How did you choose a location to retire?
How did you choose a location to retire?
Please share how you decided the location for retirement. For the first few years, I am interested in travelling and worry buying a house will make this hard.
Last edited by Flyer24 on Sat Jan 09, 2021 9:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: title spelling
Reason: title spelling
Re: How did you chose a location to retire?
We were happy with the general area we were living in prior to retirement. So, while we stayed in the area, we moved from a 3-level colonial to a one-floor house which would be easier to live with as we aged. We have been in the "new house" 15 years and could not be happier with our location.
Re: How did you chose a location to retire?
This is obviously very much a personal thing but my wife and I chose Austin Texas. She hates the cold (<40 F) and humidity so that ruled out pretty much everywhere except central/western TX, southern AZ, central/southern CA, and HI. We both love good restaurants and want easy access to top medical facilities and personnel so that steered us towards a large city. I love kayaking and boating so that kind of ruled out southern AZ. The COL in CA and HI ruled them out so here we are and we are happy with our choice. Obviously if heat bothers you more than cold Austin wouldn't be a good choice.
Adapt or perish
Re: How did you chose a location to retire?
We lived there part-time.
We purchased a second home in a beach town for weekends and vacations. We liked it, so when we retired we moved there full time.
So don't buy a house until you decide to settle down. Rent some place cheap until then.For the first few years, I am interested in travelling and worry buying a house will make this hard.
This isn't just my wallet. It's an organizer, a memory and an old friend.
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Re: How did you chose a location to retire?
We moved to our retirement location about 18-years before retirement
That way, someone else paid for it!
That way, someone else paid for it!
Re: How did you chose a location to retire?
We did the same.
Sold the large-ish colonial in county seat and moved 8 miles away to a ranch in suburban lake community.
Less upkeep, no mortgage, still near adult children. Gained a terrific bunch of new friends in the community club.
Sold the large-ish colonial in county seat and moved 8 miles away to a ranch in suburban lake community.
Less upkeep, no mortgage, still near adult children. Gained a terrific bunch of new friends in the community club.
Re: How did you chose a location to retire?
things we did right
chose an area we were very familiar with (spend many years visiting; close to place we both spent time growing up
rented a house for a year before buying
things we could have done better
didn't research health care (quality and availability) - a small town/rural area
underestimated how much we would miss urban lifestyle
chose an area we were very familiar with (spend many years visiting; close to place we both spent time growing up
rented a house for a year before buying
things we could have done better
didn't research health care (quality and availability) - a small town/rural area
underestimated how much we would miss urban lifestyle
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Re: How did you chose a location to retire?
We moved back to our home state of Florida to be closer to our relatives.
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Re: How did you chose a location to retire?
Unlike so many other retirees, we didn't have to move to Florida, we were already here.
Nearly 50 years ago DW and I left our small town on Florida's east coast and moved to Tampa to seek higher education and better employment options.
Very few of my large number of cousins have remained in the small town where we grew up, just so few opportunities to thrive.
The nice thing about the region where we live is good paying jobs are available if one offers the right credentials to the company seeking to find qualified employees.
Our DDs have thrived after completing their college years, they haven't suffered a single day of unemployment since they entered the work force.
Hopefully the grandchildren will face the same positive outlook when they emerge from whatever they might be study in college and are ready to seek employment. Or, if one decides they prefer the trades, the customer base here is huge.
Broken Man 1999
Nearly 50 years ago DW and I left our small town on Florida's east coast and moved to Tampa to seek higher education and better employment options.
Very few of my large number of cousins have remained in the small town where we grew up, just so few opportunities to thrive.
The nice thing about the region where we live is good paying jobs are available if one offers the right credentials to the company seeking to find qualified employees.
Our DDs have thrived after completing their college years, they haven't suffered a single day of unemployment since they entered the work force.
Hopefully the grandchildren will face the same positive outlook when they emerge from whatever they might be study in college and are ready to seek employment. Or, if one decides they prefer the trades, the customer base here is huge.
Broken Man 1999
“If I cannot drink Bourbon and smoke cigars in Heaven then I shall not go." - Mark Twain
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Re: How did you chose a location to retire?
close to relatives, hospital, good weather, plenty fun activities.
Re: How did you chose a location to retire?
My sister in law and her husband are now on their third move.
First time they were 6 hours from daughter.
Second time they were 3 hours from daughter.
Third time they are 20 minutes from daughter.
First time they were 6 hours from daughter.
Second time they were 3 hours from daughter.
Third time they are 20 minutes from daughter.
Re: How did you chose a location to retire?
Actually I watched a TV movie about a little town in coastal North Carolina that looked really neat. I researched the area online then visited it several times. My wife and I now own a building lot in a gated community near where the movie was filmed and will build and move there when she retires in 2 years.
Re: How did you chose a location to retire?
I moved to Oregon in my 40s and have opted to stay here in my now paid-off home. Relatively temperate weather. Hour and a half to the ocean. Hour and a half to the top of a mountain. Mass transit to an international airport. And as I told people when I was planning to move here from Boston, I always wanted to live in a state that starts with a vowel.
Re: How did you chose a location to retire?
This thread is now in the Personal Consumer Issues forum (where to live).
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Re: How did you chose a location to retire?
I want to live in the state that's the first in the drop down list of states when you enter your address on websites.GerryL wrote: ↑Sat Jan 09, 2021 6:37 pm I moved to Oregon in my 40s and have opted to stay here in my now paid-off home. Relatively temperate weather. Hour and a half to the ocean. Hour and a half to the top of a mountain. Mass transit to an international airport. And as I told people when I was planning to move here from Boston, I always wanted to live in a state that starts with a vowel.
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Re: How did you chose a location to retire?
My plan for retirement is to live in AirBnB for first 3-4 years. Check digital nomad videos on youtube. People are paying $1k per month (includes all utilities) in eastern europe or other places. The only extra they pay is for food and cell phone. It's a great way to get to know a city and then you move on to a different city or different country.
My plan is to do this for the first 3-4 years in my retirement. I will rent my house in the US in case I want to come back after those 3-4 years.
Re: How did you chose a location to retire?
Don't mean to hijack the thread, but I just wanted to add a note. Shortly after I moved here to OR 30 years ago, I began volunteering at the Oregon Zoo. Just after I posted my comment (above), I got word that Inji, the orangutan whose image I use with my BH id, has died. At an estimated age of 61, she was believed to be the oldest orangutan in the world.GerryL wrote: ↑Sat Jan 09, 2021 6:37 pm I moved to Oregon in my 40s and have opted to stay here in my now paid-off home. Relatively temperate weather. Hour and a half to the ocean. Hour and a half to the top of a mountain. Mass transit to an international airport. And as I told people when I was planning to move here from Boston, I always wanted to live in a state that starts with a vowel.
I hadn't seen her in 2 years because she was off exhibit for construction and then Covid. I thought I might never get to see her again, but as her return drew closer, I started to anticipate a reunion. When I had been away for two months, she came rushing over when she saw me, so I was wondering how our reunion might go.
I should have added above that the decision to stay in my location at retirement was also about personal relationships established over the years, including relationships with several great apes.
Re: How did you chose a location to retire?
Are you concerned that owning a home will make traveling hard because of costs or because of the potential problems with having an empty home sometimes or for some other reason?
One thing that humbles me deeply is to see that human genius has its limits while human stupidity does not. - Alexandre Dumas, fils
Re: How did you chose a location to retire?
+1Golf maniac wrote: ↑Sat Jan 09, 2021 5:32 pm We moved back to our home state of Florida to be closer to our relatives.
Great to be back!
Re: How did you chose a location to retire?
What do you have against consonants?GerryL wrote: ↑Sat Jan 09, 2021 6:37 pm I moved to Oregon in my 40s and have opted to stay here in my now paid-off home. Relatively temperate weather. Hour and a half to the ocean. Hour and a half to the top of a mountain. Mass transit to an international airport. And as I told people when I was planning to move here from Boston, I always wanted to live in a state that starts with a vowel.
"The day you die is just like any other, only shorter." |
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Re: How did you choose a location to retire?
1. cooler weather with actual 4 seasons
2. low humidity
3. housing affordability and low maintenance.
4. somewhat urban/suburban. We had lived rurally, which was novel to start with, before long the lack of services were a drag.
5. we are nomads without much family around. However, our 3 kids may establish families where we are currently.
6. Australian but prefer to move sometime and retire in US in LCOL area (within reason). But don't know where to start
2. low humidity
3. housing affordability and low maintenance.
4. somewhat urban/suburban. We had lived rurally, which was novel to start with, before long the lack of services were a drag.
5. we are nomads without much family around. However, our 3 kids may establish families where we are currently.
6. Australian but prefer to move sometime and retire in US in LCOL area (within reason). But don't know where to start
Re: How did you choose a location to retire?
We've moved to Phoenix this year for one main reason.
We were tired of winter.
We left most of our family behind, and that may prove to be a bad choice.
We do have one set of friends and one sister/brother-in-law in the area, so we do have some people.
But we hated winter; we're done with winter.
AZ is pretty cheap; we can retire here easily. We looked at Florida - too humid, too many bugs. CA - too expensive.
Picked a 55+ retirement community. Fairly new. Everyone here is a transplant; we should be able to make some new friends, especially when COVID is over.
We were tired of winter.
We left most of our family behind, and that may prove to be a bad choice.
We do have one set of friends and one sister/brother-in-law in the area, so we do have some people.
But we hated winter; we're done with winter.
AZ is pretty cheap; we can retire here easily. We looked at Florida - too humid, too many bugs. CA - too expensive.
Picked a 55+ retirement community. Fairly new. Everyone here is a transplant; we should be able to make some new friends, especially when COVID is over.
"The best tools available to us are shovels, not scalpels. Don't get carried away." - vanBogle59
Re: How did you chose a location to retire?
You could move to Afghanistan and make things even easier!manatee2005 wrote: ↑Sat Jan 09, 2021 7:28 pmI want to live in the state that's the first in the drop down list of states when you enter your address on websites.GerryL wrote: ↑Sat Jan 09, 2021 6:37 pm I moved to Oregon in my 40s and have opted to stay here in my now paid-off home. Relatively temperate weather. Hour and a half to the ocean. Hour and a half to the top of a mountain. Mass transit to an international airport. And as I told people when I was planning to move here from Boston, I always wanted to live in a state that starts with a vowel.
"The best tools available to us are shovels, not scalpels. Don't get carried away." - vanBogle59
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Re: How did you choose a location to retire?
We worked all our lives in various big cities in the US. In retirement our primary goal was to never live in a big city again, we wanted to live in a small town, but one that still had plenty of life, a thriving downtown, and lots of cultural and recreational activities. Also it had to be located in a climate with little to no ice and snow. Not easy to find (and I will not name mine so please don't ask). Finding the right place means visiting and exploring all the possibilities. Also realizing in the end that every place will be some sort of compromise with various pros and cons. Very unlikely that any location is going to be a perfect match.
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Re: How did you choose a location to retire?
We have not retired yet, but we have picked our retirement spot with about 90% certainty. DH and I grew up in a mid-sized city in the midwest. After college, we moved to where we are now. At the time, our current location had a similar cost of living. We have lucked out that our current location has grown much faster than where we are from, so we have higher income and a large chunk of home equity. If we move back at retirement, almost all of our family on both sides, as well as many of our friends will be within a 50-mile radius. The difference in cost of living is enough that our home equity will buy us a similarly sized home in cash, and DH's pension is about the median income for that area, our SS and 401k/IRA money are just icing on the cake.
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Re: How did you choose a location to retire?
.....
Last edited by AerialWombat on Thu Apr 01, 2021 11:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
This post is a work of fiction. Any similarity to real financial advice is purely coincidental.
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Re: How did you choose a location to retire?
I would like to move to Spain or near medterranean coast. The reason, good sunny weather (not steaming hot), low living cost, good food and affordable healthcare.
Re: How did you choose a location to retire?
I'm guessing you ended up in coastal Oregon or Washington? I'm unaware of anywhere else in the US that meets these requirements but would love to know if there are others! I'm on board with all of those specifications except I wouldn't mind some snow.AerialWombat wrote: ↑Sat Jan 09, 2021 11:32 pm Weather was my #1 consideration. I wanted a place where the temperature stayed below 60 most of the year, and rarely, if ever, exceeded 80 on the hottest summer day. I wanted occasional sunshine, but mostly rain, and never snow.
Secondary considerations were MCOL or less, where median priced homes come with a little bit of land, and within 2 hours of a major airport.
Legality of certain substances was also important.
Re: How did you choose a location to retire?
we live in NJ and I am going to inherit a house on cape cod, so likely to "retire" and spend time in both houses, largely convenience of already having housing in those states, and family is mostly in NJ
Re: How did you choose a location to retire?
I travel for work a great deal, so I've experienced most of the country. I lived near Seattle, but closer to the mountains, so we received much more rain. I moved to escape the rain.
I moved to a very remote area several miles down a dirt road on the water a short ways from Spokane WA. Housing was half the cost, no income tax, low property tax and very little RAIN and a lot of sun.
I drove around many states looking at communities, there were many good candidates. But it really comes down to the exact property you buy.
While I will start my retirement here, there's no guarantee I'll stay, if I decide to move at some time in the future it's in the plan.
If you plan to travel a great deal to start with, rent a condo or apartment so you can lock the door and walk away for extended periods of time. You may find you like one of the locations you visit enough to live there for a while.
I moved to a very remote area several miles down a dirt road on the water a short ways from Spokane WA. Housing was half the cost, no income tax, low property tax and very little RAIN and a lot of sun.
I drove around many states looking at communities, there were many good candidates. But it really comes down to the exact property you buy.
While I will start my retirement here, there's no guarantee I'll stay, if I decide to move at some time in the future it's in the plan.
If you plan to travel a great deal to start with, rent a condo or apartment so you can lock the door and walk away for extended periods of time. You may find you like one of the locations you visit enough to live there for a while.
Re: How did you chose a location to retire?
GerryL wrote: ↑Sat Jan 09, 2021 8:48 pm
Don't mean to hijack the thread, but I just wanted to add a note. Shortly after I moved here to OR 30 years ago, I began volunteering at the Oregon Zoo. Just after I posted my comment (above), I got word that Inji, the orangutan whose image I use with my BH id, has died. At an estimated age of 61, she was believed to be the oldest orangutan in the world.
I hadn't seen her in 2 years because she was off exhibit for construction and then Covid. I thought I might never get to see her again, but as her return drew closer, I started to anticipate a reunion. When I had been away for two months, she came rushing over when she saw me, so I was wondering how our reunion might go.
I should have added above that the decision to stay in my location at retirement was also about personal relationships established over the years, including relationships with several great apes.
Condolences re: Inji from me and my wife (proud Oregon Zoo members and supporters).
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Re: How did you choose a location to retire?
Make sure you move out off WA during your final years. WA has low estate tax bracket at 2 mil.ondarvr wrote: ↑Sat Jan 09, 2021 11:45 pm I travel for work a great deal, so I've experienced most of the country. I lived near Seattle, but closer to the mountains, so we received much more rain. I moved to escape the rain.
I moved to a very remote area several miles down a dirt road on the water a short ways from Spokane WA. Housing was half the cost, no income tax, low property tax and very little RAIN and a lot of sun.
I drove around many states looking at communities, there were many good candidates. But it really comes down to the exact property you buy.
While I will start my retirement here, there's no guarantee I'll stay, if I decide to move at some time in the future it's in the plan.
If you plan to travel a great deal to start with, rent a condo or apartment so you can lock the door and walk away for extended periods of time. You may find you like one of the locations you visit enough to live there for a while.
Re: How did you choose a location to retire?
If there's that much left over I didn't live retirement correctly.WhiteMaxima wrote: ↑Sat Jan 09, 2021 11:50 pmMake sure you move out off WA during your final years. WA has low estate tax bracket at 2 mil.ondarvr wrote: ↑Sat Jan 09, 2021 11:45 pm I travel for work a great deal, so I've experienced most of the country. I lived near Seattle, but closer to the mountains, so we received much more rain. I moved to escape the rain.
I moved to a very remote area several miles down a dirt road on the water a short ways from Spokane WA. Housing was half the cost, no income tax, low property tax and very little RAIN and a lot of sun.
I drove around many states looking at communities, there were many good candidates. But it really comes down to the exact property you buy.
While I will start my retirement here, there's no guarantee I'll stay, if I decide to move at some time in the future it's in the plan.
If you plan to travel a great deal to start with, rent a condo or apartment so you can lock the door and walk away for extended periods of time. You may find you like one of the locations you visit enough to live there for a while.
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Re: How did you choose a location to retire?
We're still undecided. Retired several years ago after 30+ years in silicon valley. We've got ties to the area, but not super strong. There's a fair trickle of friends from our generation who tap the equity in their house here and retire somewhere lower cost, but also plenty who stay. The weather is good here, and the traffic is not nearly so bothersome if you don't have to commute. Good airport options for when we can travel again. Grandkids would be the biggest draw to move; while they are just a 2 hour flight away, there's still the added hassle on each end of the flight. There's a temptation to get away from California taxes, but that's really just a nudge factor, not a driver.
Re: How did you choose a location to retire?
We wanted to retire to a more rural, less congested location but still within driving distance (full day) of the SF Bay Area. About 3 years before retirement we bought an RV and spent many weekends visiting various locations. By that point we had a lot of vacation due to job seniority and could take a day or two to make almost every summer weekend 3 days long.
After a year or so of this we started looking at properties in the areas which were stronger candidates. Meanwhile prices had increased and availability had decreased as we approached the top of a real estate cycle. We ended up buying land and building a new house, which I designed myself. Completely handicap accessible so we can stay as long as we want, including a ramp inside the garage.
We were able to fund the new house with a construction loan we mostly paid off after we fully retired and sold our old house. The RV worked out wonderfully. We could go wherever we wanted without ever having to live out of suitcases and we ended up selling it for 70% of the purchase price. And we could take our dogs with us.
After a year or so of this we started looking at properties in the areas which were stronger candidates. Meanwhile prices had increased and availability had decreased as we approached the top of a real estate cycle. We ended up buying land and building a new house, which I designed myself. Completely handicap accessible so we can stay as long as we want, including a ramp inside the garage.
We were able to fund the new house with a construction loan we mostly paid off after we fully retired and sold our old house. The RV worked out wonderfully. We could go wherever we wanted without ever having to live out of suitcases and we ended up selling it for 70% of the purchase price. And we could take our dogs with us.
Answering a question is easy -- asking the right question is the hard part.
Re: How did you choose a location to retire?
We wanted to live on a lake and spent at least a decade looking at different locations in a number of states. When one of our daughters moved with our granddaughters and great granddaughter to a southern state we started looking there. We couldn't believe the low prices for real estate. The equity we had built over 25 years in our previous home in CA allowed us to pay in cash as well as furnishing a much larger house with 100' of lakefront and purchasing all the lake toys we wanted. We've been here a year and a half.
The downside is the weather. Everyone here pays close attention to the weather forecast, for good reason. Storms are almost biblical at times. Our town receives an average of 48 inches of rain in a calendar year. We had 84 inches in 2020. It rarely snows and never stays on the ground for any length of time. It's hot and humid for about 3 months, cold for about 3, and pleasant for the remainder. We had accepted the fact that we would be battling the bugs constantly because we had encountered them while renting here, but that hasn't turned out to be the case in our new home. A quarterly treatment for $85 is very effective, and the rare bug we see is dead (maybe 3 a year). We left perfect weather on the central coast of CA, but since our previous home was tiny, buying a larger one there with the proceeds of the sale was impossible. Buying a lake home in CA requires ownership of a hedge fund.
The upside is that we are now the place where all family and friends want to visit, and all are welcome. COVID ended that temporarily but we expect visits to increase tremendously when this is all over. In the meantime, a glass of wine with my wife at sunset on the dock while feeding the turtles is the fulfillment of a dream.
The downside is the weather. Everyone here pays close attention to the weather forecast, for good reason. Storms are almost biblical at times. Our town receives an average of 48 inches of rain in a calendar year. We had 84 inches in 2020. It rarely snows and never stays on the ground for any length of time. It's hot and humid for about 3 months, cold for about 3, and pleasant for the remainder. We had accepted the fact that we would be battling the bugs constantly because we had encountered them while renting here, but that hasn't turned out to be the case in our new home. A quarterly treatment for $85 is very effective, and the rare bug we see is dead (maybe 3 a year). We left perfect weather on the central coast of CA, but since our previous home was tiny, buying a larger one there with the proceeds of the sale was impossible. Buying a lake home in CA requires ownership of a hedge fund.
The upside is that we are now the place where all family and friends want to visit, and all are welcome. COVID ended that temporarily but we expect visits to increase tremendously when this is all over. In the meantime, a glass of wine with my wife at sunset on the dock while feeding the turtles is the fulfillment of a dream.
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Re: How did you chose a location to retire?
I hear it’s great this time of yearHomerJ wrote: ↑Sat Jan 09, 2021 10:49 pmYou could move to Afghanistan and make things even easier!manatee2005 wrote: ↑Sat Jan 09, 2021 7:28 pmI want to live in the state that's the first in the drop down list of states when you enter your address on websites.GerryL wrote: ↑Sat Jan 09, 2021 6:37 pm I moved to Oregon in my 40s and have opted to stay here in my now paid-off home. Relatively temperate weather. Hour and a half to the ocean. Hour and a half to the top of a mountain. Mass transit to an international airport. And as I told people when I was planning to move here from Boston, I always wanted to live in a state that starts with a vowel.
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Re: How did you choose a location to retire?
Immediately on retirement, my brother's parents in law (first generation Taiwanese immigrants to US) "moved to where the grandchildren are," which I thought was pretty funny. It's worked out really, really well. A couple of years to go, but we will likely do the same.
Re: How did you choose a location to retire?
I have grandiose plans of moving somewhere with wide open space and views of the mountains or a large lake. Living in NJ, the most densely populated state in the country, I don't get to observe too many places with open space. However, my lovely bride keeps telling me I can make all the plans I want, but she will be living near her grandchildren someday.
I don't know what the future holds, but I know who holds my future.
Re: How did you choose a location to retire?
Our number one priority in retirement is to be near our 3 adult children, so we have not moved and have no plans to do so. So far, all 3 still live in the area. I hope this does not change in the future.
When my wife and I were in our 30s/40s, we were the main caregivers for 2 of our 4 parents (the other 2 parents both died suddenly). Our health is still good now, but in the event that our health declines, it is comforting to know that there will be someone local to help care for us.
When my wife and I were in our 30s/40s, we were the main caregivers for 2 of our 4 parents (the other 2 parents both died suddenly). Our health is still good now, but in the event that our health declines, it is comforting to know that there will be someone local to help care for us.
Re: How did you choose a location to retire?
Grew up in PA. Bought a 2nd home in Fl (at the age of 50) for the warm weather. About 5 years ago (retired) I decided to drive down to Asheville for long weekend made a left turn off interstate 81 on to interstate 26 and saw those mountains 25 miles outside of Asheville never went back. (Lived in PA for 60 years). Bought a beautiful place at 4000 feet in NC and bought new place in FL (Sanibel) so for now I am set. Prefer outdoors, less people and good weather so this works for me.
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Re: How did you choose a location to retire?
4 years ago we realized we spent all of our vacation weekends at the same place, summer and winter. My husband had been retired for 2 years and I could work remotely, so we moved to the area. Now that I’m retired, everyday is a vacation!
“Superhuman effort isn't worth a damn unless it achieves results.” ~Ernest Shackleton
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Re: How did you choose a location to retire?
It was between LA, where our son lived, and a resort community in southeastern SC. As much as we love our son, we dislike LA particularly because of the traffic. We were very familiar with the SC location from many past vacations. We’ve been there for six years. It’s not perfect, very few places are, but we are happy.
Re: How did you choose a location to retire?
For a lot of people it is based on family. Others it can be weather or finances (housing/taxes).
I think you should also consider medical facilities. And if you plan to travel, you need to be in vicinity of an airport.
I think you should also consider medical facilities. And if you plan to travel, you need to be in vicinity of an airport.
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If you think something is important and it doesn't involve the health of someone, think again. Life goes too fast, enjoy it and be nice.
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Re: How did you choose a location to retire?
Stayed where we were.
The surest way to know the future is when it becomes the past.
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Re: How did you choose a location to retire?
.....
Last edited by AerialWombat on Thu Apr 01, 2021 11:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
This post is a work of fiction. Any similarity to real financial advice is purely coincidental.
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Re: How did you choose a location to retire?
I guess money was never a concern to buy houses in several places.Wricha wrote: ↑Sun Jan 10, 2021 9:07 am Grew up in PA. Bought a 2nd home in Fl (at the age of 50) for the warm weather. About 5 years ago (retired) I decided to drive down to Asheville for long weekend made a left turn off interstate 81 on to interstate 26 and saw those mountains 25 miles outside of Asheville never went back. (Lived in PA for 60 years). Bought a beautiful place at 4000 feet in NC and bought new place in FL (Sanibel) so for now I am set. Prefer outdoors, less people and good weather so this works for me.
Re: How did you choose a location to retire?
If you will be traveling extensively then you may want to establish tax residency in a state with very favorable tax laws so that you can do things like Roth conversions while you are traveling. Establishing tax residency can be tricker than you might think since some states can be aggressive it trying to get you to pay state taxes if you have any connection to the state. I don't have a link but RV forums and web sites have a lot of info on how to select a state for your residency and the details of how to do this.
It has already been mentioned but pay a lot of attention to settling in an area with good healthcare.
I know someone that built a custom retirement home on the Oregon coast near a small city. The city had primary care doctors and even a very small hospital but then one of them had something like a knee or shoulder problem and they went through a process something like;
1) Drive inland several hours over a mountain range to see a specialist at a larger city.
2) Drive home
3) Drive inland for an MRI
4) Drive home
5) Drive inland for a follow up appointment and to schedule outpatient surgery.
6) Drive home
7) Drive inland to stay in a hotel the night before the surgery.
8) Have outpatient surgery, stay in a hotel overnight
9) Drive home the day after surgery. Spending several hours in a car the day after surgery is not a lot of fun.
10) Drive back for follow up appointment
11) Drive home
There may have also been a few more overnight stays in a hotel when they had an early appointment.
They actually got lucky and they were able to find someone on the coast to do physical therapy with. They also got lucky that it was not in the winter time when the drive over the coast range would have be difficult if the weather was bad.
They were only in their 60s but they saw that the lack of anything beyond basic medical care would be a problem when they go older so they sold their house and moved somewhere else.
I moved for a job and we planned to move when I retired but by the time I retired my son was married and we had grandkids that live 10 minutes from us so with the family ties we are staying here. It is working out well but it is not what we would have planned.
It may also work out better when we are elderly. None of my siblings or I stayed in the city where my parents lived and they did not have any other relatives in that city. That made things more difficult as they aged.
A few more random points;
1) Consider what public transportation is available. The typical suburban home can be very isolating when you are older and might need to give up driving. You may also end up driving long after you should have given it up.
2) Rent for a year in the new location to make sure that it is really working out OK for you. They were younger but I know a couple had a that packed up and found jobs and moved to Hawaii since they thought it would be a dream destination to live in. It turned out that one of them had terrible allergies to something there that they had not noticed when they took vacations there. After working with doctors for a year they gave up and moved back. People can have problems with allergies even in places like Arizona where you might not expect to have problems.
3) College towns have a lot going for them since there is a lot going on for a town that size. Many of them are also pretty affordable once you get away from the college campus.
Re: How did you chose a location to retire?
Wow! That is such an amazing experience you have had and an excellent reason to stay put in OR. Thank you for sharing!GerryL wrote: ↑Sat Jan 09, 2021 8:48 pmDon't mean to hijack the thread, but I just wanted to add a note. Shortly after I moved here to OR 30 years ago, I began volunteering at the Oregon Zoo. Just after I posted my comment (above), I got word that Inji, the orangutan whose image I use with my BH id, has died. At an estimated age of 61, she was believed to be the oldest orangutan in the world.GerryL wrote: ↑Sat Jan 09, 2021 6:37 pm I moved to Oregon in my 40s and have opted to stay here in my now paid-off home. Relatively temperate weather. Hour and a half to the ocean. Hour and a half to the top of a mountain. Mass transit to an international airport. And as I told people when I was planning to move here from Boston, I always wanted to live in a state that starts with a vowel.
I hadn't seen her in 2 years because she was off exhibit for construction and then Covid. I thought I might never get to see her again, but as her return drew closer, I started to anticipate a reunion. When I had been away for two months, she came rushing over when she saw me, so I was wondering how our reunion might go.
I should have added above that the decision to stay in my location at retirement was also about personal relationships established over the years, including relationships with several great apes.
Taking care of tomorrow while enjoying today.
Re: How did you choose a location to retire?
How are you adjusting to the dry climate? I ask because we live in CO and an ER doctor mentioned that the only other place he's been where the air was drier was in Phoenix, AZ.HomerJ wrote: ↑Sat Jan 09, 2021 10:45 pm We've moved to Phoenix this year for one main reason.
We were tired of winter.
We left most of our family behind, and that may prove to be a bad choice.
We do have one set of friends and one sister/brother-in-law in the area, so we do have some people.
But we hated winter; we're done with winter.
AZ is pretty cheap; we can retire here easily. We looked at Florida - too humid, too many bugs. CA - too expensive.
Picked a 55+ retirement community. Fairly new. Everyone here is a transplant; we should be able to make some new friends, especially when COVID is over.
Taking care of tomorrow while enjoying today.