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yeah, it's expensive noisy dirty and unforgiving, but we got spoiled. Face it..fall out of bed and there's someone there to pick you up. get you a great cup of joe, sell you a neat old book you just spent two hours looking for, whip up some great hot and sour, and still have time for that shiatsu massage you've been waiting all day for! IN one day,you've seen them shoot a movie, put up half a building, lovers arguing, 35 beautiful girls passed by, a man walking a llama thru Central Park etc...so now it's time to retire and you have to leave the island...I know there are a lot of fine towns and smaller more affordable cities thruout the US that are have local culture centers and usually come with a high price tag...San Diego..need something more affordable....any towns that haven't been overdeveloped but have a rich inner life of die hard locals that make the place work...not a town full of strip malls and subdivisions where schools are the most important aspect. It would be great if it had a sense of history and some character and where the housing was not 200 bucks a sq ft....we are not golfers or boaters..prefer antiquing, browsing, collecting, writing, good food (organic, healthy) and good regional theater and symphony, etc. Where you could buy or build a really nice place with some breathing space around it and still be able to access some aspect of the life you left behind.
I am doing research and will post what I find for all fellow pre-retirees doing the heavy thinking now...anybody have any places that make their list? If so where are you thinking, and what's the most important consideration for you?
cost of living? culture? weather? local economy?
I'm only 21, a looong way from retirement since I'm still working general labor jobs that won't be my career, so no one knows what NYC or any other city in the us will be like for that matter, but I feel like I'd like to buy a townhouse in a small Pennsylvania city like Reading upon retiring--next best thing to that Brooklyn brownstone I'll never afford, eh? If you don't mind Brooklyn in first gear, that is.
why do you have to leave? I am retiring to booklyn heights. I'd rather the high cost of living than leave more to the kids I suppose (they'll have enough). (I'm leaving FL - tired of the car, strip malls, heat, isolation, lawn care, etc.)
Apparently, Rocco is a member of a growing club. New York City has been evolving as a retiree destination of choice over the last decade, precisely because it's got just about everything. (While it's true that south Florida has better weather during the winter, it's also true that New York doesn't have a hurricane season).
When the time comes for me to retire, I'm figuring to stay here in the city, as well.
I just read and article about the prediction that many boomers will outlive their retirement savings. However, NYC was one of the cities where people tend to not run out of money in retirement.
why do you have to leave? I am retiring to booklyn heights. I'd rather the high cost of living than leave more to the kids I suppose (they'll have enough). (I'm leaving FL - tired of the car, strip malls, heat, isolation, lawn care, etc.)
I was thinking the same thing. Is it a money issue? Oh I think there are enough of us lost in the good ol' US of A to tell you that just because you find some place cheaper, doesn't mean it will be worth it in the long run. Now that you are retiring, what better time to take advantage of all that NYC has to offer. Nyers are spoiled and you are not going to find anything close to it anywhere else, so stay put and enjoy your golden years.
It makes sense to us. My dad retired in the middle of a hot desolate golf course. When he couldn't drive anymore, he was housebound. Nowhere to walk, not even for a paper or cup of coffee.
I want the vibrancy of people around me. I don't want to rely on a car anymore. Sure we could go to a planned community where everything is there but . . but . . they're full of . . well . . old people!
My husband is 64 but I"m just 56. We looked everywhere too. Portland, SF, Eugene (relatives), Boulder, etc.
I figure if my knees give out and I can't walk the subway steps anymore, well there's always the bus and even it lowers for you if you need it to.
I see some ancient people with their walkers/carts slowly making there way home from the grocery.
Plus we figure EVERYONE will come visit.
And we have a great jumping off point with the airports nearby.
Now if he'll just extract himself from his firm. . .
If money is not the issue, why not stay where you are and spend the winters as a "Snowbird," like we do. We did Florida for 15 years, then we get tired of it, and discovered California, which we did for another 20 years. We fell in love with Fallbrook. It is a small town in Northen San Diego County, and we came very close to purchasing a house on top of a mountain. The most beautiful scenery God has ever created, in one-acre of land, and beautiful flowers everywhere. I would say as close to paradise as anyone can get. We discovered that the Head of the White Aryan Nation lives there, even today, so we decided against it. The California fires wiped out that house two years' ago. We then concentrated on Palm Desert, California. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. The temperatures hit 120 degrees. And even though is mostly dry heat, it is still very, very, very hot. We did all 50 states, including many countries abroad, and many of the caribbean islands. All these islands are the same, palm trees and oceans. Washington State, Oregon, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico. These states are exceedingly beautiful, but, we New Yorkers fall into a different category. WE DEMAND A LOT, because we are used to getting everything, NOW! AND AS CRUEL as this city may seem to many, IT HAS A LOT, LOT, TO OFFER, that one will not find in any other state. We usually travel by spending about two months' in each city, sometimes renting a house or a condo, but not living among the tourists, because they know as much as we do. We live among the people at large that live there, this way we intermingle with the general population, and observe their customs, and observe, and observe. Then we analyze the pros and cons versus leaving NYC. AND NYC always wins. We went to Maui, Hawaii, and spent two months' in a condo in front of the ocean. Beautiful, but after a while, "Aloha," everyday got to be too much. We have met many ex-New Yorkers, some will admit to you they are happy that they left NY, but the majority, miss NY dearly, and it is reflected in their faces. We have spent time in those 55 plus places with lots of golf, and walls all over, but that gets tiresome and boring after a while, too, seeing the same faces all the time. Someone once said, I cannot remember who, that "Paradise is within us," and that is so true, for us it is right here in NYC! There is no need to go anywhere else, except to visit. Yes, we will continue to leave here for the winter, and come right back! New Yorkers are used to a multitude of CHOICES, and many of these states, towns, or cities do not offer them. For example: One can go to a supermarket or drug store, and find only so much of one brand or product. Here the choices are limitless. Also, many of these cities/states/towns' dwellers do not like outsiders. So one has to be very careful and do extensive research and observations beyond the monetary aspect. Regardless of your decision, the best of luck to you and yours,
If money is not the issue, why not stay where you are and spend the winters as a "Snowbird," like we do. We did Florida for 15 years, then we get tired of it, and discovered California, which we did for another 20 years. We fell in love with Fallbrook. It is a small town in Northen San Diego County, and we came very close to purchasing a house on top of a mountain. The most beautiful scenery God has ever created, in one-acre of land, and beautiful flowers everywhere. I would say as close to paradise as anyone can get. We discovered that the Head of the White Aryan Nation lives there, even today, so we decided against it. The California fires wiped out that house two years' ago. We then concentrated on Palm Desert, California. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. The temperatures hit 120 degrees. And even though is mostly dry heat, it is still very, very, very hot. We did all 50 states, including many countries abroad, and many of the caribbean islands. All these islands are the same, palm trees and oceans. Washington State, Oregon, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico. These states are exceedingly beautiful, but, we New Yorkers fall into a different category. WE DEMAND A LOT, because we are used to getting everything, NOW! AND AS CRUEL as this city may seem to many, IT HAS A LOT, LOT, TO OFFER, that one will not find in any other state. We usually travel by spending about two months' in each city, sometimes renting a house or a condo, but not living among the tourists, because they know as much as we do. We live among the people at large that live there, this way we intermingle with the general population, and observe their customs, and observe, and observe. Then we analyze the pros and cons versus leaving NYC. AND NYC always wins. We went to Maui, Hawaii, and spent two months' in a condo in front of the ocean. Beautiful, but after a while, "Aloha," everyday got to be too much. We have met many ex-New Yorkers, some will admit to you they are happy that they left NY, but the majority, miss NY dearly, and it is reflected in their faces. We have spent time in those 55 plus places with lots of golf, and walls all over, but that gets tiresome and boring after a while, too, seeing the same faces all the time. Someone once said, I cannot remember who, that "Paradise is within us," and that is so true, for us it is right here in NYC! There is no need to go anywhere else, except to visit. Yes, we will continue to leave here for the winter, and come right back! New Yorkers are used to a multitude of CHOICES, and many of these states, towns, or cities do not offer them. For example: One can go to a supermarket or drug store, and find only so much of one brand or product. Here the choices are limitless. Also, many of these cities/states/towns' dwellers do not like outsiders. So one has to be very careful and do extensive research and observations beyond the monetary aspect. Regardless of your decision, the best of luck to you and yours,
there is no place like NY. Add another New Yorker looking to move back home. We came here for husband's job, not the weather. I want to retire back to NY and never again set foot in Florida.
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