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We're in stage to decide where to move for active retirement. But it appears to me that bad summer is often unsurmountable that we cant carry an AC box with us all time while for bad winter we can always find a way to stay warm. But I do see it's biggest gripe for many people, just wonder why?
I do not have major gripes about living in Colorado. With the low humidity, the summers are mild, never too hot for me. The winters are not that severe with a few cold stormy days, but mostly sunny.
I do sometimes miss real lakes and larger bodies of water. This area is semi-arid with mostly reservoirs and small streams that are called rivers. However, more water means higher humidity, so I have come to accept the lack of water as an advantage.
To me the mountains are not that appealing as they are filled ostentatious enclaves of the rich or very poor towns. There are very few small idyllic and pastoral town. Roads in the mountains are difficult and filled with traffic because of the limited access to the major sites. It manners not, for most people live, work and recreate on the Great Plains and rarely visit the mountains, contrary to the popular belief. You would say, if there so much traffic, how can you say most people rarely go to the mountains. The answer is that the roads can only handle a smaller percentage of the population and consequently can be crowded with fewer cars. To me the mountains big advantage is that they help block the bad western flow of weather and moisture and make living in the shadow of these protective peaks very comfortable; and that the Rocky Moutains act as a catch basin for the valuable necessary water of the arid west.
I actually find the isolated harshness of the Great Plains, farther from Denver, as more appealing. To note Denver and all the major cities of Colorado are not in the Mountains, they are on the Great Plains. I get annoyed by the misrepresentations that give the mountain recreation most of the publicity when the real story of this State is the Plains.
Livecontent
Last edited by livecontent; 06-12-2012 at 11:54 PM..
Not too worried about boredom. One great benefit from the crazy life I've lived is I learned how to adjust to a wide variety of towns. Each one has some feature I miss when I move to the next place, but it's no big deal. Each one has something to gripe about, but that's no big deal either. Every place has something that you can become interested in. I have yet to be bored by a town I've lived in--even tiny Clemson SC, where I discovered a public garden that opened up a whole new interest for me. And no matter where you go you can always start a blog.
Besides, if I do end up missing the busy busy busy lifestyle I can always volunteer to drive kids to soccer practice.
Not too worried about boredom. One great benefit from the crazy life I've lived is I learned how to adjust to a wide variety of towns. Each one has some feature I miss when I move to the next place, but it's no big deal. Each one has something to gripe about, but that's no big deal either. Every place has something that you can become interested in. I have yet to be bored by a town I've lived in--even tiny Clemson SC, where I discovered a public garden that opened up a whole new interest for me. And no matter where you go you can always start a blog.
Besides, if I do end up missing the busy busy busy lifestyle I can always volunteer to drive kids to soccer practice.
The boredom that I mean is more on weekends and at night as we get older. I lived for a year in a coastal town that is lovely in summer but deserts in fall-winter-spring. Only the most basic businesses are open. At night, absolutely nothing to do, not even a movie theater. During most of the year it's take a walk or two or stay indoors and watch TV or read at night. To me that's utterly boring. Unless you're into the bar scene.
I chose my current town more for the things to do at night (besides bars, which I don't frequent.) Within a mile I have a vibrant college campus with events almost every night duirng the academic year, safe well lit campus paths to walk on day and evening all year long, a movie theater showing the latest, a two-floor bookstore with book clubs and authors, five restaurants and a wonderful hangout cafe, and if all else fails, a supermarket open till midnight around the corner. I have to get out at night for an hour or two or I go stir crazy. I could not do that in my coastal town. There was no central concentration of these things, you had to drive.
I must be crazy to even contemplate moving elsewhere...
ETA: Single biggest gripe? Unprecedented property taxes hikes due to unnecessary town spending on unnecessary things and overloaded town personnel (and I don't mean police). Winters - I've given in and resigned myself.
Husband and I have lived outside the USA on foreign assignments for the majority of our adult lives. We have no family left in the USA either. Our one daughter is married and chose to remain in Europe and raise their children there. Currently we live in London, England and have been here 4 years but will be retiring within 2 years and have to find a place to settle down. Listening in on your forum discussion trying to get some insight as to various locations in the USA....
The boredom that I mean is more on weekends and at night as we get older. I lived for a year in a coastal town that is lovely in summer but deserts in fall-winter-spring. Only the most basic businesses are open. At night, absolutely nothing to do, not even a movie theater. During most of the year it's take a walk or two or stay indoors and watch TV or read at night. To me that's utterly boring. Unless you're into the bar scene.
I chose my current town more for the things to do at night (besides bars, which I don't frequent.) Within a mile I have a vibrant college campus with events almost every night duirng the academic year, safe well lit campus paths to walk on day and evening all year long, a movie theater showing the latest, a two-floor bookstore with book clubs and authors, five restaurants and a wonderful hangout cafe, and if all else fails, a supermarket open till midnight around the corner. I have to get out at night for an hour or two or I go stir crazy. I could not do that in my coastal town. There was no central concentration of these things, you had to drive.
I must be crazy to even contemplate moving elsewhere...
I guess I'm lucky. The towns that we're considering have bookstores and libraries and movie theaters and restaurants, lots of things like that. Even Rehoboth Beach, which is one of those towns that empties out for the winter, still has a library and a bookstore and a movie theater and things for local residents to do. So if I want those thing, they exist.
But luckier still, I'm not a person who goes out all that much. I eat out maybe 4-5 times a year, and I haven't gone out to a movie theater in more than a decade. Walking is a major evening entertainment for me, also kayaking, painting, hanging out with friends, posting on city-data, going to the games at the local high school, and reading. I'm fond of writing romance/mystery novels, and have even been published although that was years ago and not likely to happen again--I'm not a great writer so I mostly do this just for my own entertainment. I also find that when I move to a new town, it's fun to find out what the local people like to do and then join a group or two that does those things.
Meet-up groups and toastmasters are great for this, so are church groups and classes. Be a docent for a local museum, volunteer for a hospital gift shop, help the group that plants tulip bulbs in the town garden, join the committee that builds floats for the Memorial Day parade, go to the high school football games (or drama productions, if sports aren't your thing)--whatever it is that people do. And, since I like to make friends one of the things I regularly do at night is have friends over to watch tv or play cards.
Another thing I like to do when I'm new in town is take a photo a day for a full year. You will be amazed how taking a photo every day will make you see all sorts of interesting details in your new town that you would otherwise have missed. And it often leads to discovering events and interesting groups of people, because you'll start reading the paper looking for ideas of something new to photograph. I became involved in tai chi this way--I was looking for something interesting to shoot, one thing led to another, and now tai chi is an important part of my day. A few times I've even met a fellow photographer to join me on my daily trek.
Just wanted to add that I agree about the restaurants and bars with live music. Live music is very important to us. Up here at our summer place in the woods, there are no restaurants or bars. We have a good-sized city about an hour's drive away, but rarely go there for dinner or because we'd have to drive back here at night. There is lots of live music to be had, in the summer, if you're willing to go to festivals. Mostly celtic, bluegrass-ish and country.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kevxu
Politics and tone of society/culture.
I found the low level of political discourse in the U.S. finally unbearable, and it seemed an obvious reflection of the deep divisions and constant sniping and strife in the society and culture that had developed in the previous twenty years. A secondary reason was the expense of traveling to places I wanted to see.
Therefore, in 2000 I moved to Europe, which remedied both dissatisfactions.
Lucky you. Not all of us can do that!
Quote:
Originally Posted by finewbie
We're in stage to decide where to move for active retirement. But it appears to me that bad summer is often unsurmountable that we cant carry an AC box with us all time while for bad winter we can always find a way to stay warm. But I do see it's biggest gripe for many people, just wonder why?
I agree with you in principle, having lived in the north all my life. But to someone like me, missing out on winter is like a wonderful adventure. But the way to do it is to be a snowbird, not a full-timer. Then you don't have to lug that AC unit around with you!
Quote:
Originally Posted by London Lady
Husband and I have lived outside the USA on foreign assignments for the majority of our adult lives. We have no family left in the USA either. Our one daughter is married and chose to remain in Europe and raise their children there. Currently we live in London, England and have been here 4 years but will be retiring within 2 years and have to find a place to settle down. Listening in on your forum discussion trying to get some insight as to various locations in the USA....
This is a good thread for you to read, but perhaps you should start your own thread posing that question. Do you really want to go back to the US to live? Is the rest of Europe open to you?
The expats in Europe have got me thinking--I can't go and live in Europe permanently, but I could go and live somewhere nice for a month or two a year. Hmm...
Last edited by Wwanderer; 06-13-2012 at 08:30 AM..
We're in stage to decide where to move for active retirement. But it appears to me that bad summer is often unsurmountable that we cant carry an AC box with us all time while for bad winter we can always find a way to stay warm. But I do see it's biggest gripe for many people, just wonder why?
you will never find the perfect balance. In most cases, either the summers are to warm or the winters to long and cold. Yes, you can always keep warm, but believe me, when you get older that cold gets colder and being shut up in your house for days on end gets pretty tiring. The only place I can think of with close to ideal weather year around would be the central coast of Ca, if you can afford to live there. Most of NM has great weather as well, especially from ABQ south for about 60 miles. The summers rarely get above the low 90s, the air is dry, the evenings cool and the winters relatively mild.
Nita
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