Moving after retirement?

[HI Bill]

On Oahu, we haven't experienced issues with specialty care, but do know a couple of folks who decided to seek treatment options on the mainland. Having said that, the outer Islands do have relatively limited care options. Many folks have to travel to Oahu for their care. Options are improving on other islands, but Oahu is still the go-to Island for more complete care. YMMV

+1. We do have specialists who fly over from Oahu for routine visits. But my retinal specialist doesn't, because he doesn't have his lasers and other equipment here. So I'm having to fly to Oahu twice a year, just to see him! Definitely makes me think that I'll need to move somewhere besides Hawaii Island by the time I turn 70+ or 75. We'll have to wait to see how the health is by then. Fortunately, I have 15-20 years before then if no new major health problems arise.

 

[kaudrey]

Somewhat unexpectedly, we moved this fall. About 30 miles away from where we were (townhouse in city-like suburb to house with big deck in nice, green, less-traffic suburb). I am retiring at the end of this year. We were going to move in a few years, but with me teleworking 100% of the time and my DH already retired, we starting talking about "where".

And the more we talked, the more we realized that we like "here" (northern VA), we just needed a different location/set up. So, we found one. As much as I love the West, my whole family is on the east coast; realistically we wouldn't move that far away....

We love it so far; if not for the whole COVID situation, we'd still be in our townhouse. We are much happier in the new place. So, now our plan is to stay in this area during retirement, with lots of traveling (which we were going to do no matter where we lived).

 

[38Chevy454]

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.

This is very similar to what I did. I moved 1500 miles from NM to OH. Left NM on the same day as my last day of work. No regrets at all, do not miss NM. Never intended to have NM as my retirement location. I grew up in CA, but don't want to live there now. Lived around the country for work in 7 different cities (5 states), plus my work travels, so I have seen a lot of the USA.



Moved to OH to be near family. Built a new house and a big detached garage, we are happy here. My only real complaint is the weather is not the best, I prefer warmer winters. Last winter we did a bit of snowbirding south for 2.5 months. I see that becoming more common next year and beyond.

 

[shafer9]

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 moved from NY to FL in 2000. Ft Lauderdale area. I love it. Is it perfect? Nothing is. But I like my life here. And I love not being cold.

 

[second_act_at_42]

Totally agree with trying before buying if possible! We are planning to take 1-2 yrs after retirement to travel and figure out where we want to set down new roots. Plan to leave Bay Area and find something coastal or PNW.

Question for the group - any advice on how to leverage equity in existing primary residence to purchase new residence? Sell, move, rent until buy? Bridge loan? Short term mortgage? Curious. Happy to start a new thread if that's more appropriate.

 

[tpkinsl]

We moved from high cost / high tax NY to low-cost DE within a few months of retirement. Like you, we didn’t know a soul, but took multiple trips to the area to make sure we knew what were were doing and to pick the right community. We did pick new construction in a new development, as we figured that everyone would be new and looking to make friends. Covid social restrictions have tested that a bit (!) but it has worked out well and we are glad we made the move.

 

[melijov]

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

How is the cost of living? Is it expensive?

 

[califgirl]

Thinking about the sage advice to test drive a potential retirement location for a couple of months. Can I ask those who have done this about the practical aspects? Is it easy to find a short term rental that would have most things set up (e.g. furniture, dishes, internet, cable)? If in a 55+ community, would it be possible to have access to the clubhouse or activities (though it may be severely curtailed right now)?

 

[orodman]

We moved to Florida two years ago from Connecticut.
We live in Venice on the west coast. We live in a resort community and our busy everyday with biking, pickleball and concerts. We love the weather and actually enjoy summers here because of the fewer people. Sure it’s hot but you can still do activities early in the morning or go swimming . We have a core group of friends and are never lonely. We visit our children in summers and can’t wait to start traveling again.
I would highly recommend coming down and get a feel for the area.
We visited this area for many years and knew where we would end up prior to retirement.

 

[Accidental Retiree]

DH and I met in a business math class in SoCal, married 3-1/2 years later, and after 3 years of marriage, we got transferred, kicking and screaming, away from our home and families up to the San Francisco Bay Area.

After 32 years up there, we came back to SoCal, a little further inland. We left as newlyweds and returned as middle-aged retirees.

After nearly 7 years back down here, though we love our new home, we are thinking of going back to my home state—REWahoo’s dire warnings notwithstanding—because that is where most of our remaining kinfolk live.

We miss family.

 

[Accidental Retiree]

Thinking about the sage advice to test drive a potential retirement location for a couple of months. Can I ask those who have done this about the practical aspects? Is it easy to find a short term rental that would have most things set up (e.g. furniture, dishes, internet, cable)? If in a 55+ community, would it be possible to have access to the clubhouse or activities (though it may be severely curtailed right now)?

Extended Stay Hotels or VRBO would work.

 

[Safe Harbour]

Carlsbad CA to Greenville SC

I retired on Dec 31 and Jan 1 we moved from Carlsbad CA (we also lived in SF) to SC. That was 10 years ago. We said we’d give it five and decide. No looking back. We left CA because of COL, crowding, fires. CA the COL was +30% and SC it was -30%. That’s a 60% diff! We came to SC for two reasons. First a better year round climate than FL and lower COL which more than makes up for state taxes in our case. The cost of property is much lower than FL. A lot of our neighbors call themselves 1/2 backs. Half way back from FL. Check it out.

 

[carty1]

Lived in FL all my life. I have to say FL is great 8 months of the year. During the other months you probably will want to buzz off to Canada ,Maine or Argentina.

 

[Morricol61]

We moved from our acreage property into the little country town nearby. We now live in a small easy to maintain cottage on quarter of an acre, a stones throw away from the main street.

We were aged 61 and 58 when we made the move, we don't anticipate moving again anytime soon. This house is one we can age in which is important as my DH has chronic health issues that he will never get rid of. The house we have is in a nice area with good neighbours.

We can easily lock up and leave should we want to go on holidays or if my husband has an extended stay in hospital. The neighbours will keep an eye on things for us while we are away.

 

[msanniee]

I moved a year after I retired from the San Francisco area to South Carolina.

Pluses - was able to sell my CA home and pay cash for a new house and car.
The house has space for a fenced yard (3 French Bulldogs) and a garden. Two things that were important to me. Cost of living is much lower due to lower property taxes and state income tax breaks for seniors. Summers are cooler than Florida and I enjoy the rare snow we get in the winter. Summer rain is wonderful.

Cons - I am a true liberal and live in a red state.

 

[Rambler]

I was on a long term assignment in Tokyo that started with a one year commitment and eventually stretched out to 14 years. So we moved back to CA to a home we had built while living in Japan. We enjoyed being there for a while and then the craziness and high taxes started bringing on us (with a deferred comp payout starting, it was getting to be ridiculous). So we bought a home in NV and went to stay there a few times a month for a few days each time. We ended up liking the home, the neighborhood we bought in, but not the Reno/Sparks area itself. In 2017, we visited the east valley of the Phoenix area and really liked it. It was winter, and we attended an outdoor wedding, in December. We still like it here, but this past summer was a record-breaker as far as the brutal heat. I have a sister here, and my aging parents decided to come here as well...so now we are king of locked in. But we may buy a second home or a summer home to which we can escape during the most brutal months. I say “may” because while my wife doesn’t like the heat, she really likes having a warm pool...which we have during the brutal summer, but could not have in the locations she considers she likes. But the way I see it, we probably still have a move or two ahead of us.

 

[Retired Expat]

Made a bigger move than most. From Los Angeles to A beach town in Uruguay! Rented for about a year before I bought a house. Just The savings in property tax, home owners insurance and utilities from my house in LA pays all of my costs for the year here, including food, medical, travel. After 5-6 years of market gains on investments and proceeds of selling the house, and no CA state tax burden I doubled my portfolio.

Oh and quality of life is much much better. Eat healthy, air is clean, stress is low, traffic almost unheard of. I highly recommend moving in retirement...it forces you to learn new things and push ourselves out of our cocoon of complacency. If another language is involved it is even better for brain health...

Of course now during the pandemic not being able to travel back to the states is tough, but my chance of dying here from COVID or even getting sick was so much less... and I could walk on the beach any time.. no crowds

 

[meridiver]

Last December, 2 yrs after retirement, we bought some land on Hawaii Island, hoping to build there. We are avid scuba divers and have been dreaming for years of being able to wake up in the morning, and spur of the moment, grab our tanks and jump into WARM water (water temps where we currently live in NorCal are 55 degrees F year round! ). I was raised in S. Florida and would never go back, so our only real choices for diving were either Hawaii, or to expat in Mexico/Central America or the Caribbean.

We know that eventually we may have to move back to the mainland for medical or other reasons, but we are hoping to get 10-15 good dive years on the Big Island. I find it ironic that we are planning to move from one of the highest COLs in the country to an even more expensive place, but YOLO.

 

[Koolau]

+1. We do have specialists who fly over from Oahu for routine visits. But my retinal specialist doesn't, because he doesn't have his lasers and other equipment here. So I'm having to fly to Oahu twice a year, just to see him! Definitely makes me think that I'll need to move somewhere besides Hawaii Island by the time I turn 70+ or 75. We'll have to wait to see how the health is by then. Fortunately, I have 15-20 years before then if no new major health problems arise.

I'm sure you save enough vs Oahu living on Hawaii to afford the trip. Emergencies would be the big issue. I had a torn retina once (on mainland) and doc got me in a couple of hours. Hope it works out for you.

 

[sofarsogood]

To those who want to test drive a retirement destination by renting 6 months to a year, what do you do with the primary residence? Keep it empty or sell and store household belongings? Rent it out short term? I retired in 2018 and DW will retire this year. We are considering moving out of state.

 

[Koolau]

How is the cost of living? Is it expensive?

This question comes up occasionally (not just Hawaii, of course). One place to start (but not too much on COL IIRC) is by our own Hawaii expert Nords:

https://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f47/faq-archive-e-komo-mai-hawaii-30671.html

If you can figure how to search, there are other threads - have fun if you're really interested.

vs. average USA mainland, I've seen figures like 65% higher COL. vs where I lived in the heartland, I'd guess that's about right (maybe a bit worse.) BUT (always a big BUT) vs Bay Area, maybe LA (the nice parts), NYC, Boston, and other BIG cities especially on the east coast, COL probably isn't much different.

As always, a lot of your COL is under your control. I always joke (well, it's not really a joke) I've not eaten a fresh blueberry on Oahu - only frozen. Back where I used to live, in season, blueberries would go as cheap as a dollar a pint box (in season). Here, it's more like a dollar an ounce for fresh. IF you don't mind riding a really good bus system on Oahu, you can save a TON by not owning a car (we own two, so stupid us.) You learn where to shop. Now that Sams, Costco, Home Depot, etc. etc., are almost everywhere in the Islands, you can save a lot.

Housing on, for instance the Big Island of Hawaii is much cheaper than on Oahu. Of course, we don't have numbered volcano zones here on Oahu, so there's that. As mentioned by HI Bill, you might have to budget air travel to Oahu for specialists (and especially for emergencies - imagine an air ambulance from Big Island to Oahu. If you have to ask the cost, you can't afford it. )

We visited a dozen times and did a several week trial run to see if we could manage. It worked out well and we hope to stay put. BUT we do have a back up plan. By the way, prices of RE are just a bit soft right now due to Covid, so...

 

[Koolau]

To those who want to test drive a retirement destination by renting 6 months to a year, what do you do with the primary residence? Keep it empty or sell and store household belongings? Rent it out short term? I retired in 2018 and DW will retire this year. We are considering moving out of state.

The possibilities are endless. BEST solution may be to have someone you trust (close friend, relative, etc.) manage the place - whether that's just checking the heat in the winter or keeping it short-term rented for you. In anticipation of our move, we sold our house FIRST and then rented a place near by - just in case it didn't work out. We'd lived in the rental many times, so it was a no brainer. It doesn't always work out that well, so you may need to scratch your head to come up with a solution. IF any doubt, I'd recommend NOT selling first but YMMV.

 

[CowgirlUp]

We moved from northern Wisconsin(brrr!) to the east side of Phoenix 4 days after we retired in the latter part of 2019. Our daughter and 3 grandkids live here. We bought a trailer in a 55+ park. While there we had a new house built in a new subdivision near our daughter. We just moved in the end of November. Housing prices are going up here. So far we like it, but doubt it’ll be our last move. My parents also snowbirded here for many years, so we were familiar with the area. We do not miss the northern Wisconsin weather, which played a big factor in our move. It’s hot in Phoenix in the summers, but the pool is great!

 

[meleana]

We moved to New Hampshire last February after closing on our new home and my husband retired 12/31. I quit my job Sept. 2018.

We didn’t know anyone here except our son- only child. It’s great we can see him more often now.

We had vacationed in the state quite a number of times and we actually have a timeshare here.

I did connect with a political group in NH 14 years ago
thinking it was a possibility to be with like minded people and I did somewhat friend a woman that was part of that group and moved a year before we did.

Once here - since we are in a development that is like a 55+ community - we put ourselves out there despite the pandemic. Via the community Facebook
Page we joined a small walking group each day in the spring.

We have had some get togethers, boat rides with one couple that owns a boat, restaurant meals with them, etc.

Since a few more new homes are still being constructed near ours we have become friendly with some nice couples who moved right next to us as well.

Once settled we started attending the political groups monthly luncheons.

My husband joined a local sportsmen’s club which he enjoys.

We are in a vacation area so even with the pandemic we found lots to do. Our state is fairly open and we even attended a live comedy show.

And- we finally attended our parish at Christmas and I anticipate doing so more often now.

Once this pandemic stuff subsided there will be more activities going on in our development. We have a clubhouse. We at least were able to use the pool over the summer. And where we live I could walk to the lake and I could go to the beach there.

We can walk to the Cumbies also, and that’s where we get our gas as well. We can easily age here and it’s great to have neighbors who look out for and help one another. That was something we did not have back in NY living in seclusion.

We have plenty of stores round and also restaurants, golf and other activities. Mountains for hiking. Beautiful views when out and about. Healthcare is accessible.

Most transplants are from Massachusetts so a bit of a culture shock for us rural New Yorkers. We actually relate more to the genuine locals. But everyone is very nice.

We did not choose Florida because we like Mountains and cool lakes. I hate reptiles and large bugs. And mostly we hate e trend heat and humidity. We also like the 4 seasons. Fall here is spectacular!

All this said- we staying on the east coast enables us to travel to NY and PA (once this virus thing subsided) by car easily to visit friends and family if we do choose to in the future. Also we have some family/ friends in Florida so could drive or fly easily if we even would ever want to.

BYW- we downsized from a 2600 square foot colonial in 10 1/2 acres to an 1100 square foot one level cottage on a postage stamp sized lot. HOA takes care of the little grass there is, garbage,, clubhouse and pool and plows the road in the development.

There are some things we don’t like about it and the area- such as too many summer and Fall tourists and second home owners - Especially worse in this pandemic- and lots of noise from camps that surround us. Fireworks every weekend! People up all hours of the night! Motorcycles!

I do miss my other house- the space and having lots of land and windows to look out at it and the privacy and quiet.

But everything is a compromise. There’s no perfect place or house.

PS we left NY due politics, property taxes ( though they are high in NH also), etc. NH has no income tax and no sales tax ( a bigger savings than you can imagine). All insurances are much less here as well.

One more thing: housing is expensive here and we barely broke even with buying this little house with the proceeds from our big house. Where our former house was located it was not a hot market like it is in other areas so it did not appreciate like you would think on the 32 years we owned it. And it was totally updated.

 

[bada bing]

I'm a proponent of snow-birding and having a couple homes. I have a cabin on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska and a house in Tucson, Arizona. I wouldn't like to be stuck in either location year round, but taking the best and avoiding the rest results in better year round living conditions than any single place. I have lived in Alaska for 35 years, although I was expat for 10 years of that and have owned my Tucson home for 10 years, so I'm pretty well past "honeymoon" phase. I have family in Florida and would consider the Orlando area as a suitable substitute for Tucson, but it's a god awful place to be stuck year round. That's sort of the point with multiple homes, there are beautiful gems with big flaws like the desert in Arizona or the mountains in Alaska.

So in direct answer to the thread question, I would consider a second home elsewhere as an alternative to totally moving.