Here's another "where should I retire" thread

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VictoriaF
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by VictoriaF »

Just by looking at the map, Charlottesville, VA, seems preferable to Charlotte, NC. Charlottesville is a university town, closer to the mountains, and closer to a major city.
TomatoTomahto wrote:Champaign-Urbana, Illinois -will research
I went to grad school there but would never live there.

Victoria
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TomatoTomahto
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by TomatoTomahto »

VictoriaF wrote:Just by looking at the map, Charlottesville, VA, seems preferable to Charlotte, NC. Charlottesville is a university town, closer to the mountains, and closer to a major city.

Victoria
My wife's brother and SIL live there, and my wife has run the Charlottesville marathon twice. It is a location under consideration.
I get the FI part but not the RE part of FIRE.
sscritic
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by sscritic »

TomatoTomahto wrote:As a first pass, with only a few reasons for what I don't like.
[ long list]
You wouldn't be one of those "I will be unhappy wherever I go" people, are you? :)

What does your glass usually look like?
NoVa Lurker
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by NoVa Lurker »

My parents semi-retired in Newark, Delaware. I initially thought it was an odd choice, but I understand it a lot better now. They can walk to the main campus of University of Delaware, as well as the shops and restaurants of Main Street, but their neighborhood is removed from the undergrad / frat house community.

Compared to you, they have much less resources from which to draw, but they still have a nice four-bedroom house (current value is probably around $400k), which allows the kids and grandkids to converge on holidays.

They love it, and we enjoy visiting with our two kids. The main street area is especially great in the summer, when there are fewer undergrads around!

It's close enough to both Philadelphia International Airport and BWI for family to visit easily and for them to take trips. There are some nice jogging trails along former railroad tracks and up towards Pennsylvania, or around Newark Reservoir, which my wife and I use when we visit. They can easily drive to NYC, the Jersey shore, the Delaware beaches, Philly, Bucks County, DC, and Northern Virginia. They say that the taxes that impact them are very low compared to NJ or PA; not sure how it compares to other options.

They used to also own a beach condo in Rehoboth Beach, which is about two hours south from them, but (long story short) they sold that. Taking care of two properties wasn't ultimately worth the time, energy, and expense. In retrospect, they should have never bought the beach condo in the first place.

Their current home is not the idyllic beach, lake, or mountain home that I think they always imagined, but it makes the most sense for now.
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by TDAlmighty »

TomatoTomahto wrote:
pennstater2005 wrote:Have you factored in the possibility of grandkids in the future? I know someday, per my wife, it will factor into where we move :D
I would factor it in if I knew where my kids were going to wind up. Right now it appears they'll mostly stay on the east coast, but who knows? Wanting extra bedrooms and being near an airport is partially to allow for them to conveniently visit us.
UGH!!! We just had our first baby earlier this year and my retired father thinks it is fair for us to go visit him equally for every time he visits us. Traveling via commercial air for a couple with a baby with all baby gear in tow with dual careers VS two retirees who can come and go as they please.

And on the other side of the family, my wife's dad has this grandiose vision of spending a lot of time with his grandkids at his property and talks about this all the time. I am sorry, but my kid is not going to be shooting any guns for several years, and what if he has no interest in doing these things when he is old enough? This property is in a fairly remote area across the country which would require two connections plus a long drive...

So now both sides of the family expect us to travel to their locations instead of coming to ours. And of course we plan on having more kids. These kids will likely have year-round activities. In addition, we will have limited vacation days and want to take our own family vacations. All I am saying is make sure your vision of how you are going to interact with your grandchildren is realistic and convenient if you want to spend time with them. If not, more than likely those extra bedrooms will get very little use.
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by TomatoTomahto »

sscritic, you're messing with me, right? First you asked about what I don't like:
sscritic wrote:I missed the part about what you don't like about where you live now. Is moving a requirement?
How do the suggested cities rank in terms of what you don't like, rather than what you do?
When I replied, you said:
sscritic wrote:You wouldn't be one of those "I will be unhappy wherever I go" people, are you? :)
What does your glass usually look like?
Most people consider me to be an optimist who goes with the flow. I can be happy anywhere in the US, and probably half of the rest of the world. I will be happier in some places than others, and the same goes for my wife. When I say "no thanks" to Baltimore, for example, it's not that I couldn't live there happily, but that there are many places I will probably be happier at.
I get the FI part but not the RE part of FIRE.
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by sscritic »

TomatoTomahto wrote:sscritic, you're messing with me, right?
Just a little. :)

I haven't lived that many places, but I have found something to like wherever I have been. When I lived in Minnesota, for example, I didn't focus on the two seasons: freezing and mosquito breeding, I concentrated on .. now what was it I liked? Darn memory. I remember I liked something but I can't remember what it was.
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by TomatoTomahto »

TDAlmighty wrote: snip ...
UGH!!! We just had our first baby earlier this year and my retired father thinks it is fair for us to go visit him equally for every time he visits us. Traveling via commercial air for a couple with a baby with all baby gear in tow with dual careers VS two retirees who can come and go as they please.

And on the other side of the family, my wife's dad has this grandiose vision of spending a lot of time with his grandkids at his property and talks about this all the time. I am sorry, but my kid is not going to be shooting any guns for several years, and what if he has no interest in doing these things when he is old enough? This property is in a fairly remote area across the country which would require two connections plus a long drive...

So now both sides of the family expect us to travel to their locations instead of coming to ours. And of course we plan on having more kids. These kids will likely have year-round activities. In addition, we will have limited vacation days and want to take our own family vacations. All I am saying is make sure your vision of how you are going to interact with your grandchildren is realistic and convenient if you want to spend time with them. If not, more than likely those extra bedrooms will get very little use.
I think you missed the part where I said, with emphasis added, "to allow for them to conveniently visit us." I would like for them to visit me, but I have enough memory and imagination to know that it can be inconvenient; I just don't want my home to add to the inconvenience.

My kids played travel hockey and had rigorous school schedules, so I know how it can be tough to visit. If invited to visit them, I will. They will have an open invitation to visit us. One of my parents used to complain that I hadn't called; I never understood how they got one of the phones that didn't have a keypad.
I get the FI part but not the RE part of FIRE.
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by flyingbison »

TomatoTomahto wrote: Sheboygan, Wisconsin- i will look into it, but it seems random
I can't imagine anyone moving there on purpose. (Just my personal preference/opinion, of course.)
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by TomatoTomahto »

sscritic wrote:
TomatoTomahto wrote:sscritic, you're messing with me, right?
Just a little. :)

I haven't lived that many places, but I have found something to like wherever I have been. When I lived in Minnesota, for example, I didn't focus on the two seasons: freezing and mosquito breeding, I concentrated on .. now what was it I liked? Darn memory. I remember I liked something but I can't remember what it was.
I'd like the accent and the youth hockey.
I get the FI part but not the RE part of FIRE.
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by sunnyday »

Have you considered Central California? Checks many of the things off of your list -- amazing beaches, mountains, great climate, liberal, great college towns, plenty of airports.
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by sscritic »

sunnyday wrote:Have you considered Central California? Checks many of the things off of your list -- amazing beaches, mountains, great climate, liberal, great college towns, plenty of airports.
I have never thought much about Central California. Central Valley and Central Coast, yes, but not Central California. According to wikipedia, the largest cities are Fresno, Modesto, Salinas, Visalia, Clovis, Merced, Turlock, Madera, Tulare, Porterville, and Hanford.
Central California as defined above includes the following 10 counties:

Fresno, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced
Monterey, San Benito, Stanislaus, Tulare, Tuolumne
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Hayden
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by Hayden »

How about Idaho? Coeur D'Alene has beautiful lakes and mountains, and it is close to Spokane, a vibrant city with a good airport.
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by IlliniDave »

Sounds like you have enough wealth that "cost" of living really could be a secondary consideration. If her wishes trump yours, then go where she wants. I'd think about possibly getting a second home (winter beach house in a warm location, summer mountain home, something like that), maybe as a compromise.

If you don't know where exactly you want to go to, maybe spend some time traveling to places that at least intellectually appeal to you. As the list narrows, maybe lease a place for a few months in the finalist locations.

In my case I've known roughly where I wanted to end up since I was about 10 years old. Due to family considerations I'm looking at maintaining two residences, a summer cabin in the Northwoods and a traditional house in my hometown (at least for as long as my parents are still around, after which I may change the official home to something driven by where my kids wind up settling down, half way between maybe or something like that).
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by Peter Foley »

Minnesota and Wisconsin have a lot of lake with reasonably priced homes. I would not recommend Minnesota for residency, however, as it has a low threshold for inheritance taxes. If choosing one of these states it would almost require a second house in a more moderate climate.
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by feh »

I haven't been to the rural NE, so I can't suggest something in that area (although I have heard good things about Ithaca).

If you're looking for just a summer place, the northern Great Lakes meets some of your desires. I'm talking about Minnesota, northern Wisconsin, northern Michigan. Lots of beautiful, quiet, rural lakes.

Wouldn't want to winter in those spots, though.
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by ChrisC »

VictoriaF wrote:Just by looking at the map, Charlottesville, VA, seems preferable to Charlotte, NC. Charlottesville is a university town, closer to the mountains, and closer to a major city.

Victoria
You might be literally correct about Charlottesville's proximity to mountains and to a major city. But Charlotte NC is closer to bigger and perhaps grander vistas of the Blue Ridge or Great Smokey Mountains. And Charlotte is a "major city" and definitely an up-sized version of Richmond Virginia, the closest city to Charlottesville, VA. Though Charlottesville is a "university town," the town area for gatherings is quite small, with a nice urban village type mall and the "corner" for campus or grounds happenings. UVa is a great school (all my children went there for summer camps, two graduated from the college and one from the law school, and one seriously considered going to the Darden B-School), but it is not, in my view, a good fit for retirees, unless you're a former college faculty member or a retiree doing research at the school. Doesn't strike me as the type of place where students on campus or grounds will easily strike up conversations with some old folks like us or a place where u can easily audit classes. If campus variety and diversity were important to the OP, Richmond VA, Chapel Hill and even Charlotte NC has more variety of colleges and universities.
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by TDAlmighty »

TomatoTomahto wrote: snip ...
I think you missed the part where I said, with emphasis added, "to allow for them to conveniently visit us." I would like for them to visit me, but I have enough memory and imagination to know that it can be inconvenient; I just don't want my home to add to the inconvenience.

My kids played travel hockey and had rigorous school schedules, so I know how it can be tough to visit. If invited to visit them, I will. They will have an open invitation to visit us. One of my parents used to complain that I hadn't called; I never understood how they got one of the phones that didn't have a keypad.
Most of the places on your list are not near a "convenient" airport hub. Unless the kids/grandkids are near a hub in the same region of the country, the travel will be expensive and non-convenient.

My anecdotal observations of other couples with kids: if grandparents are more than 3-4 hours by driving/flying door-to-door (including time zone changes), the average number of visits back to grandparent's house are 1-2 per year because simple weekend visits become inconvenient. My personal experience and observations are that the grandparent are not usually as understanding as you seem to be about this.
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by sunnyday »

I think Charlotte, NC is a great city but misses many of the big things that the OP is looking for.
sscritic wrote:
sunnyday wrote:Have you considered Central California? Checks many of the things off of your list -- amazing beaches, mountains, great climate, liberal, great college towns, plenty of airports.
I have never thought much about Central California. Central Valley and Central Coast, yes, but not Central California. According to wikipedia, the largest cities are Fresno, Modesto, Salinas, Visalia, Clovis, Merced, Turlock, Madera, Tulare, Porterville, and Hanford.
Central California as defined above includes the following 10 counties:

Fresno, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced
Monterey, San Benito, Stanislaus, Tulare, Tuolumne
More specifically, from Malibu to Santa Cruz -- where the nice beaches and mountains are :)
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by Aptenodytes »

I know a couple who made a big list of potential retirement spots and spent several months in an RV visiting them all before making the final choice. By coincidence they ended up in a place that I happen to visit regularly, even though it is thousands of miles away. When I last ran into them out there they were happy beyond expectations.
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by HomerJ »

TomatoTomahto wrote:@tibbitts, talk to livesoft; he wants me in 4 or 5 houses! I would not be surprised if we lived in one place and took extended vacations in various places with climates different from what we are getting sick of at home. The logistics of more than one house are not something I want to deal with; my view is that's what rental apartments are for.
I think this is a pretty good plan, especially with your assets...

My wife wanted to live farther south because she hates the Midwest winters, but I think I have her convinced that we can live in our Missouri lake house April-December, and then use the money we'll save by staying in the Midwest to travel January-March... I'm talking long-term rentals (1-3 months) in Florida, California, Arizona, Belize, Mexico, Australia, Caribbean islands, etc.
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by HomerJ »

TomatoTomahto wrote:Lakefront home, probably one that prohibits jet skis and loud motor boats.
You'll get a lot more visits from the grandkids if you have a jetski... :)

Live in a cove off the main channel, and it won't be that noisy.
Last edited by HomerJ on Thu Jul 24, 2014 1:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by an_asker »

Last year, at a reunion, I ran into one of my classmates who retired a couple of years back after selling a couple of companies. When we talked, his family had been living in Guatemala for a couple of years; they were planning to move to France in the next couple of months for (yes) a couple of years. :-)

Maybe you could do something like that (whether within the USA or internationally) and then settle down wherever you feel like you have the most fun. How about Switzerland, for instance? Your DW would love to hike/jog along the mountains or by the lakes.
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by Rumpole »

I lived in Champaign-Urbana for 10 years. Nice enough place, but I cannot envision circumstances that would lead someone with the resources to live wherever they want to retire there.

Someone a few posts up said almost the same thing about Sheboygan. I wouldn't recommend retiring to a part of the country you have no affinity with or family near, but Sheboygan at least has several good things going for it: Lake Michigan shoreline, good golf (if that's your thing), near a professional football team (if that's your thing), near to many other resorts in Northern Wisconsin and the UP. Heck, maybe even a space port one day! :wink:
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by ubermax »

Op, reviewed your resume & I think nothing short of Beverly Hills would be appropriate .
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by bloom2708 »

Peter Foley wrote:Minnesota and Wisconsin have a lot of lake with reasonably priced homes. I would not recommend Minnesota for residency, however, as it has a low threshold for inheritance taxes. If choosing one of these states it would almost require a second house in a more moderate climate.
MN. Nice but unpredictable summers. Short falls. Long winters. Long springs.

I would not put a place with 6+ months of winter on my short or long list. Unless blizzards, ice, snow, freezing rain, shoveling and snowblowing are still on your bucket list of things to do.

Having the stomach for winter, heat + humidity, hurricanes and bugs should narrow this list. Add back things you are ok with.
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by TomatoTomahto »

ubermax wrote:Op, reviewed your resume & I think nothing short of Beverly Hills would be appropriate .
Now don't get huffy because I'm reluctant to move to your home state :D

Fwiw, my wife spent some of her youth in California. Liked Santa Barbara, but not LA.
I get the FI part but not the RE part of FIRE.
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by ubermax »

TT,

touché
sscritic
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by sscritic »

TomatoTomahto wrote: Fwiw, my wife spent some of her youth in California. Liked Santa Barbara, but not LA.
Try Montecito. Then again, given your attitude toward your current neighbors, you might not like living next door to Oprah and Ellen. Do you like playing polo? Actually, the Polo Club is next door in Carpenteria.
http://sbpolo.com/polo/

I think another boglehead lives in Montecito if my memory doesn't fail me yet again. Not this time:
dbphd
http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtop ... 1#p2099031
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by kaudrey »

NH has a lot of cute lake towns. My parents live in one...until my mother's health prevented it this year, they used to spend 3 months every year in FL, and the rest in NH. It's a beautiful part of the country.
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by gunn_show »

TomatoTomahto wrote:
ubermax wrote:Op, reviewed your resume & I think nothing short of Beverly Hills would be appropriate .
Now don't get huffy because I'm reluctant to move to your home state :D

Fwiw, my wife spent some of her youth in California. Liked Santa Barbara, but not LA.
Curious why CA has been notably absent from this entire thread. Sure it is pricey here, taxes, homes, etc, but the weather is amazing year round and there are many major airports. Santa Barbara, Montecito, Napa/Sonoma, Paso Robles, any number of suburbs in LA area, San Diego... with your nest egg you can afford any of them easy
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by TomatoTomahto »

@sscritic, going completely OT here, but my wife rode horses as a teen, and took it up again briefly as an adult, but never played polo. At a company team-building event, they played polo, and my wife said that you could not imagine how well-trained the polo ponies were. They knew where you should be headed before you knew, and it was only the ponies' skill that avoided a number of mishaps among the amateur players.

Back on topic, she has no desire to resume the horse riding phase of her life in retirement.
I get the FI part but not the RE part of FIRE.
sscritic
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by sscritic »

TomatoTomahto wrote:@sscritic, going completely OT here, but my wife rode horses as a teen, and took it up again briefly as an adult, but never played polo. At a company team-building event, they played polo, and my wife said that you could not imagine how well-trained the polo ponies were. They knew where you should be headed before you knew, and it was only the ponies' skill that avoided a number of mishaps among the amateur players.

Back on topic, she has no desire to resume the horse riding phase of her life in retirement.
You can live in Montecito and not play polo. Orchid growing is big in the area (commercial growers in Carpenteria).

Beautiful weather. Pacific Ocean. Santa Barbara. What's not to like?
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by TDAlmighty »

TomatoTomahto wrote:
ubermax wrote:Op, reviewed your resume & I think nothing short of Beverly Hills would be appropriate .
Now don't get huffy because I'm reluctant to move to your home state :D

Fwiw, my wife spent some of her youth in California. Liked Santa Barbara, but not LA.
I would recommend determining a budget for your future home before looking further. Even though you have done very well, it is more "average" than what you might think when it comes to waterfront real estate. Especially with all of the overseas wealthy buyers using cash to buy high-end homes in the US. I think you might be surprised how many properties/areas that you will be priced out of.
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by TomatoTomahto »

tommy_gunn wrote:Curious why CA has been notably absent from this entire thread. Sure it is pricey here, taxes, homes, etc, but the weather is amazing year round and there are many major airports. Santa Barbara, Montecito, Napa/Sonoma, Paso Robles, any number of suburbs in LA area, San Diego... with your nest egg you can afford any of them easy
There are some references to CA in the thread. 80% of our family, including all the kids, are on the East coast.

I told my son, who was considering some CA schools for college, that it would make school breaks more difficult if, instead of a 100 mile drive, he would have a cross country flight. He would smack me if we moved to CA before he graduates :D

There are many great choices on the west coast, and to a great extent it would depend on my wife's tolerance for flying. She has taken many flights, primarily to Europe, for business in the past 30 years. Oregon and Washington state are contenders.
I get the FI part but not the RE part of FIRE.
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by TomatoTomahto »

TDAlmighty wrote:I would recommend determining a budget for your future home before looking further. Even though you have done very well, it is more "average" than what you might think when it comes to waterfront real estate. Especially with all of the overseas wealthy buyers using cash to buy high-end homes in the US. I think you might be surprised how many properties/areas that you will be priced out of.
I take your point. If, by "waterfront," I meant the Hamptons, we would be the paupers in the neighborhood and could only afford a shack two blocks from the beach.

Based on a suggestion in this thread, I Googled some homes for sale on Lake Wylie. There are grand homes for $1M -$1.5M, and quite nice homes for considerably less. Zillow prices our current home at $1.8 (down from a high of $2.5M :oops: ), which is why I thought we should be able to sell for $1.5 without much difficulty. We could net some cash from exchanging homes, but we don't really need to.
I get the FI part but not the RE part of FIRE.
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TxAg
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by TxAg »

TomatoTomahto wrote:@johnep and ChrisC, I will add the Charlotte area to my list. 2 months of hot and humid is tolerable for us, and most likely we would use some of that time to travel.

We wound up rescuing a pit mix puppy recently (long story, but fwiw, I was anti pit until very recently) and she has more difficulty with the heat and humidity than I do!

We have a rescue pitbull as well. I could never have imagined what a great dog she'd turn out to be. By the way, I love threads like this. I'm genuinely happy for people that have such awesome opportunities at their feet. Good job saving/earning/investing!


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Hug401k
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by Hug401k »

You can skip researching Worcester, MA, and Hartford and probably Providence. It's not what you want, but you may want to look further west in MA to the Berkshire/Northampton area. It's very blue, with lakes, and some colleges and lots of quaint towns.. Southern RI or Mystic, CT is quite nice too..

My father retired to Charlottesville for some of the reasons you mentioned. 4 seasons with a very short winter. They also get fabulous health care in that area, which has come in handy. It's a 7 hr drive from NY, and a 10 hour drive from Worcester, so it can be done without dropping $1000 on flights to see the grandparents. But we only do it 1x -2x per year.

Great thread, I'm daydreaming already..let us know what you figure out (and what you rule out!)
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by sunnyday »

TomatoTomahto wrote:
I told my son, who was considering some CA schools for college, that it would make school breaks more difficult if, instead of a 100 mile drive, he would have a cross country flight. He would smack me if we moved to CA before he graduates :D

There are many great choices on the west coast, and to a great extent it would depend on my wife's tolerance for flying. She has taken many flights, primarily to Europe, for business in the past 30 years. Oregon and Washington state are contenders.
Your OP should have been: "My son is going to college in a couple years but doesn't know where. We want to be within a short drive from him. Where should we move?" :D

Why not do a California college tour? Start in Northern California and drive down the PCH checking out all the nice towns (and colleges) along the way. When in Santa Barbara, your wife can go for a morning run along the beach, you can go hiking in the mountains, kayaking or boating, walk or bike around UCSB, do a wine tasting tour, and have a picnic on a cliff while watching the sunset. Just don't look at home prices as they'll make you feel poor until your portfolio grows to 8 figures :)
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by TomatoTomahto »

@sunnyday, I wasn't very clear in what I wrote. I was describing discussions from last year, when he was wondering about CalTech and Stanford. He spent some time at Yale, fell in love with it, was lucky enough to be accepted, and will attend in the Fall.

I was kidding that it would preclude CA, but we're talking at least a couple of years from now before we leave NJ, although I want to start looking sooner.
I get the FI part but not the RE part of FIRE.
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by LadyGeek »

This thread is now in the Personal Consumer Issues forum (where to retire).
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by sunnyday »

TomatoTomahto wrote:@sunnyday, I wasn't very clear in what I wrote. I was describing discussions from last year, when he was wondering about CalTech and Stanford. He spent some time at Yale, fell in love with it, was lucky enough to be accepted, and will attend in the Fall.

I was kidding that it would preclude CA, but we're talking at least a couple of years from now before we leave NJ, although I want to start looking sooner.
Oh ok, within a 100 miles from Yale, I would probably pick Newport, RI or one of the smaller quintessential New England towns right around there. My guess is that your wife is a bit type A though and would get bored being retired in a small town (I probably would myself). I'm not sure what field she is in but if it's technology or non-profit, maybe she could semi-retire and be a consultant at "Silicon Beach".
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by TomatoTomahto »

sunnyday wrote: Oh ok, within a 100 miles from Yale, I would probably pick Newport, RI or one of the smaller quintessential New England towns right around there. My guess is that your wife is a bit type A though and would get bored being retired in a small town (I probably would myself). I'm not sure what field she is in but if it's technology or non-profit, maybe she could semi-retire and be a consultant at "Silicon Beach".
At the time DS and I were talking, and now, we're 100 miles from Yale, but we are not dead set on staying that close. I think up to 350 miles is still easily done for school breaks, but it's tough to book cross country flights around Thanksgiving and Christmas, and realistically, you have to figure on losing a day each way. I like a distance too far to bring his laundry but close enough for a long weekend.

My wife is a Type A, but she doesn't mind hanging out, going for a run, talking to her family on the phone, etc. I think the nature of boredom in a small town has been changed by the Internet. My sister moved some years ago from NYC to Eugene, OR and I thought she would lose her mind -- quite the contrary, she's loving it. She can watch any film, order any book, shop for whatever she wants, etc.
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by ubermax »

TT,

Noticing that you currently hail from Jersey , Bergen County I bet :happy , Connecticut might be a good fit , Northwest corner , Kent, Lakeville, Salisbury & then coming South you're into Litchfield County , all very nice spots , hop-skip-and-a-jump to/from Yale - but in my view a bit remote and isolated in the Winter

I also think one of the Boston suburbs could be fun , maybe Newton , close to everything , Crimson/Bulldog games , restaurants , etc. etc.

The Rhode Island shore is a personal favorite from Watch hill up to Charlestown and then there's Cape Cod , lot of possibilities there but again a whole different feel in the Winter IMO.

Coastal North Carolina could be nice , don't have the climate extremes like NewEngland and the extreme heat/humidity of Florida .

Big country , lots of possibilities !!

Good Luck !!!!
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by TomatoTomahto »

ubermax wrote:[edited for brevity]
Noticing that you currently hail from Jersey , Bergen County I bet :happy ,
not a bad guess, but you lose the bet -- Essex County

The Rhode Island shore is a personal favorite from Watch hill up to Charlestown and then there's Cape Cod , lot of possibilities there but again a whole different feel in the Winter IMO.
hadn't thought of RI, will consider

Coastal North Carolina could be nice , don't have the climate extremes like NewEngland and the extreme heat/humidity of Florida .
i have to look into the culture/lifestyle issues, but from what I've seen online, the real estate values are wonderful

Good Luck !!!!
thanks!
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by pshonore »

Any of the towns on the Connecticut shore east of New Haven starting in Branford and going to the RI line (with the exception of New London) are quite nice. Good rail service and not far from Bradley Intl Airport. Stay out of Fairfield County though. Litchfield County is nice, but not good highway access and the winters there can be tough. Not cheap either as its a weekend getaway/vacation home for NYC folks as you may know.
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by Leeraar »

Move sooner, rather than later.

We are gravitating towards the Carolinas and the Virginias. South enough for good barbecue, north enough to be away from the rednecks.

We have a beautiful lakefront home in Michigan, but the weather is brutal and the family ties to this area are evaporating ...

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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by TomatoTomahto »

Leeraar wrote:We are gravitating towards the Carolinas and the Virginias. South enough for good barbecue...
Oh man, how did you know that was a soft spot for me? As much as I like lobster in Maine, good barbecue is something worth moving for.
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Re: Here's another "where should I retire" thread

Post by rj49 »

I left Seattle for Bellingham, WA, which seems to fit most of your criteria. There are running/biking trails all over the city, including one that goes along and over Puget Sound on a boardwalk. There are at least 3 large lakes that I know of with housing around them, and all are within 5-10 miles of downtown Bellingham. You can eavesdrop on lots of college kids in the many coffee shops and restaurants, and there are some good cinemas, theatres, and a 100-year old theater that hosts visiting Broadway musicals, concerts, and other events. Seattle is an hour and a half away if you want to see a big-name concert or event, or just go see the Blue Angels, as I'm doing next weekend.

Yes, it rains, but we have a quick-growing airport with direct flights to Hawaii and Las Vegas and various Californian cities, or again, you can take a shuttle bus or drive or take a short flight to Sea-Tac and go anywhere from there (direct flights to Frankfurt, Paris, London, and Iceland). I view the rain and snow of Mt. Baker as a blessing, especially as drought conditions worsen in the rest of the West, and there is no humidity (not like the outdoor summer saunas of Virginia and Carolinas), and most summer days are pleasant, in the 70s, with a sea breeze, and the highest temperature this year was 86. You can drive 15 minutes and be either in a forest or farmland (3/4 of the raspberries in the US are grown here). We had two days of snowfall this winter, if I remember, and the winter lows are usually in the 30s, apart from occasional cold spells.

There are lots of retirees here, and a Lifelong Learning Academy of former professors teaching various classes, a very active volunteering community, and a good-sized hospital and a number of retirement homes for various needs.

The only negative, apart from rain, would be hordes of Canadians who come here for shopping, but locals know to avoid Costco and Trader Joe's and Target on weekends, and to look on the bright side of getting lots of economic stimulus from shoppers and retail jobs for students and others.
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