Changing Apple ID to non-iCloud address and again to a different iCloud address

I currently have an iCloud address as my Apple ID and want to change to a different address, hopefully a different iCloud address. I've read this cannot be done, but wondering if the following process will work. I currently have 2 "Reachable At" addresses added to my account. One is at live.com and the other is an iCloud alias that I added more than 30 days ago.

Will this work?:

1) change to the live.com address

2) remove the original iCloud email address from my account

3) change Apple ID to the alias iCloud address mentioned above

I'll save myself a big headache attempting this if I'm convinced it won't be possible.

Thanks for any help/advice!!