Not as far as you, but we moved to FL last year. 4.5 hours away from the only area I ever lived in and DH since his senior year of HS. We knew no one but have several FT neighbors that have become acquaintances. It has been almost a year since we closed and nine months since moving FT. We have no regrets. We do have children and grandchildren, but we text and FaceTime daily. Sometimes multiple times a day with the 2yo DGD. We've had lots of visits from them last summer and school holidays, and it's easy for us to go see them too.

We have not experienced it first hand (yet), but know healthcare is not as good here as the area we moved from, which has many top rated and teaching hospitals. Our new pharmacist said many that live here now go back there for healthcare. So far, we are doing the same, but no emergencies yet.

We are not to that age yet - but it will be here before we know it. TBH, I can't imagine moving from at least our general area. I have two siblings, one here and one 6 hours away. I do have cousins here that I stay in touch with. My MIL is living and near here. Our other parents and my husband's brother are gone. We have friends that we are extremely close to. In fact, we call ourselves family, because that is how we feel. We don't have children, but are close to their two sons and their wives, and now the grandchildren. We all share holidays, birthdays, etc. My husband is working on one of the boy's trucks today. The boys would do anything for us. We joke that they are going to have to "find a home" to put us and their parents in some day. Then we all came up with the idea (joke) that we'd just get a duplex and the boys can come check on us. I am to the age where I do think seriously about the "support group" around us and how important that is. We have a group of friends that we can depend on and who would be here for us - and vice versa, if need be. We also have a church we love and a church family that is great. We do not want to leave any of that. The older I get, the less I like cold weather, so I can see us spending the winter or part of it, elsewhere, but I doubt we will buy something, just rent. We have friends trying that out this year. They are in Florida last month and this month. Will be home in a couple of weeks; we are anxious to see how that worked for them.

If you are closer to friends in another area, then I would definitely not hesitate to try it out. I really believe that support, that bond, is important.

ETA: Yes, good health care would be very important to us, even though we are healthy at this point.

We moved 10 years ago, so we were in our early 50’s. We knew one couple here. Healthcare is still not high on our list, thank goodness, but we moved from a town of 14,000 to a town of almost 100,000, so I would assume it would be better here.

We LOVE it here. We now feel like we have an extended family here,to the point that we feel CALLED here, and WAY more activity access.

We are doing the snowbird thing, but since we own a home here in Florida, we stay as long as we want.

We are used to top health care in NY so when DH decided to have heart surgery, it was done in NY.

Honestly, you can be on vacation and have a health emergency. Florida is certainly just as good as other vacation areas.

Hopefully, if you need anything major, you will have the time to plan a trip back to a facility that you are comfortable with.

DH hates the cold winters, and although we have had this home for over ten years, we used it as a rental, preferring to to spend a month in Costa Rica.

Soon, that no longer cut it. We started using our home two years now. During the pandemic, we were able to renovate the entire home so we can now enjoy it.

We did not know anyone on this side of Florida. We know our neighbors and now that things are opening up I’ve joined a women’s club.

For some, Florida summers are unbearable. DH loved it during the pandemic. I was okay because we were busy doing the house. Now, I prefer to be back up north by July.

The fact that you have friends is a plus. They already know the ins and outs of the area so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel.

We did rent before buying, so we had the time to look around. We did not wind up buyingin the places we rented.

We made a move from suburban Chicago to Western North Carolina but not quite at the age you are talking about. I was 60, DH was 57 so it was not a retirement move but what we call change of life move. We didn't know anyone here but that didn't last long - this area is a magnet for people retiring or moving for other reasons.

People always ask me if I'm happy we did this and my standard answer is 'it depends on the day'. We have 2 sons who were already launched before we moved but, 1) who knows if those locations will be permanent and 2) we had no desire to live in either place. So we picked a place based on what we wanted not where they were. We did hope they might love it here when they came to live with us for 18 months while we built. Since that's not part of your equation things are a lot less complicated for you.

I see no reason why your idea won't work out well for you. The only caution I'd throw out is having friends within a day's drive is not the same as getting together for coffee in the afternoon. You have to be more intentional about meeting people in the new place and at our age and it's not unlike dating - some encounters leave you wanting more, others don't.

I am curious as to why you are choosing someplace 6-8 hours away from your friends. Visits in this case would have to always be overnight.

What doesn’t appeal to you about their area?

@3katz4me you will know when you know. At least it was that way for us. We had always vacationed west of here, and came east several years ago and love the feel of the area. We built our "forever" house 18yrs ago and we've moved twice since I said "they'll take me out feet first." Moving is always an option. Since you have friends already in the area you are considering, at least you can get feedback from them and know from previous conversations what their postiive and negative thoughts are on the area.

Another note, we are east of Destin, which was mentioned above, and our temperatures are often better due to our location in the curve. Cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. ETA: Actually The Panhandle was mentioned in the other thread, but it's a good idea to look at average temps in areas even half an hour apart since they can vary.

Coincidence? I think NOT! This popped up in my FB feed this morning. Although the article is focused on midlife meaning 40 something, much is applicable to what I was saying above.

https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2022/01/how-to-make-new-friends-midlife/621231/?fbclid=IwAR29qyfBtV_SvftWir3pW61GXgHcGa-TCMAEN2SGeNBeuXjlPcHYjginoL0

Since graduating college, I have been slowly inching my way up the coast. PA, NJ, NY, CT, Maine, (and now likely Massachusetts). My family is at the South end of the Megalopolis, DH's is to the North. So I've never made a big move.

However, I think you should do it. If you both want to, that is reason enough. It can always be undone. You have no one to consider but yourselves, which is rare. Not only do I think it is ok, I think it is advisable. Change and having to adapt and learn, keeps us young.

@eld6161 - our friends live in busy parts of FL. We don’t enjoy the population density, traffic, etc. We like a less developed area surrounded by more natural environment.

@Allison0704 - we don’t have friends in the area we’re considering. We’ve only vacationed there and don’t know anyone yet. We’ll meet some people on our ”discovery” visit and can hopefully get a realistic feel for the people and the place and not too much of a sales pitch.

This whole idea is contingent on DH selling his business which is likely to happen this year. We’d spend some more time at the prospective new place for maybe a year I think before making a decision unless everything just fell into place. There are a lot of things to consider including when and how much we’d be there and which of our current houses we’d get rid of. And this is the island with no bridge and no cars so not your typical retirement move.

MIsunderstood your "are closer to our friends in FL than family in MN."

And this is the island with no bridge and no cars so not your typical retirement move.

I'm in very good health, but this would make me quite nervous in case of an emergency.

@Bookwoman - yes I’ve already investigated that issue. There are EMTs on island and the community has it’s own water taxi service which will get you to the mainland quickly To the awaiting ambo. In critical emergencies they are served by helicopter. You could have a problem in extreme bad weather but that is true to some extent where I live now. I’ve decided I’m not going to live for medical emergencies. If our time’s up so be it.

We have friends in which the husband of the couple wanted to move to a similar island community off the coast of NC. A few years ago they were there for a visit when he developed a UTI, not an emergency, but he was quite uncomfortable for 36 hours before he could get off the island to the pharmacy to get the medication his Dr had called in. They decided not to move there after that experience. I'm glad because I don't think his wife would be happy there. She is an extrovert and there are only 300 or so year round residents!

We moved 800 miles from family/friends 14 years ago. No regrets, but as we age we see the need to possibly have a small condo in that area for more frequent visits to my husbands very large family and extended family.

Very good article DLM thank you for sharing. (Going to re-read it.)

We're in our 60's & moved to a gated community 3 years ago. The homes have a minimum 2.51 acre parcel, the houses are large. They have a book club, bible study club, quilting club. They have an annual BBQ, wine tasting party, Spring Spree get together, X-mas party. Committees for the HOA, for fire mitigation, a welcome committee. Mostly older folks. Covid hit....everything came to a stop.

My husbands my "best friend". We do everything together. Moving here or anywhere is not friend dependent...that's the conclusion I've come to. ♥

@nicole___ I get what you are saying. My husband is my best friend also and we spend alot of time together. BUT, I treasure our friendships. Some are my gal pals, some are "couple friends". Going through the terminal illnesses and deaths of 3 of our parents, I cannot imagine how we would get through such things without our two dearest friends and their children. As I stated above, they are family. I know if my husband or I were to fall ill, etc. they would be there for us. We love spending time with them and sometimes travel together - hoping more of that as the other husband is retiring soon, although he also farms (a never ending job LOL).

But, not only do I not want to leave them (and extended family members), we don't want to leave this area. We love it here. I cannot imagine not being near our mountains. Even though I am coming to dislike winters (although they are not near as bad since I don't work LOL), we have no plans whatsoever to leave this area. Maybe winter elsewhere in the future, but plans are to stay here. More than friends, we have a support system here. I have learned in recent years how important that is, at least to us, others may feel differently. I'm sorry to hear how your friends behaved. : (

@Tina Marie....I reread what I'd written ....and decided....how our friends behaved really didn't matter....since we're happy and have each other.....and there are so many people YET TO MEET. ♥ We don't have family. :0) Friday we met with the neighborhood committee for fire mitigation....laughed...and had fun! Wednesday is yoga class....and so on....

I'm confused, was something deleted?

My husbands my "best friend". We do everything together.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

@mtnrdredux_gw....yes....My comment was really long. Boring. I deleted the part about friends that didn't "like" where we'd moved....and we'd had to leave them behind. The gist is....everything works out. We have NEW friends. I don't know why Tina is upset by my situation and addressing "me" specifically. ? ♥ We're fine. We did get "dumped" by some long time friends, we used to travel with them....but ......their loss. Yes, I reread what she wrote...and it's a completely different situation for us.

Well I'm confused too. @nicole___ I wasn't upset! I'm sorry you felt that way. I was addressing your situation and stated I was sorry your friends behaved that way??? I don't think you mentioned new friends at that point. Otherwise, I wasn't addressing you specifically, but stating our situation. IMO, it's something to think about. We are all in different situations and each have to do what makes us happy. I certainly didn't mean there was anything wrong with you or that you were unhappy, and I'm sorry it sounded that way. You have been very kind and helpful on this board and I am sorry that someone would be unkind to you. That's all.

@Tina Marie...thanks. It's been an adventure....moving and seeing how others reacted to it. ♥

No, but my parents, and two sets of grandparents did, from Michigan to Florida, some years ago. I also lived there myself for four years (back while I was single) when both GP’s were still living there. I have both good and negative thoughts about their personal experiences, as well as what I saw from other Snowbirds lives, my parents’, my GPs, and all their many friends that I got to know, as well as through my patients that I got to know while working there.
Positive:

• A much more active, healthy, fun lifestyle living in sunny, warm Florida . . . for a while, as long as you’re living in an active community! AND, while you’re still mobile enough.

Negatives:

• A lot of Florida retirees that I knew fell into the very common there “Happy Hour” drinking routine that, many times, led to problems with alcohol abuse after a while. One of my own GPs developed such a problem due to this. Many of their friends I knew through them did, as well.
• Florida and points south are a great place to vacation, they think, for their adult kids and grandkids to come and visit, and they are . . . BUT, holidays, grandkids’ school schedules, and participating in school team sports, etc. do interfere big time! In reality, they REALLY can cut down on family visits to Grandma and Gramps!
• And, let’s face it, most retirement homes have 1-2 bedrooms max. So as your children’s families grow, they will be needing more bedrooms. Or more $$$ to stay in nearby hotels. Another headache for all to deal with.
• So, you can visit them!? When? Where will you stay and for how long so as not to interfere with their daily schedules in a negative way? If you have a second home nearby, that does make it somewhat easier. But then you have those dual expenses and worries of upkeep. Major holidays, though, can add some big extra issues to deal with.
• Another problem I saw over and over again is, as you age, traveling back and forth presents a whole new set of things to deal with: being exposed to colds, flu, stomach bugs, and now Covid - while traveling AND via grandkids, etc. I saw firsthand (tragically, and so many, many times) the growing reluctance to expose themselves to these illnesses, as their own aging bodies took so much longer to get over them. And so, they grew more isolated - and lonely- down in Florida as they aged.
• And, although it is just the reality of aging, living in Florida amongst all of your also-aging friends, you are constantly experiencing them getting sick, getting cancer, dementia, dying. There, you tend to be surrounded by at least 95% other aging retirees. It’s life, but it honestly can become very sad and depressing.

So, I realize that I’ve painted a pretty negative view of retirement in Florida or the general South. And, yes, it can totally not be that negative, but I honestly did personally see this reality I describe too many times to count. My one set of GPs moved back to Michigan and family in their eighties to be cared for by family. My parents had a Winter home in Florida, saw family during the Summer months, but ended up getting very lonely the rest of the year and ultimately also needed to move back when cancer, etc, caused them to need family help. Let me tell you, it was a packing nightmare to put them on a plane and then pack up their Florida Winter home!
My other GPs: she passed unexpectedly. Gramp’s friends were passing quickly; he was so incredibly lonely down there, it broke my heart! He passed away while on his only trip back to family in Michigan that year, being too worried about catching “something from the grandkids” to come more often.
So, would I personally retire to someplace warm but away from my own kids? Not a chance, but that’s just my one opinion!

Lynn, I agree with a lot of your points. I think Florida might be a great place for a certain time in life, maybe 65-75. But after that, if it is not "home," it may make more sense to choose another spot.

Also though, I think most of your points don't really apply to the OP and their intended destination, to be fair.

Our only reason for a month long vacation in Florida is to take advantage of the weather for a limited time. The Nokomis/ Venice Beach area is about the last remaining beach area that hasn’t been ruined with tshirt shops and strip malls and HUGE high rise condos.

Destin and the surrounding area for miles is the ugliest eyesore I have witnessed in years. I have gone there since the ’60’s and wouldn’t go back ever ever again after this last visit to get BIL.

We don’t plan to ever move away from one or the other of our two living children. But we will continue at least a month long and maybe a 2 month vacation in warmer climes where progress is sparse and outdoor activities predominate. We did discover that May 1 is the latest date we would want to be in the Nokomis area. The heat would be way too intense for DH to have outdoor cycling as his major activity. Hoping that Mar-April in 2023 but we will see. DH has his regular music gig and has had to cancel for 3 days in March coming up and all of April due to travel so I likely won’t get him to leave for long LOL!

Lynn, very interesting points. For us, we will always maintain our home up north. DH needs to ge in a warm climate and we did toy with buying property in Costa Rica.

Florida made the most sense. Easy to fly back and forth fir DH to manage his real estate.

We don’t have grandchildren, but I have known a few people who have given up their Florida homes for those reasons.

@LynnNM - lots of interesting perspective but as Mtn said, it doesn't really apply to us. We aren't considering FL though not really for the reasons you mention. And we're not considering an area inhabited primarily by seniors. We don't have kids/grandkids so of course none of those issues are applicable. We currently have two homes so we deal with all those concerns now. I don't view my current, admittedly somewhat wild island idea, as a permanent situation. I think of it more as a "later in life" adventure that would last as long as our health does. When we can't walk, play golf, play tennis or ride a horse or are in need of frequent medical care it will be time to hang it up and come back to the "aging in place" place we will keep in MN. Since we have no kids we won't be coming back to have family take care of our aging selves, just coming back to a place better suited to being old and decrepit.

For the last seven years we've lived in a golf course "community" of 30 villa/townhomes - lawn care and snow removal provided. The age of residents has ranged from 50's to 90's. We've gotten to know most everyone, some of the older folks quite well, particularly those whose kids/grandkids aren't ever around. We lost our beloved nextdoor neighbors when they were 90. Now another 89 year old neighbor we know well is declining. It is sad to lose these dear people but I don't find it depressing. My feeling is more of gratitude for having had the opportunity to know them.

We don't have neighborhood happy hour where we are but I do know what you mean about that. Our friends who moved into a new gated community in Naples have that going on just about every day from what I hear. Our other friends live in more of a regular neighborhood of full-time residents in Tarpon Springs and they don't have that going on.

Anyway I'm so looking forward to my visit to the place in March - the adventure of it all and the fact that we are about to get 7-11 inches of snow over the next day.

I totally agree with your logic and think you should def. do it. Great attitude about losing older friends, too, Jo.

I don't view my current, admittedly somewhat wild island idea, as a permanent situation. I think of it more as a "later in life" adventure that would last as long as our health does

Precisely. After wracking my brain about our next move, it got a lot easier when I told myself this is for a stage in our family's life, not something that must work for every possible permutation of events, till death us do part.

DH and I grew up in NY/NJ, moved farther north for a few years and now south to Florida. A bit different situation as we have kids in school and are early 50's but less than a year here and I can not imagine wanting to live anywhere else. So happy in Florida. Our whole family loves it here. We had been to Florida many times but not this area, knew no one and bought our house sight and area unseen! quite a leap. Luckily we landed well :)