Hi, I'm uncleharley

[JPatrick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by uncleharley Well, I've done a bit of searching and have found that South Dakota is an option for relocating to when I retire.* *More specifically, Lawrence County, S Dakota.* Lawrence county is in the SW corner of the state and includes the towns of Deadwood, Whitewood, & Spearfish.* Has anyone been there or better yet, lived there?* We will be visiting the county in mid october and it would be great to hear from someone who has had some first hand experiances there.

Spent mucho time there due to growing up in ND and having relatives in the area.
Everyone, and I mean everyone I know goes south for the winter.* Then they return for a few 100 degree days, relentless winds, periodic drought conditions, occasionally broken by violent hailstorms all followed by more winter.
We thought about living there, but could not get by the weather card and despite the recreation available, we figured we'd run out of new things to do after a year or so. Real state of the art health care is not close to the places you've mentioned if that is important to you.* No state tax, but real estate taxes can be on the steep side and IMO most every thing else you buy will be higher than the median for the country.

The things we considered positive were the great people, the nice fall weather, and the wide open spaces.
All in all, for us this area in general fell to the bottom of our list.*

[SteveR]

I agree with JPatrick.
Winter there is a long and serious event. It is typical of the "Western US" in that everything you want or need is a day's travel away. You measure distance by time not miles.

Things to consider:

What do you want to do in retirement? Are these things available in this area?

How is your health? Do you anticipate needing advanced care or emergency services? How far away from these things would you want to be?

How do you feel about long cold windy winters? Below zero for days is common.

How do you feel about short very hot and dry summers? Days above 100 are common.

How is your tolerance for dust and wind?

It is said that most towns in the west are not really at "ends of the earth" .....but you can see it from there.

I like being out west but I also like to have things I want nearby. That is why I am in a major western city. It has most of what I need but I can get away from the city in less than 10 minutes and I have a cabin in the mountains 45 minutes from my house.

There is more to life than low income taxes; choose where you what to retire but choose wisely.

[JPatrick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveR I agree with JPatrick. Winter there is a long and serious event.* It is typical of the "Western US" in that everything you want or need is a day's travel away.* You measure distance by time not miles.* Things to consider: What do you want to do in retirement?* Are these things available in this area? How is your health?* Do you anticipate needing advanced care or emergency services?* How far away from these things would you want to be? How do you feel about long cold windy winters? Below zero for days is common. How do you feel about short very hot and dry summers? Days above 100 are common. How is your tolerance for dust and wind?* It is said that most towns in the west are not really at "ends of the earth" .....but you can see it from there.* I like being out west but I also like to have things I want nearby.* That is why I am in a major western city.* It has most of what I need but I can get away from the city in less than 10 minutes and I have a cabin in the mountains 45 minutes from my house.* There is more to life than low income taxes; choose where you what to retire but choose wisely.

Some excellent points Steve, I can tell you have "been there, done that."

[P.S.]

How about the Appalachian mountains? West Virginia RE is pretty cheap!

Absolutely kidding..
How about hills? Hear N.C. is very nice. Parents have a house that they're currently renting out. They're thinking to live there for a couple of years in retirement and figure if they like it, to keep for second home. If not, then sell without capital gains.

[Dreamer]

Some WV RE is pretty cheap, some is selling for a million+. Also, in a different thread, JG stated that he used to think that it was only ignorant people that thought he was from Chicago, when he said he was from IL and that he now thinks differently. I feel the same way when you tell someone that you live in WV and they state that they have a relative that lives in whatever city,VA. We are a separate state. It makes me wonder about the quality of education throughout the US!

Dreamer

[SteveR]

Dreamer,

No need to worry about the quality of public education in this country....it stinks! Kids I know have no idea where some of the 50 states are located. They have no idea of basic science and have no idea how to solve simple math problems. The "bar" is public schools seems to be pretty low in many parts of the country. I know there are good areas and worse ones but I believe that the education system in the US is too focused on the wrong things and not enough on basic skills.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveR No need to worry about the quality of public education in this country....it stinks! Kids I know have no idea where some of the 50 states are located. They have no idea of basic science and have no idea how to solve simple math problems. The "bar" is public schools seems to be pretty low in many parts of the country. I know there are good areas and worse ones but I believe that the education system in the US is too focused on the wrong things and not enough on basic skills.

Another view: "They're Not Stupid—They're Lazy"

http://slate.com/id/2124163/

REW

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo! Another view:* "They're Not Stupid—They're Lazy" http://slate.com/id/2124163/ REW

I love it-- they're not lazy, they're just not getting paid for performance!

I think there's a lot of wishful thinking on those high-schooler sex, drugs, and rock&roll surveys too.