Where to retire early

[CaliKid]

Subtract 10 points for the rain in Hawaii.

You should explore the whole state before you make such a conclusion. The rain totals vary greatly around Hawaii. We like the westside of Oahu (Kapolei), for example, and the rain in this part of the island is slightly more than San Diego (by a few inches) with far superior weather temps (at least for me). Really a lot depends on what each person likes. I find San Diego too cold much of the year and the June gloom is a real drag to me! I prefer warm sunshine as close to 365 as possible!

 

[Koolau]

You should explore the whole state before you make such a conclusion. The rain totals vary greatly around Hawaii. We like the westside of Oahu (Kapolei), for example, and the rain in this part of the island is slightly more than San Diego (by a few inches) with far superior weather temps (at least for me). Really a lot depends on what each person likes. I find San Diego too cold much of the year and the June gloom is a real drag to me! I prefer warm sunshine as close to 365 as possible!

Only thing I don't like about Kapolei is getting there - or maybe worse, getting home from Kapolei. I feel sorry for people who live Ewa and w*rk downtown.

BUT, I'm sure The Honolulu Light Rail will solve all problems.

 

[aja8888]

You should explore the whole state before you make such a conclusion. The rain totals vary greatly around Hawaii. We like the westside of Oahu (Kapolei), for example, and the rain in this part of the island is slightly more than San Diego (by a few inches) with far superior weather temps (at least for me). Really a lot depends on what each person likes. I find San Diego too cold much of the year and the June gloom is a real drag to me! I prefer warm sunshine as close to 365 as possible!

Yes sir, I have been all over the islands and have seen the rain many times, plus, on Kauai it averages 460 inches of rain per year (Certainly not all at once, though)!

 

[Koolau]

Yes sir, I have been all over the islands and have seen the rain many times, plus, on Kauai it averages 460 inches of rain per year (Certainly not all at once, though)!

That rain fall is only on Mount Wai‘ale‘ale. Kauai has rain shadows leeward just like the other Islands. Even Kauai is experiencing draught this year! Who would have thought it.

 

[aja8888]

That rain fall is only on Mount Wai‘ale‘ale. Kauai has rain shadows leeward just like the other Islands. Even Kauai is experiencing draught this year! Who would have thought it.

I went to a golf tournament in Kauai years ago and got rained out for 4 days. But that's another story.

 

[Koolau]

I went to a golf tournament in Kauai years ago and got rained out for 4 days. But that's another story.

I suppose the reason the Sony Open is held on Oahu during the Rainy Season is that "Rainy Season" is relative! This year's open was utterly dry!

First big rain of the rainy season TODAY here leeward Oahu. It's wonderful. Just a couple of months late!

 

[Out of Steam]

I've decided to go for a suburb of Austin. Move date is still in the air. Visited Virginia, Tennessee, NC, Florida, Utah, and live in CA. All nice spots where retirement can work out but Austin suburb just won out because combinations of things that came together.

We did similar pre-retirement travel, but knew that we wanted to stay within 3 hours of where we were living in suburban Washington, DC. Besides direct housing costs and state/local taxes (Maryland to Virginia), which are obviously substantial, we have not found significant savings on other things.

Since we owned substantially more house than we needed, we probably could have reduced our expenses enough by downsizing within the DC metro area.

 

[Out of Steam]

July is 102/76 and remember, it is dry heat

In my view, 90 degrees F is comfortable dry heat. 100 degrees is rough at any humidity.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I went to a golf tournament in Kauai years ago and got rained out for 4 days. But that's another story.

I went to Seattle for a weekend and it rained for 10 days.

 

[kcowan]

Our home in PV MX is also suffering from lack of rain this year plus with the arctic front, mornings are 72 degrees with 60% humidity. When the winds start around 1130 am, it is cold! OK in the sun on the beach though.

 

[mojavesue]

Another shout-out for New Mexico.

Funnily enough, we are in the Austin, TX metroplex and have bought a small second home in NM to get away from the extreme summer heat. We just cannot stand to be in Texas for the hottest summer months, the elevation in NM is perfect for us.

We have been visiting for years, and somehow rentals have always been lacking in some way, even when we spend a lot of money. We wanted our own place.

Yeah! We are definitely the summer location for Texans!

 

[jtmax]

We did similar pre-retirement travel, but knew that we wanted to stay within 3 hours of where we were living in suburban Washington, DC. Besides direct housing costs and state/local taxes (Maryland to Virginia), which are obviously substantial, we have not found significant savings on other things.

Since we owned substantially more house than we needed, we probably could have reduced our expenses enough by downsizing within the DC metro area.

Remaining in place actually saves alot of money like in your case. That's a consideration for me to stay in place in Silicon Valley but taxes here are going to be insane looking forward due to mismanagement by state and local government. It's unfortunate because I love my house, neighborhood and weather but I think our state and local governments are broken beyond repair. Since government is beyond my control and affects so much of my quality of life it is a significant factor in the places I looked at. All the states I visited collect much less tax than CA but have surpluses while CA have big deficit so that is an objective reflection of governance.

 

[Al18]

Kapolei area is nice. Stayed at Ko’Olina last February

 

[Joseph]

Remaining in place actually saves alot of money like in your case. That's a consideration for me to stay in place in Silicon Valley but taxes here are going to be insane looking forward due to mismanagement by state and local government. It's unfortunate because I love my house, neighborhood and weather but I think our state and local governments are broken beyond repair. Since government is beyond my control and affects so much of my quality of life it is a significant factor in the places I looked at. All the states I visited collect much less tax than CA but have surpluses while CA have big deficit so that is an objective reflection of governance.

In the same boat as you. If inflation was projected to be normal re: homeowners Ins, PGE and everything else under the sun, I would stay in East Bay. Throw in Fires, Floods, earthquakes ( a few miles away from Hayward Fault. ) it just doesn’t make sense long term. We did get our house retrofitted for earthquakes and where I live, castro valley, is basically for hard rock . So hopefully minimal damage from earthquake. We have around 5 1/2 yrs to sell so crossing my fingers no major catastrophes till then.

 

[Diogenes]

Remaining in place actually saves alot of money like in your case. That's a consideration for me to stay in place in Silicon Valley but taxes here are going to be insane looking forward due to mismanagement by state and local government. It's unfortunate because I love my house, neighborhood and weather but I think our state and local governments are broken beyond repair. Since government is beyond my control and affects so much of my quality of life it is a significant factor in the places I looked at. All the states I visited collect much less tax than CA but have surpluses while CA have big deficit so that is an objective reflection of governance.

Whatever we think of governance or politics, state/local taxes have enormous impact, especially for more affluent people who have high taxable income (dividends, capital gains) and maybe also substantial real estate holdings (property tax). These considerations overwhelm all other costs, such as those of personal consumption. The irony is that an early retiree with a modest portfolio could then better "afford" to retire-in-place in a high tax jurisdiction, whereas somebody with 10X the money, could afford it... less.

 

[jtmax]

In the same boat as you. If inflation was projected to be normal re: homeowners Ins, PGE and everything else under the sun, I would stay in East Bay. Throw in Fires, Floods, earthquakes ( a few miles away from Hayward Fault. ) it just doesn’t make sense long term. We did get our house retrofitted for earthquakes and where I live, castro valley, is basically for hard rock . So hopefully minimal damage from earthquake. We have around 5 1/2 yrs to sell so crossing my fingers no major catastrophes till then.

The LA fires are making me think about how close to the edge we are in CA. Imagine if you're one of those people getting ready to cash out of CA to retire and now they got nothing or stuck sinking in a big deductible to rebuild their house and then have a hard time getting insurance.

 

[Koolau]

The LA fires are making me think about how close to the edge we are in CA. Imagine if you're one of those people getting ready to cash out of CA to retire and now they got nothing or stuck sinking in a big deductible to rebuild their house and then have a hard time getting insurance.

Your point is so well taken.

I can't even imagine what it's like in CA due to the fires and their inevitable aftermath. In Honolulu, we have hundreds of high-rise condo buildings. ONE (as in 1) caught fire some years ago and IIRC 3 people died. The fire showed that most high rise buildings in Honolulu did not have sprinkler systems. So the insurance company bailed out of Hawaii in droves. The few who are left insist that all such buildings (mine included) add sprinklers. Estimated cost to us (DW and me) is on the order of $30K. BUT the few insurance companies left have raised prices (due to no sprinklers but more to recover their loses during the Lahina Maui fires.) So our HOA dues are going up from $1000 to $1400 this year.

When the smoke clears in LA, I just can't even guess what the recovery and insurance will cost. My condolences to the survivors and home owners - even those whose houses weren't touched by the fires.

 

[CaliKid]

Yes sir, I have been all over the islands and have seen the rain many times, plus, on Kauai it averages 460 inches of rain per year (Certainly not all at once, though)!

Well, on the west side of Oahu it's about 20 inches a year. Pretty low compared to most US cities!

 

[CaliKid]

Only thing I don't like about Kapolei is getting there - or maybe worse, getting home from Kapolei. I feel sorry for people who live Ewa and w*rk downtown.

BUT, I'm sure The Honolulu Light Rail will solve all problems.

We try to not travel at rush hour AM or PM.

I drove a friend to airport recently and GPS showed it as 23 minutes from Ko Olina. That was a Saturday morning fwiw.

Waikiki, no traffic, is about 30 minutes.

 

[Koolau]

Well, on the west side of Oahu it's about 20 inches a year. Pretty low compared to most US cities!

Yeah, and I think we got all 20 inches last night! It rained so hard our windows leaked. We were sopping up water all night. BUT glad to get the rain - finally.

 

[Koolau]

We try to not travel at rush hour AM or PM.

I drove a friend to airport recently and GPS showed it as 23 minutes from Ko Olina. That was a Saturday morning fwiw.

Waikiki, no traffic, is about 30 minutes.

We try to keep our visits to Queens between about 9:30 and 2:00. Anything earlier - or especially later means a long slog back home to South Oahu.