Retiring to a rural setting or small town

[Badger]

OP, I think your view of life in a small town is a little too optimistic as small towns can be insular and cliquish. Someone who moves there for retirement may always be an 'outsider' and never really be able to feel part of the community.

Of course that isn't always the case, but it is something that anyone seeking an idyllic rural/small town life needs to keep in mind. And then there is that pesky privacy aspect of everyone knowing everyone's business...

This was my first thought too after living a a couple of small towns for a few years. Other considerations are access to medical care as you age. I would choose carefully.

Cheers!

 

[Koolau]

As a youngster, I always thought I'd like to live in a small town or "on the land." In my 30s, I got the chance as I lived 15 miles outside of the "big" city (of 100K pop). We found we spent most of our evenings someplace in town and used the country house for sleeping. SO... Now, I live in the big city (close to a million total pop.) I've decided I like it "spoiled." I like everything close with lots of choices. It doesn't hurt to have 5 minute ambulance response time either. Each to his own, but I've learned my limitations. YMMV

 

[Dreamer]

There's always Washington, PA. Not too far from Morgantown or the Burgh!

My mother and stepfather lived in Washington PA for many years before their deaths. I don't think I would want to live that far from Morgantown WV. I should probably look at how much our state taxes are costing us. WV does have cheap real estate taxes though.

My son lives in Morgantown and he takes care of our 4 cats and house, when we go traveling. I have many retiree friends that I either breakfast or lunch with at times during the month. I go to Aqua Jog with 2 of them, 3 times per week. I belong to a club with a friend I have known for 30 some years. We do activities together besides the club. I know that I would not drive from Washington to Morgantown for the majority of these activities.

It would be nice to be closer to Pittsburgh though! I think that typing all of this out, it is obvious to me, that I am not ready to move yet!

 

[Car-Guy]

I do believe that life here or any rural/small town isn't for every one. If you have lived in the hustle bustle of life and lived in large cities you may never be able to slow to this kind of pace and not having the excitement of the big city. It is for the small town person that has grown up in that setting that may retreat back to the rural life.

It may not be for everyone but it sure is for the DW and I. Both of us were born and raised in Houston. After 50+ years there we could not wait to get out. Once I retired we moved to our little place in the county. There were more people that live in my local sub-division in Houston than live in my entire county now. We have all the modern conveniences, water, power, phones, Internet, satellite TV, etc and very few (if any) of the big city problems or annoyances. Yes everything is much further away now but it's a small trade off.

 

[Fermion]

A long time ago, I read that Sequim is in the rain shadow of Mount Olympus and it was too dry for farming until there was irrigation. We like the area. Would not be a bad place to live. I did not check out housing prices though.

PS. Wikipedia says the population is 6,000 and land area is about 6 sq.mi. That's fairly small. I mistook adjacent areas as inside Sequim itself.

PPS. After visiting a couple of lavender farms, and walking the main drag of Sequim, we drove around, saw this house in nearby Blyn. Just perfect for an RV'er.

Hah! We walked right by this place today. I am jelly. It is very near the 60+ mile paved bike path too.

 

[ugeauxgirl]

DH and I both moved to a larger town as adults- we grew up in (different) towns with populations of less than 1000 to a town with about 7000 people and a Walmart. Though we're both "not from around here" we haven't had much trouble fitting in except at the really small community where the kids go to school (we live on the outskirts of it, and socialize and work in the bigger next town over). We know all of our neighbors- once one of them called to tell us there was a strange car in our driveway- our cleaning lady had a new car...

We live on 7 acres a few miles out of town and love the peace and quiet- the kids are playing hide-and-seek right now. The stars are gorgeous out here and there are fireflies in the springtime. I used to live in a city and every time I visit one of the 2 mid sized cities an hour away, I remember how much I hated traffic.

I'm pretty adaptable and could move to a city in retirement- I think I would move to a smaller house with less grass to mow. DH is allergic to cities and refuses to move- which is fine with me. Today we planted corn, squash, cukes peppers, tomatoes and eggplants- I am a happy small town girl...

 

[tps7742]

It may not be for everyone but it sure is for the DW and I. Both of us were born and raised in Houston. After 50+ years there we could not wait to get out. Once I retired we moved to our little place in the county. There were more people that live in my local sub-division in Houston than live in my entire county now. We have all the modern conveniences, water, power, phones, Internet, satellite TV, etc and very few (if any) of the big city problems or annoyances. Yes everything is much further away now but it's a small trade off.

I understand totally where you are coming from CG. I worked and lived in the Houston area for almost 35 years, my wife 38 plus. I don't miss the traffic etc at all. We both grew up in small communities in Texas and also retired back to where I was raised. We love the country life but travel back to Houston frequently for the grandkids and Dr's visits. What we miss most are the restaurants and better selection of fruits.