Did you relocate after FIRE?

[umograd83]

Kind of. My last assignment (Federal Officer) was to DC in 2014 after living in the Huntsville, AL for six years. We liked North Alabama and hate DC. So after 10 months in DC, I was offered early retirement, so moved back to Alabama. I've now been FIREd for a nearly 3.5 years. But I'm bored. We live in a small town and everyone our age (and older) still works. My social interaction has suffered and I'm an extrovert. So now we are looking at one last move to a 55+ community in Florida when our DS leaves for college in a couple of years. So... Anyone have recommendations for a 55+ community in Central Florida with access to fitness, pool, boating, fishing? We are thinking a manufactured home community to spend our Winters and RV travel in the summer.

Yes. We live in Water Oak Golf Estates in Lady Lake, FL. We live near the Villages. You can check out the community at suncommunities.com. We love it here.

 

[Bir48die]

Nope. Staying here in the NW. We have made a point of taking a major Fall and Winter trip south for a few weeks to get us out of the winter doldrums but we love our house, location and it's paid off.

 

[38Chevy454]

Yes, in fact I left the state on my last day of work after all the checkout process was done and drove approx 300 miles. Left NM and moved to OH to be near family. Been about 18 months now and happy to have made the move.

 

[Offgrid Organic Farmer]

We were in Naples Italy when I retired. Retirement meant that we lost our visas and we had to move.

It was a great opportunity to re-invent myself.

We live in a rural area of dense forest. We love it.

 

[ls99]

Last j*b was in Baltimore, lived near OwingsMills MD. Bought current house in small town 60 miles SE of Pittsburgh about 9 months before handing in my notice at a Public Transit outfit, that I have retired. Was not yet eleigible, but BS bucket was way overflowing. 59.5 on the dot.

Late wife picked the town, I liked it too. It is quaint tourist trap and pleasant enough, four cars in a row is considered a traffic jam normally. When the town puts on big events, I along with most of the locals leave town.

I have not yet decided if I will stay here. Been here little over ten years. I drive twice a week into Pittsburgh for Argentine Tango where I have an apartment for dance classes. Starting to feel like a commute.
When I figure out what I want to be when I grow up, I'll decide where to do it. Since I decided that w*rk is a way ugly four letter word, I pass on that passtime.

Becoming a true Milonguero is not likely, it takes around 30 to 40 years of steady dancing to get there. To do it I'd have to move close to where there are several Milongas (Tango dance halls). If I were successful, I'd be the only 110 year old Milonguero. Not bloody likely. Though trying to do it could be great fun. besides it sure beats w*rking!!!

 

[brokrken]

Absolutely.. Moved from Chicago to North Carolina.
+ Weather
+ Cost of Living
+ Traffic
+ Parking/Tolls fees
+ Friendliness
+ Crime

Lots of "Free" things in Chicago involved a 30-45 minute drive and you still often had to pay up to $25 for parking. Here it is just free, easy to get to, plenty of free parking.

Property tax was more than most people's all-in mortgages so paying off the house didn't feel like a win.

We feel like we are on vacation every day here, it was a little scary at first but got over it very quickly when I realized life was just so much better especially day to day.

Karen, my wife and I have the exact same idea. We are also in Chicago and plan to move to NC or TN when we retire, which we plan to do in 6 years. May I ask what part of NC you are in? We have been looking for a couple years and haven't found the perfect spot, which for us would be in a town with plenty of amenities, but very close, if not next to, drive to the mountains or lake.

 

[FreeBear]

We stayed in the same place, a HCOL location in a state infamous for criminal mismanagement. The weather is pretty bad too.

We actually love our house and the local suburban area. It's far enough from the big city to cut back on congestion and crime. Our neighbors are the best we have ever had, also retirees. Some decent outdoors opportunities, but I've always dreamed about living out west.

I do dream of better weather and mountains, as in SoCal, AZ, or even NM. I think I'd love to move, but don't want to leave friends and a great church. We're somewhat introverted, and it could be tough forming new friendships of real depth. A move would also be a pain in the *ass and potentially a financial strain and complication too.

So, I'm pretty conflicted. The summers are wonderful here. The 8 months of winter isn't.

Actually, I'm surprised by how many folks here have made major moves around retirement. I recall an AARP article stating that most retirees do NOT move. To be fair, this board probably has wealthier and more "worldly" retirees than the general population Also, it seems like most have moved to smaller towns or even rural areas. This is pretty tempting to me, but it would be a tough sell for DW.

 

[Walt34]

My original "retirement plan" was to put the snow blower in the back of the pickup truck and drive south until people started asking what that machine was for. DW didn't want to move that far from family west of Frederick, MD so we moved from bordering Washington, D.C. to the eastern panhandle of WV, about an hour and a half drive but a world away in culture, traffic and taxes. And it turned out to be actually closer to her family than where we were.

I did learn that winter isn't nearly the hassle it used to be if you don't have to commute in it every day and I even enjoy playing with a snow blower as long as I can go back inside afterward. (I have bad memories of having to shovel snow, a machine that does it for me is a minor miracle.) The two car garage that we couldn't afford in the D.C. area spoiled us real quick - no more scraping ice & snow off windows or getting into a heat-soaked car with a steering wheel too hot to touch. So, while I'd still prefer moving a few states south, it isn't that big of a deal to me anymore. Taxes are a fraction of what they'd be if we had stayed near D.C.

Since the area is less congested traffic isn't the hassle that it is closer to D.C. and the whole attitude of the population is just more laid-back and relaxed.

 

[Dtail]

Absolutely.. Moved from Chicago to North Carolina.
+ Weather
+ Cost of Living
+ Traffic
+ Parking/Tolls fees
+ Friendliness
+ Crime

Lots of "Free" things in Chicago involved a 30-45 minute drive and you still often had to pay up to $25 for parking. Here it is just free, easy to get to, plenty of free parking.

Property tax was more than most people's all-in mortgages so paying off the house didn't feel like a win.

We feel like we are on vacation every day here, it was a little scary at first but got over it very quickly when I realized life was just so much better especially day to day.

Same things with Florida.

One simple example is to see the International car show in NYC, the nearby parking 2 years ago was $60 yes 60.
In Tampa, $5.

 

[mpeirce]

I did learn that winter isn't nearly the hassle it used to be if you don't have to commute in it every day and I even enjoy playing with a snow blower as long as I can go back inside afterward. (I have bad memories of having to shovel snow, a machine that does it for me is a minor miracle.) The two car garage that we couldn't afford in the D.C. area spoiled us real quick - no more scraping ice & snow off windows or getting into a heat-soaked car with a steering wheel too hot to touch.

Both thoughts are so true: (1) when retired, if the weather is bad outside just stay inside. It's pretty darn comfortable in my house even where there is a blizzard raging. (2) A few simple (hah!) accommodations make winter (or summer for at matter) so much easier - I honestly wouldn't own a house without an attached garage, it makes life just so much more pleasant.

And that area of WV is beautiful. Enjoy!

 

[VungTau]

I moved to a beach in Vietnam and loving it so far. I can live in a nice place, dine out everyday, drink and be nicely entertained all for less than 1/2 my rent in the Bay Area (CA). I am thinking to make this place my base and travel the world from here. Planning to do South America this summer. So far it is working out better than I expected

 

[Katsmeow]

It took awhile but almost a year ago we moved about 250 miles. Same state, but different metropolitan area. We have scattered kids so there was no one place where kids were located or would be located in future. We moved to the general area where I grew up and where I have a lot of extended family and some friends and one of DH's daughters lives nearby.

 

[Dawg52]

Bought a new house on the golf course so it seemed like relocating. But in same town just a better location. And bought a vacation condo on the AL coast for a change of pace. Enjoying it right now.

 

[Bamaman]

In many situations, moving at or when retiring is a very good decision. A change of scenery can be very good.

After 12 years fighting Atlanta traffic, we sold our home in a upscale swim tennis community for list price in 10 days. We moved where my parents lived on the Tennessee River in Northwest Alabama. It wasn't long until my parents had to move where my sister could take care of them in a larger medical market--and they never returned.

We bought a 2350 square foot home with a full basement I finished. Nine years later, the wife got bored and we bought a 5200 square foot foreclosure cheap. We sold our other home for list price in 5 days after going on the market.

We float between our house in town and the lake house I inherited with two 18 hole golf courses down the street. And we still have our fifth wheel RV in the Northeast Georgia mountains to visit. The extremely low cost of living and low property taxes allow us to have too much real estate.

 

[scrabbler1]

No. I don't have a big circle of friends or activities I worked hard to accumulate, so what I have here I could never give up. I moved around several times in the 1980s in the first 4 years after finishing college before I moved into my co-op apartment in a well-run building and co-op complex nearly 30 years ago.


I live in a HCOL but I have no debts and am getting by just fine financially. I don't have the desire or the energy to move again.

 

[timo2]

We did, and discovered the big drawback, IMO. We are happy with our move to a sunnier climate and more affordable and laid back area. But the drawback is I couldn't just go home and plop down and just start my retirement life after my last day. Before the last day there were the months of pre planning and pre packing and finding a new residence. After the last day there was the final packing and moving. Plus all the moving expenses. I didn't actually feel retired for quite a while. But it was worth it for us. I can see where many people would not want to move for a while, if at all, after their last work day.

 

[misty57]

We did not relocate, but may consider doing so at some point. We live in So CA on the beach in a community we love and have a lot of local friends, so that keeps us here. However:
- The voters in CA are fiscally irresponsible. While this is nothing new, the last few years our property taxes have shot up as well as sales tax because of new propositions passed to fund everything under the sun. Very frustrating. When will it be too much for us? Not sure.
- We don’t like the winter weather here, and we prefer warm beaches you can swim comfortably at year-around. Unfortunately the only places that have this also have hurricanes and humidity and bugs, three things So CA doesn’t.

We have found that since retiring, some of the negatives about life in So CA have gone away. Commuting and bad traffic are largely in the past as we rarely go outside of our local area, and almost never do it during peak traffic times.

How has your quality of life improved in NV, and what area are you in now? Please share. Thanks!

We moved to a very rural mountain community about 10 miles outside of Reno, so everything you need (shopping, dining, concerts, comedy shows, sports, an airport, etc.) and are all very close, but at home we see wild horses roaming around. Unlike the Bay Area you don't have to fight crazy traffic to get to where you want to go.

There is so much to do and all is right here - skiing, fishing, bird hunting, off-roading, etc. Yesterday we took our Can Am Commander out of the garage and took off for a winter ride to take in the snow draped scenery - we do not have to trailer it to go out on a nice long ride into the hills. And where can you ski in the morning and then golf in the afternoon? In the summer there are so many events to go to and a lot of them are free.

The people here seem much more laid back and are very friendly. The customer service is awesome; when we first started shopping here I thought I was on another planet. In general, people don't seem as rushed all the time and don't always have their heads buried in their smart phones; strangers interact with one another more.

A side benefit is the cost (or lack thereof as the case may be). We pocketed hundreds of thousands of dollars when we sold our Bay Area home and purchased our NV home. On top of that our property taxes were greatly reduced and there is no state income tax which saves us upwards of $20K or more a year.

 

[misty57]

- The voters in CA are fiscally irresponsible. While this is nothing new, the last few years our property taxes have shot up as well as sales tax because of new propositions passed to fund everything under the sun. Very frustrating. When will it be too much for us? Not sure.

It definitely became too much for us and was really what prompted us to look out of state. I had lived in CA my entire life and thought I would never leave, but am so glad that we took the leap.

 

[bltkmt]

Not yet, but this year if at all possible. We’re househunting in Feb! We’ve had more than enough of single digit highs temps like this!

I saw one of your posts on Citydata - Carolinas?

 

[dixonge]

Mexico

 

[bltkmt]

We are in CT, near NY so I think we will eventually move, likely south. Our kids are in SC and NC, so probably near them. DW and I grew up on the west coast, so warmer climates are in our blood.

 

[RetiringAt55]

Not yet, but this year if at all possible. We’re househunting in Feb! We’ve had more than enough of single digit highs temps like this!

Now they're forecasting double digit NEGATIVE low temps for next Wednesday for us (-18F). The husband won't move but we are thinking of snowbirding in an RV for a month each winter during retirement. Brrr......

 

[walkinwood]

We moved 3 years after ER from NJ (near NYC) to Denver CO.


We lived in a beautiful neighborhood with wonderful neighbors who we still keep in touch with. But we wanted more access to the outdoors. A lower cost of living was attractive too.


We love Denver & the mountain west in general. We have wonderful (though much younger) neighbors, enjoy a nice friends circle and are more active than ever - physically & socially.



Property taxes and health insurance costs are lower than NJ and since we bought a new home, maintenance & utilities are also lower than on our old house in NJ. State taxes are higher since CO taxes every penny at the same flat rate.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Misty we moved to Reno 22 years ago for work and love it for all the reasons you mentioned.

 

[Scuba]

It definitely became too much for us and was really what prompted us to look out of state. I had lived in CA my entire life and thought I would never leave, but am so glad that we took the leap.

Thanks for all the information. Glad you are happy in your new home. We also thought we’d never leave, but we’re reconsidering. Partly due to $$, partly due to the desire for warm beaches year-around. If we do leave, we’ll probably keep our CA condo and rent it out, at least initially. It would be very difficult for us to move back to CA if we don’t keep our real estate, and having this as a Plan B will help us take the risk of trying a new place.