Input wanted on where to live

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4nursebee
Posts: 2642
Joined: Sun Apr 01, 2012 7:56 am
Location: US

Input wanted on where to live

Post by 4nursebee »

I have begun reading some other forum posts on similar topics, but if you know of good discussions by all means post them here.

Background: married couple approaching retirement. In general we agree that choice of careers, where to live, how to live, all these choices have been made based upon what limited info was directly in front of us. While happy with where we live, the high humidity of these few summer months has us considering relocation. We have drawn up some lists of things we like, dislike, find desirable. Willing to consider many factors, some we imagine we do not know about. Family: hers are 10 hour drive away, his are mostly nearby but only get together 1-2 times a year for a meal.

Things we like where we are at: mild winter, space to do as we wish on many acres, 1.5-3 hours away from great beaches, rural road bicycling, 2 colleges for education, good solar, library, established trees. None of this is set in stone.

Cons: Humid summers, seems to be violent/drug related though we made me jaded working trauma, poor organized bike lanes/paths, poor wind for electricity generation, slow internet (10mb/s down here @ max), noisy neighbors (railroad and paving), poor soil, hurricane risks.

THings we picture doing in retirement: bike, dance lessons, classes, travel, better flower and vegetable beds. THings we would find desirable would include lower humidity, near a large town for specialty shopping (1.5-2 hours at present is acceptable), near good grocers (dont want to avoid civilization), international restaurants, reasonable COL, good growing seasons. We also enjoy hosting on Airbnb but dont live in a popular area. Practically speaking we not likely become expats.

So our questions for any readers
what have you found of value with regards to where you live in retirement? Do you live there by choice or did you take the place right in front of you?
Where might be a good place that could fit our bill?
What is nice about where you live or lived?
What else should we consider?
Pale Blue Dot
livesoft
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Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2007 7:00 pm

Re: Input wanted on where to live

Post by livesoft »

I think you should be like my neighbors: They live in a couple of places. Montreal in the summers and Texas in the winters.

If growing vegetables was important to you, then Maine for most of the year and then in the South for the winters.
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sport
Posts: 12084
Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 2:26 pm
Location: Cleveland, OH

Re: Input wanted on where to live

Post by sport »

You might like the Pacific Northwest part of the country. That being said, the desirability of places to live can be quite different depending on neighborhoods and communities. In my general area, there are many beautiful places to live. However, there are also communities and neighborhoods that many would consider undesirable. So, you would need to visit whatever area you decide on and learn where you might like to live and what areas you want to avoid. You also need to consider how the cost of living in that area fits with your budgetary limitations.
cadreamer2015
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Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2015 1:52 pm
Location: North County San Diego

Re: Input wanted on where to live

Post by cadreamer2015 »

We have moved to start our retirement. Here are the criteria we considered and some we discarded:

1) Many people want to be near their children. We have no idea where our children will end up so we went with a 2nd best solution:
2) Live somewhere that your children (and potential grandchildren) would like to come visit
3) Must have good medical care available within a reasonable distance. Don't want to travel 1 hr plus for a top quality hospital or specialist
4) Good access to decent sized airport. Don't want to have to drive 1 1/2 hr plus to get to the airport, and want an airport we can fly to relatively major cities. We'd like to do a fair amount of travel, at least in early retirement
5) Good climate - didn't want to deal with the snow blower any more
6) Lots of sunshine - DW has SAD
7) Affordable. Doesn't need to be in a LCOL area, but we should be able to afford to live there, especially housing
8) Wanted to be relatively close to a coast
9) Close to extended family and friends
De gustibus non disputandum est
bloom2708
Posts: 9855
Joined: Wed Apr 02, 2014 2:08 pm

Re: Input wanted on where to live

Post by bloom2708 »

Rent or Buy a place on a lake in West Central Minnesota for May through September.

Rent or Buy a place in Anthem, AZ on the NW corner of Phoenix for October thru April.

There are no bad ideas, just some don't get implemented. :o
Last edited by bloom2708 on Wed Jul 06, 2016 11:22 am, edited 2 times in total.
arsenalfan
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Joined: Sun Dec 08, 2013 11:26 pm

Re: Input wanted on where to live

Post by arsenalfan »

Could you sell your home, stash the cash, and try long-term AirBnB/VRBO rentals?
Try out all the suggestions that pique your interest: 6 months in Maine, 6 months in San Diego, 6 months in Seattle, 6 months in Florida, 6 months in Minnesota, etc etc
Until you find a place(s) you jive with? Then throw down and buy if you want to.
This also provides flexibility as life evolves (medical needs, family dynamics change, etc).
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HueyLD
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Joined: Mon Jan 14, 2008 9:30 am

Re: Input wanted on where to live

Post by HueyLD »

San Diego area appears to fit your desired criteria except for one major criterion: Cost of Living
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jabberwockOG
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Joined: Thu May 28, 2015 7:23 am

Re: Input wanted on where to live

Post by jabberwockOG »

I think San Diego would be ideal but cost of living was too high for us and way too many people and cars in southern calf.

We just went thru this exercise. It is a challenge and no place is perfect.

Places within our budget we considered and visited -

Ashville NC
Prescott AZ
Athens GA
Albuquerque NM
Flagstaff AZ
Santa Fe NM


We ended up choosing a small town near the Gulf coast - we love it but way too humid based on your requirements.
Last edited by jabberwockOG on Wed Jul 06, 2016 3:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Watty
Posts: 28813
Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2007 3:55 pm

Re: Input wanted on where to live

Post by Watty »

Someone else mentioned Athens Georgia and I would agree that it meets most of your criteria. I have not lived there but I live in Atlanta so I am familiar with Athens. The summers would still be hot and humid but not nearly as bad as many places at lower elevations along the coast.

You would need to drive to Atlanta or Charlotte to get to a major airport but when you want to travel you could price flights out of both airports.

Georgia changed their income tax laws several times so you need to be sure you are looking at the current laws when you look it up on the internet. Georgia does not tax Social Security or up to $65K($130K for acouple) in retirement income so most retirees here will not pay any state income tax once they are over 65.
ge1
Posts: 816
Joined: Sat Apr 28, 2012 8:15 pm

Re: Input wanted on where to live

Post by ge1 »

4nursebee wrote:I have begun reading some other forum posts on similar topics, but if you know of good discussions by all means post them here.

Background: married couple approaching retirement. In general we agree that choice of careers, where to live, how to live, all these choices have been made based upon what limited info was directly in front of us. While happy with where we live, the high humidity of these few summer months has us considering relocation. We have drawn up some lists of things we like, dislike, find desirable. Willing to consider many factors, some we imagine we do not know about. Family: hers are 10 hour drive away, his are mostly nearby but only get together 1-2 times a year for a meal.

Things we like where we are at: mild winter, space to do as we wish on many acres, 1.5-3 hours away from great beaches, rural road bicycling, 2 colleges for education, good solar, library, established trees. None of this is set in stone.

Cons: Humid summers, seems to be violent/drug related though we made me jaded working trauma, poor organized bike lanes/paths, poor wind for electricity generation, slow internet (10mb/s down here @ max), noisy neighbors (railroad and paving), poor soil, hurricane risks.

THings we picture doing in retirement: bike, dance lessons, classes, travel, better flower and vegetable beds. THings we would find desirable would include lower humidity, near a large town for specialty shopping (1.5-2 hours at present is acceptable), near good grocers (dont want to avoid civilization), international restaurants, reasonable COL, good growing seasons. We also enjoy hosting on Airbnb but dont live in a popular area. Practically speaking we not likely become expats.

So our questions for any readers
what have you found of value with regards to where you live in retirement? Do you live there by choice or did you take the place right in front of you?
Where might be a good place that could fit our bill?
What is nice about where you live or lived?
What else should we consider?
I think the Raleigh / Durham / Chapel Hill area in NC meet many of your criteria
curmudgeon
Posts: 2630
Joined: Thu Jun 20, 2013 11:00 pm

Re: Input wanted on where to live

Post by curmudgeon »

The city-data forums are a potential source of deeper info on various places you might consider. But be aware that a lot of folks find it challenging to relocate in retirement without something that gives them specific ties to the area. A specific retirement community will have lots of other folks looking to build ties, but a small town may be accepting on the surface but not easy to fit deeply into.

I suspect it's a popular topic in the self-help section of the retirement book industry, but I think the differences in your own lifestyle and preferences are far more important than what you can find from others.
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