Final retirement area

[aja8888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hyper How did you chose your final area to retire to? It was the mountains which brought us where we are now. Really disgusted about where we live now. Thought it was going to be where we stayed for the rest of our lives. Moved here about 7 yrs ago. Remodeled one home but wasn't happy with it so built a new home and happy with the home. Fought continuously local entities that wanted complete control of the work we did. Happy with the area as far as the activities we enjoy. Weather is tougher with longer than normal winters. Biggest problem is the people! Most are horrible. Half the community is retired and snowbirds. The retirees are good to get along with. Majority of retirees don't get involved with local anything and just pay whatever. Those that run all the local entities/utilities have always had a free reign and walk (try to) all over people. Very few stand up to the local authorities. Enter me and I don't take this well at all. Seriously considering leaving/possibly traveling the country full time hoping to find a better place/people. We are hermits and keep well to ourselves but still have a heck of a time. How do others chose a final area?

Where are you? Let us know so we don't make the same mistake as you.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aja8888 Where are you? Let us know so we don't make the same mistake as you.

Only after he sells his home.

[RAE]

I moved to the small town that I live in now, back in 1980, for work - met DW here. I liked it then, and I still like it now, at least for most of the year. For about 7 months of the year, we have plenty to do here, and our house/yard suits us just fine, with my big vegetable garden and fruit trees, etc.. I did grow tired of the long winters as I got older, so DW and I started snowbirding after I retired, and found a spot in Florida that we really like, so we will be spending winters down there from now on, probably. It works for us.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hyper How did you chose your final area to retire to?

I decided to stay where I lived and worked most of my life. It's better the devil I know. It's far from perfect, but tolerable. Plus I am too old and lazy to move.

I saw a survey a while back saying most retirees stayed where they worked, and only 5% moved.

[COcheesehead]

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Originally Posted by Ronstar Easy - choose an area that best fits my hobbies and the weather that I like. I like hiking, biking and being outdoors. With some mountains. Hot is ok, Cold is not. So Arizona is the destination. Had a part time condo there for the past 17 years. Just haven't got there full time yet.

We started with interests and added:
Access to healthcare
Access to a jet service airport
Retail shopping. You need good groceries, hardware, etc.
Crowded?
Too hot or too cold
Vibe of the community. Not too old or too young. College towns are good. They have a nice mix.
Dining scene. Need good, local restaurants.
Reasonably priced homes. They didn’t have to be cheap, just cheaper than where we were.

[Music Lover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound I decided to stay where I lived and worked most of my life. It's better the devil I know. It's far from perfect, but tolerable. Plus I am too old and lazy to move. I saw a survey a while back saying most retirees stayed where they worked, and only 5% moved.

All my friends and family are here so I don't need or want to move. I have my home base but can visit other places whenever I want.

[jimandthom]

Lifes to short to be miserable about the locals. The greatest likelihood is that they are not going to change in your lifetime. Eventually----- maybe.

Where we retired to, the eastern UP, change comes very slowly. Having lived here before and having lived in a similar area we knew what to expect and even then there have been adjustments we have had to make.

Good thing you didn't try to build your house here as most contractors shut down for the first couple of weeks of hunting season-- even mid way in a job.

When we would travel in Europe-- we tried hard not to be the Ugly American. That also applies here.

[brett]

We were happy with where we lived but had two issues. Winter, and the size of our home.

We moved to a smaller lock and leave home. We travel for extending periods in the fall and again in the winter. Home during the summer months with occasional automobile trips. Plus the occasional last minute AI or cruise in late November or early Dec.

We did consider moving to another and/or buying a snowbird property. Looking back, we are glad that we did not.

[pacergal]

Our criteria:
moderate weather, close to good airport, close to major city, good restaurants, good transportation system, good/excellent medical systems, near family, quiet city/town.
Realized where we were fit the bill, plus close to both ocean or mountains. Staying put for now.

[ShokWaveRider]

Haven't chosen it yet. The final area that is. Currently happy with the status quo. Deep down inside, I would like to go back to the Caribbean or the Med, or maybe coastal Mexico, but then there is that healthcare thingy. As long as it is Hot, No snow and plenty of salty water close by, that is all I ask. Currently we have both of those, but it is not the Caribbean or the Med.

[YVRRocketSurgery]

Not retired yet but we were both born and raised in Vancouver and expect to retire in Vancouver. We're both city folk and enjoy the amenities that a big city offers and accept the corresponding challenges. Most of our family and friends are here. The rainy weather in the late fall and throughout winter can be a bit off-putting but part of the plan is to be able to travel and escape the rain whenever we want.

[HI Bill]

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Originally Posted by bmcgonig My impression was that specialist health care wasn't abundantly available in the big island? Does that concern you at all?

Just a little. Interisland flights depart every hour during the day, and I may have to fly to Honolulu for specialty doctors.

[Bamaman]

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Originally Posted by COcheesehead We started with interests and added: Access to healthcare Brand new hospital with 4 great hospital cities within 2 hrs. Access to a jet service airport 1 hour away. 3 larger airports 2 hrs. away. Retail shopping. You need good groceries, hardware, etc. We have Publix Crowded? 170,000 people without a rush hour. Huge yards too. Too hot or too cold 4 seasons but seldom see more than 1" snow yearly Vibe of the community. Not too old or too young. College towns are good. Two colleges with 14,000 students total and the culture that comes with them. Dining scene. Need good, local restaurants. Great restaurants in town Reasonably priced homes. They didn’t have to be cheap, just cheaper than where we were. Cheapest home prices anywhere. Also cheapest property taxes anywhere

We also have three major lakes within 16 miles and superlative fishing. I think we've found the place to retire to--5 years before we retired 10 years ago.

[braumeister]

DW has lived in this area all her life. She knows a zillion people and has a zillion friends that she loves to keep in touch with. So nowhere else would be as good for her.

I've lived just about everywhere and don't have a huge preference for any particular area over another.

So here we are and here we'll stay.

[aiken]

Met my DW in the mid 80's when I moved here on a job transfer from the Midwest. After another long stint in the Midwest, we decided to move back to the Southeast where we have family and friends. Love the moderate climate, close to the beach and the mountains...and Atlanta/Charlotte if you crave the mega city experience (we rarely do).

[Koolau]

We have a foot in both the old and new. In summer, we live in the house I grew up in (some would argue that I never grew up, but that's another story.) The remainder of the time, we live in Hawaii. We love the weather, mountains and water in Hawaii. Though we love the people, we, like the OP, struggle with some issues (such as local politics - I won't elaborate, much as I love bacon.)

We chose by visiting the area a dozen times - we visited much of the US mainland as well. We calculated our financial needs and sacrificed to get what we wanted. It's not for everyone, but so far we remain committed to staying in 'paradise.' YMMV

[ckelly78z]

We have been on our 10 acre farm in NW Ohio for 25 years now, and hope to be here another 25 years. It's really nice with a creek, and woods, rather rural, nearly neighborless in a highly zoned township, no HOA, all 4 seasons (more Winter than I like).

We have a large travel trailer and diesel Excursion for visiting other places, and will most likely spend weeks exploring new states in the future. I still want the familiar home base however.

We had talked about finding some wooded property in Southern Kentucky to build our homestead, and have a true retreat from society, but i'm not sure we have enough money, or energy to start from scratch on 100 acres.

[travelover]

Don't move to the PNW. You'd hate it here. Rains every day and everyone is mean.

[kimcdougc]

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Originally Posted by travelover Don't move to the PNW. You'd hate it here. Rains every day and everyone is mean.

Your so full of it. lol. The PNW is beautiful. We moved here 22 years ago when my DH got transferred with his job. Been retired for 4 years. Sold our house and are renting a small 800 square foot house from our DD. We still don't know where we want to move. Guess until then we will keep living in this little house which is located close to stores, medical etc. We are thinking we might just keep renting this little house from our daughter. It works well as she lives 1/2 a mile from us. We don't bother them and they don't bother us.

We do look for houses daily. Just haven't found "the one".

Oh OP, as you know the people in the northwest are very friendly and this is from someone who was born and raised in the South. Just my 2 cents.

I know, you just don't want anyone else to move here and I so understand with all the traffic and the housing prices.

[davebarnes]