Where to live after ER... Why?
If you've made your decision, please don't read this. It will irritate you and make you want to say why it's wrong.
Truth is, no one will agree with the following, and I'd be first in line to say why this is wrong, but it comes from reflecting on our life.
Simply... If you are retired, or planning to retire, and you want to make a change is where you'll live, it's a good idea to think ahead. Think ahead. Not what you want to do tomorrow, but where you may want to live for the next 30+ years. If that wonderful vacation to Somewhere, LN was the happiest week of your life, it's going to be tempting to go back there to live out your days.
If you are an itinerant traveller with mucho $$$, then it probably won't matter. You'll be comfortable Berne, Shanghai, Paris or Orlando. But... if the dollars matter, and the lifestyle matters, and you want a place to call home... then the time you take to research your new home, means doing your "home"work. You can do it by travelling all over the US, if that's your style, but you can save time, money, and narrow down the choices by using your computer to research the basics. Along the way you may find some interesting stuff that could change your mind, or at least narrow your choices... in line with what you can afford, as well as keeping your bucket list intact.
What's important to you? Make your list... Culture? Family? City? Country? Cost of living? Shopping/Restaurants/Entertainment? Distance from....? Healthcare/Retirement facilities? Neighbors -young, old, wealthy, average...? and how you'll fit in when you're 10 or 20 years older? Big house, small house, condo, country, in town, closed community? Social life?
There are some macro factors that (I think) shoud be considered when narrowing down this major life choice. This we normally don't think about when we've been living in one place for years. Just poking around here on ER, it's surprising to see the huge differences in things like income, salaries, pensions, home values and "$$$ we need to live comfortably. Yeah... like 100K+/year down to $25K/yr. or less. SURPRISE!!! A lot may have to do with where you live... the cost of living, the average salaries and the average home prices. Another factor is the average age of the locale. Like, do you know the average HH income for your town, and the places you're looking at to retire. A hint... from an octogenarian... younger ain't always better.
These are just a few of many, many points to consider when deciding where to live. Thing is... while nothing takes the place of "being there", a few hours of "home"work, can give some perspective as to the plusses and minuses of
the narrowed down choices.
I've used city-data.com to pull some comparisons of a few arbitrary cities to look at some age and money factors. Make of it what you will. No conclusions but just a few different place to look at. My town is at the top, so I used it to try to figure out why so many folks here seem to think that housing prices of 500K are normal.
Too many words... again.
City Median age - State Median age- HH Med income - Med house value
Peru,Il.................... 45...38....47K....128K
Boulder Co............. 29...36....5kK....584K
San Francisco CA.....38...36....92K....941K
Austin TX.................32...34...56K....235K
Tampa FL.................35....42...44K...190K
Seattle WA..............36....38...80K...530K
Raleigh NC...............33...38....57K...227K
Chicago IL...............34...37...51K....239K
Nashville TN............34...38...51K....185K
Las Cruces NM.........33...37...41k....154K
Boise ID..................35...37...55K.....209K
Des Moines IA..........35...38...49K....119K
Carson City, NV.........43...38...42K...237K
New Orleans, LA.......36...36...39K...316K
If you've made your decision, please don't read this. It will irritate you and make you want to say why it's wrong.
Truth is, no one will agree with the following, and I'd be first in line to say why this is wrong, but it comes from reflecting on our life.
Simply... If you are retired, or planning to retire, and you want to make a change is where you'll live, it's a good idea to think ahead. Think ahead. Not what you want to do tomorrow, but where you may want to live for the next 30+ years. If that wonderful vacation to Somewhere, LN was the happiest week of your life, it's going to be tempting to go back there to live out your days.
If you are an itinerant traveller with mucho $$$, then it probably won't matter. You'll be comfortable Berne, Shanghai, Paris or Orlando. But... if the dollars matter, and the lifestyle matters, and you want a place to call home... then the time you take to research your new home, means doing your "home"work. You can do it by travelling all over the US, if that's your style, but you can save time, money, and narrow down the choices by using your computer to research the basics. Along the way you may find some interesting stuff that could change your mind, or at least narrow your choices... in line with what you can afford, as well as keeping your bucket list intact.
What's important to you? Make your list... Culture? Family? City? Country? Cost of living? Shopping/Restaurants/Entertainment? Distance from....? Healthcare/Retirement facilities? Neighbors -young, old, wealthy, average...? and how you'll fit in when you're 10 or 20 years older? Big house, small house, condo, country, in town, closed community? Social life?
There are some macro factors that (I think) shoud be considered when narrowing down this major life choice. This we normally don't think about when we've been living in one place for years. Just poking around here on ER, it's surprising to see the huge differences in things like income, salaries, pensions, home values and "$$$ we need to live comfortably. Yeah... like 100K+/year down to $25K/yr. or less. SURPRISE!!! A lot may have to do with where you live... the cost of living, the average salaries and the average home prices. Another factor is the average age of the locale. Like, do you know the average HH income for your town, and the places you're looking at to retire. A hint... from an octogenarian... younger ain't always better.
These are just a few of many, many points to consider when deciding where to live. Thing is... while nothing takes the place of "being there", a few hours of "home"work, can give some perspective as to the plusses and minuses of
the narrowed down choices.
I've used city-data.com to pull some comparisons of a few arbitrary cities to look at some age and money factors. Make of it what you will. No conclusions but just a few different place to look at. My town is at the top, so I used it to try to figure out why so many folks here seem to think that housing prices of 500K are normal.
Too many words... again.
City Median age - State Median age- HH Med income - Med house value
Peru,Il.................... 45...38....47K....128K
Boulder Co............. 29...36....5kK....584K
San Francisco CA.....38...36....92K....941K
Austin TX.................32...34...56K....235K
Tampa FL.................35....42...44K...190K
Seattle WA..............36....38...80K...530K
Raleigh NC...............33...38....57K...227K
Chicago IL...............34...37...51K....239K
Nashville TN............34...38...51K....185K
Las Cruces NM.........33...37...41k....154K
Boise ID..................35...37...55K.....209K
Des Moines IA..........35...38...49K....119K
Carson City, NV.........43...38...42K...237K
New Orleans, LA.......36...36...39K...316K
Last edited:
