Ideas on where to move after ER

[Ronstar]

Looks good. Does one end up shopping (and fine dining) in Scottsdale? Looks like a nice spot.

Scottsdale is an easy 30-40 minute drive from Anthem and is probably the best place for shopping and fine dining nearby. Anthem is a great spot. Easy to get away if you like to travel. And great weather except for the real hot days.

 

[brokrken]

I think Austria has everything you need ;-)

Mountains, lakes and the best skiing in the world. What's not to like?

This is a great idea. However, when we RE our only child will be in college and we'd like to be close. Also, we will have older parents then, as well that we need to be around for.

We'll certainly travel to Europe often, though, as we do now!

 

[Spock]

Establish legal residency in a no income tax/low property tax state like South Dakota and the physically live where ever you want.

 

[brokrken]

Establish legal residency in a no income tax/low property tax state like South Dakota and the physically live where ever you want.

And how do you propose I do that without living there?

 

[Spock]

And how do you propose I do that without living there?

If I post an external link my posts go to moderator jail.
google "south dakota residency faq"

 

[imoldernu]

With a timeline that stretches into years, I would suggest drawing up a list of those locales that will be under consideration.

Then:
Go to this site, and spend a few minutes finding out what kind of information will be important to you. The statistics will help focus on the good and bad ... not just a pretty place, or congenial weather, but dozens and dozens of factors that will be part of your life after you have moved. Start with where you live today, to use it as a base.

City-Data.com - Stats about all US cities - real estate, relocation info, crime, house prices, cost of living, races, home value estimator, recent sales, income, photos, schools, maps, weather, neighborhoods, and more

Population, income, home values, taxes, and dozens of specific details that will allow you to place yourself in a comfortable retirement locale.

Just a "fer instance"
my town
family income $55K
home value $127K

San Francisco
family income 92K
home value $941

There are approximately 100 other statistics for each town... weather, schools, as well as delineation of neighborhoods within zip codes or townships, and detailed maps, for taxes. Also, major businesses, banks, crime rates, employers, restaurants, major attractions and photos, etc.

We all have our preferences, but some up-front homework on the locations under consideration can save some time and travel in the long run.

 

[euro]

OK, I'll yield to current local knowledge over how it was when I was there. I think 421 was a 2 lane road back then.

Yes, it was - I spent many hours making 10mph behind tractors and other farm equipment on those 2 lane sections

Alas, it's 4 lanes (no tractors!) all the way from Winston Salem to Boone now

 

[davismills]

The Lake Norman area (20 minutes north of Charlotte) is about 90 minutes to the Blue Ridge mountains (there's smaller ones closer in) and 3.5 hours to SC beaches (NC ones - a little further). We moved to the Lake Norman area a dozen years ago and love the area and all that it offers.

Hendersonville (and similar towns) near Asheville are just as grand, but without the "funkyness." Eastern TN, just as good and might bless you with lower taxes.

Agree! My hometown is Mooresville "The Port City of Lake Norman" and I do like the area. The traffic there has become a bit problematic though.

 

[ncbill]

Agree! My hometown is Mooresville "The Port City of Lake Norman" and I do like the area. The traffic there has become a bit problematic though.

More than a bit.

Last time I spent the night in Charlotte (had to be at airport @0430), southbound I-77 was stop-n-go well north of Mooresville.

Took another hour to go around it (east to Lincolnton, then south until we hit the beltway)

 

[brokrken]

With a timeline that stretches into years, I would suggest drawing up a list of those locales that will be under consideration.
.

Thanks, imoldernu. I always find your posts helpful ,regardless of topic. Much appreciated.

 

[DireWolf]

These man-made lakes near Raleigh aren't that great for swimming, imo. And the largest nearby lakes do not allow homes on them. Lake Lure near Asheville or Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia near Roanoke would be good options. I love Asheville, but it has gotten so trendy and expensive that I am no longer considering for my retirement. Roanoke might be the next Asheville and easier to get in on now.

 

[Koolau]

OK, I need the collective brains and experience of the group to help me and DW figure out where to move after ER. We aren't planning on ER for another 7-8 years, but if we found a place now, it would be nice to go ahead and buy, start to travel there and get to know the people and the area. We are currently in a fairly high COL area, especially housing and taxes. Once DD graduates HS, we have made the decision that we are leaving the city and downsizing. I've always loved the mountains, hiking and the outdoors. My wife enjoys the lake for swimming and I for fishing, so a mountain lake somewhere could work. However, neither of us want to be in the middle of nowhere away from civilization. And, we don't have to be on a lake, we are not big into watersports and the like. So, really a nice decent sized town/city that is near the mountains/lake might be ideal. Our initial thought has been North Carolina, although we haven't zeroed in a city. We are open to other places, although, East/Southeast is preferable considering our family ties there.

I know that was quite a rambling post, but any help with some ideas is appreciated.

We took 12 trips to our proposed new retirement area before finally deciding to move there. We bought early but considered it an investment with benefits - we could have sold it at a profit but we eventually chose to move in. My suggestion would be to narrow your choices and then spend lots of time in the area(s) to see if it will work for you. I don't recommend buying early like we did. I suggest renting first to give yourself an out. YMMV

 

[brucethebroker]

An aside, I wouldn't lock myself into the idea of buying now. For one thing, markets across the country are generally elevated. Given your time frame, if you've got cash on hand you might do well to sit for a few years and see what happens, then strike when the market is right. Rather than paying down the mortgage, save the money in a preservation/inflation-protection type vehicle, and make a larger down payment or pay cash on a better value property in a few years. Just a thought.

One theory. The other being that the housing market may continue to escalate during that time and raise prices 50% or more, as millennials continue to enter the market. Kind of like market timing for stocks....

If you found the right house now, it would make a nice vacation home or possible rental during the time waiting to FIRE. Also much easier to qualify for a mortgage while working, and you can also relocate when it's time without pressure or making a "double move".

 

[brucethebroker]

And great weather except for the real hot days.

As in a couple of days a year, or 200 days a year? No sarcasm, just curious.

 

[nubill]

Upstate SC is a very nice area, and Greenville is a great small city. I lived there for 16 years. It has many of the items that the OP was looking for. However, if you are not collecting SS, the state tax rate on pensions, dividend income, IRA/401K withdrawals and Roth conversions is 7%. Something to consider.

 

[Ronstar]

As in a couple of days a year, or 200 days a year? No sarcasm, just curious.

Around 15 days over 110° high temp a year.

 

[brokrken]

We took 12 trips to our proposed new retirement area before finally deciding to move there. We bought early but considered it an investment with benefits - we could have sold it at a profit but we eventually chose to move in. My suggestion would be to narrow your choices and then spend lots of time in the area(s) to see if it will work for you. I don't recommend buying early like we did. I suggest renting first to give yourself an out. YMMV

How far away from where you lived during your w*rking years is your retirement area? Reason I ask is that we are a 10-12 hour drive from the area we would be looking. We almost pulled the trigger on a place a year ago, but talked ourselves out of it when we realized that we wouldn't be able to visit often and being so far away from a rental in a remote area didn't seem like something we wanted to deal with.

Upstate SC is a very nice area, and Greenville is a great small city. I lived there for 16 years. It has many of the items that the OP was looking for. However, if you are not collecting SS, the state tax rate on pensions, dividend income, IRA/401K withdrawals and Roth conversions is 7%. Something to consider.

Good info on the taxes. Thanks for that.

 

[braumeister]

Around 15 days over 110° high temp a year.

But six months where the average high is 90°F or above. No, thank you!

 

[GRambler]

I agree with Nash on the housing market, we bought our second home when the market was bottomed out. We spent 25+ years going to a certain area and thought we'd like to retire there, but after 5 years of ownership we're now trying to decide if we really do want to move there with all the hassles involved.
Upstate South Carolina is tough to beat, been in Greenville my entire life, and now that ER is closer we're not sure we want to leave. Only issue is traffic is getting horrible with so many newcomers moving in. On the plus side if you're retired you can move around during the mid work day easily, it's rush hour and Saturday's that can gridlock.

 

[Bamaman]

I agree about Greenville, SC being very livable. But you can move west a short distance around Anderson or Clemson or Westminister or many other smaller and less expensive areas that are easier to live in than Greenville. The two big lakes over there are just incredible, as are the mountains.

There are also a bunch of golf/tennis communities being built in the mountains north and west of Greenville. Gary Player was designing a golf course over there and liked the development so much that he decided to move his whole golf course architecture firm there.

We keep a RV in NE Georgia, and there's a very nice society along the GA/SC border north of I-85. There are some huge mountains there that are comparable with the Smokies just to the north.