I'm 48, worth $3.5 million, and I'm fed up with NYC. Where should I go? (real estate, costs)
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Probably not very, while N Alabama is fairly nice, it is very conservative - with NASA Space flight center and the Army's Redstone Arsenal there. I would suggest New Orleans as better location - fairly inexpensive, cosmopolitan, LOTS to do, gay friendly and fairly good weather 9 months out of the year.
Seems like south Florida is what he is describing, live on the outskirts of Miami.
Crime, 24/7 traffic, surrounded by vast numbers of people wealthier than he is, hard to get to the water, way too hot to do anything much for 6+ months of the year......
Not gonna do it.
You get what you pay for.....if you want "weather" and water. One can buy a 2 million dollar condo on the waterfront right here in Sarasota and still have the Bay full of red tide and e-coli that they may not be able to wade into.
3.5 Million just isn't enough to "live the life". Garth Brooks just bought a beachfront place nearby...I suspect he'll have 20 million into it by the time he starts using it.
My answer to this individual would be to get a nice 600K small house or nice condo in coastal RI....AND, a decent 500-750K house in Florida somewhere.......and then they'd have most of the weather element done for and also be near culture, arts and health care.
But they will also find out right quick that lots of people have lots of money and tickets to the Opera may be sold out.
Down in Miami if you drive a top of the line Benz no one will give a second look.
Buy a farm in some small town / rural area in the Great Smoky Mountains. Stock up supplies, and ride out the 'big one.'
Better yet, finance a fortified village for 200-300 charter subscribers and build a civilization as you so desire.
Florida has nothing in common with California besides being ocean side. People are different, education levels are different and the entire vibe is different. Florida has a lot of snow birds and is a vacation destination.
What we found is the "best" way to do it is to have a place up in Canada for the summer months and a place in Florida for the winter months. Ping and pong between them.
I think the "two places" scenario is the very best (and that's what we do).
West Coast of Florida does have relatively nice culture (Sarasota has Opera and we have at least a dozen stages and playhouses within 10 minutes, world-class museums, etc.)...for Florida, anyway.
Lots of people do Maine, RI or Coastal MA....in the summer and then Florida in the winter. Dec 1 to April 15 is bearable, especially mid-state.
I like how this guy wants to stretch his money, which could be done practically anywhere in the country besides southern California, Bay Area, or NYC itself, but then he wants "year-round temperate weather with easy access to culture, food, art, music, and health care."
There are a good 30-50 cities that can offer him the culture, food, art, music, and health care pieces. But the "year round temperate weather" will be a harder find. I'm assuming that means he neither wants snowy or cold wet winters nor hot and/or humid summers. That eliminates a huge swath of the world. I mean, San Diego or Orange County come to mind for me, but he wants somewhere he can retire nicely on 3.5M. He can retire cheap, or he can move to a cheaper area where access to culture, art, and music is more occasional.
He wants essentially California, but doesn't want to pay for it. He can choose several of those thing for cheap but not all of them put together. That's what world class cities offer and is why they're expensive. LOL! This reminds me of a couple posters here who wanted it all without paying for it, and cried about the unfairness of the world as a result.
There is no perfect paradise. We all must make trade offs.
With a minimum of $3M in assets, this guy can draw a near bullet proof income of 90k, and a still conservative one of 120k if he takes out 4%. For a single person, that should be plenty to live a decent life in CA. Maybe not in SF proper or tony suburbs, but pretty much anywhere else.
I make it in Sherman Oaks, a nice part of LA on these numbers. With money left to put in my emergency fund or taxable account. But I rent. Waiting on a 15-20% correction. And I'm a conservative, I ignore the noise. Not a better place to live.
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