do you love where you live? retirement location

[Dcharles]

1) North Dakota!

2). Yes... we do get snow snow periodically

3). I love the four season, low crime rate, excellent outdoors fishing and hunting etc. Traffic? Sometimes I see a vehicle or two while out in the country, but don't know what Road Rage is or rush hour traffic?

4). we love it here and our kids and grand kids are here, so moving away is not an option for us. We miss some of the cultural Theaters offered in the Big Cities, but it's the price we pay to live where you don't need to lock your doors or worry about crime.


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[Eileen]

Hyper,
What is your location?
Sounds too windy and cold.
It just says North on your post.

 

[Alan]

Hyper,
What is your location?
Sounds too windy and cold.
It just says North on your post.

I think Hyper might an alias for Santa

 

[Meadbh]

Where are you living?
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada

Is there snow?
Down in the valley where I am, we get snow three or four times a year, a few cars go in the ditch, and the snow melts within a day or two. As we speak it is 28 degrees Centigrade (83 degrees Fahrenheit) and our swimming pool is busy, while I can see snow capped mountain peaks in the distance. We have hot summers and mild winters.

Why do you love your location?
Very scenic, best climate in Canada, tons of things to do. Hiking, skiing, water sports, golf, wine tourism, arts and culture, foodie culture, and a wonderful Newcomers' Club......my social calendar is overflowing. The ocean and the Gulf Islands are a 5 hour drive away. The Rockies likewise. Washington and Oregon are all doable road trips. Great airline connections. A very ER friendly culture.

Is it expensive?
People say that BC stands for "bring cash". While property prices in Vancouver are insane, the Interior is more moderate. I moved here from a lower cost location on the prairies, but my cost of living has decreased. For example, property taxes on my condo are ~$900. Heating bills have decreased by orders of magnitude. Provincial tax rates are among the lowest in Canada.

 

[haha]

This is a very useful thread. By structuring the things to be covered about one's location, people are able to convey what really does appeal about their place. And perhaps some of the negatives.

Ha

 

[FANOFJESUS]

Personally, Amarillo is a hell-hole. Think Austin or San Marcos or the Hill country if you're considering Texas, if you can stand the summer heat. My best friend in HS is in Amarillo, and I'm semi-familiar with it.

What things do you dislike about Amarillo?

 

[Huston55]

hi!
I cannot believe the wealth of information I learn from this website. I always thought Florida was the plan for our retirement.....however, you all post amazing things about your location.

my questions are:

1. Where are you living? (state)
2. Is there snow? lol -- hoping never to see snow again when I retire
3. why do you love your location?
4. Is it expensive (taxes, etc.) housing costs, etc.

TN, the Carolinas and Georgia are sounding pretty good right now....

thank you all for your input

We just moved from East TN, and it's a wonderful place. We returned to the SF Bay Area because that's where our closest friends and lots of wonderful memories are located. Were it not for the life long friends we have out here in SF, downtown Knoxville would be our location of choice; we loved it there.

So, about our new location:

1. Where are you living? (state): Sausalito, CA.

2. Is there snow?: Nope, never as far as I know; just the way we like it.

3. Is it expensive (taxes, etc.) housing costs, etc.: Yep, very; especially housing. But, housing cost is a function of $/SF and SF. We decided to sacrifice SF and have a killer view. (Note: We've downsized by half twice in the past 5 yrs, and it's very doable. Heck, if I keep watching enough 'Tiny House Nation', we could probably downsize by half a third time. Might need a new DW to do that though. ).

 

[ABQ2015]

What things do you dislike about Amarillo?

I travel to Amarillo for business. It is geographically isolated, flat, and very windy. Winters can be cold and the wind intensifies the cold. Depending on the way the wind blows, you can sometimes smell the cattle yards. There is little to do there or nearby although there are lots of restaurants for the size of the city. While retiring in west Texas would not be my preference, I would prefer Lubbock over Amarillo. Lubbock still has the low humidity but is slightly larger than Amarillo with a university and is a little less isolated. I also have family in Abilene and San Angelo and have recently seem these cities on a list of best places to retire. But these cities are hotter in the summer than the panhandle and have higher humidity - I've only visited at Christmas so don't know what the humidity is actually like.

 

[Big_Hitter]

What things do you dislike about Amarillo?

three things

location, location and location

 

[Time2re]

shameless plus for ID


17 things only someone who's been to Idaho will understand

+1 sometimes I forget how beautiful Idaho is! Thx

 

[Eileen]

well, I think you guys have definitely saved me a little trip to Amarillo.
As for Knoxville, I"ll have to check that out online (since I'm only doing online research, not in person yet). I recall looking up TN and some cities and areas were rated 'fantastic' by sites, and other cities seemed to have a higher crime rate or poorer weather. Sounds like people here liked Knoxville. I liked the introduction to Idaho! Interesting!
North Dakota - I always figured would be incredibly COLD.... no?

 

[MBSC]

As for Knoxville, I"ll have to check that out online (since I'm only doing online research, not in person yet). I recall looking up TN and some cities and areas were rated 'fantastic' by sites, and other cities seemed to have a higher crime rate....Sounds like people here liked Knoxville.

I also like Knoxville but their crime rate can be tricky.

Comparing Knoxville’s crime rate to the rest of the nation is difficult, mainly because Tennessee switched to an incident-based reporting system that counts every charge against a person during one incident, while many states use uniformed crime reporting, a system in which only one charge is counted per incident, even though several other charges may be filed.

Source: How Bad is Knoxville Crime? - Memphis Daily News

 

[Walt34]

North Dakota - I always figured would be incredibly COLD.... no?

Yes. Climate North Dakota - temperature, rainfall and average

When I was looking around for states to move to after retirement I looked for the state with the lowest population per square mile. That state was North Dakota. Then I looked up the climate there and saw the reason why. Some people like it but I'd die there.

 

[Eileen]

Yes...just prior to your post, I looked up ND climate. No......I could not possibly consider it either!

 

[Meadbh]

North Dakota - I always figured would be incredibly COLD.... no?

I used to live in Manitoba, north of North Dakota. I moved for ER because of the cold. Friends in Manitoba had three inches of snow at their lakeside cottage last weekend. And the winter of 2013-14 was brutal.

 

[Rosie]

We just moved from East TN, and it's a wonderful place. We returned to the SF Bay Area because that's where our closest friends and lots of wonderful memories are located. Were it not for the life long friends we have out here in SF, downtown Knoxville would be our location of choice; we loved it there.

So, about our new location:

1. Where are you living? (state): Sausalito, CA.

2. Is there snow?: Nope, never as far as I know.

OMG, Sausalito is glorious. You might get a bit of snow on nearby Mt Tam, you can go visit it if you're so inclined, but I doubt you'll ever get any in Sausalito proper.

Enjoy living in paradise!

 

[brett]

Calgary, Canada. We love it in the summer. We travel in the winter to warmer climes. Expect to do this if and until we find a place where we want to buy a second home. So far, the only places that have any attraction to us involve long plane rides across oceans.

 

[Calgary_Girl]

Calgary, Canada. We love it in the summer. We travel in the winter to warmer climes. Expect to do this if and until we find a place where we want to buy a second home. So far, the only places that have any attraction to us involve long plane rides across oceans.

Same as Brett. Born and raised Calgarian. Summers are wonderful and you never know what winter will bring but at least we have Chinooks in the winter which makes it more bearable!

Brett - which part of town do you live in? We're on the West side so we can be in Banff in about an hour


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[Walt34]

Same as Brett. Born and raised Calgarian. Summers are wonderful and you never know what winter will bring but at least we have Chinooks in the winter which makes it more bearable!

The things I learn here - when I hear "Chinook" I always thought of the people or the Boeing helicopter. I didn't know it was a wind too.

 

[Calgary_Girl]

The things I learn here - when I hear "Chinook" I always thought of the people or the Boeing helicopter. I didn't know it was a wind too.

Yes, Chinooks are quite the phenomenon if you didn't grow up in Calgary. I remember being a kid and a decent Chinook would raise the temperature by 20C or more. You could tell who the locals were because we'd be in t-shirts and shorts in the middle of winter .


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[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Calgary_girl knows, Calgary is one of my favorite places in the world. More sunny days than any city in North America than I know of.
The Chinook Arch over the mountains I will remember along with the Aurora in Ft Mac.
We know the Chinook winds west of the mountains as well (Portland and Seattle).
I remember a February in Cowtown when the snow did not melt, it simply evaporated (sublimed). When do you ever see that?


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[Sarpy]

for a reason...low crime

one of my friends doesn't lock his house or cars...even when they are out of town

Where do they live?

Seriously, I'm married to one of the few natives and almost a native myself, and growth is showing its pains. Infrastructure was not set up for all the influx, and we're slow to adapt. And, oh, yeah, hate the politics. Certainly isn't the sleepy college town we loved back when. OBTW, not exactly an airlines hub so expect expensive & convoluted flights in & out of here.

 

[Big_Hitter]

Where do they live?

Seriously, I'm married to one of the few natives and almost a native myself, and growth is showing its pains. Infrastructure was not set up for all the influx, and we're slow to adapt. And, oh, yeah, hate the politics. Certainly isn't the sleepy college town we loved back when. OBTW, not exactly an airlines hub so expect expensive & convoluted flights in & out of here.

highlands - lots of retirees here

flying is a pita but we don't travel that much

there is a direct flight to iah now which helps

 

[Nodak]

Yes, Chinooks are quite the phenomenon if you didn't grow up in Calgary. I remember being a kid and a decent Chinook would raise the temperature by 20C or more. You could tell who the locals were because we'd be in t-shirts and shorts in the middle of winter .


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Chinooks can be amazing. Spearfish SD holds the record for the largest temperature change in the shortest period of time. from 4 below F to 49 above in 2 minutes.

 

[unclemick]

1. Washington State.
2. Very little where we live, but cloudy and light rain common.
3. We grew up here, but after living and visiting many other places including in Europe, never saw anywhere else that suited us better. What is left of family is within a few hundred miles of us but that was not an issue. We have ocean, mountains large and small, desert not far, Seattle and Vancouver, BC nearby, very moderate weather, great scenery, no varmints and no income tax. Also inexpensive for us. When we lived in Chicago, we always figured these were the folks who were not smart enough to stay on the wagon train. Also, top notch health care. Shopping is so good, shoppers down from Canada (Welcome to 'the Lower Mainland!') crowd the stores. Where we are has amusements enough for us. Be aware that WA State is hostile to small business (despite their vigorous protestations).
4. Housing not bad. $300k will buy a nice little house in town but will be less in the county. RE taxes about $2,800 on $330,000 house. Sales taxes a little over 8% (TANSTAAFL).

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Above is number 2 a close second. I was 26 before I really internalized that Yakima was NOT on the outskirts of Brooklyn. Visit my Sister/BIL on the Olympic Peninsula once or twice a year.

Kansas City. Born again flatlander. Learning to love snow -some. Head to the Texas Gulf or a New Orleans visit once or twice in the winter.

Heh heh heh - Ya think having a new wife born in MO who spent entire career in KC has any influence?