Want to move to better weather but tough to leave family/comfort

[Koolau]

When we went through California several years ago, we were generally surprised at the cool temps at the beach in May/June, from Santa Monica Pier all the way up through Oregon. I felt very deceived by Baywatch! LOL

Even in San Diego, the water is WAY too cold fo dis ha'ole. All the Frankie and Annette movies of my youth seemed like a big lie. Of course, it's that relatively cold water that makes the costal area so livable I suppose. On our Highway 101 adventure some years back (from BC to BC - British Columbia to Baja California) we noticed how pleasant it always was - until we ventured 10 miles toward the interior. Then it was just HOT in the summer! YMMV

 

[kgtest]

Orange County is no doubt very expensive. But you won't find any better weather within this country, outside of Hawaii. We constantly remind each other that we only have so many years to enjoy life, and part of enjoying life is living in a climate that is enjoyable to be in.

The traffic is awful, but it really doesn't matter if you are retired. You can easily avoid the rush hour commutes, and you will rarely need to leave Orange County since there are such abundant resources here.

Of course, I'm not sure why I'm trying to convince anyone to move here. We already have too many people living here!

This is true, I've been fortunate enough to live in both! Maui has the better weather than San Diego. Ventura county is nice...not as busy but not as warm.

 

[Floridatennisplayer]

Wow, this thread is very close to my heart. We had cousins that lived in Woodland Hills when I was a kid. Central Ohio is all of our family. From a young age..perhaps 10, watching the Ohio State Buckeyes play USC in the Rose Bowl was the start. It was cold and snowing here and watching the parade and the game...sunshine!!!!! Palm trees!!!! Mountains!!!!! Girls!!!!! I was hooked with Southern California. Of course all those Frankie and Annette beach movies did me in!

Begged my parents to take us out west. I became more aware of the weather as I watched TV shows, sunny, warm, mountains. I would read up on Southern California in the World Book. I knew it was the place for me.

We went to SC about every 2 years for summer vacation. I knew all the cities by heart and could tell my dad directions from memorizing maps in the World Book!

When I graduated from OSU and got my first job......and every job sense.....their home office has been in Southern California....imagine that. I wanted to move to Newport Beach as a newly married guy. Wife was super close to her family as I was. Moving across the country just seemed to far out and in the 80's air fare was horrible!

So we vacationed there a lot. Realized as many have mentioned....darn....that big Pacific Ocean is freezing....thus the perfect weather along the coast...in the valley...hot.

Then we had kids, and my parents were in this delima. Ohio weather sucks from December-mid April. They did the snowbirding vs. buying in SoCal which they loved as well. They quickly found out after spending 2 winters in Laguna that we just could not afford to fly across the country with jobs and 2 kids. My parents also wanted much warmer weather during Jan-April. And looking at weather it was always in the low 80's or high 70's in Fort Myers during this time. Had a family meeting. Parents decided to buy in SW Florida. Same time zone....simple affordable 2 hour non stop flight. We flew down all the time. Then drove down after school was out for vacations. We loved it!

So now my parents...father now in heaven, my sister, and my wife and I all have condos in the Fort Myers area. Now I am in my parents shoes. My kids are now 30-33, with grandkids that we just love to death. We all go down numerous times a year and even with the Lab and just love it. My 3 year old grandson today said, "PaPa....let's go to Lakes Park and ride the choo choo train and eat at Petes Time Out Grill on the beach." I've always told him it's his condo. "Come on PaPa, let's go to my condo!" Makes my day! Someday he and my grand daughter will be taking their kids down.

So my SoCal dream.....has faded, I freaking love that place and feel I am in my deepest soul a resident. But being a snowbird is much more practical.

 

[LARS]

The tourist really thought that people mowing lawns, painting houses and bringing out the trash was all part of some sort of living museum exhibit and that once the lights go out, everybody leaves the town empty and goes to sleep somewhere else.

And their vote counts equally with yours... think about that for a moment! ;-)

 

[Scuba]

[emoji23] sad but true!

 

[Floridatennisplayer]

I am resurrecting this one year old thread and just curious if the original poster has made any type of decision.

 

[YeahNo]

I am resurrecting this one year old thread and just curious if the original poster has made any type of decision.

Oh man, this was timely. Weather has been complete **** here in Minnesota almost all of the spring/summer so far. This morning on my way into the office was a major gripe fest by me. I then get to my desk and my buddy texts me saying 'this weather is getting soo old". I then get to my desk and open email and the "reply to this thread" email was first in the email queue. Maybe it is a sign??

Life is more enjoyable in the sun.

 

[Floridatennisplayer]

You are so correct here in Ohio it was still snowing in early April and then all it did was rain and now it’s like the switch is been turned off it was 92 yesterday 92 today I swear we probably in Ohio I get about 25 decent days in a whole year the rest of the time it’s either called extremely hot and humid or raining

 

[kgtest]

Oh man, this was timely. Weather has been complete **** here in Minnesota almost all of the spring/summer so far. This morning on my way into the office was a major gripe fest by me. I then get to my desk and my buddy texts me saying 'this weather is getting soo old". I then get to my desk and open email and the "reply to this thread" email was first in the email queue. Maybe it is a sign??

Life is more enjoyable in the sun.

Which part of MN? I live in town and it's not been bad IMHO. Almanac predicts temps above avg all year, with a warm august.

So far we've had just the right amount of rain to get the grass green, a little bit humid but so are the coastal towns at times.

As for sun, yes that has been at a premium, but at least its not in the 50s.

 

[Scuba]

We moved from CA to PA for a few years. The first winter I loved the snow. The next winter it started snowing mid-Nov and was still snowing mid-May. One of the happiest days of our lives was the day we took our one way flight back to LA to permanently come back to CA.

 

[W2R]

To me it seems like there are SO many much more important criteria to consider than just weather, when selecting an ER location.

Crime? Hurricanes? Cost of living? Interesting things to do? Local people and culture? Clean air and water? Architecture, food, music, history, art? Walkability? Reliable high speed internet? All of these and many more are much more important to me than just weather.

So from that I guess we can conclude that
(1) I really like the weather here in New Orleans, and that
(2) I can afford air conditioning in my house and car for those times when it gets to be too much.

 

[Scuba]

I agree, W2R, lots of other things to think about. In our case, the absence of 3 things contributes to the high quality of life in So CA - no hurricanes, humidity, or bugs! We live in a beach town where the scenery is beautiful and we can walk or cycle to dozens of restaurants, many of which have great views. And we have many friends here.

The downsides of So CA other than cost of living are traffic, crowds, and earthquakes. No place is perfect. Also, I agree with other posters that the ocean is too darn cold out here to enjoy getting into it, but that’s why the climate is so pleasant.

 

[Which Roger]

The definition of "good weather" is in the eye of the beholder. If I dress correctly, I can be comfortable outside in sub-zero temperatures. But it's impossible to be comfortable outside if it's 90 and humid. So the old adage "the is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes" breaks down on the hot-and-humid end of the spectrum.

 

[W2R]

Google tells me that there are many, many articles listing criteria for choosing a place to retire.

Here's one, which lists the following 10 criteria:

1. Safety (crime)
2. Proximity to health care
3. Cost of living
4. Climate and weather
5. Presence of diverse people
6. Cultural amenities
7. Low taxes
8. Proximity to a major airport
9. Recreational amenities
10. Political climate

I don't think this list is very complete. For example it does not even include walkability which is so important to many of us. That said, proximity to health care is a big one that they DO list, and that I neglected to mention in my above post. As we grow older, often health care becomes more and more a part of daily life (unfortunately).

I'd think that low taxes and cost of living should be merged, but hey, whatever.

Some of these do not apply to all retirees. For example, proximity to a major airport is not important to me since I don't travel much if at all.

 

[misshathaway]

Endless cold weather just wears on some people. Sure, after enough experience you can armor up successfully before going out, but you still have to deal with snowpiles and ice. It's a series of small, daily, never-ending, dreary discomforts and stresses. When it's finally over - and here (NorthEast) that only happened really in June this year - most people are visibly so much happier.

On my list Safety would still be #1, but 2 would be Climate.

 

[Breedlove]

DW and I were born and grew up in Ohio . I remember the winter of I think it was 1978 . We were still kids but we knew it was not in our lifestyle to live in Ohio . It seems you age quicker in a colder climate and you never really enjoy the outdoors.
When we came to Texas it was like an exodus . People east of the Mississippi went to Florida and people west of the Mississippi came to Texas . We were different we moved to Texas in 1981 and never looked back !

 

[YeahNo]

Which part of MN? I live in town and it's not been bad IMHO. Almanac predicts temps above avg all year, with a warm august.

So far we've had just the right amount of rain to get the grass green, a little bit humid but so are the coastal towns at times.

As for sun, yes that has been at a premium, but at least its not in the 50s.

Woodbury. The lack of sun is my biggest complaint and of course the winters are WAY to long in this part of the country. Where are you at?

To me it seems like there are SO many much more important criteria to consider than just weather, when selecting an ER location.

Crime? Hurricanes? Cost of living? Interesting things to do? Local people and culture? Clean air and water? Architecture, food, music, history, art? Walkability? Reliable high speed internet? All of these and many more are much more important to me than just weather.

So from that I guess we can conclude that
(1) I really like the weather here in New Orleans, and that
(2) I can afford air conditioning in my house and car for those times when it gets to be too much.

Spoke like someone who hasn't lived in Minnesota lol. Climate maybe isn't that big of a concern if all you are used to his mild climate...try Minnesota for one winter and I'm sure you would rank your list a bit differently.

Endless cold weather just wears on some people. Sure, after enough experience you can armor up successfully before going out, but you still have to deal with snowpiles and ice. It's a series of small, daily, never-ending, dreary discomforts and stresses. When it's finally over - and here (NorthEast) that only happened really in June this year - most people are visibly so much happier.

On my list Safety would still be #1, but 2 would be Climate.

Totally...completely wears on you. Its depressing literally not seeing the sun for multiple weeks in a row, sometimes as much as a month in a row.

I don't think most people realize just how bad some of these extreme climate states (minnesota/wi, etc) are until they retire and have a chance to be outside more. If all you do is go to the office 5 days a week climate doesn't matter as much. If you are retired and can be outside 7 days a week, climate is very important.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Endless cold weather just wears on some people. Sure, after enough experience you can armor up successfully before going out, but you still have to deal with snowpiles and ice. It's a series of small, daily, never-ending, dreary discomforts and stresses. When it's finally over - and here (NorthEast) that only happened really in June this year - most people are visibly so much happier.

On my list Safety would still be #1, but 2 would be Climate.

It’s the painful winter posture of shoulders hunched up to the ears that gets to me, beginning in early November here in dreary Chicago.

 

[Ronstar]

My toes, fingers and ear lobes were frost bitten several times several years ago. Now I have pain in the extremities when it is cold - even outside in 30 degree weather for a half hour. Luckily that doesn’t happen much now that we spend Jan - Mar in Az. But there are some December days in Illinois that give me problems.

I’d like to live in Az full time, but DW will not leave her 89 yo mother here. So we are stuck in Illinois until I resolve the situation. I need to put together a plan to have MIL move with us or move in with SIL. Plus DW feels that she will miss her friends - but they are gradually moving away so maybe that won’t be a problem.

 

[Koolau]

Google tells me that there are many, many articles listing criteria for choosing a place to retire.

Here's one, which lists the following 10 criteria:

1. Safety (crime)
2. Proximity to health care
3. Cost of living
4. Climate and weather
5. Presence of diverse people
6. Cultural amenities
7. Low taxes
8. Proximity to a major airport
9. Recreational amenities
10. Political climate

I don't think this list is very complete. For example it does not even include walkability which is so important to many of us. That said, proximity to health care is a big one that they DO list, and that I neglected to mention in my above post. As we grow older, often health care becomes more and more a part of daily life (unfortunately).

I'd think that low taxes and cost of living should be merged, but hey, whatever.

Some of these do not apply to all retirees. For example, proximity to a major airport is not important to me since I don't travel much if at all.

I would have also thought low taxes and COL would be combined. I was pleasantly surprised that in Hawaii, the one really bright spot (for retirees only) is that taxes are relatively low while the COL is quite high (for everyone.) Retirees pay no taxes on pension and SS and are exempted on much of 401(k) distributions. BEFORE retirement, these are major items IN the COL. After retirement, not nearly so much. YMMV

 

[Scuba]

Woodbury. The lack of sun is my biggest complaint and of course the winters are WAY to long in this part of the country. Where are you at?



Spoke like someone who hasn't lived in Minnesota lol. Climate maybe isn't that big of a concern if all you are used to his mild climate...try Minnesota for one winter and I'm sure you would rank your list a bit differently.



Totally...completely wears on you. Its depressing literally not seeing the sun for multiple weeks in a row, sometimes as much as a month in a row.

I don't think most people realize just how bad some of these extreme climate states (minnesota/wi, etc) are until they retire and have a chance to be outside more. If all you do is go to the office 5 days a week climate doesn't matter as much. If you are retired and can be outside 7 days a week, climate is very important.

Yes, one reason climate is important to me is that I’m much more likely to exercise in a pleasant climate with low humidity. I hate going to the gym - much prefer a walk, bike ride, or to take my stand-up paddle board out on the bay. Living on the beach and looking out my window seeing dozens of people walking, jogging, biking really helps motivate me to get out there and join them.

When we lived in PA, we had a home gym, but I didn’t like using it that much and I hated going for walks outside except in the fall. Winter was out of the question for me, spring was very rainy, and summer was hot and humid.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I think it is time once again to bring up the Kelly Norton Pleasant Places to live map (“pleasant” here means the mean temperature was between (55° F and 75° F), the minimum temperature was above 45° F, the maximum temperature was below 85° F and there was no significant precipitation or snow depth):

https://kellegous.com/j/2014/02/03/pleasant-places/

We like mild weather but also lots of greenery and trees so we ended up in Northern California.

 

[Markola]

Whadayaknow? St. Paul, MN does not have the least pleasant weather - by a long shot. It’s not that much worse than where I grew up in the southeast. Can you have OMY Syndrome for weather?

 

[YeahNo]

I think it is time once again to bring up the Kelly Norton Pleasant Places to live map (“pleasant” here means the mean temperature was between (55° F and 75° F), the minimum temperature was above 45° F, the maximum temperature was below 85° F and there was no significant precipitation or snow depth):

https://kellegous.com/j/2014/02/03/pleasant-places/

We like mild weather but also lots of greenery and trees so we ended up in Northern California.

Whadayaknow? St. Paul, MN does not have the least pleasant weather - by a long shot. It’s not that much worse than where I grew up in the southeast. Can you have OMY Syndrome for weather?

Thanks for posting, I had not yet seen this. I think the only thing I don't like about this graph is thatt a day with a temperature of 0 degrees is treated equally (not-pleasant day) as a day of 89 degrees and I'd guess that a large majority would certainly take 89 over 0 for weeks/months on end. Maybe I'm reading this wrong though.

 

[brucethebroker]

Endless cold weather just wears on some people. Sure, after enough experience you can armor up successfully before going out, but you still have to deal with snowpiles and ice. It's a series of small, daily, never-ending, dreary discomforts and stresses. When it's finally over - and here (NorthEast) that only happened really in June this year - most people are visibly so much happier.

On my list Safety would still be #1, but 2 would be Climate.

+1. It really comes down to how do you want to spend 30-50% of the rest of your life? Miserable in the cold with gray skies? Or in sunny (down south, CA) where you can walk, ride bikes, and play outside all fall/winter/early spring.