I have no idea where to retire!

[Bamaman]

I'm a son of the Deep South, and there's something to be said for living in the middle of the country--where we have both mountains and magnificent lakes within 1/2 hour. My city is full of rocket and missile scientists and engineers--very smart place.

I don't like paying taxes, and let me leave it at that for the politics. My wife & I have no property taxes which allows us to have a much nicer home.

And I like being in close proximity to 3 cities of 1 million+ people and a # of mid size cities. Nothing boring about a 75 minute run into the Music City and their 2,500 restaurants.

I sometimes watch City-Data.com and one of the favorite subjects is where to move. In the ultra LCOL southeast, the city that comes up time and time again is Cookeville, Tennessee--a college town 80 miles east of Nashville. The region has dozens of large waterfalls, virgin streams and two of the premier lakes anywhere.

a) Island living i.e. Hawaii--Very beautiful, but incredibly expensive place to live.
b) Big City living i.e. DC--I cannot stand big cities after 10 years living in Hotlanta.
c) Off-the-grid i.e. a shack in Montana--My wife requires more medical care than is commonly available there.
d) Europe--Not easy to get a Visa without payola of big $. Too many kids need us here.
e) Beach-side i.e. Florida--HOA fees, high property taxes and unbelievable homeowner's insurance rates more than offset the lack of state income taxes. Tennessee has no state income taxes and also cheap property taxes--something Texas cannot say.

And whoever would think that Huntsville, Alabama is the #3 fastest growing city (percentage wise) in the country--according to United Van Lines.

[Tetto]

I had the same thoughts until more recently! I live in Connecticut and always complained about the taxes etc, but the more I see of the “cheaper” states and their weather, inhabitants and general craziness, I’ve gained a new appreciation for living in New England. We have everything here. California is a beautiful state with everything too, good luck on a decision!

[rodi]

My dad had an extensive list after reading some books on retirement and figuring out what was important to him.

Here was his list - and why.

Smallish city - small enough to have less gridlock traffic, but big enough to have a hospital and decent medical care as well as decent restaurants, shopping, etc..
College city - more likely to have cultural stuff going on, more educated citizens, free or cheap lectures/concerts/etc..
Mountains/ocean within short enough distances... (He liked hiking/mountain biking/kayaking.)

He concluded that Bellingham WA met his criteria (I was living there at the time).

Then he brought it up to my mom... She vetoed it. Her reasons:
- Family was in San Diego (her mom, specifically)
- Weather was better in San Diego
- Didn't see the need to move away.

Mom won.

So... before investing too much thought in this - talk to your spouse/family.

Everyone has their own list of what they want. For me - humidity is a deal breaker - so FL and the southeast are out. Other people think it's great or don't mind spending months indoors in the AC. Europe is neat - but can be pricey... and language is an issue in some places. We've toyed with the idea of buying a rustico in southern Italy and fixing it up... but that would be a second home.... Parlo un po' di italiano... ma non parlo bene...

I agree with the advise about keeping your CA home if you decide to move out of state. You keep your prop13 tax rates even if you use it as a rental. (Lose homestead exemption - but that's a small part of property tax). If you move within CA you can transfer the rate based on your current house to the new house. (Thank you prop 13 followed by 2020's prop 19). Property taxes are a big deal.

Good luck with your research

[Ronstar]

Easy choice to make - Definitely C the Montana shack. Nothing else on your list even comes close.

[Brat]

My parents had a condo in HI and learned that it is too expensive for the family to visit. Because he was a Federal retiree taxes were minimal and they could manage the cost of day-to-day living but that did not offset the isolation from family.

Montana is another matter. Missoula is actually a great town (hesitate to call it a city). Off the grid? Why? Not far from Spokane which has excellent air service and health care.

FL, DC doesn't make any sense to me.

[RobbieB]

I decided to retire right here where I've lived for 30 years. Know the place well and it's paid for too.

[W2R]

There's no deadline for deciding where you want to retire. Take your time! Think about it. Adjust to being retired, and think about it some more. Visit a few places and stay for a while.

You have all the time in the world.

[TheHobbit]

Why choose? I’m doing Hawaii and a place on the mainland. If I find I don’t get island fever, then I’ll jettison the mainland place eventually — perhaps get a 2nd place on a different island or upgrade to a larger residence.

[Koolau]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunset We have the same issue. When we had to move for work, it was easy to move from State to State or even other Country. Now it's our choice and it seems limitless.. Perhaps OP you could vacation in some place for 2 months. Rent a house/apt for that time and see what it's like living like a local. For myself, I vacationed in HI, and for the first 5 days loved it. Then I realized if I had itchy feet I had to fly to the mainland and rent a car to go anywhere. It made me feel trapped on the island, so that is out.

Wow, I think that's a record for getting what we call "Island Fever" (some call it "Rock Fever.") It's not bad yet, but with 2 years since visiting the mainland (2 new grand babies!) I think I'm finally getting Island fever after living here for almost 14 years. Of course, I have visited the mainland 13 of those years which is enough for me. We're all different and need to know our limitations - especially if we're thinking about picking up and moving. That's why its SO important to visit a place for a while. Mentioned elsewhere, we did a 5 week stay (after a dozen 1 to 2 week visits) to see if we could live in the Islands. No travel plans official yet, but hoping to be released by my doc (and the governor - allowing me to return) within a month. YMMV

[Koolau]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KingOfTheCheapos Fortunately money isn't an issue for me. I could buy a $1M house if needed, but I probably wouldn't buy one if I knew it would depreciate to $0.5M.

I think "shack in Montana" is the only thing likely to depreciate to half (and it wouldn't start at anything close to $1 mil). The MOST depreciation I've seen here is 20% and that was in specific areas (overall, at the bottom of the "housing crisis"). General HI real estate depreciated about 10% at that time. We were able to arbitrage that spread (10% vs 20%) to upgrade to where we live now. Our current condo was one of those few 20% depreciation while old town house depreciated 10%. Effectively we moved for "free" (a swap). I much prefer a view of the Pacific out the front Lanai and mountain view out the back Lanai to the all around mountain view before. Very much YMMV.

[Out of Steam]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KingOfTheCheapos I live in CA and like it but having lived here for over two decades I'm due for a change or is CA as good as it gets?

California has most every environment you could ever want.

What about the option of moving within California, perhaps even within a couple of hours of where you are now?

[1242Vintage]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobbieB I decided to retire right here where I've lived for 30 years. Know the place well and it's paid for too.

Us too!

As we approached retirement we looked at RE in other states (Hawaii and Nevada) but in the end decided what we have now in No. CA in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mtns fits our lifestyle better than anywhere else.

Love our climate, rural lifestyle, and the year round outdoor activities right outside our front door.

No place is perfect though. We have the constant threat of Summer wildfires. Things get tense when you hear the CA Dept of Forestry planes circling overhead waiting to make their fire retardant drop. And the threat of fires from winds also brings power shutdowns.

[Time2]

I have to wonder what part of California. If he is in the low humidity part of CA, then I don't suggest moving to high humidity Fl.
I had one short visit to Pasadena and the weather was just beautiful.

[Chuckanut]

Be careful. A friend in his mid 60's moved to Thailand to retire. A few years later he was back in the USA with a young wife (30 years younger) and a one year old daughter to raise.

I do think this is an opportunity to rent in various parts of the country and see what you like. Have you considered a different part of California? Humboldt county is a lot different from LA county or Frisco.

Personally, I stayed in the area I currently live in because my children are also here. But, one has recently moved out of state, a three hour airplane ride away. The other seeing the advantages of the sibling's new location is threatening to do the same. So.... I may be checking out a new home. But, first I will give them a few years to decide if they like where they moved. I know a few parents who sold and moved to another state to be nearer the kids, only to have the kids decide to move a few years later for a job opportunity.

[Ole Red 29]

My priority for where I retired was:

1. Family nearby
2. Access to lots of medical resources
3. Low cost of living

[HawkeyeNFO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aerides If you really see all those places as roughly equally appealing, spend a year doing Airbnb's for a month in each place - during their off seasons. Don't go the best time of the year or the worst, but the hum drum time. I'd like all those places...for a little while. Every time I visit somewhere I envision living there. I have Sedona on my maybe-one-day list - you appear to be missing a mountain town option on yours.

Yep. Get rid of stuff you don't need, put the rest in storage, then slow travel. I'd actually do a few months in each place I visited.

Uncle Sam's Navy had me moving every few years, so I've lived right on the beach in Pensacola, FL, in the big city (DC) off and on for many years (currently in the 'burbs), on a small air base in New Orleans, a tiny village in Germany, and I also spent plenty of time on islands for up to 6 weeks or living on the ship for many months. Never made it to Hawaii though. Each one had their plusses and Minuses.

For myself, a retirement location would need to be near a decent airport. Not necessarily a hub, but one with several connections to them.

[brett]

I believe that tax regime should be one of the last considerations. Get through your list of priorities-whatever they happen to be. Come up with a short list of areas that work for you.

Then take a look at the financials. COL, taxes, etc. Shorten that short list. Then try a short term rental that encompasses the worst weather in your short listed locale (s).

After all....would you move/retire to Outer Mongolia if taxes were zero but health care was poor, etc?

[kcowan]

Been retired for 19 years. Here is how I react to your list:

Island living - isolation, fenced in, costly to get out
Big City - Costly and no longer required
Mountain retreat - you no longer need to get away now you are retired, lack of healthcare and broadband, amenities
Beach - we tried it and gazing at the water gets old and especially at night, it is dark. Walking distance to a beach while having city/town views is nice.
Weather - you have to xperience 4 seasons in any location. That is what ruled out Europe and SEA for us.
Family - remaining members are 2000 miles away and live there for work. We sacrifice living vicariously through the GCs and see them once a year.

By selecting a low COL area, you can visit other areas for variety.

[Retch The Grate]

As a fellow Californian, my current plan is to stay here. While the Bay Area has changed over the decades I've been here, it is still a great place to live, and more importantly, over the decades I've lived here, I've made tons of friends here. Moving to anywhere else at some point means giving up the ability to spend time with all those friends whenever I want to. It's not worth it to me to give up those connections, so, not looking to move. We will see if that holds true when DW is done with her career, she doesn't have the friends networks here that I do, so I can see her feeling that moving back to Europe is obviously the correct course of action. :P

[Out of Steam]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tetto I had the same thoughts until more recently! I live in Connecticut and always complained about the taxes etc, but the more I see of the “cheaper” states and their weather, inhabitants and general craziness, I’ve gained a new appreciation for living in New England.

There's a steadiness to much of Upstate New York and New England that I would find attractive.

If we had to leave the mid-Atlantic region, my choice would be either the Hudson Valley or somewhere in New England.