Where to find a ER Home?

[Jerry1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R Another thing to contemplate.... if one spouse hates heat, and the other hates cold, then as Huston55 points out, depending on definitions it may be nearly impossible to find an affordable place that meet these criteria. But wait!! There's another possible approach. If no climate suits both, then why not instead consider the overall cost of climate control in the potential location? What I mean is, that maybe the couple could look for an affordable area that also has very low heating/cooling costs. The idea is that if they lived in such a place, they could just use the (very affordable) AC or heat as much as desired when indoors, and when going outside bundle up or shed clothes as needed. Spend lots on warm coats or skimpy swimsuits, for comfort. Also, buy a house with a garage to help keep your car at a reasonable temperature. OK, I seriously doubt that anybody will like this solution. But it makes sense to me so I thought I'd suggest it.

This is what I was thinking except only in one direction. I’d much rather live in a warmer climate and use air conditioning. At least when you go out, you don’t have to shiver, bundle up, whatever. Plus, cold can be down right painful. Find a place that’s nice most of the time and if you’re stuck in the house a couple months of the year, at least they are not the months the freeze you when you go out.

I also agree with a prioritization of the list. We have grown children near us and grandkids very nearby. We’re not moving anytime soon. Some priorities become deal breakers. I wouldn’t make weather a very high priority item especially because as has been mentioned, there are not many perfect weather places on earth, let alone in the US.

[brucethebroker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R But wait!! There's another possible approach. If no climate suits both, then why not instead consider the overall cost of climate control in the potential location? What I mean is, that maybe the couple could look for an affordable area that also has very low heating/cooling costs. The idea is that if they lived in such a place, they could just use the (very affordable) AC or heat as much as desired when indoors, and when going outside bundle up or shed clothes as needed. Spend lots on warm coats or skimpy swimsuits, for comfort. Also, buy a house with a garage to help keep your car at a reasonable temperature. OK, I seriously doubt that anybody will like this solution. But it makes sense to me so I thought I'd suggest it.

It can work. Where we snowbird, if it gets hot/humid, we walk/bike in early morning and spend the PM indoors under a/c. We do the reverse when back home up north in colder weather-wait for the sun to warm us up and walk/bike after noon.

[Ronstar]

I can’t stand being indoors during the day. I need a place where I can be outside every day, comfortably, from 8am to 5 pm. Daytime temps range between 50 and 90 year round. Low humidity. Mostly sunny. With good hiking and biking trails. Room for a workshop. Not crowded. And with enough amenities to satisfy DW. The best solution that I have found so far is Sedona, Az. DW doesn’t care so much about being outdoors, but her list of amenities can not be found in any place that I would consider. So the standoff continues.

[bloom2708]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ronstar I can’t stand being indoors during the day. I need a place where I can be outside every day, comfortably, from 8am to 5 pm. Daytime temps range between 50 and 90 year round. Low humidity. Mostly sunny. With good hiking and biking trails. Room for a workshop. Not crowded. And with enough amenities to satisfy DW. The best solution that I have found so far is Sedona, Az. DW doesn’t care so much about being outdoors, but her list of amenities can not be found in any place that I would consider. So the standoff continues.

I could have written this. My wife has no interest in outdoors. Cold, heat, doesn't matter in AC or a heated home for her. She "loves" winter, summer, spring, rain, heat, sleet. Indoors they are all beautiful! :-)

Yet, we live where being outside is not fun 6-7 months out of the year.

Someday. Sedona is beautiful. I like the idea of being north of Phoenix, but close enough to enjoy spring training baseball, concerts and other activities.

Warmer than Sedona, but not by much. Close enough for an easy drive to Sedona or the Grand Canyon.

[ivinsfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brucethebroker I see your point, but disagree. I am also curious about the OP question, and have already found a half dozen leads on this thread to places I had not considered before.

Are you single or a couple? My entire post said they should start talking together and ranking their lists in order of importance, otherwise it could be like a dog chasing it's tail. I'm glad you found new places to look for but doubt one of them will end up being 100% perfect. Sometime perfect is the enemy of the best choice...

[ivinsfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerry1 This is what I was thinking except only in one direction. I’d much rather live in a warmer climate and use air conditioning. At least when you go out, you don’t have to shiver, bundle up, whatever. Plus, cold can be down right painful. Find a place that’s nice most of the time and if you’re stuck in the house a couple months of the year, at least they are not the months the freeze you when you go out. I also agree with a prioritization of the list. We have grown children near us and grandkids very nearby. We’re not moving anytime soon. Some priorities become deal breakers. I wouldn’t make weather a very high priority item especially because as has been mentioned, there are not many perfect weather places on earth, let alone in the US.

Exactly, now if you aren't perfectly steady on your feet as you age (worry about footing on icy sidewalks and parking lots) or if you have arthritis ...MN would not be a good choice.

[calmloki]

We wandered around for several years hunting a decent place to hunker down. Had a number of conflicting wishes, as OP does. Turned out that a decent country/city, remote/populated, medical care available marker was proximity to a Costco. Weather was a problem. We were in rural Oregon, which has fantastic summers and all kinds of green as well as good people and great views. Kinda say adios to the sun in the fall though and it is soggy. We made an offer in Prescott Az, higher and cooler than Phoenix, but that fell through. Ended up buying a second home in La Quinta Ca, which is run screaming hot in the summer but blue skied and beautiful in the fall through spring. Now we transit between the two places (hah - I just added an "a" by mistake between the "p" and "l") and enjoy fantastic weather year round. Open doors and windows almost all year.
It is a bit of a problem making health insurance work; and we do have the driving back and forth to deal with. Also the stocking and furnishing of an extra place, but it works for us. I've been talking about getting another place in a low/no state tax location, but friends and insurance kinda put the kibosh on that plan. Fun problem to have OP.

[Carol1862]

Charleston SC. Great city, close to beaches, wonderful healthcare, great college, lots of culture. A bit hot in summer, but mild winters. You get 4 seasons as opposed to FL. Check it out

[Bamaman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carol1862 Charleston SC. Great city, close to beaches, wonderful healthcare, great college, lots of culture. A bit hot in summer, but mild winters. You get 4 seasons as opposed to FL. Check it out

Charleston is very HCOL. More reasonable places to live is Savannah area or Beaufort, SC.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ronstar I can’t stand being indoors during the day. I need a place where I can be outside every day, comfortably, from 8am to 5 pm. Daytime temps range between 50 and 90 year round.

50? FIFTY? BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.....

OK, I guess since you have a tolerance of temperatures throughout a 40 degree range, that is another option (but maybe not for everyone).... Now, 60-95 year round sounds better but that pretty much means Hawaii (which is my original home but the cost of living in Hawaii is so high).

Quote:

Originally Posted by ivinsfan Exactly, now if you aren't perfectly steady on your feet as you age (worry about footing on icy sidewalks and parking lots) or if you have arthritis ...MN would not be a good choice.

+1 That would not work for me - - that ice sounds dangerous. I am pretty sure I would slip and fall on it a lot.

[Teacher Terry]

W2R, we were in your town for 3 days in February and it was 75-80!everyday and humid. I got overheated and sick twice. That doesn’t happen in the cold.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teacher Terry W2R, we were in your town for 3 days in February and it was 75-80!everyday and humid. I got overheated and sick twice. That doesn’t happen in the cold.

My favorite temperatures!!! Seriously, when I hear the temperatures are going to be in the upper 70's, I CHEER... Guess that just goes to show that people have different ideal temperatures.

[RunningBum]

I always figure you can add layers to combat cold, but there's only so much you can do about the heat. Snow and ice is a different thing, and I can understand people never wanting anything to do with that. If I didn't ski I'd probably be the same way.

If you mostly stay inside, you can control your environment pretty much to whatever you want if you can afford it. If you can't, I still say you can add layers and get under blankets to make up for it being cold, but if you don't have A/C, a hot muggy day is miserable to me.

[MRG]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RunningBum I always figure you can add layers to combat cold, but there's only so much you can do about the heat. Snow and ice is a different thing, and I can understand people never wanting anything to do with that. If I didn't ski I'd probably be the same way. If you mostly stay inside, you can control your environment pretty much to whatever you want if you can afford it. If you can't, I still say you can add layers and get under blankets to make up for it being cold, but if you don't have A/C, a hot muggy day is miserable to me.

+1

I remember an older guy telling me how he slept in Swope Park in KC as a child in the 1940s. You wouldn't sleep there today! He claimed many families did to escape the heat prior to AC becoming common.

Today's clothing is so much superior to what we had in the past. Staying warm is fairly easy, cooling down not so much. We used to use the AC 24×7 in the midwest, now I turn it on once a year.

Snow isn't a huge problem but ice is a bad thing. I don't miss ice storms at all. This winter is pretty long. I really need to power wash the garage floor but the hose is under 6 feet of snow. The snow may still be there in May. [emoji23]

[Kim451]

I'm on the search for a new home too (with your 'warm' requirements!). But taxes are also a big consideration for me, so although I like California and Laguna Woods sounds like a fabulous retirement community, I just can't bring myself to move there. Hawaii has low property taxes and doesn't tax my pension or govt 401k so at least there is some offset to the HCOL.
There are some good tax comparison charts out there, like wallethub dot com/edu/best-worst-states-to-be-a-taxpayer/2416/

[imoldernu]

Reflecting on the subject...

What Midpack said... City-Data
If you haven't been there to check out your choice... maybe you should.

[meridiver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bloom2708 NW Phoenix. Anthem, New River, Cave Creek. It's a dry heat. No where near the humid heat of Texas and Florida.

This cracks me up every time someone says it. I've lived in both Florida and AZ. To me, dry or wet, heat is heat. If you are in the mountains, like in Sedona or Prescott, it's better/cooler but they are towns, not cities and are 2 solid hours from Phoenix.

On the original topic, a friend moved to Chattanooga, TN 2 years ago and really likes it. Chattanooga is a small city, around 200K people, I think, and may be too small for you. In that case, Nashville might be worth a look. It does get hot in the summer, but they get rain and cooler spells, not solid heat, and in the winter, again, a few cold/gray stretches and a little snow, but nicer weather in between to break it up. I know they are a low overall tax state, and my friend finds plenty to do in Chat. and even more in Nashville.

[Safe Harbour]

You have two great small cities of National note for retirement. You have nice year around temperatures from cooler at the Asheville end to warmer at the Greenville end. Prices are low (was 30% below national average when we moved here) and taxes are low. Property taxes are about 0.4% of home value. Like temperature political leanings follow a gradient from Asheville liberal to Greenville conservative.

[isisdave]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teacher Terry Northern Nevada such as Reno and Carson City. MCOL, mild 4 seasons, Lake Tahoe, lots of outdoor activities and tons of stuff to do everyday.

I was going to say the same. There's snow occasionally, but not much. There's some 90-degree in the summer, but not much. Everything else is pretty much what you asked for.

Or Bellingham WA if you don't mind overcast. Usually no snow, not too cold, and definitely not hot. Good health care, university town. Not so walkable, though, as it's hilly, although you can live in the flat part. Not so affordable as Reno.

Cedar City, Utah. Definitely some snow, check out the climate. Otherwise great.

[Stonewalker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by statsman Interesting. A child of ours has worked in Austin, TX, and in Chandler, AZ. Both locations in parts of the spring and summer. Much prefers Austin's weather. Now, Houston is a different story.

I've been in Houston since 1980, and now I'm retired for four years. Still cannot find a way to escape...

I thought I'd move here and play tennis all year. Weather in the winter is too wet, summer too hot - melting streets hot. There are four nice weeks of weather or so - two in the spring and two in the fall.