Where did you retire?

[F.I.R.E User]

i guess you've never spent time in the Bay Area of California. we've been here since May 15th settling my late BIL's affairs. our welcome to the Golden State was a motorcyclist splitting the lanes...riding between the lanes...on the 101 with traffic moving at or above the posted limit. and it's 'sposed to be legal! nobody stops at stop signs, we see red light runners every day (not on the yellow...on the red). speed limits? ha! i thought chicago drivers were nuts but these folks are textbook nuts. on the positive side they are generally very polite. they'll make room for you when changing lanes or at entrance ramps.

Most people are in a hurry there. It’s BA fast life.

 

[F.I.R.E User]

CA continues to price out many residents. A lot of them including my family members friends have moved from Southern CA to cheaper COL TX. There are so many from CA that have moved to the Austin TX area that Austin residents are now known as Austinfornians.

Right but how long will they stay in Austin?

 

[F.I.R.E User]

We retired in Nov 2020 moved from our temporary apartment in Castro Valley, East Bay to our paid off home in So Cal. Lake Forest, Ca is still nice compared to the yuck up North.

We talk about buying a home outside of Ca but haven’t found where yet. DH says he wants 100 acres.

We spent last week in the Keys. The humidity was too much for us unless we were in the water and the bugs loved us. Still itching like crazy. Florida is a no go for us.

This week we are In Branson, Missouri. Flew into Springfield, drive back to Nixa to see DH sister each day. I am actually very impressed with the area. It’s not as humid as I thought it would be. It sooo green with open space and the people seem quite friendly. I am just loving all the back roads that are tree lined. We set off 3 hours worth of fireworks in SIL backyard which was really fun as fireworks have been illegal in Ca since I was a teen. I don’t know if we would live here but it has been eye opening to the possibilities of finding paradise some place outside of Ca.

I’ve seen fireworks in SF. What about moving to Central Valley areas?

 

[Asabino]

Tennessee!!
Low cost of living, no state tax and I have views for 40 miles from my nest on top of the Cumberland Plateau. 1/2 hr from Chattanooga (phenomenal mid-sized town) and 1.5 hrs from Nashville and Huntsville, yet 10 minutes from Lowe's and Wally-World. Lakes, rivers, hiking, history....etc. Lived on both coasts and have never looked back.

If I had to guess, you're located in the Jasper Highlands area. Am I correct?

 

[F.I.R.E User]

Retired in Houston, but, built a home on Lake Livingston beforehand. LCOL! Not for everyone, especially if you are looking for fine dining and night life.

LL is far from Houston.

 

[F.I.R.E User]

I've lived in NYC since 1990. Retired January 2017 and remain in NYC. Contrary to conventional wisdom, it's an excellent place to retire--many volunteer opportunities, great healthcare, great transportation system, walking is built into the lifestyle, endless activities, etc

What part of NYC?

 

[F.I.R.E User]

It is just over 1M now. ~56% of the land in MT is private 44% is public lands. A lot to do with so much public lands. That is why the state is so large and has about the same private land as some of the upper plains state.

What is population where you live?

 

[F.I.R.E User]

I retired near one of my sons in Tomball, Texas. I became a Texan when I married my wife who was from there (in 1964 at age 27).

If you have been blessed with a child that you get along with (or better) you must live near them so that when you get older and/or infirm you will have a resource when the medical, government, and other sharks really will come after you.

I you do not have a caring relation you can count on (preferably younger than you are) you had better have a few good long-term friends. Stay near them! Moving strictly for money will bring nothing but grief.

Well my mother lives with me. She is a widow. I agree. Friends and family is very important.

 

[F.I.R.E User]

Retired in 2018, and stayed put in Plano, Texas. Texas is awesome. Moved here in '82, bought current house in '92 as original owner. Put pool in backyard in '99. After retirement, it's like my constant backyard sanctuary now. I can get on the bike trails and can ride 30 miles on them, with hardly any roads to deal with traffic. It's not perfect, but staying put in Plano is my peace....for now.

Plano is the best suburb of Dallas.

 

[mh]

I’ve seen fireworks in SF. What about moving to Central Valley areas?

A big area so you’ll have to narrow it down there’s no blanket assesMeant that can be made

 

[steady saver]

Both my sons live in Austin and they love it for different reasons (high tech job for one, liberal leaning for the other). I don't live in Austin and don't know if I want to but would consider living near Austin should we decide to sell the farm but stay in Texas. I love the easy going acceptance in Austin. Yes, it is getting more and more "gentrified" as my younger son complains, but it is a unique and welcoming city, full of great restaurants and miles and miles of bike trails, parks, lakes...You can't beat the Mexican food and the many, many unique food trucks. Austin has a lot going for it.

Houston has been home for us for over 30 years...I remember when DH got a job offer there. Friends gave us their condolences! Having never been to Houston at the time, I was perturbed and a bit unnerved. But I have loved Houston! Houston has so many wonderful qualities, the most important to me being the diversity and friendliness of the people and, of course, exceptional medical care. Houston is an extremely resilient city with people who are generous and kind. Having been through hurricanes, floods and the recent power grid fiasco, I can tell you firsthand that the citizens of Houston are some of the most selfless, generous souls I've ever met and I'm proud to call myself a Houstonian. Houston's innovative and an exciting place to be in especially if you are starting out or furthering your career. The entrepreneurial vibe is strong. That said, the downsides to Houston for me at this time of my life are enough to take notice of: the traffic, the sheer density of the population, the crime, humidity, mosquitos, hurricanes and flooding. I am simply ready for a simpler, easier life with less "busy" and more natural beauty.

I wish I could remember who on this forum recently said something to the effect of "there's no perfect place to live; pick the best you can and get on with it." That is the best advice and mimics what I heard a space planner once say - "I can give you lots of things but I can't give you everything. Focus on what matters most."

DH and I are in the process of wrestling with this ourselves and I've talked about that in another post. When I find the magic formula for settling on the perfect place, I'll let you know

 

[Old Microbiologist]

Retired to Hungary in 2009 because of moderate climate, food quality, low cost of living, low crime, high ethical values, location in central Europe, zero property taxes, zero death taxes and excellent and cheap medical (although costs are increasing rapidly but are still ridiculously low in comparison to the US). Disadvantages are impossible language, old soviet style bureaucracies (and lots of paperwork with many stamps from low-level officials who are a PITA, fatalistic attitudes (common to all Eastern European countries), lack of technological advances but rapidly improving, very low use or understanding of anything other than Hungarian language but again improving rapidly, very xenophobic culture (if you aren't white forget living here and forget any foreign foods at all even Italian is considered "foreign" and not to be trusted), the government is semi-autocratic and very corrupt (but similar to the US in that regard).

We are happy here and wouldn't do it differently. Here we are rich and anywhere in the US we would not have anything similar in lifestyle.

 

[Vacation4us]

I’ve seen fireworks in SF. What about moving to Central Valley areas?

You can see fireworks in California but they are illegal to purchase and set off as an individual. Towns, Associations, Parks will usually put on a show.

As Rodi said when you have a paid off house in California it’s not expensive to stay. Prop 13 keeps the property taxes in check compared to say Texas’s 3% rate. Since I bought 20 years ago I pay less than half than a buyer today in my neighborhood.

The Central Valley is much hotter and no where near the ocean, I have no plans to sell my So Cal home it’s worth more to me as a home base or even a rental than selling.

We will travel. Maybe we will buy a second home or maybe we won’t our adventure is just beginning.

 

[LakeRat1]

Retired at 52, DW was 59,,,,, Decided to move from Wichita KS to our lake condo at Lake of the Ozarks 4 months before my actual end date.....After the first winter in the Ozarks in the cold, we decided to look for a place to rent in Ft Myers, FL......After renting 4 months we purchased an 800 sqft park model in a 55+ community where you own your lot as well as your unit. We spend 8 months in FL and 4 months in the Ozarks. With the crazy market we have bought and sold 3 condos in the Ozarks and are now living in KS in a condo we purchased for this summer. Our plan is to sell this condo at the end of the summer and look for another good deal in the Ozarks ...... We have actually had 7 different properties in 7.5 years...... With the market the way it is, it is hard not to keep flipping the properties .....

 

[FREE866]

What part of NYC?

Midtown East. Referred to as Turtle Bay.

 

[novaman]

I have spent my life California dreaming but have never left the DC metro area. I was born and raised here. I mostly stayed due to my mom's mental issues and couldn't bear to leave my dad to suffer.

Retired in 2018 @54 and moved from Mclean Va 7 miles west to the Town Center Area of Reston, Va. We absolutely love it here. It is kind of like a Disneyfied version of a city, which is perfect for us. On top of that we are convenient to biking/hiking trails, plenty of heavily wooded areas, and we are only 7 minutes from Dulles International airport.

COL has never been an issue as I planned well and was very fortunate to be able to meet my financial goals.

My son and his family which includes 2 grandkids have moved a mile away from us. So with my parents here, my son and his family here, my youngest here, my sister and her fam here, and SIL and her family here, its just tough to leave this area.

So we will continue to put my California dream on hold (although my middle daughter does live in San Fran)

 

[BubbaChris]

We lived near Laguna Beach, and do miss the weather and a couple of good friends, but honestly not much else. The Traffic was ludicrous and the people congestion was getting silly. Especially around the "Y" and Irvine Spectrum.

Grew up in Southern California and lived/worked in this area described above until 9 years ago. We knew we wanted to live elsewhere in retirement, but only visited and researched one location when my wife made an interesting proposal - Move while we were still working and give the area a good test-drive. We weren't locked into jobs at the time, so that limited the stakes on our gamble.

We moved to St George, Utah before things fully recovered from the Great Recession. The city now has about 80K residents with double that for the whole metro area. That means we have some big box stores, including Costco. There's a world-class hospital in town, and if we drive 15 minutes from home in virtually any direction we're in open land. Las Vegas is 120 miles away, and Salt Lake City 300 miles away. We're at 2,500' elevation with 10K peaks a 2 hour drive.

Seven years ago my DW asked if we could use a small inheritance to try RVing. Turns out we have dozens of awesome places to visit within 150 miles of home. We averaged 50-nights of camping a year until last year gave us the chance to break 100-nights for the first time.

The biggest downsides are the area is growing too fast right now, and we have long term risks related to having enough water.

For LCOL, I'm saving close to $6K per year on property taxes and HOA alone. Locally there's a 40% break on property taxes if you're a full time resident. And naturally selling a California house allowed us to pay cash for this one and still bank some of the appreciation on our CA house. Utah is slowly improving on social security exemptions for income tax.

I had never lived out of state before, and DW spent only 2 years outside California. There have been adjustments, but it was the right choice for us.

Best regards,
Chris

 

[Nightcap]

Retired six years ago from Boston area to Cape Cod - about 100 miles southeast. It’s a HCOL area, but we love it for three reasons: 1. Our kind of people. We’re lifelong liberals. 2. Our kind of climate. With all respect to the sun-seekers, we like our seasons. Winter on Cape Cod is lovely. 3. Our kind of recreation. We live on a beautiful rail trail bike path. We’ve got woods and beaches and lots of people making their own musical entertainment and just about everything we’ve ever wanted.

 

[JRon]

We retired where we were in South Dakota. Kids and grandkids live here so that makes a difference. We love it here and have had quite an influx of people moving here in the last year for the freedom. Spring is nice, but short. Summer can be hot, but usually tolerable. Fall is beautiful. Winters are cold, but you get used to the cold to an extent. On the really cold days we just stay inside.

 

[REWahoo]

Primarily in a very comfortable "executive" chair in front of my desktop PC.

 

[Tafkah]

Moved from SLC Utah to the SF Bay area 10 years ago, and bought a house before they became insanely expensive. I love the people, the climate and the lifestyle here. And contrary to popular opinion, I find the COL moderate, thanks to Prop 13 and progressive state income taxes.

 

[sroby2020]

Stayed put

We stayed where we have lived for the last 39 years. (West of Houston, TX)
House is paid for, no other debt. Grandkids live within an hours drive.
Other considerations are:
2 major airports nearby for travel
No state income tax

Other thoughts:
Would like to eventually move to a better neighborhood (newer house that will outlive us), but will wait for the craziness of the housing market to settle out.

 

[SunnyOne]

Just retired a couple months ago and moved from Northern VA to Central FLA. It doesn't make sense to compare apples to oranges, so I'll just say it's obviously cheaper and quieter to live here, but of course there are things I miss about metro life - (not the traffic! LOL)
But I'm only planning to be here as a gap year to relax, decompress, restore my soul and get ready for my next life adventures as an international nomad.
I am sooo grateful to be able to, figuratively speaking, relax under trees I planted a long time ago.

 

[steady saver]

Just retired a couple months ago and moved from Northern VA to Central FLA. It doesn't make sense to compare apples to oranges, so I'll just say it's obviously cheaper and quieter to live here, but of course there are things I miss about metro life - (not the traffic! LOL)
But I'm only planning to be here as a gap year to relax, decompress, restore my soul and get ready for my next life adventures as an international nomad.
I am sooo grateful to be able to, figuratively speaking, relax under trees I planted a long time ago.

good for you SunnyOne! How did you come to pick Central Florida and what's on your list first for nomadic living?

 

[SunnyOne]

Thank you!....well i've been travelling to FLA nearly my entire life and I have great memories in this state, also friends and family around the state - so it seemed logical to be in a place that reminds me of great times...plus there is a lot to do here...even more if I end up closer to the coast.
I am planning to spend time in Europe, Mexico and Asia....and that's a start