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Where to relocate ???
Old 02-15-2020, 06:23 PM   #1
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Where to relocate ???

Is anyone aware a of a survey, test, quiz, etc. that is worthwhile to do to help you decide on where you would be happy relocating to ? After pouring through Where to Retire magazines and websites of retirement & over 55 developments, it gets overwhelming on the choices out there. Most of the ones I’ve seen are skewed by the organization that is supporting it.
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Old 02-15-2020, 06:59 PM   #2
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I bet they do.

I suggest trying them out one by one. Start with where you were happiest before, on a vacation, with family, or something totally new.
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Old 02-15-2020, 07:05 PM   #3
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I hope you get a good answer. I've found most if not all of the articles to be junk.

What are your important criteria? I bet there are some really good suggestions here.
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Old 02-15-2020, 07:08 PM   #4
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Once you choose a region, this web site can help you evaluate how walkable a specific address is, if walkability is an important criteria.

https://www.walkscore.com/
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Old 02-15-2020, 07:13 PM   #5
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We looked at that garbage for 10 years, nada. Remember they're trying to sell something because it needs "selling". Maybe it needs selling because it's not in your best interests to buy? But the salespeople get what they need. Find a new area and think outside the box. What do you want to do? What's the climate like? Activities? See yourself in the mountains or the beach?
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Old 02-15-2020, 10:11 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by RobbieB View Post
I bet they do.

I suggest trying them out one by one. Start with where you were happiest before, on a vacation, with family, or something totally new.
and you'll need to live there like locals for a while. a buddy and his wife moved out of state based on a vacation visit. they were back in 18-months. vacationing and living there are two different things.
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Old 02-15-2020, 10:45 PM   #7
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OP - We have the same problem, too many choices, after all the entire world is available.
I have found some of those articles basically lie to paint a nice picture.
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Old 02-15-2020, 11:25 PM   #8
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I was doing my research back in the 90's before the internet was a useful source for most things. I used the latest edition of almanacs and encyclopedias to gather all the technical data I was looking for and rank order places. e.g. Population size, crime stats, cost of living, economic factors, weather, etc etc.

Those sources are pretty neutral. They just spew out the data. The World Almanac and Book of Facts isn't trying to paint a particular picture like the Chamber of Commerce of Denver or Pittsburgh, or whatever magazine came up with a list to give it's reader's ideas.
About a year before moving I take a trip to the town I had decided on just to make sure there wasn't some unimagined deal killer
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Old 02-16-2020, 12:51 AM   #9
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DW and I had always considered a retirement move from the Silicon Valley area to the central coast of California (San Luis Obispo, Arroyo Grande, Pismo Beach) up until about 5 years. On our last few vacation trips there, reality set in.

Sure, there was the nice weather and all along the coast, but we started noticing a lot of retail and restaurant businesses closing, many that had been there for 10+ years. In addition, we observed our options for medical services were quite limited in the local (30 minute) area. Not many choices for chiropractors and dentists, as examples.

We also came to the realization that our vacation spot would work against us living there full time. Tourism is likely the biggest industry in the area, so that means lots of people on vacation, particularly during the good weather months (so, most of the year).

Of course, much of this planning was with idea that our only child would never leave California, having never traveled out of state. Maybe Silicon Valley. Maybe the northern Central Valley. Maybe the San Diego area. So when our only child surprised us by moving to the Austin, TX area 3 1/2 years ago, our retirement move was decided for us. My DW and I are mostly home-bodies, so we could live most anywhere that didn't have a lot of snow (DW hates it).

Our move was more about our kid wanting us to come to Texas than it was us wanting to move there. But then 5 years ago central Texas wasn't even on our retirement radar.
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Old 02-16-2020, 04:38 AM   #10
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DW and I had always considered a retirement move from the Silicon Valley area to the central coast of California (San Luis Obispo, Arroyo Grande, Pismo Beach) up until about 5 years. On our last few vacation trips there, reality set in.

Sure, there was the nice weather and all along the coast, but we started noticing a lot of retail and restaurant businesses closing, many that had been there for 10+ years. In addition, we observed our options for medical services were quite limited in the local (30 minute) area. Not many choices for chiropractors and dentists, as examples.

We also came to the realization that our vacation spot would work against us living there full time. Tourism is likely the biggest industry in the area, so that means lots of people on vacation, particularly during the good weather months (so, most of the year).


Of course, much of this planning was with idea that our only child would never leave California, having never traveled out of state. Maybe Silicon Valley. Maybe the northern Central Valley. Maybe the San Diego area. So when our only child surprised us by moving to the Austin, TX area 3 1/2 years ago, our retirement move was decided for us. My DW and I are mostly home-bodies, so we could live most anywhere that didn't have a lot of snow (DW hates it).

Our move was more about our kid wanting us to come to Texas than it was us wanting to move there. But then 5 years ago central Texas wasn't even on our retirement radar.


Austin Tx is Eastern California
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Old 02-16-2020, 04:42 AM   #11
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Definitely recommend extended test drives.
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Old 02-16-2020, 05:19 AM   #12
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We have lived in some nice and interesting places, the locations of which were dictated by my career. So no real choice, but reality was always great.

When you have the world to choose from, it is a lot harder. We have visited a lot of places but no place we wanted to move to. We will move when we find such a place.

Where our son locates will likely play a role.
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Old 02-16-2020, 05:45 AM   #13
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Austin Tx is Eastern California
Who so?

For the record, neither our kid nor us live within Austin city limits. We're 30 minutes from downtown. If we wanted to live in Austin itself, we could have just moved to San Jose, CA.
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Old 02-16-2020, 06:10 AM   #14
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Relocate? We chose this spot 30 years ago and we still love it. Now we have the time to enjoy it even more.
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Old 02-16-2020, 07:44 AM   #15
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One man's well-written thoughts.

https://humbledollar.com/2020/02/rule-the-roost/

"I AM AGE 57 and I’m planning to move, so you might imagine I’d be interested in the best states to retire. On that score, there’s plenty of advice available.
...
While I think being close to friends and family is paramount, I do have secondary criteria.
...
That’s why I like drawing up rules and then reviewing them right at the moment when I make the decision."
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Old 02-16-2020, 07:49 AM   #16
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Don't look at the where to retire magazines. They are soft porn for people with work stress. Instead think about what is most important to you. Is it weather, taxes, cost of living, being close to family?

Take the list and start from there..everyone has a different story of where they chose to retire and more then few will tell you where they started wasn't where they finished.
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Old 02-16-2020, 08:00 AM   #17
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Don't look at the where to retire magazines. They are soft porn for people with work stress. Instead think about what is most important to you. Is it weather, taxes, cost of living, being close to family?

Take the list and start from there..everyone has a different story of where they chose to retire and more then few will tell you where they started wasn't where they finished.
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Old 02-16-2020, 08:07 AM   #18
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Sperling's Best Places has a quiz that might be useful. I say "might" because it's not very comprehensive but does give some ideas. Take it several times and change one of two parameters each time.

https://www.bestplaces.net/fybp/

You have to register in order to take it. Don't worry, they don't send many emails.


Another resource is City Data forum. Not a quiz for you to take but a discussion forum about communities.

https://www.city-data.com/forum/
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Old 02-16-2020, 08:36 AM   #19
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Austin Tx is Eastern California
last time I was in Houston half the people I met relocated from Cali
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Old 02-16-2020, 08:36 AM   #20
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We on this forum are probably as qualified as anyone to come up with a good survey. I'll start:
- What kind of weather do you like (warm year-round, experience all 4 seasons, hate heat and humidity, hate cold weather, etc)
- Are you healthy? How important is access to medical care?
- How much does cost of living matter?
- Do you like urban living? Rural living? Something in between? How important is access a wide variety of restaurants, shopping, etc?
- What about access to the great outdoors? What forms of recreation are important to you?
- What about diversity? Do you prefer to live with other retired types, or be surrounded by kids, working people, etc.
- Where are your friends and family located, and how important is it for you to be near them (or escape them)?
etc etc
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