I have no idea where to retire!

[Out of Steam]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Cosmic Avenger 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]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KingOfTheCheapos 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.20210120_093311.jpeg

[RetireeRobert]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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.Attachment 39085

Where is the pic at?

[MRG]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RetireeRobert Where is the pic at?

SW CO. You're looking towards Wolf Creek.

[statsman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RetireeRobert 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]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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.

+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]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan 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....

[Huston55]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KingOfTheCheapos 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.

You've already received lots of good advice in the posts above. FWIW, here's my advice after moving 32 times in 60 yrs, living in multiple US states and most regions (except New England) and in Europe multiple times.

1. Write down your criteria first; they will lead you to a list of places to investigate. I'd suggest a list of more than five places means you didn't do this step well enough.
2. Slow travel to as many of these places as you can but, don't take forever. You should be able to do this in 1-2 yrs.
3. Keep your California house until you select your location. It's very difficult financially to return to Cali after you sell real estate.
4. Purge your stuff until it hurts; then purge a bit more. Your retired life (well, actually all your life but, you know...) should be about experiences versus stuff.

Everyone has an opinion on the five places you list in your OP. I will just say that I've lived in one or more versions of all five of them, and they each have a "fatal flaw" so, be wise with your criteria.

We decided to return to the SF Bay Area after FIRE, despite COL, and I'm happy we did. We could afford it (with some adjustments) and, our closest relationships are here, which is what brought us back. Been here 6 yrs now and plan to stay for the foreseeable future.

Finally, as pointed out above, any decision is not final. You can always move again if it doesn't work out. But, deciding to return to California after selling your real estate would be very punitive financially.

Best of luck.

[Recutter]

I'd spend a couple months renting in each area. I am also a NYC native in SoCal(on the coast) and I don't think the weather is better anywhere on Earth.

[Nick12]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Recutter I'd spend a couple months renting in each area. I am also a NYC native in SoCal(on the coast) and I don't think the weather is better anywhere on Earth.

+1. My family member lived in a beach bungalow in Corona Del Mar, CA. Didn't need AC. Kobe and Dennis Rodman were frequent sightings since they both lived next door in Newport Beach.

[kcowan]

Our first destination lasted for ten years until we moved in the same town but a bigger place closer to the ocean(12 minute walk down to 5 minutes). Nothing is forever!

[Imalifecoach]

DH and I made a list of places we thought we would like. Then took vacations. When one jumped out as THE PLACE we returned several times at different times of the year to see if it still felt right. It did, so we took the plunge, bought a house and for almost 4 years have gone back and forth. Now, full time and it hasn’t gotten old.

Explore, think about your priorities and have fun picking. As others have said, it’s not a one and done.

[eytonxav]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelB I hear Texas is a great state to live, members here speak highly of it.

I am waiting for our Texas tourism adviser to chime in!!!!

[Tafkah]

California is a tough act to follow. I'm constantly looking for areas that I might enjoy more than the San Francisco Bay area, but so far, haven't found it. I'm starting to think there's a reason home prices are so outrageous here.
__________________
FIREd in 1998 at the age of 38.

[sunnysideup]

Have you looked at https://www.best-place-to-retire.com...to-retire-quiz ?

It might be a good place to start. After you have some choices, Definitely try visiting/staying there for a bit to see if it works for you. Don’t make a decision too fast...take your time...

[spencerbb]

I went to Southeast Asia. Everyone is different, go travel and find out where is good for you.

[Koolau]

Quote:

Originally Posted by raygromer California is a tough act to follow. I'm constantly looking for areas that I might enjoy more than the San Francisco Bay area, but so far, haven't found it. I'm starting to think there's a reason home prices are so outrageous here. __________________ FIREd in 1998 at the age of 38.

Funny how that works, isn't it?

Hmmm. Small town, middle of Mississippi or Ventrua, CA. East Grand Forks, Minnesota or Palo Alto, CA. It's still location, location, location.

I have a couple of issues with Cali, but would consider it if the Hawaii thing doesn't work out. Of course, most of Cali that I would live is more expensive than the place I live in Hawaii, so there's that. Location...... YMMV