Poll- Where to retire?

[unclemick]

Hmmm - I'm currently north of Kansas City.

I have now relatives in D.C., Pensacola, San Diego and south of Seattle - friends in New Orleans, south of Chattanooga.

Any suggestions?

heh heh heh - family get together this year will be a mini gathering in Sept rental Carolina Outer Banks.

agile, mobile and hostile - 15th yr of ER. So if I get boredI can move -right?

 

[Gsquared]

We have a Bernese...

Ladelfina - This is the last place I would have expected to find a fellow Bernese parent!

Sorry for taking this off topic for a moment. To bring it back home, our Bernese loves Dog Beach in San Diego, and our plan is to follow him there.

 

[donheff]

We will probably stay put on Capitol Hill, DC. I think about trying something new but we already have most of the features we look for in a place to retire. When DW fully retires (probably next year) we may try staying for a month or two in various cities. Portland comes to mind and possibly some college towns. We want to be in a city center with a lot of activities, be able to walk to restaurants, etc.

 

[Martha]

And, that leaves us lost. We've looked east, west, south, north (Duluth, but I hear Martha is working on some sort of ordinance) without much luck...

We could house share. You get winter. The skiing is great.

 

[freebird5825]

right where i'm at, but some serious low cost vacations to warm climates are in order.
come on, dividends!
no mortgage and no way would i take on another while FIREd.

 

[Walt34]

We only moved about 80 miles, from just north of Wash. D.C. to the panhandle of West Virginia. Intolerable traffic there was the only reason for moving. DW wanted to stay within an hour of family west Frederick, MD. It works for us since her closest family is 35 easy-drive minutes away.

 

[OAG]

I voted "out of region" mainly since we have done it twice already (Northern VA to NE Florida and then NE Florida to Central Ohio) and we plan to move from Central Ohio area in 2 to 7 more years, if we live long enough.

 

[Orchidflower]

Really toyed with the idea of moving out of country after my eldercaring my parent is done, but feel that I should be closer to investment information. Vanguard won't take your calls from out of country, and I do want to attend some financial courses still when I get out of here.
But, being in Illinois now where it has been mighty cold this winter (after 3 or 4 warm ones) has been not fun. And this is rated as only the 17th worst winter in history in the Iowa-Illinois border area. 17th worst!!! I am totally a sissy anymore. We can cancel those winter New Hampshire plans now.
I'm going out of region where the sun is. I am a biiiiiiiig wimp anymore.

By the way, donheff reminded me of my personal investment professor's way of learning where he wanted to relocate when retirement hit. He went to each State's county fairs, sometimes 6 a year, and looks around then. He chose S. Carolina that way (from Illinois). Pretty good idea, I thought, and caught two birds with one stone: saw the State Fair and the future retirement location. I know he has gone to every single State fair in the nation now. Amazing.

 

[Sarah in SC]

I am fascinated that one would chose to live in my fair state on the basis of our state fair. Having been any number of times, it always made me want to move away! The SC state fair is in Columbia, which is possibly the most dismal state capital in the whole US. Thanks for the novel idea Orchidflower, but I have to ask, did he actually move to Cola?

 

[HFWR]

Come to the Texas State Fair, have a corn dog, a funnel cake, ride the Ferris wheel, check out the exhibits, say hello to "Big Tex". Then run like hell, before the fire-ants and rattlesnakes close in...

 

[bbbamI]

The thought of moving again makes me want to gouge my eyes out. I like where I live, despite the fire ants, droughts, heat, etc. I don't plan on moving, but plans can change in the blink of an eye.

 

[Tiger]

In May we are going to visit Reno, Albuquerque, Las Cruces & El Paso to decide which of them we will move to when my wife retires next year. Our reasons for moving are simple, homes cost about half of what they do here near NYC, much less humidity, more sunshine & milder winters and a whole new section of the country to explore.

 

[W2R]

Columbia, which is possibly the most dismal state capital in the whole US

As someone who decided not to pursue a wonderful job opportunity solely due to the fact that it was in Columbia, despite never having actually seen Columbia, thank you for the above! I always wondered if Columbia was as dismal as I suspected.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Yes, actually, more dismal than you expected. I promise! My aunt who lives there calls it the Jewel of the Congaree, but she's on medication.

 

[Rivrider]

Nothing definate yet. Thinking of moving back to town where I spent my teenage years, Paducah Ky. Or, maybe my college town, Murray Ky. I have read Murray is rated pretty highly for retirement. Also, house prices there seem rather reasonable.

 

[Khan]

If by some weird circumstance I would suddenly have several million dollars, I would return to either Upstate NY or Coastal ME.

 

[unclemick]

If by some weird circumstance I would suddenly have several million dollars, I would return to either Upstate NY or Coastal ME.

West Texas? With several mil I could afford the property tax.



Heh heh heh - I'm surprised Kansas doesn't leap into the forefront of everyone's mind when picking a garden spot to retire. They show reruns of The Wizard of Oz every year around here.

 

[Midpack]

I have noticed how many threads deal with this topic. So I decided to make this my first poll.

I plan to stay put where I am, or within a few miles. I may go elsewhere from time to time for up to 6 months or so, but this will stay homebase.

Ha

You're fortunate, and good for you (really). I wish I could live where I wanted, but work has always taken me somewhere else, and I've been well rewarded for the "sacrifice." I put myself in the Out of Region category.

 

[unclemick]

Not to start a poll within a poll but I caught PBS rerun on the Baby Boomers getting old last night - toward the end one of the themes was to consider the 'Walking community' wherein access to most activities was availible by foot - not the infamous motorcar.

I last experienced that a long time ago as a student in the U district of Seattle. I'm still a "Happy Days" burb dweller - toss a few bags in the car and roll 800-1000 miles to go visit - no problem since I grew up out West.

But someday?

heh heh heh - New Orleans and greater Kansas City. And then perhaps? .

 

[Arc]

Visited Sedona AZ in Feb - climbed the red rocks - liked it - that's where I plan on retiring. At least until I visit someplace else I like. Although Sedona could be hard to beat - it was beautiful!

 

[freebird5825]

If by some weird circumstance I would suddenly have several million dollars, I would return to either Upstate NY or Coastal ME.

want me to buy you a NYS Lottery ticket next time i'm at the store? <kidding> i'll let you know if you win by postcard.
i buy 1 lotto and 1 megamillions every week. biggest prize so far was $23. big woo.

 

[Goonie]

You make it sound very good. Is that row-crop country?

Ha

Yep! Completely surrounded, as far as the eye can see, on all sides of town by corn and soybeans. The farmers are all itching to get back into the fields....they're just wondering when Winter is going to loosen it's icy grip, so Spring can arrive! Soon I hope!

 

[calmloki]

I've liked the green of Oregon. My eyes and soul feel good when there's a lot of space between me and the mountains out on the horizon. Like people of good spirit, by preference at a distance. Big rocks and desert feel good. Santa Fe NM, Silverton Colorado, Pioneertown and Josuatree California, all have attractions for me. Really getting the urge to stick my butt in the sand and my heels in some warm ocean - trying to convince my gal to fly into Tampa Fla post hasty and check out Venice and the Weeki Wachee mermaids. Perfect weather to check out property in that area right now! Have an eviction to go to on the 17th though, so we would have to get motivated real quick here to grab a week.

A bunch of rentals that are returning nice income and might be difficult to sell argue strongly for staying put in Oregon - there are sure worse places to live - but snowbirding, or at least a Sundome, are getting real attractive!

 

[chinaco]

Visited Sedona AZ in Feb - climbed the red rocks - liked it - that's where I plan on retiring. At least until I visit someplace else I like. Although Sedona could be hard to beat - it was beautiful!

Sedona is a neat place. Seems to have quite a number of transplants from other areas of the USA.

Our Western United States is unique and beautiful.

 

[Ronstar]

I agree on Sedona. We go with friends/relatives to Az once a year and spend a day in Sedona. The place has amazing scenery. The real estate prices seem high - probably because it is a summer home place for lots of Phoenix people.