Retiring to an Economically Depressed Area

[Orchidflower]

Why THE most important thing? I agree this would be important if I were at high risk of heart attack, but AFAIK I'm not (although I admit it would be prudent to get checked by a doctor before I count on that too much). My cholesterol has always been normal, I'm not overweight, don't smoke or overindulge in alcohol, and my BP is typically in the "good thing I'm not any taller" range. I do have near relatives, including one parent, with heart problems, but have never had any indication I am affected myself (unlike some of my siblings who seem to have taken after that side of the family and have high cholesterol and/or BP).

(That was kyounge's quote, but I did it wrong, obviously.)

It was just a suggestion that I, personally, would take. To quote Clint Eastwood. "Do you feel lucky?"

 

[Brat]

Communities around Bremerton, WA are worth a look. I live on Bainbridge Island, which doesn't make the list of inexpensive housing but Silverdale just might. What I notice are the number of Navy medical professionals who stay in the area. They are top notch. I have heard good things about Bremerton's Harrison Hospital, the Navy has their own facility, the VA has a domiciliary (nursing home to us non-Vets) and Seattle's facilities are just a ferry (or chopper) ride away.

 

[Orchidflower]

I'd love to live on Bainbridge Island myself...lucky.
What do you think of Tacoma?

 

[Brat]

I wouldn't consider Tacoma, but Gig Harbor is worth a look. It now costs ~$4 to cross the Narrows bridge but that is cheaper than the ferry to Seattle.

 

[kyounge1956]

(big snip). IMO Spokane is a great place, nice warm summers, and sometimes cold and snowy winters. Airport with overall good connection. Big enough for quality big city hospitals and doctors. Great nearby outdoor recreation- ski-ing, X-country, hunting and fishing, etc.

Ha

IMO, temperatures in Spokane during the summer are frequently well above the point at which they can be described as either "nice" or "warm". I think "sizzling hot" would be more accurate. If you do not like hot weather (i.e. high eighties to nineties, with occasional forays into triple digits), you won't like Spokane.

 

[F4mandolin]

Average high temp for Spokane during the warmer 2 warm months is about 85. It certainly can hit 100....but not that often. And......it's a "dry" heat, not much humidity. People keep forgetting (or didn't know) that Wash/Ore are only wet on the west side of the state....the east side is dry...

 

[hankster]

People keep forgetting (or didn't know) that Wash/Ore are only wet on the west side of the state....the east side is dry...

Yep. We're talking DESERT in much of these areas. We're just west of Spokane. When we travel, I'm always amused when people ask us if we ever get sick of all that rain.

As for the heat, we make it a priority to spend as much July/August time as possible in the Puget Sound area for the more moderate temperatures.

 

[ziggy29]

IMO, temperatures in Spokane during the summer are frequently well above the point at which they can be described as either "nice" or "warm". I think "sizzling hot" would be more accurate.

I guess it's all relative. One person's "sizzling hot" is another Texan's "mild."

 

[F4mandolin]

Yep, I don't consider 80's-90's and dry air hot. I lived in Okinawa for 5 years and summers are 90 and HUMID. I didn't mind it too much, but that sure made me sweat hard. I LIKE 4 seasons so I look forward to a little heat in the summer and some snow during the winter. Thought about going to a place like Florida, but tooooo flat and no cold weather...oh, a bit humid at times as well.....oh, and bugs...oh......and oh.......

 

[kyounge1956]

I wouldn't consider Tacoma, but Gig Harbor is worth a look. It now costs ~$4 to cross the Narrows bridge but that is cheaper than the ferry to Seattle.

Gig Harbor might be nice, but unfortunately, real estate in there is even more expensive than in Seattle, and the cost of living well above U.S. average (according to the Gig Harbor page at City-Data.com).

 

[kyounge1956]

Communities around Bremerton, WA are worth a look. I live on Bainbridge Island, which doesn't make the list of inexpensive housing but Silverdale just might. What I notice are the number of Navy medical professionals who stay in the area. They are top notch. I have heard good things about Bremerton's Harrison Hospital, the Navy has their own facility, the VA has a domiciliary (nursing home to us non-Vets) and Seattle's facilities are just a ferry (or chopper) ride away.

There were reports/rumors some years ago of skinhead/white supremacist activity in North Kitsap County—does anybody here know the facts on this one way or the other? If true, I would have definite doubts about the safety of my moving to that area. If not true, or no longer true, I need to check out Kitsap Co some more. So far the places I've looked at in City-Data are not much if at all less expensive than Seattle, and the cost of living index is above US average, but those were all places from which it would be feasible to commute to Seattle. The parts of the county from which commuting is less of a possibility may not be as expensive.

 

[kyounge1956]

Yep. We're talking DESERT in much of these areas. We're just west of Spokane. When we travel, I'm always amused when people ask us if we ever get sick of all that rain.

As for the heat, we make it a priority to spend as much July/August time as possible in the Puget Sound area for the more moderate temperatures.

See, it's so hot in Spokane even people who live there can't stand it

 

[kyounge1956]

I guess it's all relative. One person's "sizzling hot" is another Texan's "mild."

Which is just one among several reasons I won't be moving to the "Lone Star" state when I retire.

 

[kyounge1956]

I would expect health care to go away as well. Would you not want to be in a place where an ambulance would reach your house in a few minutes? And where the hospital could put a cath in you if needed?

I've been scoping this out a little more. It looks like the only places with both an amubulance and a nearby hospital are the Aberdeen/Hoquiam/Cosmopolis area in Gray's Harbor Co and Raymond/South Bend in the next county to the south (also highly scenic and with similar economic conditions). As near as I've been able to find out, other places in the central coast region either have an ambulance and no hospital (Ocean Shores & vicinity) or a hospital and no ambulance nearby (Long Beach/Ilwaco) or they are a long way from both the ambulance and the hospital. The north coast (Bellingham area) is more expensive that I think I can afford and the cost of living appears to be above average. I forgot to check earlier, but it turns out that Seattle is even further above average than any of the places I've checked, so in ordinary expenses I'd expect any of them would be less expensive than living here.

 

[Brat]

There were reports/rumors some years ago of skinhead/white supremacist activity in North Kitsap County—does anybody here know the facts on this one way or the other? If true, I would have definite doubts about the safety of my moving to that area. If not true, or no longer true, I need to check out Kitsap Co some more. So far the places I've looked at in City-Data are not much if at all less expensive than Seattle, and the cost of living index is above US average, but those were all places from which it would be feasible to commute to Seattle. The parts of the county from which commuting is less of a possibility may not be as expensive.

I have never heard of skinhead/white supremacists in North Kitsap County. I suppose there may be an idiot or two but there are no issues that I am aware of. Remember that the Navy and Navy retirees comprise a significant % of the population on the peninsula and they are diverse and well educated. Not much for white supremacists to recruit from.

The challenge for Bremerton is that it is a one industry town and most residents don't make a lot of money. It isn't attractive for industry because to get to Seattle takes an hour long boat ride.

There was an effort to attract upscale retirees by building nice condos near the ferry terminal. It was completed just as the RE market imploded when retirees found it near impossible to sell their homes. The condos were well built and are doubtless cheaper than originally offered.

I am a library rat, the Kitsap County Library is top notch. Also the downtown branch of the Seattle Public Library is a decent walk from the ferry.

The only thing the county is missing is Trader Joe's.

 

[DeborahB]

Ah, I can see you've been to East Nowhere, NY.
I've lived in this area since 1980, and there is still that "You didn't go to high school here did you?" undercurrent. I mostly ignore it.
The majority of my closest friends are transplants also. It's just the way it is in really small towns.

I have to agree - and it's even true in larger cities. If you move to an area that gets a lot of transplants, you won't be an outsider. Otherwise the social climate could be frosty. And the culture varies from region to region in the US - more than you might expect.

My own criteria are affordable housing, excellent close hospitals, and some sort of university providing free lectures etc and culture. I could never live in a rural area (again, you weren't born there starts to creep in) for many reasons including lack of access to services and shops.

 

[lhamo]

I spent some time exploring real estate offerings in the Aberdeen/Hoquium area a few years ago when we were more actively considering a really early retirement -- it seemed to be one of the few areas in western Washington where you could get a nice old house for a reasonable price that was not on a flood plain. But I worried about diversity issues (we are a mixed ethnicity family) as well as the long-term effects of living in a place that was pretty economically depressed.

lhamo

 

[lhamo]

PS: Just browsing around, seems like you can still get some pretty great deals there -- prices you would never see in the greater Seattle area, that's for sure. Here's a 3br for $45k:

1218 lafayette Aberdeen, WA 98520 | House for Sale | #29106501 - RealEstate.com

 

[Brat]

Anything that cheap doubtless has a back story.

 

[nwsteve]

Anything that cheap doubtless has a back story.

Perhaps former Meth house? The coast towns seem to have a bit of a presence of meth production and pot growers so some care is in order. (Probably one of the few ways to actually deal with the rain and dreary weather for much of the year, not to mention the winter. )
Nwsteve

 

[W2R]

Anything that cheap doubtless has a back story.

I have no idea.

I noticed that the lot is only 0.09 acres. Some might say that's not much bigger than a postage stamp. Also I wonder if it has access to city water and sewage.

 

[Brat]

You can always call the town building department and ask.

 

[lhamo]

The words meth lab did cross my mind...

But there are quite a lot of nice places in the $150-200k range, too. And a beautiful mansion (looks like it was a B&B) for under a million.

Property taxes are incredibly low. Makes me wonder about the quality of essential services (schools, fire, police, libraries).

lhamo

 

[Orchidflower]

I have to agree - and it's even true in larger cities. If you move to an area that gets a lot of transplants, you won't be an outsider. Otherwise the social climate could be frosty. And the culture varies from region to region in the US - more than you might expect.

Having lived in DC, Chicago, Houston, I'd like to second those wise words from Thinker25.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

I worked in Buffalo for a while. Some very nice people there, but Oh, brother. Lake effect snow in the winter, dirty drinking water in the summer, poverty like New Orleans. etc, etc. It is not a dying city, it is dead. You can watch it decompose.