One year after my husband passed away, I retired and moved from NW Missouri to NW Florida. I wouldn't move back for anything, UNLESS my grandkids and family moved back there. I doubt that will happen, but it could. I PLAN to stay right where I am!

I moved to Iowa to retire because I never could have afforded to retire in the San Francisco Bay Area where I lived. I would never move back to the Bay Area. I have been in Iowa for over 5 years and it is home to me. I have wondered if there is any place else that I should have moved to that has better weather but I can't think of any place I would be happier. I still miss my friends and I miss the beauty of the Sonoma Wine Country and San Francisco but I go back to visit for about 10 days once a year and I can't wait to get back home to Iowa. Have you made a real effort to make friends in your new city? You really have to put yourself out there to meet friends. I am very active in my church here and I volunteer at the hospital. I also joined Red Hats and a bunco group.

Well, we're on the verge of that. Just put our (old) house on the market yesterday. I knew I'd NEVER be happy living out of state, so I looked around and found a way to stay here, but live more cheaply--and we're only moving about 30 miles. Since we've had the retirement home for the past 3 years, I think it's going to work out just fine--I love it there, the house is far more convenient for senior citizens like us, it's a quieter, less congested area. Costs a LOT less to live there--property and sales taxes are much lower, products in stores cost less, we'll have access to farm markets for fresh produce. But we won't be all that far from our family, drs, shopping, specialists, etc.

This is an interesting topic. I don't plan on moving when I retire, but I've been watching a couple of recent retirees and I was talking to a friend about the situation yesterday. I think that coming to the end of your career and then immediately pulling up roots has to be really difficult.
One recent retiree I know has settled with her husband into a small town that is full of retirees, after having lived and worked in a major metropolitan area. She was very social and was someone you would just love to have a visit with or to have to your party. Last time I saw her, she seemed angry and bitter and was so unpleasant to be around! I know she is bored and lonely and it is changing her. It is very sad. I don't think this is necessarily typical, but it strikes me that for someone who is very used to living in an urban environment, moving to a small town could be a tough adjustment.

Great topic. It's sort of a question for me... but without retirement.

Do I stay here, in this big city, near a daughter, biking friends, master gardener friends... or move to a small town, where I can more easily afford a house?

Moni

You couldn't pay me to move. I have life long friends here that cannot be replaced. They are like my sisters and you can't make those kind of friends by volunteering and throwing yourwelf into activities. These are people with a shared history of good and bad times. It's worth putting up with the high cost of living and crappy weather.

Thanks for all the nice responses.

We stayed where we were when he retired. He belonged to the Cushman Club of America and had a lot of Cushman friends here. I would have liked to move to a small town, but I didn't push it. We bought a home in a Patio development so we didn't have to worry about mowing, etc..

We aren't close to retirement age, but we have moved every 3-4 years. I've loved some places and hated others. It's not easy to tell if you will like a place before you get there and live there for a while. If it doesn't fit, then maybe it is time to move on and find something that does fit.

we've been here in mi for 23 years, and our kids/grands are all close by (one in south bend)and could never leave them...but! i dearly miss real mountains of ca and wa (where we lived before) the beach and ocean...as long as we can afford to, we'll stay in our home...we're very lucky to have a downstairs br/shower ba...so we could give up using the brs upstairs...course don't have a clue where dh would put HIS clothes, lol..i've taken over the downstairs closets...

dh on the other hand, wants to drive the open roads in a camper...with gas at nearly $5 a gallon that dream is slipping away, sigh...

We won't be moving anytime soon. DH still has several years left to work, plus we wouldn't leave while our parents are still alive... but we have been thinking about what we might want to do. I never thought I'd want to live in Florida, but it appeals to me now for some reason. I 'think' I'd like to live in a community like the Villages.. but I am used to living in rural areas with privacy and quiet. So maybe I would hate it?

I'm not retired so can't answer from that perspective but I did move once and hated it. So I moved back to where I was from. Considered another move for career reasons - investigated the area closely - decided I didn't like it and didn't move. I'm probably over 10 years from retirement and at this point can't think of anywhere else I'd want to live even though I live in MN. A lot of people from here retire to AZ and FL and other warmer places. We have two homes in MN - one on a lake. I like both but neither are single level, elderly friendly places so I'm not so sure I envision being in either one of them for the rest of my days. I kind of like the adventure of trying something new - even a different country - maybe for part of the year and still have a place in MN. Who knows.

We're headed into this .. One couple we met several years ago in St. Augustine, Fl; he worked for the National Park Service as guides -- them moved from park to park depending on the season. He was a former history teacher. I thought that was pretty cool.. but don't know if I could 'downsize' enough to live in an RV/travel trailer most of the year? Of course with the economy, this probably isn't an option anymore.

We bought property in Florida..........my DH is from Florida and his company owned lots of nursing centers in Florida and we felt it would be a good idea to be close to one because his mother was a full time patient in a nursing center.....but......after buying a 10 acre plot in central Florida, we kept coming back to visit people/friends/relatives/children in Texas and after one particular trip........we asked ourselves why we had bought the Florida property and promptly sold it and started looking for property in TX....We honestly feel like choosing Kerrville, TX for our retirement home was probably one of the best decisions we made..........no regrets....We lived in an RV while we built our home so we could be on the property to keep an eye on the building and honestly, after those 8 months, I know there is no way in he// I want to travel around in an RV.........No way.

We have lived in 5 places (4 states) since we've been married. My DH grew up an army brat so he's used to moving. Our families and closest friends are scattered on 4 continents and we've made a point of traveling to see almost all on a quite regular basis...they visit us as well, too. As of now, we plan on staying right here if/when we retire...we're close to a major central airport. However, depending on what happens in the US, we could easily be talked into moving to another country if needed...I'm working on dual citizenship right now.

We're the type of people who focus on looking forward. Looking back and saying "what if..." doesn't serve us well.

The timing of this is incredible!
My DH lost his job 2 years ago and our goal for our
last 30 years of marriage was to retire to Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
Next week, we will be closing on our home in the Cape.
We had to move from NY because the cost of living here is
astronomical. Without my DH's job and the constant rising of
taxes around here, we are actually being pushed out.
Anyway, if I could, I would stay in my home forever. I absolutely adore my home,
so I hope that our dream to live in the Cape can outshine my sadness at having to leave my home.

For years I have been trying to talk my hubby into buying that 2nd home in Ft. Myers...We both love it down there, but wouldn't want to live year around, just the winter months....But so far, I haven't been able to budge him in that direction...Most of our kids are within 15 miles but as they all age and their families age and are starting to go in different directions, I don't feel the need to stay in this area, year round....

Note to Declan's Mom...well, if you don't like Cape Cod for some reason, come on up to 'the other cape', CAPE ANN, and we'll put out the proverbial welcome mat for you! But bet you will (like Cape Cod I mean).

Some suggest that if one has had little long-term, e.g. year-round experience of a place, especially perhaps a place that one has visited only on vacation, in attractive season, that one rent a place and stay there for an extended period, at least a year, to get a feeling of what the proposed new residence area would appear to one over a substantial length of time.

Warts and all, I guess that one could say.

It would give a person time to become acquainted with the people in the area over a longer period, also, to get to know the ways that they operate in some depth.

One could become familiar with the amenities and attractions in the area, as well.

Before one might want to make an major commitment, as buying a home, etc.

Also, were one to decide to stay, it would give an opportunity to become familiar with the housing market in some depth, so that one could find the house of one's dreams ... and at a reasonable price.

I've been thinking for a while that I should try to find someone who'd share houses ...

... who'd like to live in Ontario, Canada in winter ...

... and, say, Florida, Arizona or such a place in summer.

Any suggestions: this is a place that has most all of the answers, isn't it?

ole joyful

No answers/suggestions ...

... so far!

I retired near where I'd lived. Moved to old step-uncle's farm after his death, renting from the new owner and figure that I can stay in this house as long as I can drive, but hitch-hiking in winter leaves something to be desired, so I'll likely move to the nearby city then. But uncle lived here for a year or so without driving privileges, hiring a friend from the city to drive him, as needed, usually once or sometimes twice a week or so. To be so confined, though, would drive me crazy, I think - though maybe less so if I had a computer and internet connection.

I've said for years that it makes sense for about four or five single seniors to share a house, for about at least four good reasons but everyone says that it won't work: that they'll fight!

1. More intellectual stimulation (than talking to the mice) - some claim that such can help stave off Alzheimer's,

2. Shared chores, with a much lighter load for everyone, and changing them frequently would give variety. Not only that, with the reduced costs, the group could afford to hire help for heavy cleaning, etc.

3. Increased safety: if someone falls over on the floor, the others will call help. And likely exercise some judgement at the time: we can look after it ... or we call the designated caregiver ... or we call 911, *right now*!

4. Much lower cost that each maintaining her/his own home, when it gets to be a burden. And way cheaper than entering a facility offering care, whether a residential home or, possibly, a nursing home - and if avoiding the latter for even half of a year could be achieved, there'd be huge saving.

ole joyfuelled

Anyone care to make a contribution to the idea of several old fogies sharing a home for a time between ...

... looking after their own place becoming too much of a burden and ...

... the need to enter a(n expensive) residential ... or an (even more) expensive nursing home?

It seems to me to make a lot of sense.

ole joyful