Has anyone considered retiring to the town you grew up in?

[Pbkmaine]

For me, it's become more people than place. I still have close friends from high school and college, but they have scattered to the four winds. One of the reasons we moved to this location in Florida is that we have close friends here. They linked us into their friend network. So we moved to a strange place but are not surrounded by strangers.

[athena53]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ExFlyBoy5 This brings up an interesting point. My Dad has mentioned that most of the folks he grew up with that stayed in their hometown didn't amount to a hill of beans but those that left did much better for themselves. He also mentioned that with all the HS reunions they had (the last one was 50 years, I think), a larger percentage of the "stayed home" crowd had died than those that had moved away.

That IS interesting. The area where I was raised depended heavily on the steel industry and other manufacturing (Hoover and Goodyear were in the vicinity, for example). Those jobs are gone. I would certainly never have been able to launch a career as an actuary there.

I was surprised at the number of locals who didn't show up at my reunions. There's a good core group that gets together periodically and they do all of the planning, but I've been to a couple of gatherings so far where people I knew were in the area didn't show up, but those of us scattered around the country did. I think that's partly a function about how you feel about where you are in life.

[GreatLaker]

I am a couple of years younger than the OP and plan to move to my home town when I retire next year. I moved to Toronto to go to university from a city in Ontario that's about 50% bigger than Saint Cloud. There are times I have loved it, and other times not so much. I never saw the career opportunities in my profession if I had moved back while working.

What I really miss and am looking forward to is the easy to access outdoor activities that are so hard to do in a city of 2.5 million. I have some relatives back there, and over the past 5 or so years have visited regularly and cultivated friends, with whom I often discuss retirement activities. I am sure I will miss the activities and culture of living downtown in a big city. But I have reasons to move, and a plan for what to do when I get there.

My parents, on the other hand, talked about moving to my Dad's home town in a resort area of Ontario when they retired. They never did, I think because for them, why uproot themselves from friends, relatives, church, a beautiful home and other activities for a romantic dream. Horses for courses.

I would not move on a whim, or just because of dissatisfaction with your current life, without good evaluation of why you want to move, and more importantly what you will do when you get there.

[gcgang]

I grew up in Flint, Michigan. Now I live on Maui. Next question.

[Forced to Retire]

When I return to my old home town (Saint Cloud MN), and look around and talk to the people, and observe the scene, I feel comfortable. The social culture feels good. The look of the place seems comfortable and familiar. People interact with each other in a typical Minnesota way.

25 years + in the Washington DC area and I still feel like an outsider. It does not feel like the America I grew up in. It's harsh and foreign. You can return home again- I hope.

[ziggy29]

No, I grew up in Silicon Valley where a starter home is $700,000 in a mediocre neighborhood. I may return to the west coast within a few hours' drive of family, friends and old haunts we left behind there, but not right in the midst of it all. It's too crowded and traffic-addled to move back as a retiree even if it were cheaper.

[ivinsfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Forced to Retire When I return to my old home town (Saint Cloud MN), and look around and talk to the people, and observe the scene, I feel comfortable. The social culture feels good. The look of the place seems comfortable and familiar. People interact with each other in a typical Minnesota way. 25 years + in the Washington DC area and I still feel like an outsider. It does not feel like the America I grew up in. It's harsh and foreign. You can return home again- I hope.

In this case you should have no qualms about leaving the area when you are no longer tied down by a lease. Be sure this isn't just an dream about escaping an unpleasant situation before you spend money relocating. Since you are keeping your credit clean by fulfilling your lease you can buy a home in a small town close to St Cloud for a great price that will help you lower your yearly expenses.

[Persn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Forced to Retire When I return to my old home town (Saint Cloud MN), and look around and talk to the people, and observe the scene, I feel comfortable. The social culture feels good. The look of the place seems comfortable and familiar. People interact with each other in a typical Minnesota way. 25 years + in the Washington DC area and I still feel like an outsider. It does not feel like the America I grew up in. It's harsh and foreign. You can return home again- I hope.

In that case you should definitely give it a try. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

[Just_Steve]

I spent 3 weeks in St Cloud w*rk related a few years ago, some of the nicest and down to earth folks I have ever met in my life.
Funny story about that trip, some of the people were not to happy because they were still golfing at the end of November instead of ice fishing, warm winter.

[ProspectiveBum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Just_Steve Funny story about that trip, some of the people were not to happy because they were still golfing at the end of November instead of ice fishing, warm winter.

Funny, my Dad spent some time there on business, and he said the same. Folks had lots of expensive snow-machines and cross-country ski gear that they were mad they couldn't use because they had such a mild winter.

[Dash man]

Nothing worth going back to Southern California for. Too many less crowded and less expensive places to live where people prefer to stay out of other people's business.


Enjoying life!

[ccourt9283]

Not no, but H_ll no!

[Souschef]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Just_Steve I grew up on 198 st and Valentine Ave, where did you?

I grew up near Parkchester -near Bruckner Blvd and White Plains Road

[Just_Steve]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Souschef I grew up near Parkchester -near Bruckner Blvd and White Plains Road

Cool, last place I lived in Da Bronx was Tremont a few blocks west of the Bruckner. Worked on Zerega Ave for a few years.

[FIREd]

We will be moving back soon to the city where my wife grew up (southeastern US). We both like the area and have a good social network there. But my wife feels like there is a stigma associated with "going home" - as in it is a sign that one has failed in life.

I have so such qualm. Would I move back to my own hometown? Absolutely. It is located in a beautiful part of the world (the Alps) and my family has lived there for generations. It will always be my one true home, the one place where I belong no questions asked. I own a condo and spend several weeks per year in my hometown and I never tire of it. We might even make it our primary residence in the future.

[braumeister]

When I moved away, mumblety-seven years ago, I was so glad to be out of there I never wanted to see it again.

However, my parents refused to move, and so did some of my friends from back then. As a result, I've continued to pay visits, about every 4-5 years. I still can't stand it beyond a 2-3 day visit.

Now, I couldn't even afford to live there so that's another factor.

[unclemick]

Hmmm - grew up 30 miles as the Crow flies from Mt St. Helen's. Went back for my 50th High School Reunion in 2011. My Buds from school were scattered across the country.

We have a reunion for the Wife's relatives in St Joe, MO every year. However my side can be from Maine to California - Olympic Peninsula this year. Maybe Tennessee next year.

heh heh heh - ?The world is my oyster? Home is where I'm at. After Katrina I have a subconscious preference for high ground. Even here'above the wide Missouri' -

[Sasset]

I have been looking at moving back to my home town in Kansas. Parents, siblings and other family are still there. I even looked at houses when I was there earlier this summer. The cost of living is low. Also, it would give me more time with my folks as they are getting up there. There is high probability that this is where I will move to when I retire.

Unclemick -I have also thought about KC as I lived there for 11 years after collage. Still have friends and .family there


Still doing OMM for now though.

[Totoro]

The town I grew up in does not exist anymore, only some aspects live on in my memories, and distorted too. I've been gone too long.

There is of course a place that geographically matches the place I was some 20 years ago, and some people I knew back then still live there I think, but it's not the town now that it was then, and certainly doesn't match my distorted current memory of it. I'm also very different.

So why would I go live in a place that looks similar to a place a previous version of myself once resided in, but is in the end very different? Sounds like a twilight-zone type of nightmare to me, and/or a recipe for depression.

It's nice enough to pass through, like visiting a museum and showing it to loved ones maybe. Just long enough to keep the illusion intact.

[CountryGal]

I think it depends on what you are looking for. From what you have said it sounds like a good fit.

A good friend of mine moved back to the small town she grew up in to take care of her aging mother who needed help. She is fitting in just fine and reconnecting with folks she knew long ago.