"Affordable" town in warm climate for single old babe

[Alex]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ed_The_Gypsy Also fantastic taxes?

Maybe. But I think it really depends on your income and the source of your income. Personally, I love California, warts and all. I may leave someday, but then again, I may not.

[Brat]

A couple of my former co-workers in the northwest say they are headed for Grass Valley, AZ after retiring. Don't know why, but the pattern is interesting.

[mh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brat A couple of my former co-workers in the northwest say they are headed for Grass Valley, AZ after retiring. Don't know why, but the pattern is interesting.

Are you sure you don't mean grass valley california ?

[mh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex Maybe. But I think it really depends on your income and the source of your income. Personally, I love California, warts and all. I may leave someday, but then again, I may not.

I'd have to put in a plug for california also. I live on the ventura/LA county
line and it's hard to beat the L.A. area for sheer variety of things to do.
You gotta have a car though, and "plan" what you are going to do.
forget it if you are looking for cheap real estate tho...

[Martha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oldbabe I am really liking the idea of serial snowbird trips! I could do that forever. The only problem is that I wouldn't like to leave my dog for extended periods of time. I'd have to find places to rent within reasonable driving distance that allow dogs.

Or go the motorhome route and take the dog with you.

[Brat]

OOPS, I should have typed Green Valley, AZ. South of Tucson.

[Zoocat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mountaintosea Oldbabe, Try http://petswelcome.com

That looks like a very useful site. Thank you!

[bright eyed]

Quote:

Originally Posted by justin Chapel Hill, NC. Progressive (think Boulder, not quite Berkeley).

Chapel Hill is a nice small town with increased activity due to it's University townishness...however I spent 10 days there in the summer for a conference and it was HUMID! i'm from sunny CA and am used to heat - but not humidity and i ran from air conditioned hotel lobby to conference room! so unless you are used to humidity, then i'd vote for overcast NW!

[justin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bright eyed Chapel Hill is a nice small town with increased activity due to it's University townishness...however I spent 10 days there in the summer for a conference and it was HUMID! i'm from sunny CA and am used to heat - but not humidity and i ran from air conditioned hotel lobby to conference room! so unless you are used to humidity, then i'd vote for overcast NW!

It definitely is hot and humid in the summer. Try before you buy...

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by justin It definitely is hot and humid in the summer. Try before you buy...

Unfortunately, it's hard to do that if you only stay a week or so. Having lived in both Tucson and Tampa, I can vouch for the fact that it takes about 2 weeks of living in such a place during the summer before you adapt to it (this is physiologically as well as psychologically) which needs to include being outside a fair amount.

After that, well, yeah it's hot and/or humid, but that becomes incidental; you live your life and are air conditioned at work and home. I was able to continue gardening, jogging, etc. every day, though sometimes early or late.

But I savor the rewards 9 months a year. A visit or two to my kids up north gives me all the autumn leaves and snow I need.

[laurence]

I would humbly submit that Fallbrook, CA. should be checked out. It's in north San Diego county, has a wonderful climate, lots of open spaces, horse ranches, a little village, and really is the greenest part of San Diego. It's so far north of downtown that people don't rush to move there. But for a retiree, that's not a priority. And Carlsbad Village and Carlsbad/Oceanside Beaches are a not too formidable distance. Farmer's markets etc. abound in Fallbrook. Avocado Farms all over. DW and I are thinking of it as a retirement spot for us. We live about ten miles south of it as the crow flies and houses there run about a third less than our house (San Marcos, CA) with much larger lots. Zoning rules etc. have kept Fallbrook from becoming yet another wasteland of housing tracks. The homes are older, but pretty well built ( not mass tract housing has it's upside). My friends/coworkers bought up there so their kids had space. They have a front yard large enough to have all the cars parked just inside the driveway fence, pepper trees and greenspace in between and plenty of room for what looks like a campsite (fire pit, half log benches, etc.) in front of the house. 1/2-3/4 acre would be my guess. They even have a guest house above the detached garage for their teenage daughter, and all this was about 200k less than my house would cost (a 3 bed 2.5 bath on 7000 sq. feet :P ).

[justin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich_in_Tampa Unfortunately, it's hard to do that if you only stay a week or so. Having lived in both Tucson and Tampa, I can vouch for the fact that it takes about 2 weeks of living in such a place during the summer before you adapt to it (this is physiologically as well as psychologically) which needs to include being outside a fair amount.

Rich,

I've lived with the heat and humidity of the Raleigh, NC area for all of my 26 years. I still haven't adjusted to the heat and humidity. If you go out during the middle of the day, just plan on getting hot and sweaty no matter what. The mornings and evenings aren't too bad usually, but when it's 90+ degrees and 90+% humidity, it's "dang hot". Luckily the heat is only really bad a couple months of the year. The rest are pretty mild.

Back when I was working an outside hard labor job during high school, I'd usually drink 2-3 gallons of water in a typical 12 hr workday, and still go home dehydrated.

[Alex]

Oldbabe, I'd also check out BISBEE AZ. http://www.discoverbisbee.com/index.htm

[mh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex Oldbabe, I'd also check out BISBEE AZ. http://www.discoverbisbee.com/index.htm

There's another town i noticed similar to bisbee called jerome (also in arizona)
if you lean toward the free-spirited/funky it may be for you..
it's in a nice area geographically too between prescott and sedona

[lloyds]

As a native born oregonian who has worked all over the west coast, I wouldn't recommend any area of oregon. Most people who weren't born here can't handle the dreary winters. And, like now, the brutal weather. We have about three good months of dreary and often cold winter. Then wet springs. Summer and fall are beautiful, almost always. Most oregonians this time of year are yearning for retirement so they can go someplace warmer and sunnier. The taxes here are pretty bad as well, and as we are a "blue" state they are getting worse. Years ago we had some really fine governors, democrat and republican, and some really visionary things happened, but those days are over. One hack after another. Although washington is very liberal in the metropolitan areas, and has severe traffic and congestion problems, they are actually more tax friendlier than oregon. And some areas have pretty nice weather, like up in the san juan islands. Eastern washington and eastern oregon can be bitterly cold at times. Try arizona, new mexico, maybe mexico.

[Traveler]

I second the motion to check out Sedona. Liberal town. Beautiful. Many cultural activities and a generally well-educated, retired professional populace. Housing is pricy -- expect to pay at least $450,000 for a decent small house. There are nice condos for less but you're still looking at the $300-$400K range. Still, with the real estate slowdown there may be a bargain or two out there.

Good thing is that the overall cost of living even in Sedona is considerably less (we've found) than in other parts of the country. Property tax and most other utilities are markedly lower than what we paid in California (duh). Car insurance is about 35-40% lower.

It's colder this winter than in the previous two we've spent here. But it's absolutely beautiful because it's usually sunny and dry. And the people are nice and friendly. Not closed to newcomers. Like it much better than Santa Fe which we had checked out before we made the move in early 2005.

[Zoocat]

Thanks to all who posted. I'm now even more confused than before!
The sun came out this week and the temperature rose above freezing. I think I'll stay put for a while. :

[genghis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laurence I would humbly submit that Fallbrook, CA. should be checked out. It's in north San Diego county, has a wonderful climate, lots of open spaces, horse ranches, a little village, and really is the greenest part of San Diego.

Laurence - I checked out Fallbrook on the internet. It looks like a great place (just as you described) - I'd be interested in the drawbacks (being a "glass half empty" kind of guy!)- is it just location? (ie distance from high paying employment areas) - Because, without taking into account any traffic issues, it seems like a pretty good location - close to Carlsbad, San Diego, etc

We'd love to find a place with San Diego type weather but with less people, traffic and lower prices......

[Surfdaddy]

My aunt and uncle have been retired in Fallbrook for more than ten years. It is as you say. It's a really nice place and I would even like that area (currently live in Ventura Co., CA).

Fallbrook may be somewhat protected from growth, but in general all of SD county is sprouting homes like weeds. It's kind of sad.

[laurence]

Drawbacks? You can still push $400k for a regular home there. Schools aren't great because building has been so mish-mosh, but as a retiree, that may not be an issue. It appeals to the off road vehicle monster truck type, so my friends report the occasional window rattling from chopped mufflers cruising down the road. If a neighbor paints their house purple, ain't a dang thing you can do since there is no homeowners*. Not a lot of Home Depots, Wal Marts, Targets, Applebee's, etc. My daughter does horse riding in Fallbrook every week, don't have a great pic, but this is somewhat representative, lots of horses and trees:





*Note: There are some developments going in with cookie cutter homes and all that goes with it, but I don't think you are interested in that, nor want to spend the extra money (usually bigger, pushing $1 million price tag McMansions on big spreads).

Of note, Tom Metzger used to live there. He is of white supremacist fame. Just a loud mouth jerk who grabbed some headlines. He moved out to Idaho or some such a while back.