Best Places to Retire Young

[ESRBob]

You've gotta see this link -- talk about unfortunate journalistic timing...

http://finance.yahoo.com/retirement/article/102845/best-places-to-retire-young&.pf=retirement

It lists places like Coeur d'Alene, ID etc that should be interesting for young retirees for all the right reasons. But then see option #4: Blacksburg, VA, home of Virginia Tech -- where "the population has exploded in recent years"

Other than that it's a decent article with places you might not have thought about.

 

[SteveR]

Seems like a lot of these places are in the snow belt...ID, UT, NH, VT, IA, and KS. The ID and UT cities are nice in the summer but very cold and snowy in winter as are the other states noted above. VA has it's own set of "issues" as does FL but so does everywhere I suppose. We are still looking for our retirement spot. Our main criteria will be NO SNOW and low humidity...that eliminates all the cities in this report. 8)

I guess being migrants in our RV and staying ahead of winter and blistering summers will be our only choice for a while.

 

[crazy connie]

I was amazed by the article. I also caught the V Tech part. What amazes me is the hawking on some of the places. I agree that Coeur d'Alene is a magnificent place. I just get a bit spooked that they have been touting it as a great retiree spot for at least the last 10 years. Folks have been retiring to Sarasota since I was a little girl in Michigan. Quite a few of the other locales were winter shovel zones big time.

My goal is a mid-sized town of 20,000 to 60,000 people in a moderate climate within 2 hours of a nice city with a decent airport which has a college and a populace including children and a median age less than a retirement home! I would prefer moderately low humidity, low crime rate and a large % of residents be college educated. Maple trees on the court house lawn would be nice too. A modest snowfall on a semiannual basis is ok. Reasonable state and property tax base is important as well.

I am ruling out all of the mega-cities due to crime and pollution. If I can afford (which I should be able to do) and find my ideal place I will have some goats/sheep to mow the grass, a couple of beef (do not want to eat cloned), some fruit trees and a nice size pea patch garden. Hope to plant enough to share with the deer too! These things each reduce my expenses and improve my health while reducing my waste to the world.

Ah well, we each get to pick our own paradise!

 

[ESRBob]

Connie,
What about the hill country of North Carolina? You could get down to Raleigh Durham in under two hours - airport, college etc. Has this been on your list of possibilities?

 

[justin]

Connie,
What about the hill country of North Carolina? You could get down to Raleigh Durham in two hours - airport, college etc. Has this been on your list of possibilities?

I was going to suggest Chatham, Orange or Alamance Counties in North Carolina. Near Chapel Hill, real estate is cheaper. You'd need to be in the county to have livestock (probably applies to most places). About 1 hr from Raleigh durham, or 2 hrs from Charlotte. Maybe 30 minutes-1hr from piedmont triad. It does get humid during the summer though.

From what I have seen/heard of Charlottesville and Blacksburg (U Va and Va Tech), they might also fit connie's criteria (and be a little cooler and less humid in the summer!).

 

[Milkman]

Connie:

You might also check out Grand Junction, CO. While it is 4 - 5 hours from Denver or SLC, it does have its own regional airport. It has low humidity and a pleasant four season climate. Mesa College is there. It is a fruit and wine growing region. It is a good jumping off point for spectacular outdoor scenery, both mountain and desert. There are three national parks within a reasonalble driving distance (Canyonlands, Mesa Verde, and Black Canyon of the Gunnison).

Milkman

 

[clifp]

Coure D'Alene is a pretty little town based on my limited experience, but personally I can't imagine retiring there. I guess I am too much of a city boy. Of course the thought of spending a winter anywhere in Idaho, is worse than contemplating getting a j*b and going back to w%&k!

 

[W2R]

I have never lived in "snow country" as an adult, but we are tentatively planning on retiring in SW Missouri due to the low housing prices, low cost of living, relatively low crime, and peaceful, beautiful countryside. They do get tornados but no hurricanes, so I can deal with that.

Snow is the main disadvantage to retiring in Missouri, I suppose. To cope with snowy weather I plan to have a huge, well stocked pantry, a room set up as a home gym, and fireplace, and I plan to be within walking distance of grocery stores and such. If I envision retired life correctly there won't be much reason to have to go out, and snow doesn't last all winter there. I will pay someone to do the snow shoveling. Frank and I will probably live within walking distance of one another and during snowy weather we will enjoy the quiet and solitude or walk to visit one another. It should be interesting to see if this works out!

 

[Zoocat]

Frank and I will probably live within walking distance of one another and during snowy weather we will enjoy the quiet and solitude or walk to visit one another. It should be interesting to see if this works out!

Connie,
You and your significant other are planning to live apart in retirement?
What an intelligent choice! but I'm curious how you came to that decision.

 

[haha]

Coure D'Alene is a pretty little town based on my limited experience, but personally I can't imagine retiring there. I guess I am too much of a city boy. Of course the thought of spending a winter anywhere in Idaho, is worse than contemplating getting a j*b and going back to w%&k!

I think a good chunk of the population in Coeur D'Alene is retired LAPD. Mark Fuhrman lives there, and hosts a talk radio show on KGA Spokane.

Remember too that Couer D'Alene is really suburban Spokane, WA, and Spokane is a pretty nice place. Ordinarily not nearly as cold as further east in the Rockies and very nice in the summer.

Politically it is no Aspen.

Ha

 

[CyclingInvestor]

My goal is a mid-sized town of 20,000 to 60,000 people in a moderate climate within 2 hours of a nice city with a decent airport which has a college and a populace including children and a median age less than a retirement home! I would prefer moderately low humidity, low crime rate and a large % of residents be college educated. Maple trees on the court house lawn would be nice too. A modest snowfall on a semiannual basis is ok. Reasonable state and property tax base is important as well.

Corvallis, OR mostly fits this description. 50K people, most of which are professors, their
families, or students at Oregon State. 1.5 hours from Portland Airport. Fairly low
humdity, snow sticks to the ground about once/5 years. Low crime. Only downside
is the taxes - income and property (no sales).

 

[Brat]

Can't speak about the property taxes, pick a place on Zwillow and take a peek.

However, one of those websites that ranked states by total tax burden ranked Oregon lower than Washington (which has a sales tax but no income tax). I did a mock Oregon income tax return to see what ours looked like if we were to move there. It wasn't painful, sales tax on a car purchase would really swing the result.

 

[W2R]

You and your significant other are planning to live apart in retirement?
What an intelligent choice! but I'm curious how you came to that decision.

(grin) I told him early on that that was how it was going to be. Surprisingly, he said that was fine with him. Guess I'm lucky.

The past 10 years (since my divorce from someone else) have been the happiest in my life, and I found that I really enjoy the independence, peace, and solitude of living alone. When we both want to see one another, we do.

It's really not that uncommon of an arrangement in retirement, but I suppose what might be less common is that we are both satisfied with it.

 

[figner]

(grin) I told him early on that that was how it was going to be. Surprisingly, he said that was fine with him. Guess I'm lucky.

The past 10 years (since my divorce from someone else) have been the happiest in my life, and I found that I really enjoy the independence, peace, and solitude of living alone. When we both want to see one another, we do.

It's really not that uncommon of an arrangement in retirement, but I suppose what might be less common is that we are both satisfied with it.

This would be my preferred living arrangement too - ideally we'd have townhouses/houses next door or very nearby. So far it hasn't been practical: either we've lived together to save $$ (and had our own rooms to have private space), or we've lived an hour apart. Someday...

 

[W2R]

This would be my preferred living arrangement too - ideally we'd have townhouses/houses next door or very nearby. So far it hasn't been practical: either we've lived together to save $$ (and had our own rooms to have private space), or we've lived an hour apart. Someday...

I notice from your profile that you live in California. I would guess that this sort of arrangement is less feasible in your state than it is here in the South, due to the disparity in housing prices. However, if you plan to retire to small town middle America, it might be easier to arrange.

It has been very nice for us. So, we see no reason to change a good arrangement.

 

[haha]

I have an aunt and uncle-by-marriage who divorced when their kids were out of home, and lived the rest of their long lives a few doors apart. Did lots of things together, helped one another out when things got tough, but never saw that anything would be improved by going back to being together.

I think a relationship like this would maybe need more commitment in that it wouldn’t run along on autopilot as easily as a conventional one might.

Ha

 

[Orchidflower]

I can see divorcing and living apart...but still seeing each other. This would have been the only way I could have tolerated a life with my ex. He had SO MANY wonderful qualities, but was a total pain in the posterior to actually live with (a clean freak, nag, acted out inappropriately at times, etc. etc. etc.). And I was not the first--nor the last--to say the same thing about him: I love you, but I can't live with you. Pity, really.
Wish I had a nickle for every woman who was married for awhile and got divorced, and says they will NEVER get married again, they love their freedom and solitude.
Makes me wonder if I really want to get into marriage again...or simply get the merchandise from the store, use it a little and return it to the shelf. Maybe a distant relationship is the best?

 

[W2R]

Wish I had a nickle for every woman who was married for awhile and got divorced, and says they will NEVER get married again, they love their freedom and solitude.

Men, too. There are fewer reasons to marry these days than in the past. Women can support themselves and are more independant now, and men don't have to marry to have a sexual life any more. In my opinion one very GOOD reason to marry is if children are in the picture or are planned. Kids need a stable family.

Makes me wonder if I really want to get into marriage again...or simply get the merchandise from the store, use it a little and return it to the shelf. Maybe a distant relationship is the best?

Sounds like you might like to date different men instead of rushing into any sort of commitment right now, and that is perfectly understandable. Don't rush yourself. Eventually you may end up dating someone that you don't want to "return to the shelf", and vice versa. Oh my, I am beginning to sound like Ann Landers, dispensing all this advice! Don't take my advice - - do what seems best to you!

 

[gnorris51]

Living apart in retirement - never thought of that

My husband and I are retired and living together and having a wonderful time - when we wanted to live in a separate residence from our spouses we got a divorce and now we always in the same bed I am intrigued with the concept of separate but together - don't you guys miss each other?

We lived very independent lives, our jobs (State Dept) often took both of us far away from each other for sometimes extended periods of time (i.e. him six months in Iraq me there also but at a different time - trips to other awful places on little notice, etc. and we always missed each other very much.

Now every day is like the first day of summer when you know that you can spend every day playing with you best friend. We have different hobbies - he hunts and I collect stamps and we are sometime apart for these related events - and we go to the gym at different times usually during the day.

So we do have apart time - but two residences would make us lonely for each other.

I'm not in any way thinking the living apart arrangement in retirement has anything wrong with it I just never thought about it - if it makes for a closer and more interesting relationship I say right on - its certainly better than getting on each others nerves or invading each other space - I know some people need more private time than others - so I say hats off to those of you who find happiness in this arrangement and for us who opted to live together in retirement I say - pooled expenses translate into more cruises

 

[W2R]

My husband and I are retired and living together and having a wonderful time - when we wanted to live in a separate residence from our spouses we got a divorce and now we always in the same bed I am intrigued with the concept of separate but together - don't you guys miss each other?

Right now we are still working. I work hard all day and then go to the gym for an hour, have errands to run and laundry to do. And then to bed, up early and repeat. I really don't miss him during the week a bit! At first, we got together for dinner and in the evenings during the week, but we both needed some time alone to unwind and prepare for the next day. We do touch base briefly via e-mail each weekday. On Saturdays and Sundays, if we are both off then he picks me up and we go out to eat, go antiquing, to a movie, go for a drive, or whatever. There is Saturday night, often at his place, and more of the same on Sunday. When I am tired and need some solitude, and to get things done at home, I tell him that I am ready to go home. We spend a lot of time with each other, and it is high quality time that we enjoy.

We lived very independent lives, our jobs (State Dept) often took both of us far away from each other for sometimes extended periods of time (i.e. him six months in Iraq me there also but at a different time - trips to other awful places on little notice, etc. and we always missed each other very much.

I miss him when work takes him far away, too!!! We only live a mile or two from each other right now, and that does not seem to present the same problems.

Now every day is like the first day of summer when you know that you can spend every day playing with you best friend. We have different hobbies - he hunts and I collect stamps and we are sometime apart for these related events - and we go to the gym at different times usually during the day.

I can't get him interested in the gym right now, but we did go at the same time once when I took him as my guest. That was fun! I enjoyed having someone to talk to on the indoor track. But that could get old if one of us was holding the other back, I suppose.

So we do have apart time - but two residences would make us lonely for each other.

I'm not in any way thinking the living apart arrangement in retirement has anything wrong with it I just never thought about it - if it makes for a closer and more interesting relationship I say right on - its certainly better than getting on each others nerves or invading each other space - I know some people need more private time than others - so I say hats off to those of you who find happiness in this arrangement and for us who opted to live together in retirement I say - pooled expenses translate into more cruises

It seems to work for us now, and we are planning to continue this arrangement in retirement. I am thinking that it would be nice to live a little closer, within walking distance, so that I could just walk home when I want some time alone. And I'd sooooo much rather have my solitude and independence than a cruise, since I have no desire to travel at all!

 

[W2R]

Since too much time had passed, the software wouldn't let me edit to add this too....

A significant advantage to living apart is that we have no reason to disagree about money. If he wants to buy something, it is none of my business, and vice versa. It's not like he is spending my money. Our money, bank accounts, credit, retirement investments, and everything else related to money is separate. Neither of us is benefitting financially from our relationship. Taking money out of things eliminates a tremendous amount of squabbling and power plays. It's quite refreshing. We try not to control each other in any way, actually, since we both much prefer just having fun and enjoying one another's company.

 

[kcowan]

Living separate but dating - a near perfect situation for the financially-independent woman! Way to go W2R!

 

[W2R]

Living separate but dating - a near perfect situation for the financially-independent woman! Way to go W2R!

Thanks!! I think it's nearly perfect for me, anyway.

American women in the 21st Century are so privileged - - compared with women in other countries, or even in the U.S. fifty years ago, we are free to such a breathtaking extent. We can make so many of our own choices and get away with it.

 

[HFWR]

Thanks!! I think it's nearly perfect for me, anyway.

American women in the 21st Century are so privileged - - compared with women in other countries, or even in the U.S. fifty years ago, we are free to such a breathtaking extent. We can make so many of our own choices and get away with it.

As it should be!