Looking for ideal small to mid size cities

[haha]

Nycboy, are you sure you are not an agent? I could easily see that type of area being a retirement place down the road for GF and myself. We were discussing this last weekend. She is all for AZ, but will not go for NV at all, even though that is my preference. I know she thinks I would be in a sports book 10 hours a day if we lived in NV. Personally, I would rather sacrifice the 5-6 degrees in winter in Vegas to avoid the extra 5-6 in PHX area. I was there a couple years ago when it hit 115 and I swear my lungs were being BBQ'd by breathing the air and my feet getting burned on grass. But I do know this, when the sun went down, even at 105 it was very enjoyable and no flying bugs either. Or none that bite me anyways.


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Mulligan, go to Nevada. Just tell her you had sports betting before you had her, and if necessary you will have it after she's gone. Every city has women, but only Las Vegas and maybe Cal-Neva in Reno have dime lines.

You actually make money at this. Plus it is an honest skill.

Ha

 

[MJ]

Is anyone familiar with Athens Georgia?

 

[Lancelot]

I like NC of the many place we've lived, but the income tax is pretty stiff. Last place was FL; tax went up but car and home insurance went way down. Not as much as the tax went up.

Virginia might be a good alternative to North Carolina.

 

[Gomer]

MJ
We are in Bangkok, where i just retired from my job with a US company. Almost same situation as you. Gave thought to retiring in Chaing Mai, but now looking at the US. We have looked at Portland (great city, weather a concern), Austin (no real complaints) San Diego (really nice, but very expensive housing)

 

[Lancelot]

^ Have you considered Chiang Rai or Phayao?

 

[SevenUp]

...if it's a cultural thing you're concerned about, I would say don't worry about it. People are people, pretty much everywhere.

Although it was posted specifically for NYC, braumeister has a good point in general. If you were to live in a hamlet with population 50, "red vs. blue" might be an issue. But for a place with population in the tens of thousands or higher, you'll be able to find more than enough good people - regardless of what they do inside the polling station. In other words, don't let the party affiliation of the current governor/mayor/senator/whatever deter you from a place that meets all your other qualifications.

 

[Aus_E_Expat]

MJ
We are in Bangkok, where i just retired from my job with a US company. Almost same situation as you. Gave thought to retiring in Chaing Mai, but now looking at the US.

What made you change your mind from Asia to US?

I live and work in Asia - expect to spend part of my retired time in Asia.

 

[Brat]

MJ
We are in Bangkok, where i just retired from my job with a US company. Almost same situation as you. Gave thought to retiring in Chaing Mai, but now looking at the US. We have looked at Portland (great city, weather a concern), Austin (no real complaints) San Diego (really nice, but very expensive housing)

Do what my parents did... have a home in Portland and one in Hawaii.

 

[Gomer]

What made you change your mind from Asia to US?

I live and work in Asia - expect to spend part of my retired time in Asia.

I came to Thailand 12 years ago and thought I would stay two years. Ended up getting a great job offer from a US company and stayed for 10 more years, getting married to a Thai in the process. Long story short, After 12 years, I think that Thailand is a great place to visit, but in living here, has become very boring to my wife and I. I do not want to sound negative in any way, but I see Bangkok as a place with a lot of people, but not as being a "major city" and having cultural and other opportunities normally associated with a large city. That being said, I lived in Europe before Thailand so have not lived in the US for 20 years. After several trips to the US, we are no closer to identifying a place that fills all of our needs - liberal, good weather, walkable, plenty to do, good food scene.

Our backup plan if the US does not work out will most likely be spending part of the year in Chiang Mai and the other part in Spain. I think that your plan to spend part, but not all of the year in Thailand is a good one. If we go with the backup plan, then I will use Chiang Mai as a base from which to travel in Asia.

 

[Aus_E_Expat]

Gomer, I have had 27 years as an expat. The last 14 in Jakarta.

I expect to spend maybe 1/3 of the year in Indonesia after retiring but probably 2/3 in Australia - the issue I have is I do not know what I will do in that 2/3s in Australia but my wife and children want to be there.

 

[Gomer]

Aus_E
I think that you and I may have some similar concerns. Quite honestly, I like the idea of being an expat and even though we are looking to move to the US (something my wife really wants to do), I am not sure that I want to commit being a full time US resident. Your plan of three months in Indonesia seems like a pretty good option and I would think that as your kids get older and independent, you would be able to spend more time in Indonesia, while they stay in Oz.. Advantage you have over me is that the flight from Oz to Indonesia is much shorter than US to Thailand

 

[Gomer]

MJ
I saw that you did not receive any responses regarding Athens, GA. I have no knowledge of Athens, but I have a friend at the US embassy in Bangkok who is from Decatur, which is a suburb of Atlanta. His wife is Thai and they fit in quite well in Decatur. It is rated the most walkable city in Georgia

 

[rrppve]

Gomer, if these are your criteria - "liberal, good weather, walkable, plenty to do, good food scene" then San Francisco seems to fit the bill. If you loosen the weather criteria, Seattle, Portland and Austin all have something to offer.


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[Gomer]

Gomer, if these are your criteria - "liberal, good weather, walkable, plenty to do, good food scene" then San Francisco seems to fit the bill. If you loosen the weather criteria, Seattle, Portland and Austin all have something to offer.


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I actually lived in the Bay Area - SF and Marin - until being transferred overseas. I totally agree about San Francisco. It was and always will be my favorite city in the US. Nor Cal has so much to do and so much of it is free. The only downside is that prices in the city are now insane and I think that I would have some difficulty affording what I would need or like to have.

Also agree regarding Seattle, Portland and Austin. We are going to take another look at San Diego to see what is available and will also be taking another look at Portland. From my prior experience with both Seattle and Portland, they both fill the bill, but I think that housing in Portland is cheaper. I was in Seattle last Feb., and was told repeatedly that the continued expansion at Amazon has really shrunk the housing market.