Disabled Retirement Area (Riverside, San Bernardino, Berkeley: apartments, loft, co-op)

[Ulysses373]

I'm trying to find a permanent retirement area to live and was hoping to find out whether any areas in California might fit my needs. I'm taking a trip in the spring to the west to look at Arizona and Las Vegas and would also go to California if there's anything that might work.

I'm still fairly young (early 30s), but I'm permanently disabled and no longer work. I'm currently living near Chicago, but the winters are terrible and I need to move to some place that has shorter and milder winters since the cold actually makes my muscles not work properly.

My main concern is whether I can afford anything in California. I do own my current residence and will sell it before moving, but will probably only have about $200k to buy a new place with. That alone may make it impossible to find anything, but here's some of what I'm looking for: I don't need anything big, my current place is about 900 sq feet and that's more than enough space for me (my place previous to this one was a loft with just a bathroom and one big room and really that's all I need). I'd like a town with somewhat of a downtown I can live near and ride the scooter I use around to stores and such rather than having to drive everywhere. Of course the area would also have to be mostly handicapped accessible. I understand if not everything is, it's just how some things are built, but I'd like the majority of the area to be. If possible I'd think I'd prefer being near the coast and maybe near a college, but those are minor things compared to affordability, accessiblity and a downtown. Can be a small town or large city, at this point in my life I don't need all the things a large city offers.

So is there any place worth looking into in California with these things in mind or am I immediately priced out?

Thanks for your help.

[humboldtrat]

I doubt you could find anything reasonably priced along the CA coast that would be near a downtown and shopping. Maybe you should check out California's Inland Empire (Riverside and San Bernardino counties). Also, Las Vegas and areas in Arizona such as Prescott, Wickenburg or Chino Valley might be good choices.

Since you don't like the cold winters in Chicago, I must tell you that summers in the southwest are hot - 100 degrees and more. The humidity is usually very low. But you get use to it . You will run the A/C a lot .

[eureka1]

I read somewhere that Berkeley is among the most accessible cities according to some survey. I wouldn't call it" affordable" but it has ALL amenities and if you talked to a realtor there might be some kind of co-op apartments. I would contact the local Independent Living Center in each county (in California) you're considering and ask them about housing. Not sure what they call them in other states. Good luck!

[FresnoFacts]

A couple of sources for you to look at.

First is the National Organization on Disability's Accesible America awards. Take a look at past winners in California and elsewhere at:
The National Organization on Disability - Accessible America Award

Then many of the same things you need for mobility reasons are the things that would make a neighborhood walker friendly. So you might look at California neighborhoods on this list.
Walkers' Paradises - America's Most Walkable Neighborhoods