Where would you retire?

[KDubU]

We are seriously looking at one last move before retiring early (DW has been retired since the age of 35). We really like a lot about where we live but hate the winters so have thought about a second place somewhere South but having two homes brings it’s own challenges. So we are thinking of moving to a smaller place with some land somewhere but are totally lost.

We did the FL trips in 2018 to multiple places including Sanibel, Anna Maria and Key West and I am very familiar with the Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood area from my teenage years. No offense to any FL’ers but we really struggle with finding a nice place in FL plus then there is the summer heat, traffic and hurricanes. We like “old Florida”, small cottage type homes with fauna, not the more common 70-80’s style homes with no landscaping whatsoever. We also have looked at the Golden Isles in GA as my family used to vacation on Jekyl Island a lot. Have also considered Charleston but have yet to visit. Notice one common denominator is being close to the ocean? We can walk to the beach here and love the ocean but would consider “trading” if we can find the right place. So we have investigated but not visited Santa Fe, NM as the State pulls to us with it’s beauty and sunny skies. CA has beautiful weather but homes prices are steep and if we were to go there it would likely be Northern CA up around Santa Rosa or Sacramento but also know it’s expensive to live in CA. We love Oregon but the gray skies...we want sun. I know Bend, OR gets less rain and grey clouds but is a smaller city plus OR home prices are steep. AZ is awfully hot in many places with the exception of Scottsdale but that get snow.

So we are looking to move somewhere like we have now, a little land ideally or a nice place with privacy/extensive landscaping that provides privacy (we have just over 6 acres now and don’t have to have the same but don’t want a postage stamp either). As little snow as possible but like the seasons but don’t want 100+ degree heat like Phoenix gets. We also don’t want to be out in the boonies either though although there is a lot of beauty in the boonies, we did that in our 30’s and know that as we get older we want to be closer to services. We are excited and terrified of out West just because we have never lived there but it calls to us.

Just thought I would field opinions as I know everyone has different tastes.

Tks
Kyle

PS - have also looked at Portugal a bit as weather is perfect and it’s not expensive but would be a culture shock.

 

[addy1]

Out west is beautiful, less people in a lot of the areas, except the big cities. Arizona hot in the south, cold in the north, dust storms, beautiful lightening storms. California, crowded, bad fires, pollution in the cities, my eyes burned when I went over to LA area.

Utah, back in snow and cold. Beautiful scenery

Washington state, wet cloudy beautiful rain forest along the coast.

I only lived in AZ but visited all the states out there.

 

[poconojoe]

Where do you live now? I don't think you mentioned that, but maybe I missed it.
I know how you feel about the cold winters. We're in northeastern PA in the Pocono Mountains and the winters can be long. Usually by the time February comes along, we've had enough.

 

[KDubU]

Sorry, should have stated we live in Kennebunk, ME currently. The winters on the coast here in Southern ME are not as bad as inland or to the North but the Northeasters can really dump a lot of snow rapidly. In 2015, we have like 3 storms in row weekly that dropped I think about 4’ of snow on us. That was an extreme year whereas this past year we had a bit, then it melted, then a bit more but not a lot at all. I think by beginning of March we had maybe 4-5” on the ground? We often get rain on the coast or freezing rain and inland about 5 miles they will get dumped on with snow.

 

[Mmathis]

I live in NW Louisiana, so am not speaking for the entire Southern (Southeastern) US, but it’s miserable here spring through fall, and winter only lasts a heartbeat. Lots of humidity and mosquitoes! Lots of gorgeous countryside, though, but some parts are flat. If you like 4 seasons with a good variety of topography, there are some wonderful spots in Arkansas. I don’t know anything about the economy in AR, but the recreational features (outdoorsy stuff) are almost endless.

 

[j.w]

We live in NW washington maybe 50 miles from the Canadian border in the country. We are already retired so guess we choose to stay where we are. We have mostly mild weather here and we do get rain but mostly just showers not torrential downpours except once in a great while. Not much snow and when we get it it does not last long. Summers are the best! On our west side of the mountains where we live no poisonous snakes or bugs, well now they are finding a few dead Murder Bees but they go after honey bees not people. I would like to live here in Spring and Summer and have another place somewhere warm in winter but not dessert areas like Arizona. I love California by the beaches but like you say, too expensive and their state is not so great as it's economic structure is rotten. I would not want to live anywhere that is humid in Summer as that is the worst as far as I'm concerned! Southern Oregon by the beach sounds good to me! They have spectacular beaches!

 

[KDubU]

Thanks everyone! Appreciate any feedback as we are lucky in that we can move anywhere including all the US as I work from home most of the time and only need internet. We even can move back to Canada where we originally come from although only Victoria interests us and homes are very expensive there. We can even go live in the UK as I am dual citizen (Canadian/UK) and even have looked at a few other European countries.

JW, yes we have looked a lot at the Pacific NorthWest and think we would love it there although we both want sun as much as possible. This is the one thing that places OR and WA down on the list.

On top of trying to make a decision is COVID and the uncertainties. DW has some immune problems and am very concerned about her health. And then there is selling our place, we received an offer above asking price that I thought was already $150-200k too high (yes, that is how far I was off estimating the value of our property!).

 

[JamieB]

You shot down my idea when you said no 100+ temps, but Oklahoma has a few nice places. Around Fayetteville Arkansas is nice, beautiful ozarks, good sized city but not too big, just no ocean. I don’t mind temps, and am not drawn to the ocean, so my favorite options may not suit you. The one place I’ve been to that I fell in love with at first sight was the Wind River canyon in Wyoming. I think I’d move to the Rockies if I won the lottery and could just retire. But I prefer small towns, few people, and lots of privacy.

 

[CometKeith]

We are seriously looking at one last move before retiring early (DW has been retired since the age of 35). We really like a lot about where we live but hate the winters so have thought about a second place somewhere South but having two homes brings it’s own challenges. So we are thinking of moving to a smaller place with some land somewhere but are totally lost.

We did the FL trips in 2018 to multiple places including Sanibel, Anna Maria and Key West and I am very familiar with the Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood area from my teenage years. No offense to any FL’ers but we really struggle with finding a nice place in FL plus then there is the summer heat, traffic and hurricanes. We like “old Florida”, small cottage type homes with fauna, not the more common 70-80’s style homes with no landscaping whatsoever. We also have looked at the Golden Isles in GA as my family used to vacation on Jekyl Island a lot. Have also considered Charleston but have yet to visit. Notice one common denominator is being close to the ocean? We can walk to the beach here and love the ocean but would consider “trading” if we can find the right place. So we have investigated but not visited Santa Fe, NM as the State pulls to us with it’s beauty and sunny skies. CA has beautiful weather but homes prices are steep and if we were to go there it would likely be Northern CA up around Santa Rosa or Sacramento but also know it’s expensive to live in CA. We love Oregon but the gray skies...we want sun. I know Bend, OR gets less rain and grey clouds but is a smaller city plus OR home prices are steep. AZ is awfully hot in many places with the exception of Scottsdale but that get snow.

So we are looking to move somewhere like we have now, a little land ideally or a nice place with privacy/extensive landscaping that provides privacy (we have just over 6 acres now and don’t have to have the same but don’t want a postage stamp either). As little snow as possible but like the seasons but don’t want 100+ degree heat like Phoenix gets. We also don’t want to be out in the boonies either though although there is a lot of beauty in the boonies, we did that in our 30’s and know that as we get older we want to be closer to services. We are excited and terrified of out West just because we have never lived there but it calls to us.

Just thought I would field opinions as I know everyone has different tastes.

Tks
Kyle

PS - have also looked at Portugal a bit as weather is perfect and it’s not expensive but would be a culture shock.

Hi. I found your question very interesting. My wife and I are around retirement age and we have thought about getting away from Chicago winters but are also influenced by where our children and grandkids are as well so it’s going to be a tough decision. Also I have my own business and am not willing to give that up yet. One place we recently visited that I thought was very nice is Savannah Georgia. It’s close to Hilton Head and Charleston and not too far from Atlanta or parts of Florida if you want to take a short trip. The airport there is easy to get in and out of and not crowded like larger cities. The city has a lot of charm and the people there are very friendly. One thing that might be a good idea is to rent somewhere to see if you really like it before buying a home. I have been to Portugal but couldn’t see living there as it is quite different. I didn’t really love their food and it would take some time to get used to their Portuguese. We preferred Spain much more so. Another place I would love to live is Cape Cod in South Africa. The scenery is georgous and they have endless vineyards to visit and there are a good number of expats to be friendly with. Oh and if you get bored you could go on a safari! I love SE Asia too. It’s surprising how friendly people are when you travel and people learn you are American. Everyone loves our movies and music and cool clothes and gadgets that come from here. Also wherever you go educated young people all speak English so its easy to communicate.

 

[poconojoe]

I know the basic theme here seems to be the weather and where I live the Winters can be a bit rough, but economics should also play an important role when choosing a retirement location. One of the things I'm greatly enjoying about Pennsylvania is the fact that none of my retirement money is taxed by the State. I'm saving a huge amount of money compared to some of my friends that are living in New York or New Jersey.
There are a lot of States that don't tax your retirement income, so check it out.
Oh, you'll still get hit by the Feds, no way around that one, unless you move out of the U.S.A.

 

[Tula]

I would love to live in Kennebunk, ME......if I were you I'd stay put ! With climate change, so many hurricanes and higher temps in most southern coastal areas.

Several of my family members have second homes in Naples, FL and they love it. I miss the old FL, the way Naples used to be when I visited my grandparents.....IMO it's over developed these days.

Consider living on or near to one of the Great Lakes ! Lake Michigan is my favorite lake.....but I've also lived on Lake Superior. The great lakes are practically like an ocean, but no salt or sharks - I actually have a t-hsirt with that slogan LOL

 

[GBBUDD]

economy in AR

UNFORTUNATELY THEY HAVE AMONG THE WORST IN THE COUNTRY THOUGH THE WAY THINGS ARE GOING THEY MAY become the best place to live who knows.

 

[GBBUDD]

I have lived for a year or two in many locations. Down south they hide in the summer and up north the hide in the winter. IMO maine is a great place but kenebunk is a bit to populated in the summer for my liking One are that i just left that was both very depressing " kinda like meixco in maine with poverty lack or work and drugs was west virginia. how ever eastern north eastern west virginia and marylands pan handle. yes they get snow but its not major storms and it melts very quick. I also LOVE LOVE LOVE the adorondacks of the blue ridge parkway. expecialy North and South Carolina and in the hills you are spared the extreme heat it's ten degrees cooler in the mountains on average they all have the small town love like keneebunk but they don't have the long winter

 

[KDubU]

We have looked and considered Savannah and it is still on our list. I visited the city many years ago and it is very pretty but for a small city crime seems to an issue. One the huge benefits of where we live today is there is very little crime and very safe. Not to say there are not some instances of B&E especially with all the second and third home people have here. My wife really needs to be warmer for a greater part of the year and as we get older, one of the things we agreed to was less snow shoveling.

Unless we come upon a really nice property in the next 60 days, we are planning to head to Santa Fe, NM. We have always wanted to see NM and while we know Santa Fe gets colder in the winter, snow is minimal to nothing. Plus it still has seasons which is nice. It is not a cheap place to find a property though so that may be a deal breaker on staying there.

For all we know, we may end up in Savannah or Charleston or Amelia Island, who knows at this point. We love Vermont however that does not help us get away from winter nor do the beautiful Adirondacks in NY. There are a lot of nice places to live, it’s just hard to find one that hits all the marks and very likely nowhere ever will entirely.

 

[GBBUDD]

one of the things we agreed to was less snow shoveling

Thats what snow blowers are for or buy a truck and plow thought thats not a bargain considering the price of trucks today