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07-07-2007, 03:19 PM
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#21
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Confused about dryer sheets
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 9
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as a native iowan, can recommend both ames and iowa city(although i wouldn't want to spend too much of jan/feb there at this point in life). job took me to the east coast but am considering moving back to i.c. now that i've er'd. unless one is seeking solitude, i've concluded you can't go wrong in being near most cities with large universities.......my own opinion..
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07-07-2007, 05:26 PM
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#22
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Kansas City
Posts: 7,968
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Hmmm - generally lived the burbs near enough to access larger cities with universities the smallest being Huntsville, Al. The others were: Seattle, Denver and New Orleans. Got used to them all and sorta copied the locals for leisure/entertainment.
heh heh heh - greater Kansas City north of the water tower near Faucett and the airport.
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07-07-2007, 05:44 PM
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#23
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 377
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heh 350k for a 3 bedroom, would buy you a gigantic mansion here in Tennessee where I live.
I bought a 3 bedroom, 3 garage, 3 bath, with 2 acres of land for 130k or something hehe.
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feedback on a few places mentioned
07-07-2007, 06:04 PM
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#24
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 807
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feedback on a few places mentioned
I share many of your preferences, and have lived in or extensively visited many of the places mentioned. A few comments:
1. Sequim/Port Angeles: more like 2-2.5 hours from the big city but beautiful. But while you don't get the rain of Seattle you get tons of grey skies and wind. If you want sun and warmth, stick to the east side of the Cascades. IMHO Oregon has WA beat hands down here - e.g. Bend, Madras, Sisters. Might also consider Medford/Ashland area, but will be hard to find a house you like for less than 400+
2. 30+ years in Colorado, including at present. Boulder is great but housing prices.....forget it. Ft. Collins booming, nice town, better value, but sprawl nearby and increasing traffic.....way too thoroughly discovered, in my book.
Salida (pop. 5000) is cute and well situated, but it's a May-October place unless you like waking up to 9 degrees F and sun in the winter - all winter. But you could get a cute Victorian for 250K and a winter escape place.
Caņon City (pop 15,000) one hour down valley from Salida meets many of your criteria: affordable, great weather, 45 min from Colorado Springs for fine dining and culture, great wilderness access. Culturally very conservative, which might be no problem, slower pace, but nothing resembling fine dining in town. But you can buy a lovely 3 bdr. house for 200K.
Other choice spots in CO are either more remote (Paonia, Cedaredge) or have truly harsh winters (Evergreen, anywhere in Summit County, other ski areas).
Hope this helps.
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07-08-2007, 10:54 AM
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#25
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 55
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OK, I feel like I am getting somewhere. My plan is to get the list narroweed down and go visit them on vacation. \
So here is what I am dealing with now:
Salida, CO
Fort Collins, CO
Summit County, CO - around Lake Dillon area
Evergreen, CO
Whidbey Island, WA
Iowa City, IA
Ames, IA
Watterwood, TX
Corvallis, OR
Coeur d'Alene, ID
Logan, UT
Any others to coinsider. I really like this process as I would never have considered TX as I hated Dallas (loved Austin), but Watterwood looked really interesting.
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07-08-2007, 11:58 AM
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#26
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Los Angeles area
Posts: 1,708
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I grew up in Corvallis. Great place to grow up or retire, tougher during your working
years unless you are a professor. I would probably retire there myself instead of
Washington except for the confiscatory state income tax, as bad as California's.
__________________
learn, work, save, invest, fire
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07-08-2007, 12:42 PM
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#27
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 982
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I agree on Corvallis......lived there a few years in the mid-90s and loved it. The downside......high state income tax and high property tax. I have considered moving there in retirement but am now looking at Sequim, WA area.
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07-08-2007, 01:14 PM
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#28
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Portland, Oregon
Posts: 7,109
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Me, I will move from WA to OR. Oregon's income tax is graduated and has lots of deductions, and there no sales tax. There is a quirk in Multnomah County's property tax that limits the rate of increase of the taxable basis after a home is constructed (or converted in the case of condos) - other counties may be similar. I think the tax bite in either state will depend on your lifestyle and how you structure your investments. The other factor to consider is the overall cost of living. We were shocked at the difference in the cost of stuff in Seattle metro vs Portland metro, even before sales taxes.
Nothing wrong with Sequim as a community. The area does have a Costco and a Costco gas station, but a trip to Seattle could be a budget item. The ferry car wait line to Seattle from Bainbridge ran as far as the eye could see up 305 last night.
Want to go to Portland from Corvallis? Amtrak is an option.
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Duck bjorn.
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07-08-2007, 06:31 PM
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#29
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I was considering retiring to Sequim until I discovered that it sits on the Cascadia Subduction Zone which is where scientists expect the next "big" earthquake to be.
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07-08-2007, 06:39 PM
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#30
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Lou-evil
Posts: 2,025
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Pac NWs:
Compare and contrast Eugene/Corvallis.
Shabber2 -
Doesn't Cda, ID get pretty darn cold? May want to consider Boise metro area. More brown but not quite as cold and doesn't get as much snow. Very conservative but I imagine that is changing a little bit from the Cali transplants. Good outdoors town.
__________________
"These walls are kind of funny. First you hate 'em, then you get used to 'em. Enough time passes, gets so you depend on them"
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07-08-2007, 07:01 PM
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#31
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Los Angeles area
Posts: 1,708
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wildcat
Compare and contrast Eugene/Corvallis.
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Both are very nice, clean university towns. Since OSU and UO are about
the same size and Eugene is 2-3X the size of Corvallis, Corvallis is more
university-dominated. Climate is identical, both very bike-friendly with
extensive bike path/lane networks. Corvallis is politically a bit to the right
of Eugene, although still left of center.
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learn, work, save, invest, fire
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07-08-2007, 07:03 PM
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#32
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Portland, Oregon
Posts: 7,109
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiger
I was considering retiring to Sequim until I discovered that it sits on the Cascadia Subduction Zone which is where scientists expect the next "big" earthquake to be.
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In that case don't move to MO either.
Hey, buy a house boat and rock with the roll!!
__________________
Duck bjorn.
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07-08-2007, 07:42 PM
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#33
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Independence
Posts: 7,280
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[quote=wildcat;533788]Pac NWs:
Compare and contrast Eugene/Corvallis.
...quote]
We're about 20 miles N of Cornvalley. Eugene is more like an actual city. Both towns are way too busy for my taste. Da Vinci Days in Corvallis is worth an annual trek/putting up with too many people. State taxes run us about 9%, and that's on top of about 1.3% property taxes. Not much in the way of a far view available, unlike some states with real mountains and desert. The sky is often pretty close with overcast. Real Oregonians don't notice the rain. Brisk business in SAD lights. People are the strangest mix of whole earth pot farming treehugging left leaning anti-smoking nazis and Our government right or wrong slash and burn clearcutting loggers who love nothing more than tearing up the ground in their 4-wheelers, hammering down the tall boys and shooting up the park signs. Or dope smoking logger-leaning earth farming deer hugging pro-Cheney.... Very confusing state. Salt of the earth. About 50% brown brothers from the south in this area. Some do well with that, some don't.
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07-08-2007, 09:20 PM
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#34
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: San Diego
Posts: 468
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We're about 20 miles N of Cornvalley. Eugene is more like an actual city. Both towns are way too busy for my taste. Da Vinci Days in Corvallis is worth an annual trek/putting up with too many people. State taxes run us about 9%, and that's on top of about 1.3% property taxes. Not much in the way of a far view available, unlike some states with real mountains and desert. The sky is often pretty close with overcast. Real Oregonians don't notice the rain. Brisk business in SAD lights. People are the strangest mix of whole earth pot farming treehugging left leaning anti-smoking nazis and Our government right or wrong slash and burn clearcutting loggers who love nothing more than tearing up the ground in their 4-wheelers, hammering down the tall boys and shooting up the park signs. Or dope smoking logger-leaning earth farming deer hugging pro-Cheney.... Very confusing state. Salt of the earth. About 50% brown brothers from the south in this area. Some do well with that, some don't.[/quote]
Sounds like paradise.
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07-08-2007, 10:39 PM
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#35
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Portland, Oregon
Posts: 7,109
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Of course there are those who think the capital of the State of Jefferson is heaven - Medford.
Actually, for some retirees Medford can be a great choice. There are several popular large retirement facilities for the older crowd. Medford has a VA facility which, not withstanding some maintenance issues, is reputed to give good care (yes, sometimes bats get in their attic but that is not a health care problem, and nothing that good attic screening shouldn't remedy).
My one piece of advise: don't take the shortcut to the coast in the winter.
__________________
Duck bjorn.
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07-08-2007, 10:58 PM
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#36
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Independence
Posts: 7,280
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Quote:
Originally Posted by califdreamer
Willamette valley Oregon stuff.
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Sounds like paradise.[/quote]
I have not done my job well. 54 years here with time off floating about in SE Asia and learning what all i don't know in Santa Fe - I am seriously stuck in the mud.
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07-09-2007, 10:20 AM
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#37
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Central MS/Orange Beach, AL
Posts: 9,067
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Here is a story about an Oregon couple who decided to retire, believe it or not, to my home here in central Mississippi. MS is not considered a hot spot for most relocating retirees, but the clip does illustrate how people are interested in getting the most bang for their buck. BTW, Texas doesn't corner the entire market of chiggers.
WTOK - News
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Retired 3/31/2007@52
Investing style: Full time wuss.
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07-09-2007, 10:25 AM
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#38
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 13,202
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Since water was listed as a priority, did you look at places like Wilmington or New Bern, NC, or the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area?
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07-09-2007, 04:07 PM
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#39
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 4,898
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jake46
We recently retired and moved to Fort Collins, Colorado. We love it and it fits your criteria very well. Close to Boulder but much less expensive. About an hour north of Denver. CSU is here which adds some very good but inexpensive restaurants.
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I agree that you might like Ft. Collins. But if you like Boulder, you can live in a nearby town such as Lafayette, Louisville, or Longmont, in a very nice house for under $350K. You could buy a very nice townhome in Boulder for that amount. Boulder has two of your negatives though: expensive and ultra liberal, although there are, surprisingly, some conservatives who live here.
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07-09-2007, 06:00 PM
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#40
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Hooverville
Posts: 22,983
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Wow. Get a load of the comments! A little more to the point than most retiree happy-talk.
ha
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