I have no idea where to retire!

[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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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.

 

[Out of Steam]

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.

 

[Out of Steam]

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.

There are government factors beyond high taxes. The Maryland suburb we moved from was high-tax, but the local/state government was generally reasonable and public services were good.

Some places are just badly governed, and could introduce a lot of frustration to daily life. From reports I see, the state of Illinois seems to be such a place.

 

[smalltownguy1]

I'm having similar thoughts, KingOfTheCheapos. I've always lived along the NE Corridor (NYC-BAL-DC areas), but now I'm further out in the suburbs than I've ever been, and we have a family cabin outside a medium-sized town in the upper midwest. I'm starting to think I wouldn't mind a cabin...IF it has good broadband internet service and it's within an hour of an airport, as I do want to travel a lot once I'm retired. However, part of me also feels like I belong in a downtown condo in a walkable city, since I grew up taking public transportation in NYC.

I think the biggest question is, what's your budget? Not just for real estate/rent, but for your regular COL. I know CA is expensive, but are you in the mountains or eastern part of the state, or the Bay Area or LA metroplex? I'm assuming the costs and RE prices do vary somewhat, even though CA is probably higher than most states.

We're planning on some short trips to certain areas (PNW, AZ, CO, ME) to see if we like the area and what the RE markets are like there over the next 2-3 years, and probably more so after we retire, to help us decide if and when we're going to move, or snowbird it. So I'd advise you to start thinking about trips to all those types of places, to see what really calls to you. And as has said before in these types of discussions, after narrowing it down and choosing a candidate I'm still consider renting for 6-12 months so we can adjust and see what it's like to be somewhere long term, through more than one season.

I have a lake cabin on a private lake in East Texas-2.25 hours from dfw Airport and about the same to IAH it’s a good base. As it was a “weekender” cabin it was made to be left alone while I travel.

 

[Alan]

Help me out here.

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?

What are the main options for retiring locations. I can think of:

a) Island living i.e. Hawaii
b) Big City living i.e. DC
c) Off-the-grid i.e. a shack in Montana
d) Europe
e) Beach-side i.e. Florida

Or maybe I'm thinking about it all wrong! Help me out!

I don't have family in the US so am not tied to any one area.

We had a great time deciding where to retire. Every year we spent several weeks, at least a month if not longer, in various places to get a good feel for the place.

1st year was in Colorado (banana belt)
2nd year in England - Yorkshire
3rd year we spent a full month on San Juan island in Puget Sound in Washington
4th year in Rep of Ireland plus a few weeks staying with our daughter in Santa Monica, we used her place while she went to work
5th year was Australia, including a full month in Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania
6th year was Canada, 12 weeks including long stays at places in BC and Alberta

7th year we went back to Yorkshire and decided this was in fact the place for us and moved here permanently the following year.

 

[MRG]

We looked for 10 years at many locations that are "the places to retire". We didn't find anything that was where we wanted to live. We finally gave up and just figured we'd travel around, bought a new truck for our adventures. First trip we looked around and asked "what is wrong with this place?". Turns out nothing for us, I remember another forum member telling me what a terrible place this is, to each their own. My only regret is we didn't move here 3 years earlier as real estate was still very depressed then. We've still experienced almost 100% appreciation on our home in 5 years.

My advice is don't pay attention to what others do, find your paradise.

 

[RetireeRobert]

We looked for 10 years at many locations that are "the places to retire". We didn't find anything that was where we wanted to live. We finally gave up and just figured we'd travel around, bought a new truck for our adventures. First trip we looked around and asked "what is wrong with this place?". Turns out nothing for us, I remember another forum member telling me what a terrible place this is, to each their own. My only regret is we didn't move here 3 years earlier as real estate was still very depressed then. We've still experienced almost 100% appreciation on our home in 5 years.

My advice is don't pay attention to what others do, find your paradise.View attachment 39085

Where is the pic at?

 

[MRG]

Where is the pic at?

SW CO. You're looking towards Wolf Creek.

 

[statsman]

Are you the sole decision maker for "where to retire to", or is there a Dear Wife who might have some say so?

Where is family, and do you want to be near(er) to them, or perhaps farther away from them?

We moved to be near our only child, who from the moment they moved here five years ago had been trying to coerce us to follow (which we did 2.5 years ago). Friends back in California were rather envious of us. Their children moved away from them to be *away* from them.

 

[brett]

I really think that the decision comes down to understanding you wants and needs, doing a little research, and then applying some basic common sense.

No one can do this for you.

 

[RunningBum]

I really think that the decision comes down to understanding you wants and needs, doing a little research, and then applying some basic common sense.

No one can do this for you.

+1. Especially with such a very wide range of options given in the first post. Does the OP really have no idea if they want to live in a big city or off the grid away from everything?

 

[Koolau]

We had a great time deciding where to retire. Every year we spent several weeks, at least a month if not longer, in various places to get a good feel for the place.

1st year was in Colorado (banana belt)
2nd year in England - Yorkshire
3rd year we spent a full month on San Juan island in Puget Sound in Washington
4th year in Rep of Ireland plus a few weeks staying with our daughter in Santa Monica, we used her place while she went to work
5th year was Australia, including a full month in Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania
6th year was Canada, 12 weeks including long stays at places in BC and Alberta


7th year we went back to Yorkshire and decided this was in fact the place for us and moved here permanently the following year.

Sorry, but I found myself fascinated by the term "banana belt" and had to look it up. I was fairly certain they don't grow a lot of bananas in Colorado. Turns out it describes an area that's warmer than one might guess, based on the area around it. The terrain "cooperates" to provide a relatively warmer area. Typically, leeward air will hit a mountain, rise, expand, cool, drop some rain or leave mist/dew whatever behind, cross the mountain, decend the other side, recompress which causes heating and ends up with warmer dryer air as the final "output" of the process. We actually see a lot of that here, but I've never heard the word banana associated with it - possibly because we DO produce bananas here (though we call them apple bananas and I've never developed a taste for them.)

I guess you learn something every day - especially here! Now returning you, etc. etc....