What Makes Your Retirement Place the Best?

[JDARNELL]

After reading a post from REWahoo talking about the trials and tribulations of living in "that whole other country" Texas (BTW I am a Tx resident), I got to thinking about why people live where they live after retirement. I mean what makes your place the best in your eyes?

We live in Colorado and for us it feels right. It didn't happen overnight and we sometimes get the desire to move back to the south, but we cure this by spending a few days once a year in Hotlanta. In Colorado just as the winter is getting long us we have the best 60 days of summer. OK maybe 65 days. The Garden grows (if you protect it from the hail with netting), golfers try not to hit my yard, the kids play for hrs in the sandbox or ride their bikes and the evenings are spent BBQing with friends and watching the sun set over the mtns. For us I can't think of anywhere we want to be.

Tomcat98

 

[Jake46]

Moved from the Houston area to Fort Collins two months ago. I love the dry climate and clean air. Cool mornings allow us to limit the use of A/C to afternoon and early evening. People are friendly. Of course, I haven't experienced winter yet . . .
Jake46

 

[REWahoo]

Moved from the Houston area to Fort Collins two months ago. I love the dry climate and clean air. Cool mornings allow us to limit the use of A/C to afternoon and early evening. People are friendly....
Jake46

See. Jake couldn't wait to get out once he FIRED...

(BTW I am a Tx resident)...,

We live in Colorado and for us it feels right....

Tomcat98

It would appear that even those wise enough to get the heck out suffer from long term effects of having lived in TX. Residency confusion is just one example.

 

[HFWR]

See. Jake couldn't wait to get out once he FIRED...




It would appear that even those wise enough to get the heck out suffer from long term effects of having lived in TX. Residency confusion is just one example.

That's what we call "Far North Dallas"...

 

[Nords]

... and for us it feels right.

Same here. The Navy gave us many opportunities to live all over the world, but when we landed at Honolulu Airport we couldn't believe what a good deal we'd lucked into.

Four years later we were packed off to San Diego and we figured that we'd get over the islands, but every time we traveled back to Hawaii and saw the Ko'olau out the plane window it felt a lot more like home than anything around SoCal. Next time the assigment officer gave spouse yet another unrefusable offer, she left active duty and we moved into our dream house.

Our kid was seven years old before we could get her to understand that being born in Hawaii no longer makes you Hawaiian-- simply kama`aina. So now she claims that she's Hawaiian on the inside.

Our favorites are the island's mix of cultures... and the surfing.

 

[JDARNELL]

See. Jake couldn't wait to get out once he FIRED...

I guess this proves your point and he moved to the promised land.

It would appear that even those wise enough to get the heck out suffer from long term effects of having lived in TX. Residency confusion is just one example.

Negative Ghost Rider no confusion on my part. I love being a Tx resident and have been since I entered active duty years ago. No income tax of course they do hit you pretty good on vehicles.

Tomcat98

 

[Khan]

I'm here because this is where I ended up and at the present time there is no compelling reason to be anywhere else.

(Greater Dayton OH)

 

[haha]

Negative Ghost Rider no confusion on my part. I love being a Tx resident and have been since I entered active duty years ago. No income tax of course they do hit you pretty good on vehicles.

Tomcat98

Won't this last only as long as Colorado hasn't figured out that you live there?

Isn't residency more an objective fact and less a state of mind?

Ha

 

[Fireup2020]

Won't this last only as long as Colorado hasn't figured out that you live there?

Isn't residency more an objective fact and less a state of mind?

Ha

Not as far as the military is concerned. All that matters is what state is listed on your DD Form 2058 (this is what DFAS uses to calculate whether & at what rate your state tax is withheld from your mil pay) Location means nothing, since the military "owns" you and the state you temporarily reside does not.

I love NJ - the cultural diversity is phenomenal!

 

[SteveR]

I have lived in a fair number of areas and visited many many more over the past 35 years.

My most recent move back to Utah was for many reasons not the least of which was we enjoyed the climate and the beauty of the area. Utah is truly a unique state. If you can learn to put aside all the theocracy BS it is not a bad place to live. However, DW does not tolerate the cold well any more and shoveling snow all winter is not my idea of a good time either.

We are looking at downsizing into a condo or detached dwelling where someone else does the yard work. I lived many years in the South and in Puerto Rico so humidity is no stranger to me. I don't deal with it like I used to so the 15%RH days of summer with the day time temps in the mid to upper 90s and the lows at night close to 70 degrees is not bad. Even the winters are not all that cold...just a lot of snow (mostly because of our location high up on the bench and near the mountains).

So....we start our evaluation of where do we want to live now? At first we will just Snowbird in AZ or some other similar area while we scout out the area for likely places to live. Being stuck in a 55+ community with mostly age 80+ residents would not be our cut of tea. We are not keen on condos due to noise and lack of any yard (the dogs enjoy running loose in a yard).

On the other hand, we might just downsize here and do the condo thing for a while and RV around the country until we find our perfect spot. By then the grandkids would be grown up enough to not care to see us much any more and the kids may have relocated somewhere else by then.

So we continue to downsize the McMansion with the goal of selling the beast in a year or so and then find a condo to stay in while we are in between trips or back home to visit the kids.

 

[Nords]

My most recent move back to Utah was for many reasons not the least of which was we enjoyed the climate and the beauty of the area. Utah is truly a unique state. If you can learn to put aside all the theocracy BS it is not a bad place to live. However, DW does not tolerate the cold well any more and shoveling snow all winter is not my idea of a good time either.
We are looking at downsizing into a condo or detached dwelling where someone else does the yard work. I lived many years in the South and in Puerto Rico so humidity is no stranger to me. I don't deal with it like I used to so the 15%RH days of summer with the day time temps in the mid to upper 90s and the lows at night close to 70 degrees is not bad. Even the winters are not all that cold...just a lot of snow (mostly because of our location high up on the bench and near the mountains).
So....we start our evaluation of where do we want to live now? At first we will just Snowbird in AZ or some other similar area while we scout out the area for likely places to live. Being stuck in a 55+ community with mostly age 80+ residents would not be our cut of tea. We are not keen on condos due to noise and lack of any yard (the dogs enjoy running loose in a yard).
On the other hand, we might just downsize here and do the condo thing for a while and RV around the country until we find our perfect spot. By then the grandkids would be grown up enough to not care to see us much any more and the kids may have relocated somewhere else by then.
So we continue to downsize the McMansion with the goal of selling the beast in a year or so and then find a condo to stay in while we are in between trips or back home to visit the kids.

My father's very happy in a Grand Junction apartment complex, and I think he moves from one to another whenever management or neighbors irk him. He's been moving west for the last 20 years from Parker to Castle Rock and now to GJ. He's also very happy that he doesn't have to do a lick of maintenance or repairs, which leaves him free to hike the state parks as much as he wants.

My PILs weren't very happy in Hawaii even though many of their neighbors were their age. However they've been ecstatic about living in a 55+ condo community. But I imagine that's a tough environment for a dog that needs to run.

 

[Fireup2020]

WI is the other state I would move to voluntarily. People, food, and scenery are fabulous! Winters.....well, you mentioned snowbirding to AZ, so this is right up your alley I don't imagine COL is outrageous either.

 

[BunsGettingFirm]

Moved from the Houston area to Fort Collins two months ago. I love the dry climate and clean air. Cool mornings allow us to limit the use of A/C to afternoon and early evening. People are friendly. Of course, I haven't experienced winter yet . . .
Jake46

The winters aren't that bad. The same dryness will make the snow disappear two days after a snow fall. You're unlikely to get the Midwest phenomenon of having snow-caked sidewalks for 5 months at a stretch. I remember that I rode my bike a lot even during the winter.

 

[unclemick]

Hmmm - Seattle, Denver, Baltimore(tdy), Huntsville AL(tdy), New Orleans, Kansas City. Actually the suburbs near the big city.

Where you're at is where you're at. Most of ER - New Orleans, so far.

Crap - I'm a young punk - 64 and been doing ER for only 14 years - when I get it right - maybe I'll settle down and pick a spot.

heh heh heh

 

[Martha]

We live 6 blocks from the hospital each of us was born in. Homebodies?

I live in Minnesota because:

--family and friends
--good health insurance availability
--beautiful fall weather
--the big lake
--liberal politics
--kayaking, canoing, hiking, skiing
--cities have amazing parks
--it is green in the summer, not brown
--I can intensely garden, and then put it to bed in the fall and take a break

But. . .
Winters are long, dark and cold and I have tired of them
Summers are getting hotter
Mosquitoes

 

[REWahoo]

We live 6 blocks from the hospital each of us was born in. Homebodies?

I live in Minnesota because:

--family and friends
--good health insurance availability
--beautiful fall weather
--the big lake
--liberal politics
--kayaking, canoing, hiking, skiing
--cities have amazing parks
--it is green in the summer, not brown
--I can intensely garden, and then put it to bed in the fall and take a break

But. . .
Winters are long, dark and cold and I have tired of them
Summers are getting hotter
Mosquitoes

Martha, sounds to me like a textbook case for snowbirding.
Time to trade off that Lazy Daze for a 40 foot coach and spend winters in the south.

 

[SteveR]

Martha, sounds to me like a textbook case for snowbirding.
Time to trade off that Lazy Daze for a 40 foot coach and spend winters in the south.

Yep! Sounds like the ticket to me.

We got rid our Class C and went all out (space wise) on a 42 foot Condo on Wheels aka The COW. It is huge but living in it for weeks and months at a time requires a bit more space. We both need some space and having the extra seating and sleeping space was a major consideration because we frequently travel with kids or other family members.

We moved from northern IL to UT to escape the bitter cold and long dark winters as well as the hot humid summers and of course the massive number of highly aggressive mosquitoes.

Now that we have been here for a while and have had our fill of winter (no matter how much warmer it is; it is still cold) so Snowbirding we go.

BTW.... I love that animation.

 

[unclemick]

One of my old buddies wasn't around when I went to New Orleans for a wedding last month.

They had their huge motorhome out in Colorado - ?cooling off?

heh heh heh - the opposite of snowbird is ?heatbird?

 

[SteveR]

One of my old buddies wasn't around when I went to New Orleans for a wedding last month.

They had their huge motorhome out in Colorado - ?cooling off?

heh heh heh - the opposite of snowbird is ?heatbird?

That is a fact. We know a few full time RVer and they head south (snowbird) in winter and then migrate north to cooler climates during the summer months. Spring and Fall are transition times when they travel to high interest places before or after all the kids go back to school and most other RVers are still having to work during the week.

 

[Moemg]

All the snowbirds come to Florida for January thru March when our weather is so so .The best time is Nov.& Dec. better weather and less crowds .

 

[SteveR]

All the snowbirds come to Florida for January thru March when our weather is so so .The best time is Nov.& Dec. better weather and less crowds .

Your "so so" weather is GREAT to most of the Northeastern snowbirds; especially Jan-March.

Most snowbirds wait until after the holidays before they hit the road. Come Jan 2 watch out! We are going right after Christmas unless the mountain passes get closed then we will hang out until the reopen the roads.

 

[gandalf42]

Moved from the Houston area to Fort Collins two months ago. I love the dry climate and clean air. Cool mornings allow us to limit the use of A/C to afternoon and early evening. People are friendly. Of course, I haven't experienced winter yet . . .
Jake46

Been in FC since '89. The winters aren't bad. The snow typically melts in a couple of days. Just have to watch for those occasional dumpers as they never plow out the minor streets. We had a 60" dumper a couple of years back..the most I've seen. Last year we had one snow that was 18".

Whenever it gets deep, we have to dig ourselves out as we live at the end of a cul-d-sac and they never plow the road. It usually becomes a neighborhood affair so you get to meet and chat with everyone which is nice.

..Mike

 

[Kitty]

Has anyone tried Mexico? I am going there on a two week fact finding trip in October. I am flying in to Guadalajara and plan to spend about a week in Lake Chapala area and then go to San Miguel De Allende for about a week. This should coincide with the day of the dead celebration which is a big deal in Mexico way more than Halloween. If all goes well I may rent a place for a while to see if I really like Mexico if I do then I will sell the farm and move there on a semi-permanent basis. As far as I am concerned everything is temporary any way.

So who has been to Mexico?

Kitty

 

[Jake46]

Mike -- Thanks

That's good news about FC snows. I've been dealing with high heat, high humidity, fire ants, killer bees and hurricanes for years, I guess I can weather some snow!
Jake46

 

[Dog]

Whidbey Island - like a big playground. It seems half the island is set aside as city, county & state park lands (or protected estuary). We are looking forward to living there full time!