Moving after retirement?

[anothercog]

If you moved just before or after retirement, why did you move and how has it worked out for you?

I keep toying with the idea of moving from CA to FL for hopefully lower cost of living and entertainment options (thinking Orlando area). Part of me thinks this is an awful idea because we don't have friends or family in the area and I will melt in the summer heat but I can't stop thinking about it. Watching videos of how much house I can get for my money doesn't help.

Any thoughts, suggestions?

 

[Aerides]

I didn't move, but I think one key recommendation in these threads is not to move right before, or right after, retiring. Give it a year. Travel, maybe test run the areas with an AirBnB or extended hotel stay.

The greener pasture, viewed when still working, might not be the same one you want after you've retired.

 

[Souschef]

I moved only 50 miles, but it got me out of Los Angeles County into Ventura County, which is the best kept secret in Southern Calif. I downsized from an 1800 sq ft 2 story condo to a 1400 sq ft home in a +55 park.
I love it here, a much slower pace, lots more green instead of concrete canyons. The topsoil here is 20 feet deep, instead of the adobe in the San Fernando Valley.
I am about to pick the last tomatoes for the season.

Right now the infection rate is so much lower than LA County, which is a relief.
My late mom lived in Florida, and I would never move there.

 

[statsman]

Moving just for lower COL may not be an ideal way to decide. Sure, it can be important, but you really need other reasons to want to move to a new area. We moved from CA to TX a couple of years ago because our only child moved there in the middle of 2016 for her job and liking the area more than CA. If it weren't for that, we likely would have never moved to TX.

That said, I'm surprised I have been able to tolerate the summer heat here more than I imagined. Having a newer house that is well insulated with a suitable HVAC system helps. Because of that, being out in the heat isn't all that bad, knowing I can easily escape it.

 

[flyingaway]

I am considering to move to Florida (likely Tampa area) or Las Vegas after retirement. But I guess we will wait until we actually spend some longer time in both places. The biggest motivation is entertainments and activities in those places.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

I assume you've already been to Florida a few times and can handle the humidity, it's awful. I think it was September that I went to Orlando to meet my sisters and while I loved the area and the attractions i could not take the humidity. I was showering multiple times daily and just felt damp all the time. I'd wake up to a beautiful blue sky in the morning and sit out by the screened in pool however by 10.00am the clouds came rolling in every day. By 1.00 o'clock it was raining every single day and when it rains, it really buckets down. Maybe I went at the wrong time of year and I really should give it another chance and I seem to remember it might have been called monsoon season. I can take heat, I live in So Cal and it can get well over 100 degrees in the summer months. In the desert climate it's a dry heat so no sweating, our problem is the dry air which is fine in the daytime but overnight I need to run a humidifier to put some moisture back in the air. First world problems I know....

 

[tenant13]

Unless you have very specific reasons for the move (job, family etc.) you should do a test run and rent something for at least 3 months - preferably a year. You may be totally fine with the weather and make amazing new friends... But there could be things you can't think of right now that are deal breakers once you discover them (perhaps the area is infested with mosquitos or anacondas

 

[MRG]

We moved 800 miles from KC to the mountains. It's slightly high COL but what am I going to spend it on? Besides we didn't get "fun snow" like this morning in KC. Are there downsides? Yes. I'm going for a walk in the fresh snow and try to remember what they are.

 

[travelover]

We moved, but toward family. And we rented for a year to be sure we liked it and to get to know the area. It worked out.

 

[cbo111]

We moved from CA to FL after retirement 5 years ago. Definitely a lower cost option. We looked in the Winter Park/Orlando area where DS lives, but the traffic gridlock there is just nasty. Much nicer and lower cost over on the gulf coast (Tampa/Bradenton area). It is oppressively hot and sticky in the summer, so we usually plan a 5-week trip to Canada or other dry climate in the July timeframe.

 

[Brdofpray]

After 30 years in the Chicago area, DW retired in June 2009. We sold our house at the end of that month. I had to work till the end of August for health insurance reasons. We lived in an extended stay motel for July and August. All of our stuff had already made the move to Upstate South Carolina to the house we just finished building. On the first day of September 2009 (my official last day), DW picked me up at the office, and we drove nonstop from Chicago to South Carolina. Never looked back. We had not visited SC for any appreciable time. We did not know a sole. It just felt right. Since then, both DS and family, and DD moved to the area. In thirty years in Chicago, there was no one we really called close friends. In the last 10 years we have developed very close friendships with several couples. Life is very good.

Sometimes you can overly plan, examine things to the nth degree (paralysis by analysis). Other times, if you find yourself in a relatively good, financial situation, you can make your own opportunities, and be successful where ever you decide to go.

 

[Koolau]

Story told more than once: We moved to HI from the midwest after FIRE. It certainly was NOT for the lower COL (though lower taxes have been a surprise benefit.) Mostly, we were tired of winter, tired of corn fields, tired of hot/sticky summers, tired of prairie and frozen tundra. We considered FL and SoCal but they STILL have winters there. Now we have neither AC nor heat. We have a Million Dollar view of the vast Pacific (heh, heh, cost less than half that). We have beautiful mountains, all the beaches we could ever walk, mostly nice neighbors, Costco, etc. etc.

We visited a dozen times (up to 6 weeks at a time.) So we DID do a good trial run before moving. That's important as I don't know but a couple of folks who have moved FROM the mainland to HI and have stayed longer than we have. Everyone else has returned after 3 months to 5 years. Let's face it, 600 square miles (Oahu) or even 4000 square miles (Big Island) ain't that big. (My old county was 400 square miles and it was surrounded by the rest of the mainland!) So, it takes a certain "attitude" to make it here (and that doesn't include the much higher COL - though there are always ways around most of the issues caused by the higher prices - I've never eaten a fresh blueberry here, but lots of frozen ones, etc. etc.)

All in, we are very happy with our move after 13 years. Until Covid, we returned to the midwest each year for a good portion of the summer. I'd say the main two things that bother me in our current location are traffic and the one-party political system (it could be EITHER party to be a problem.) YMMV

 

[Dtail]

I assume you've already been to Florida a few times and can handle the humidity, it's awful. I think it was September that I went to Orlando to meet my sisters and while I loved the area and the attractions i could not take the humidity. I was showering multiple times daily and just felt damp all the time. I'd wake up to a beautiful blue sky in the morning and sit out by the screened in pool however by 10.00am the clouds came rolling in every day. By 1.00 o'clock it was raining every single day and when it rains, it really buckets down. Maybe I went at the wrong time of year and I really should give it another chance and I seem to remember it might have been called monsoon season. I can take heat, I live in So Cal and it can get well over 100 degrees in the summer months. In the desert climate it's a dry heat so no sweating, our problem is the dry air which is fine in the daytime but overnight I need to run a humidifier to put some moisture back in the air. First world problems I know....

I am considering to move to Florida (likely Tampa area) or Las Vegas after retirement. But I guess we will wait until we actually spend some longer time in both places. The biggest motivation is entertainments and activities in those places.

I live in Tampa and yes one must be able to deal with the heat and rain.
Heat - using 85 degrees as the barometer, there are 7 months of summer including 4 months of 90+ degrees with humidity.
Rain - there are typically 4 months of the rainy season where it averages 5 days of rain weekly. It could be one heavy downpour at around 3/4pm, or multiple downpours.

We love the hot weather and for example, I will play Pickleball as the heat index reaches 100 degrees.
Today it was 74 degrees and that is about average for this time of year.

 

[Poopycat]

As others have suggested, try it out for a few months or more before making a permanent move. I would recommend staying there over a summer. It’s easy to live in FL during the winter when it’s a nice, snow-free 75 degrees. But if you can stay during a muggy, hot summer and you enjoy things there, then maybe it would be a good location for you.

An extended stay in FL will also help you determine whether you will feel ok with moving away from friends and family or whether the pull of your current CA life is just too strong. I would imagine that Orlando is a popular area for newcomers so it might be easy for you to make new friends there, but if I’m wrong or if you tend to be reserved and find it difficult to make new friends, then staying where you are might be best because having a support system around you will make things easier for you as you age.

Give it a test run! That way you’ll know for sure and won’t have regrets.

 

[Walt34]

We only moved about 80 miles from the Washington, D.C. area to WV but it is a world away in terms of culture, traffic levels, and housing costs. Other costs are fractionally lower but not near enough to make a move worthwhile. The big issue was traffic, as in having to plan one's life around it. We don't have to do that (much) anymore. Only in some areas, others are unaffected.

We didn't rent, we just up and moved. This worked out well for us but we can see in hindsight there was a bit of luck involved in that, and we won't do it again, so I agree that it is best to rent for a year first in a given area.

 

[Ginny]

We moved from So CA to SC and we love it!!! I am so glad that I am no longer in CA. Living in a more rural area, slower pace, small town, lower cost of living and nicer people.

 

[Sanstar]

We downsized in a big way 3 years after retiring. Large home on an acre to a 2 BR apartment. Still in TX but 200 mile move to be 3 miles from family and new GS. Low COL, no state taxes to file, no yard to tend. Before CV we traveled a lot. Now we stay busy waking/exploring local parks, public gardens and family time. I have “adopted” a local park for frequent plogging. Looking forward to more travel after vaccine. No regrets for change.

If/when it’s not fun/satisfying we’ll do something else. Life is short. Change is good.

 

[pjm-7]

I waited for a few years after I retired to make a move. I looked at a few different locations before making my decision. I moved to western Colorado in April right in the middle of the pandemic lockdowns. I was tired of the traffic and hassles of the Denver area. I bought a house in my new location without renting first. I had visited this side of the state numerous times. I did not know anyone when I moved here. It is working out well. I resumed my volunteering activities and have met a few people on a social basis.

I don't know if I would have made a cross country move. Didn't have any other location in mind besides the mountain west. I think that moving to a new location is something that you have to think about on a deep personal level.

 

[MRG]

It was funny we looked for ten years all over the country. We finally gave up after visiting our same house 25 years older, needing most systems replaced, for only 100k more than our current home. We gave up.

Bought a newer truck with the plan to stay put and just visit places. We did one trip and found what we were looking for.

 

[corn18]

We moved from OH to TX in Jan 2019 for my job. We moved back in Apr 2020. Wife cried a lot. Moved back to be near kids and friends. We plan to retire Mar 2021. No regrets. Love seeing our kids almost every day. And we are back in our friend circles we had when we lived here for 12 years.

 

[HI Bill]

We moved from Oahu to Hawaii Island, just before FIRE (well a few months). Compared to Oahu, we were able to get a larger place, with a partial ocean view, for less than half of what it would have cost on Oahu or Maui. But we did it for the slower pace of life, the lower population, the lack of freeway traffic jams, and better overall scuba diving. Even though we're spending 3X what we spent to maintain our Oahu condo to maintain the house, I couldn't be happier.

 

[Al in Ohio]

If you moved just before or after retirement, why did you move and how has it worked out for you?



I keep toying with the idea of moving from CA to FL for hopefully lower cost of living and entertainment options (thinking Orlando area). Part of me thinks this is an awful idea because we don't have friends or family in the area and I will melt in the summer heat but I can't stop thinking about it. Watching videos of how much house I can get for my money doesn't help.



Any thoughts, suggestions?

I would not move from CA to FL. If the tourists don’t annoy you the humidity and low quality “everything “will. You better rent for a year first.

 

[anothercog]

I would not move from CA to FL. If the tourists don’t annoy you the humidity and low quality “everything “will. You better rent for a year first.

Yeah, pretty sure we would “try before we buy.” Lots of good points so far. Long term we will want to be where our kids are, I just doubt they will be able to afford to stay around here given the high COL.

 

[irishgal]

Yep, moved from my home state of California to 46 acres in middle Tennessee.

 

[RobLJ]

Like most posting, I would caution/advise you to rent/lease for a year before pulling the plug--unless you have experience in FL.


Do as I say, not as I do. In 2015 we did the opposite, moving from Houston to Reno. There were a variety of factors below, even though neither of us had spent much/any time in Reno (I had stayed overnight in the late 80's several times driving from So Cal to Colorado where my parents were living.)

1. We both love the Mountain West high/alpine desert; are both avid hikers; I snowski and flyfish (our house is 2/3 of a mile from the Truckee River); DW snowshoes and cross-country skis. The High Sierras (and skiing) are 30 minutes away.

2. We both hate the Houston summer (from April to September), although we lived there for 25 years. If you're contemplating FL consider FL summers carefully.

3. Our oldest (winemaker in the CA Central Valley) and his wife were planning on kids in the next year or two. Their youngest grandson turned out to be born in 2017. They are about 3&1/2 hours away. OUr youngest was in Seattle, about an 11 hour drive (for me). Don't laugh, I grew up in Oklahoma/TX driving 800 miles in a day is de rigeur. DW is babysitting now, for a week; the oldest grandson stays with us every 3 or 4 months for a few days.

4. Big Difference from you: Reno housing was 40% more expensive, but we knew that. We owned the Houston house free and clear, which helped; we bought the Reno house clear. The house we bought in 2015 is now worth 40% more, so I don't know whether we would choose Reno now; since the portfolio is up significantly, probably so. However, Reno/NV has no state tax (like TX).

5. Only close family left for me is the AgedP in Ft. Worth (my sister lives with her, which is a big help)and DW's family is scattered all over. Until COVID I flew back or drove to Ft. Worth 4x /yr.

6. DW is younger and planned on working until 2023; instead she retired 2 & 1/2 years ago while I worked happily online teaching 1/2 time until May. Reno had a lot of job possibilities for her, as opposed to more rural mountain areas. This was a big consideration.

Downsides:
Reno average temps have been steadily rising, along with the Sierras, so DW finds July/August a struggle. We may lease in WY/MT or high CO in those months. I regret selling the Colorado cabin up at 7500 ft outside of Canon City, but we thought we shouldn't be paying on a mortgage at the time, with the portfolio considerably lower and SS far off. Such is life.


We considered 5 or 6 other locations in the far West (and particularly Colorado Springs/Salida; cabin Okie granddad built in the '60s was downvalley from Aspen so I know the area well) but really liked Reno. Still do.