Recreation opportunities: parks, trails, etc.

Personally, I am considering Palm Springs, but there is no major university there. It has an airport with direct flights to Toronto and Calgary (plus many other cities), but you would have to change planes at LAX or Phoenix for a lot of flights. Tuscon has a nice university and no mosquitoes or humidity, as does El Paso. El Paso has beautiful scenery. You might consider Santa Fe, which is very beautiful - the nearest university is in Albuquerque, I believe. Then there is San Diego, with many microclimates, similar to L.A., and for me, the traffic is light most of the time. I would not live in San Diego, however, as I find it too conservative and too much military. I like visiting there, however.

I think financial considerations are important. Can you afford the cost of living? Is the area tax friendly to seniors?

Yes, cost of living considerations are important.

Sonoma County, CA. Pick a town. Scenery, good weather, no snow, low humidity, infrequent mosquitos. About an hour from SFO and a local airport that will connect you to SFO, LAX, Phoenix, Portland, Seattle. Sonoma State University and Santa Rosa Junior College (feeder for UC and CSU).

San Francisco is 50 miles, the Pacific Ocean within 1/2 hour. Hello? The Pacific Ocean! Wineries, extraordinary food, liberal in a very blue state. Lake Tahoe about 3 hours away. World class skiing and summer recreation area.

Come on D.

Sounds like you have all the boxes checked.

Where are your children? (I know! They say not to move only to be near the kids as they might very well move anyway)

How far away are you willing to move?

Boulder, CO (DIA isn’t too far)

Ft. Collins, CO (DIA isn’t too far)

Boise, ID (small airport with limited nonstop flights)

Spokane, WA (small airport)

Flagstaff AZ (small airport)

Alameda, CA (near UC Berkeley but just a community college in Alameda)

We retired early about 3 years ago. We had a similar list but if we had to do it all again we would also want:

Good public services (police, sewer, water, etc.) Some places out west are sort of fend-for-yourself which, if you like that stuff, is alright. Sucks when your well runs dry.

Make sure your homesite actually has access to a real fiber internet connection.

Traffic conditions.

We moved to Western Washington. Maritime climate, few mosquitoes, supurb natural amenities (hiking, boating, etc.) I highly recommend it! But Seattle and Seatac are challenges I may not want to encounter at 70. There might be another move in our future.

Bellingham WA has a small airport and is close to Vancouver BC. We might think about that at some point.

We didnt consider CA even though we like it and have relatives there. On second thought a place like Sonoma might have worked.

We thought about Maine some. We love Halifax NS but didnt want the added challenge of being Americans in Canada. Though some days we think that sure was a missed opportunity!

Good luck!

Also think about "snow birding" it. We really liked Alaska to Arizona and back a few years.

Oh d_gw, I have been having the same discussions. We moved from San Diego to an island near Seattle for dh's job 12+ years ago. I need more sunshine in retirement. I'd love to return to southern CA but it isn't really the most tax-friendly place and housing costs are high so I'm on the fence. Please share your continuing research and possible choices. I need to narrow down some potential areas and plan some trips!

We're having the same discussions, Mimou, & live in the similar area as you. We've thought of Camano Island where some friends of ours have a home. Also have thought about Eastern WA where we both grew up. That would mean moving away from our DD & beautiful GD. That would be hard. I will follow this thread with interest!

We moved from an idyllic area, Monterey County, to the Philly suburbs 2-1/2 years ago. So now we have heat, humidity, skeeters, snow. We also have our son and his family 2 miles away, and even tho we don't see them all the time, it's why we moved here. I'd never ever want to live someplace perfect and not have them nearby.

Oh. and PA has not state tax on social security or retirement income.

We’re actually prepared to age in place, living in a smaller house than we probably need and living well below our means. This way we can stay near our friends in So Cal and still travel/play without keeping to a strict budget right now.

Otherwise, cost of living, warm weather, like-minded/open-mindedness are all very important. Add to that proximity to art, universities, airports, good restaurants and friends/family (who are all committed to the area if they don’t end up outside the country) would all weigh heavily on our decision. Being near the coast is also nice, although I’d love to be closer (see paragraph #1). At least we can see the ocean if we walk a little bit up the hill from our house.

We don’t want to start over when we retire.

EDITED TO ADD: I also think about staying away from high fire risk areas here in California. Sonoma/Napa/Santa Barbara and other areas adjacent to wildlands are always high fire risk areas.

I agree with mtn about having people around who are like you. But not EVERYONE around you. Life would be boring if I didn't have neighbors who are very different from me (I'm looking at you Mr. "Dixie" car horn toot every time you drive past our house.). You need a bit of aggravation. Not the best word perhaps but living in a homogenous community doesn't appeal to me. DH is retired, I still work. We are not planning on moving. No one I know in my baby boomer age group of friends has retired to another location or even talked about doing so despite our very snowy winters.

FWIW, I will throw out our current thinking. We have at least 3 yrs to go but have been researching. Hope this is not too hijacky!

We have family and friends in a swath pretty much from Philadelphia to Boston. 2 of our 3 kids are likely to stay in this same swath - the third kid is impossible to predict. We will probably sell our primary house and keep Maine as the house best suited for family gatherings due to its size, amenities and location (~1hr N of Boston). However, it is not perfect.

I don't mind snow per se but off season in a resort town can be a bit sad, there is no close-by skiing to help us embrace the snow, and what I really hate is the season when snow is gone but the leaves are not green yet!

Our current thoughts are that no place is perfect year round, and no location is certain to remain ideal if friends and family move.

So rather than buy something else, we need a plan for when Maine is dreary. My idea is to go away for a month, say after the holidays, then come home for a while and then go again for another month, say late spring. We would rent apartments/homes. One month would be for our "city mouse" desires, the other month would be for our "sunny mouse" desires. So one year it might be, IDK, DC and Grand Cayman. The next year it could be Austin and Hawaii. etc

ETA

Roses - yes, not total homegeneity. But you don't want to feel odd man out all the time either.

1929 - MIT just did a study suggesting there will be less homeowner mobility for the coming retirees because the gig economy makes aging in place easier. Think Peapod, TaskRabbit, and Uber. Interesting!

Sushipup, so funny... when i read your post "Monterey County, to the Philly suburbs" i thought it was a typo, because there is no such place and I thought you meant "Montgomery County" but then I realized i had read it wrong.LOL

We like cruising and go on two or more longer cruises a year. I know its declasse in some corners. Some of the more premium lines are quite nice. Its easy with the inlaws in tow. I hesitate to do months away because of the animals.

Weve thought about the second home. But our thinking is to let someone else buy the second home and just rent it from them. Like mtn said. Then it doesn't tie you in place and its less risk and hassle.

Our plan, only half joking, is to move into married student housing at CU Boulder and be perpetual students after we retire.

Thank you all for your great comments. Love all your advice and suggestions. I'll answer your questions soon but need to digest it all for now.

I will suggest a town for people's lists. My dear friend is retiring to Bozeman. A very charming walkable downtown plus all the chain stores on the outskirts, light traffic, a University, beautiful scenery, great recreation, decent, easy airport.

It's on our long list but Montana's cold winters scare me a bit.

Mtnrd, I make the same mistake all the time. I say Monterey when I mean Montgomery. It can really confuse people!

When I was a child, Monterey meant Monterrey Mexico to me. There was a Doris Day movie (I think it was Move Over Darling) in which they supposedly went to Monterey, and I thought they were supposed to be in Monterrey Mexico - except that they were at the ocean. At night, half the radio stations I could get were from Monterrey because Mexico did not have limits on how many watts a station could have, and so Monterrey blasted everything else out. I didn't find out about Monterey CA until much later.

I think another insight is that you don't have to consider the next move permanent. In fact you probably should not. Think of other times in your life you moved ... did you feel you were committing to stay there no matter what? Of course not.

We might choose one mode while our kids are in college and unmarried, a different one if they had kids, and yet a different one if we were in ill health.

(OT.... Lars, I saw a menu item in a Mexican restaurant here that included "Monterrey Jack" cheese. Which is just plain wrong. David Jack sold Monterey Jack cheese that was developed by the monks in Monterey, CA, about the mid- late- 19th century.)

The thing you have the most of during retirement is time -so how do you want to spend it? I would start there. Do you like trails, lakes, kayaking? Do you love to spend days on a beach? Or are you a 'let's try a new place for lunch and check out the new exhibit at the museum" type? Do you plan to travel to see grown kids or other relatives much? If so, some places will be much more conducive to that than others.

I'll be retiring in just over 2 years. I downsized my house and "things" 2 years ago, and plan on staying here in Buffalo, NY. All my family & friends are here, so I can't imagine moving somewhere and not know anyone. And yes, I happen to like winter. Though I expect I will travel to visit warmer spots in March, when the end of the winter season gets to be too long. But then be back in time for Spring.

We are retired but have not relocated for several reasons, primary being an elderly parent still living at home, no longer able to drive so needing assistance. We will be here for her. In the meantime, we discuss relocating but have watched others do it, some happy, some not so happy.

One observation - building a large home in a new location, expecting family & friends to visit. Lovely thought and generous offer but in reality, life happens and if people visit, it's only for short periods of time. Left with a big house to live in and care for the remainder of the time.

Second observation - some friends say not moving to be near grown children because they move, get transferred due to work, etc. So their idea is to move somewhere that suits them, buy or build something for 2 and use hotels for visitors.

It's an interesting time of life with varying responsibilities that can present themselves when you're not prepared. Also have to consider your aging self and what will be available to you and for you wherever you go.

We don't plan to relocate at this point. When we built our house, we built as maintenance free as we could, all one level, etc. with the thoughts of it being our final home. We have deep roots in the area and a circle of close friends and family that I would not want to leave. I think that support is very important as you age. We do not have children, so that doesn't enter into our plans.

We bought our retirement place in the Blue Ridge mountains. Good hospital about 10 minutes from cabin, good internet, 2 great little downtown areas to choose from with an arty feel. 90 minutes to Atlanta airport. Mosquitoes are surprisingly not a big deal compared to Atlanta. Plenty of things to do, DH will fly fish and do the bike trails, I’ll go hiking and explore the wineries and craft breweries with guests. There are 2 universities in the area, one in Dahlonega and one near Hiwassee (Young Harris). We usually get one decent snow a year that is gone in a matter of days, which is enough for me!

On a day like today when I wish I was there I watch the downtown webcam.Webcam

Also look into Asheville NC, Cashiers N.C., Black Mountain N.C.

Mtn, I think your perspective suits someone more in your age bracket. For those of us here in our 60's we have a different perspective. I would not want to move 3 more times!

That said, I have observed many people doing Florida (not as snow birds) only to move back because they missed their children and grandkids. Also, top hospitals can't be beat in the NYC area.

DH is still very much involved in our real estate properties. We had had them for so long that now we are on the nest go round of renovations. Although most of the paper work in online, there is still much that can't be. We do own a home in Florida, which is currently a rental.

For us, we talk a mean game, but nothing comes of it. WE are in a holding pattern I admire those like Joanie and SueB who considered something and then actually did it!

Oh no I wasn't saying 3 more times, even for us! I was saying that anyone of those three things could make one change their mind. So don't feel as though you have to plan for every possibility because you can't. : )

We are both retired with no plans of moving of the Boston burbs in the foreseeable future. We love our house, neighborhood, town and region. We feel fortunate that our kids have settled into jobs and homes nearby, but realize that can change at some point. DH's mother lives 1 1/2 hours from us and is not in good health so he has increased his visits to once a week.

Our plan is to sell this house when it becomes too much to maintain and to stay in the area, probably in a condo. We will keep our second house on Cape Cod, but don't envision ever retiring there. Who knows though. We will now increase the length of our winter vacations to a warm climate and I think that will be enough for us.

There would be tax benefits to moving to Southern NH but I can think of a million reasons why we won't make that move.

Bonnie, DH mentioned Southern NH because it is near family. Can you name just a few of the million reasons? Thanks

I do know that people consider property taxes to be "high" in NH, to offset the lack of sales tax. As someone who has always owned in high tax states they did not strike me that way but YMMV.

D_gw, the #1 reason is DH really dislikes NH! My parents grew up in NH and moved to Boston after college, maintaining a second home in the Lakes Region, which DH visited many times. We are city people and love Boston for the culture, the colleges, the restaurants, the theater, the shopping, the airport, the corporate connections, to name a few of the factors that keep us rooted here. We love the ocean and can be at our second home on Cape Cod in less than 2 hours. Some would argue, and correctly so, that you have access to Boston and Cape Cod from Southern NH, but we like being as close as we are. As I mentioned above our kids are in Boston. Going back and forth would be more challenging if we lived in S. NH.

I don't remember where you live, but Southern NH makes sense for many people. Certainly the tax advantage is a plus when considering a move in retirement.

We're also pondering retirement (61) but no plans to move anywhere. Most important to us is being around people whose company we enjoy. We have two homes in MN (metro area and the north woods) and like it here. We have family (no kids/grandkids) and lots of friends here and after years of demanding careers, road warrior business travel and plenty of travel for enjoyment we're looking forward to just having more time to spend with our peeps. I'm sure we'll get the itch to get away, especially during the winter, but a couple weeks here and there will probably do it (except for my Daufuskie Island getaway that requires a three month minimum).

I was raised in NH and visit often. There is no sales tax or income tax, which is one of the reasons people cite it as "affordable" during retirement. As to the "high property tax", it's the rate that is comparatively high, typically between 3 and 4% (as compared to 1-2% of much of the country) of the property's market value. But the market value of housing is often, though not always, lower than many other states, so it's a bit of a wash sometimes.

" My list includes decent hospitals, reasonable access to a decent airport, lots of sunshine (I don't mind snow), pretty scenery, low to medium traffic, hopefully near a University or college.

DH hates mosquitoes (they eat him alive) and doesn't like high humidity."

Look at Boone/Blowing Rock, NC. It is high enough elevation that they do not get mosquitoes and it is much cooler. Has Appalachain State University which is an excellent school. Only drawback is not too close to airports. Closest large airports are Charlotte and Greensboro about 2 hours away, or else smaller airports in Asheville or Johnson City, TN. Other than that, it's pretty idyllic. Good foodie scene and east coast skiing. They do get snow but it's not that bad.

DH's best friend lives in Palm Desert near Palm Springs, and, right, there really is no university there. Of course, I have looked at this. College of the Desert is a community college. Oh yeah, Sonoma State would be awesome, but I do worry about the fire danger and obvious cost of housing. But damn, if a position opens up, I'd have to apply.

OK, my comment seemed to go poof? I posted about Boone/Blowing Rock, NC. The only drawback is it is pretty far to major airports (Charlotte and then Greensboro).

I can’t imagine moving elsewhere — we have too many friends and connections in our current town and I don’t want to start over socially. We just moved to our “empty nest” home in the same town we’ve lived in for 22 years. (Still have one out of three kids home, but she will go to college next fall.) Even though we‘re in the same town, our location is a bit more urban feeling, which is what we wanted. We are very close to the post office, library, shops, etc. I love it, even though it’s been a little crazy as our house has been under construction (mostly exterior) for about 6 weeks now. There are a lot of couples nearby who are similar in age — some we already knew, some we’ve met since we moved.

The house is really too big for just two of us, but will be perfect for when our kids and eventual grandkids visit. And will prevent DH and I from killing each other in retirement. (We need our own space.)

Once we are in full retirement mode, I can see us spending summers at our beach house, a month or so someplace warm in the winter, and most of the rest of the year at our “main” house. DH is planning to retire next summer (at age 57) but I can‘t see our full retirement mode kicking in until our youngest has graduated from college.

DH would sooner leave me than his grandmothers property so I’m going nowhere for hopefully a very long time. But as we’ve traveled around I keep coming back to our home with great gladness in my heart. It is truly home for me too. We lived one town over for 30+ years and yet those years have vanished like we never left.

I did learn a new term. Halfbacks. They’re people who moved to FL to retire, didn’t like it so moved half way back home to NC SC or TN.

If you want to move, I can also recommend the mountains of North Carolina.

Friends of mine (in Alaska) came through last year and I showed them around my city (in the Triangle), but they wanted views and lower humidity.

They chose Asheville. Boone is much smaller, as is Blowing Rock. Both are truly beautiful, but there's much less going on there, compared to Asheville.

I suggest renting a vacation place in these areas and spend at least a week -- not so much to see the sights, as to think about everyday life -- amenities, climate, community, etc.

DYH, my brother just moved to NC from Alaska about an hour from Asheville, where my sister lives.

Yes, Annie, my sister and BIL are half backs. Moved from NYC to Florida and now are in NC.

Faron can see himself retiring to Princeville, or maybe Wailea!!!! :-)