Retiring to a College Town
- Thread starter harllee
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Montecfo
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
No doubt. But anywhere I go back to that in loved there is some sense of loss at places that are gone or have changed.
My college campus swimming pool-gone
Fave college restaurants-gone
First house-torn down and replaced.
Bigger more traffic less charm.
But I still enjoy those places.
Calico
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I have lived in Durham for 22 years and have never experienced even the slightest brush with crime. I have numerous friends who can say the same thing, and we live in different parts of Durham.
As with any other location on earth, it depends on where you are. Is Lakewood sketchy? Yes. Are there other sketchy areas? Yes. Just like any other city on planet earth.
You are painting all of Durham with a very broad (and inaccurate) brush.
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I lived in Bellingham, WA in my early 30's. Western Washington University was a huge influence on quality of life. My father was nearing retirement and wanted to retire there but my mom wouldn't move out of San Diego. There are a lot of advantages to living in a college town.
I'm currently fairly close to a large university (UCSD) and many of my neighbors are faculty or administration. My neighborhood's name acknowledges the closeness to the university and the street names are all nobel prize winners (though some are mispelled. lol).
One advantage to being surrounded by academics... They tend to be well educated and smart. I remember attending a baby shower with other neighborhood moms about 15 years ago... of the 10 women, 8 had doctorates. (and I was one of the 2 that only had masters level education.)
I'm currently fairly close to a large university (UCSD) and many of my neighbors are faculty or administration. My neighborhood's name acknowledges the closeness to the university and the street names are all nobel prize winners (though some are mispelled. lol).
One advantage to being surrounded by academics... They tend to be well educated and smart. I remember attending a baby shower with other neighborhood moms about 15 years ago... of the 10 women, 8 had doctorates. (and I was one of the 2 that only had masters level education.)
daylatedollarshort
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Colleges also often have sports and outdoor programs open to the public. We've taken canoe and sailing lessons through local colleges and gone on rafting, canoeing and ski trips, which were all pretty modestly priced.
I am not painting a picture. I had family and friends live in Durham and some went to Duke.
harllee
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Totally agree. While I am a UNC sports fan, I go to Durham frequently for restaurants, culture etc. I never feel unsafe. Durham is a cool happening town.
The Durham Performing Arts Center and the Durham Bulls Stadium are top notch.
NYEXPAT
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We love it here! Good job opportunities for the YW, great schools for the Kid's, LCOL. Good Universities, Healthcare galore and a not half bad Peruvian restaurant.
We elected a college town for all of the reasons listed. Arts, Entertainment, Culture, Good Medical Care, Restaurants and other retail, and a youthful vibe. We actually live about 30 minutes from town on a bit of land so its the best of both worlds. Just need to get used to driving to get anywhere. Somedays I miss not having things within walking distance. But then again I probably save some money being further away from spontaneous temptations.
What about a college city like Tucson?? We’ve got U of A, complete with their med school and hospital. Great food scene. Campus is urban, but certainly not New York, San Francisco, or Chicago. Good or bad depending on your tastes.
Yes, it’s hot, but at least it’s not Phoenix!
Yes, it’s hot, but at least it’s not Phoenix!
University-based Retirement Communities?
We've put university-based retirement communities on our radar as a possibility. Many schools are having on-campus enrollment shortages and are doing what they can to attract occupancy and use of their facilities.
Stephen F. Austin State University in East Texas had launched a program but it folded because of third-party management not being up to par (from what I was told). But there are quite a few other options as indicated in this link:
https://www.theseniorlist.com/retirement/best/university/
We've put university-based retirement communities on our radar as a possibility. Many schools are having on-campus enrollment shortages and are doing what they can to attract occupancy and use of their facilities.
Stephen F. Austin State University in East Texas had launched a program but it folded because of third-party management not being up to par (from what I was told). But there are quite a few other options as indicated in this link:
https://www.theseniorlist.com/retirement/best/university/
There is no better hot dog than a Sonoran hot dog in AZ!
Uh oh. Gives new meaning to the term "senior dorm".
Nashville: Vanderbilt/Belmont/Lipscomb/TnState etc. Sadly like Austin no longer small or quaint. Great if you like big, now diverse and prosperous.
I think of college towns like Chapel Hill, Athens GA, Bloomington IN etc as a whole different world than most of the “capital with colleges” listed above. Most of these are not “college towns” .
Montclairbobbyb
Recycles dryer sheets
It's all fun and games until you end up in the middle of a riot. I love Keene, NH, and have considered living there, but things got a bit insane one Halloween (a few years ago), when masses of college students clashed with local police after too much pumpkin carving and drinking, erupting into a full-blown riot, making national headlines...leaving me wondering what was I thinking? I love college students... I was one myself, and recently my kids graduated from well-known "party" universities... but I'd rather watch Animal House and laugh than see it happening on the streets of my town.
Actually I'm not such an old fud... I'm just an intolerant one...
Actually I'm not such an old fud... I'm just an intolerant one...
We just bought a home in Athens, Georgia for our son to live in while he is in school. Large university in a relatively small city seems to translate into a lack of housing in general. We decided to purchase, in part because the rental market seemed out of whack, and the rent we will collect from his roommates more than covers all of the costs. We paid $20k more than what homes sold for the year prior, and 6 months later, a house down the street just sold for 32K more than we paid after 2 days on the market. College towns have not escaped the housing boom.
I went to school in Athens. I don’t think anyone lives there but rather visits for 4, 5, or 6 years lol
I will play devils advocate.
Teaching hospitals are notoriously overpriced and error prone. My step mother does her best to avoid the overpriced training grounds and cruel prices of the pseudo-non profit academic hospitals. She taught nursing for years and saw how the sausage was made.
Further, NC is a CON state, certificate of need, for hospital competition. As a result it has an extraodinarily high cost structure, exceeded only by new england and perhaps california.
As a resident of Raleigh, I never wish anyone to suffer the ministrations of the local hospital monopoly.
The only saving grace is the legalization of Direct Primary Care. You can always travel to Oklahoma City for the lowest cost care in the US, Keith Smith and the Surgery Center of Oklahoma.
My experience contravenes academic medical practice as anything other than overpriced and underwhelming.
Chapel Hill and Carrboro is glorious place to spend federal student loans on an overpriced mix of alcohol and upper class mating rituals, disguised as education.
As the dollar wavers, and the student loan subsidy is under attack... are you sure you want to bet the farm on an endless continuation of federal reserve and lending to continue to support a one trick pony economy? This looks like Scranton PA to me in 1970 as steel is leaving the economy.
If sanity appears at Subsidy U, and demographics contract as expected, an awful lot of mediocre college towns must die.
I am already seeing mergers and bankruptcy in new england.
Be careful out there. Devils advocate position.
Teaching hospitals are notoriously overpriced and error prone. My step mother does her best to avoid the overpriced training grounds and cruel prices of the pseudo-non profit academic hospitals. She taught nursing for years and saw how the sausage was made.
Further, NC is a CON state, certificate of need, for hospital competition. As a result it has an extraodinarily high cost structure, exceeded only by new england and perhaps california.
As a resident of Raleigh, I never wish anyone to suffer the ministrations of the local hospital monopoly.
The only saving grace is the legalization of Direct Primary Care. You can always travel to Oklahoma City for the lowest cost care in the US, Keith Smith and the Surgery Center of Oklahoma.
My experience contravenes academic medical practice as anything other than overpriced and underwhelming.
Chapel Hill and Carrboro is glorious place to spend federal student loans on an overpriced mix of alcohol and upper class mating rituals, disguised as education.
As the dollar wavers, and the student loan subsidy is under attack... are you sure you want to bet the farm on an endless continuation of federal reserve and lending to continue to support a one trick pony economy? This looks like Scranton PA to me in 1970 as steel is leaving the economy.
If sanity appears at Subsidy U, and demographics contract as expected, an awful lot of mediocre college towns must die.
I am already seeing mergers and bankruptcy in new england.
Be careful out there. Devils advocate position.
harllee
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Thanks for the devils advocate viewpoint. I disagree with most everything you said. I and my family have all had excellent care at UNC and Duke Hospitals, I would not go anywhere else for a serious condition. I love living in Chapel Hill. I don't see any financial problems for UNC or Chapel Hill. UNC's applications go up every year and only a very small percentage are admitted. I think Chapel Hill is going to continue to be a place to live for many years in the future.
So indiajust where do you plan to retire?
harllee
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Sorry indiajust I see that you have retired and live in NH. I have been to NH in the summer and it is a lovely state. But I would hate to live there, I could not take the snow and cold.
anothercog
Recycles dryer sheets
I second this. I grew up in Northampton, MA and it has a great restaurant, art and an entertainment scene for its size. Plenty to do. Cons are the cold winters and higher priced housing than the surrounding area. I’d move back there but my California wife doesn’t do winters.
Calico
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Meanwhile, in the real world:
I have multiple family members who traveled from California to be treated at Duke Hospital, which is world class.
I have several local friends whose parents' lives were saved by Duke.
I have received care at UNC Hospitals multiple times over the last 20 years (including for cancer) and I never received anything less than top notch care.
UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center is a cancer research and treatment center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It is one of only 51 National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the United States.
For anyone considering retiring to North Carolina, you can count on world-class medical care if the need ever arises.
We thought about moving to a college town in NH where our son went to school. He still lives there. It’s a small New England town.
For one thing he told us is we wouldn’t want to live there with all the shenanigans that go on. Drunkenness, noise, etc. Lol!
Plus hard to find the right type of housing we wanted. Everything to rent or buy in the town in terms of housing was geared towards students.
Anyway, we are only 1/2 hour from there now and we occasionally go there. But with the COVID situation a lot of things in that town were shut down or had a lot of restrictions. More so than other areas because of the students.
But honestly where we live- which is a vacation area- there is plenty to see and do anyway.
For one thing he told us is we wouldn’t want to live there with all the shenanigans that go on. Drunkenness, noise, etc. Lol!
Plus hard to find the right type of housing we wanted. Everything to rent or buy in the town in terms of housing was geared towards students.
Anyway, we are only 1/2 hour from there now and we occasionally go there. But with the COVID situation a lot of things in that town were shut down or had a lot of restrictions. More so than other areas because of the students.
But honestly where we live- which is a vacation area- there is plenty to see and do anyway.
I've lived in 20 states and paid taxes in 10. The absence of cap gains taxes is very helpful for me in NH at the moment. But since my retirement was unplanned and incidental, I don't think I will die in NH.
I lived in several places in Durham, Cary, Raleigh, Winston and a few other towns in NC, so I learned the state fairly well. If price is no object, care at Duke and UNC is excellent, just as folks observed. The higher end of the market is well served, world class. As is the small subsidized free portion at the very bottom. It is the ever increasing gap between the two that NC health care has problems with cost and service.
I have always run hot, so the winter is not much of an impairment for me, and I enjoy snowboarding. Also, northern winters are sunnier than the fiercest day at the beach, which I prefer to carolina gloom. It is odd for the sun to rise at 9 and die at 3, but as retired human I get to see the sun instead of commute in the dark.
It is the small isolated mediocre college towns that I see suffering and contracting with their single source of funding. The students at UNC-CH are incidental to the great business in government research/contracting. Tuition is less of a factor than grants and contracts. The kids are irrelevant to the mission.
I had flat tires in Durham from needles and ammunition, saw entire neighborhoods stripped of their wheels and tires, had a bum die in the common basement of Duke sociopath founder residence converted to apartments, had cop shot in face on property. The natives refer to Duke as 'the plantation', largely due to the way NY/NJ students treat the staff. It is much improved from the 90's, but had a long way to go. I spent a year or two bribing Duke custodians so that I could directly access the internet at night as it was being formed. Good times.
The accidental use of hydraulic fluid as surgical cleaner stands out in my memory of Duke hospital, as does frequent losing of patients in rats maze of older buildings.
I do miss the wide range of food options, new england is stunted in comparison. And I miss the culture of growth and change that folks in NC subscribe to. New England leans hard toward whale oil and 1920 lifestyle. Uninsulated in NC was bad enough, up here it is more common and insanely expensive. Yet common. Sigh.
I lived in several places in Durham, Cary, Raleigh, Winston and a few other towns in NC, so I learned the state fairly well. If price is no object, care at Duke and UNC is excellent, just as folks observed. The higher end of the market is well served, world class. As is the small subsidized free portion at the very bottom. It is the ever increasing gap between the two that NC health care has problems with cost and service.
I have always run hot, so the winter is not much of an impairment for me, and I enjoy snowboarding. Also, northern winters are sunnier than the fiercest day at the beach, which I prefer to carolina gloom. It is odd for the sun to rise at 9 and die at 3, but as retired human I get to see the sun instead of commute in the dark.
It is the small isolated mediocre college towns that I see suffering and contracting with their single source of funding. The students at UNC-CH are incidental to the great business in government research/contracting. Tuition is less of a factor than grants and contracts. The kids are irrelevant to the mission.
I had flat tires in Durham from needles and ammunition, saw entire neighborhoods stripped of their wheels and tires, had a bum die in the common basement of Duke sociopath founder residence converted to apartments, had cop shot in face on property. The natives refer to Duke as 'the plantation', largely due to the way NY/NJ students treat the staff. It is much improved from the 90's, but had a long way to go. I spent a year or two bribing Duke custodians so that I could directly access the internet at night as it was being formed. Good times.
The accidental use of hydraulic fluid as surgical cleaner stands out in my memory of Duke hospital, as does frequent losing of patients in rats maze of older buildings.
I do miss the wide range of food options, new england is stunted in comparison. And I miss the culture of growth and change that folks in NC subscribe to. New England leans hard toward whale oil and 1920 lifestyle. Uninsulated in NC was bad enough, up here it is more common and insanely expensive. Yet common. Sigh.
+1, Durham even though improving has some very dangerous neighborhoods in the city. Chapel Hill several miles away is completely different. One guy said he grew up and lived in NC and the South all his life except for his four years at Duke. I've had friends and family go to Duke. It is a school in the South with a lot of Northern influence.
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