you don't yet have it, and then set aside savings so you can be mobile in the job market.

Yes, if you've been a developer for 10+ years you should be able to make well north of $100K.

Heretic and Flopsweat, glad to know you are fellow software developers or in the IT world. Well, the one thing you have to keep in mind is I have degenerate discs and sciatica and I cannot sit for very long a day without my back hurting and leg going numb. However, even if I can make a recovery I still would not want to sit or stand long hours that are required in a software job. Yes, maybe if I got all ready for interviews, hacked away at my algorithms and I am studying Angular, ASP.NET Core, Linux Web Servers among other things I could really beef up my resume. Sadly, I spent most of my years as a .Net Desktop developer in my business which limited me, but I do have a pretty rich resume that shows a vast amount of projects I worked on, because I was in a small business developing medical type software. I had so many recruiters coming after me when I First moved to Denver. The problem is, that I am disabled. I cannot work at a desk sitting or standing. I built a stellar lay-down work station that allows me to work very long hours again and feel no pain at all. The problems is in this day and age your software skills are not the most important virtue, it is also abiding by company culture. The culture of the company and abiding by their rules and regulations seems to take precedence even over your skills. They love cramming 15 developers in crowded poorly structured workstations that destroy your body. I simply refuse to allow myself to spend my life in operating rooms and having back surgery so I can have a corporate or high paying company software job.

As I said, earlier, I feel the only choice I have now is to work from home doing software in my lay-down workstation. If you guys or anyone else is interested, I am still upgrading my lay-down workstation and going to finish it off this week. I am happy to share it with people as it has become something I am so passionate about. It is my own invention and it has given me back my software career. Both my PT and a Chiropractor both approved it and liked my idea. Sadly, it is the only way I can work software as my disability won't allow me to do desk work anymore.

I haven't been on the job market in over 15 years since I worked for same company, so I would have to spend time preparing for those dreadful interviews. The Microsoft interview I had I passed in everything except the brain bending algorithm questions, since it has been years since i studied those. But, I am glad I didn't get the job, because I have no desire to work in the corporate environment.

I guess I will just have to work at a restaurant, computer store or something and live poor for a while until I can get my online software business going or can get hired for some freelancing or telecommuting work. Like I said, maybe I would have liked in my 20s or early 30s to have worked at a company, but at 41 and with a bad back, I have little desire to engage in the rat-race and my body probably will fall to pieces.

Of course, I am open to your guys ideas and appreciate your background in the industry. I'm unfortunately working with a disadvantage.

I know now that I am going to Florida I will have to make extra precautions in how I store my guns, as I am sure the humid salty environment will eat up my guns like nothing else if they are not properly stored. Praying I don't have to store away my collection.

 

[4Freedom]

Translation: He just didn't want to buy me beer.

Bobo, that is not true.. Come to Florida and I will buy you a beer and even give you a hug .. Or we can hang out on the beach and drink pina coladas.. We are still buddies, right? Even though I have decided against the North Cack? North Carolina may be a place I end up one day, but due to my budget I actually think I will be better off in Tampa, which is just cheaper enough where I think I can survive a little easier.

 

[gmerkt]

Secure, long term storage can be a problem. One option might be a bonded warehouse. However, I don't know what kind of occasional access arrangement might be made. And there is the obvious issue of cost.

 

[4Freedom]

There is one option I have started to think about.. I have found some places around the country that do gun and vault storage indoors in temperature controlled and secure facilities. Not all places have these, but there is one in Colorado where I stored my guns. The problem is the places are kind of expensive. But, maybe they can offer some discount for longer term or I can find one in a cheaper area than Colorado with lower rates. I actually did store my guns for a couple months in Colorado right before I moved here, because I lived next to a convicted felon in North Carolina who was guilty of firearm theft, meth dealing, assault ,etc. I didn't trust leaving my guns there so I stored them for a while. I guess it would be a very far stretch leaving my guns all the way in Colorado and still would cost me like $60 + /month.. But, maybe I can find something like this in Florida . Florida is a place full of old people who like to store things away from home. Who knows, maybe I can find such a place there.

Of course, if I hit hard times and life is crap, maybe driving to another state to leave my guns for a while is better, esp if it is in a gun friendly state. Living in Oregon, then Washington and now Colorado, all very anti-gun states, I have thought about these things in the past. I guess driving a day is worth it to store your precious possessions in a place that is secure and temperature controlled and could even possibly be affordable. Of course, I still don't know what type of gun/vault storage places exist in the Southeast. I'm definitely not leaving them in Colorado.

I worry about pawn shops, because those places get robbed frequently and I highly doubt they will reimburse me for the loss.

 

[Boboclown]

Bobo, that is not true.. Come to Florida and I will buy you a beer and even give you a hug .. Or we can hang out on the beach and drink pina coladas.. We are still buddies, right? Even though I have decided against the North Cack? North Carolina may be a place I end up one day, but due to my budget I actually think I will be better off in Tampa, which is just cheaper enough where I think I can survive a little easier.

Getting to Florida is easy, getting out? Nope, nothing in Florida for flatbed.

 

[P7M13]

Why NC?
A co-worker was just relocated to Charlotte from Houston by my company.
He is keeping his wife and kids in Houston, because they have found, (1) Houston is much cheaper housing, (2) the job opportunities for his wife are much higher, (3) no state income tax in Texas, and (4) paying rent for a small apartment and adding the plane tickets to Houston will be cheaper than his additional mortgage cost to have the same house in NC.

 

[Camelfilter]

Why NC?
A co-worker was just relocated to Charlotte from Houston by my company.
He is keeping his wife and kids in Houston, because they have found, (1) Houston is much cheaper housing, (2) the job opportunities for his wife are much higher, (3) no state income tax in Texas, and (4) paying rent for a small apartment and adding the plane tickets to Houston will be cheaper than his additional mortgage cost to have the same house in NC.

OP is now moving to Florida...

 

[P7M13]

OP is now moving to Florida...

,
If you're familiar with RTFM, this is a case where you could scold me, RTFP. Too lazy.
Good luck to OP though. Sucks, being disabled.

 

[The Heretic]

Suggestion: fill in with short term contractor gigs for software testing. Software dev teams are always looking for testers as they are hard to find and keep, and often for people who can automate testing. Also Unit and Integration testing. Doesn't pay as well as dev work, and can be boring, but it can keep a roof over your head.

 

[Camelfilter]

,
If you're familiar with RTFM, this is a case where you could scold me, RTFP. Too lazy.
Good luck to OP though. Sucks, being disabled.

Yah, sucks moving too. Gotta super suck disabled & moving! Coupla days worth in a rental van with his degenerated discs and sciatica...ugh!!

 

[308]

There are a ton of remote/work from home jobs in the computer industry these days. What kind of work do you do?

That's what I was thinking...especially for a programmer. My last boss was totally old school and afraid of employees working from home, but I got everyone new laptops and all of a sudden...productivity was up. Answering urgent emails at 7:30 on a Sunday and all that made the panicking customer feel better. Not to mention helping swing shift manufacturing guys with their issues as well.

 

[Bottom Gun]

If I were you, I wouldn't do anything until I saw a good orthopedic surgeon and had an MRI so you know exactly what your problem is. I speak from personal experience, having wasted time and money on chiropractors who will only temporarily alleviate your symptoms at best.
Sounds like you have some nerve pinching going on. This MUST be corrected before you reach the point of no return and do some permanent nerve damage if you haven't already.

Lighten your load. Keep one or two guns for self defense and sell the rest. They can always be replaced when times are better. Don't allow emotion to overrule common sense. No true friend or family member will ever be upset because you broke a rash promise given your current situation.
My two cents …….