I've Read All The Books, NOW What? (community, retired, years)

[normie]

Originally Posted by LauraC

Ahhhh, the retirement books. Someone else's idea of what will make you happy. Ever seen any retirement books that talk about Quilting Clubs, Bird Watching, Bowling Leagues, Photography or Gun/Fishing Clubs, for example? Nahhhh, we're all looking to go to the symphony, hike or bike, park our boats, play golf and live in a gated/master planned community near some mall and a lot of restaurants.

LOL! I think it's particularly funny how these lists emphasize symphonies and operas. Nothing against these fine institutions, but I don't think the average retiree is going to choose a place to live based on being able to go to the opera.

Just think about it... If so many people were going to operas, the theaters would be standing-room-only and there would be a six-month wait for tickets.

[brightdoglover]

As little as I frequent the "high arts" in Boston, I like living in an area that has enough people who *do* frequent them!

[normie]

Originally Posted by brightdoglover

As little as I frequent the "high arts" in Boston, I like living in an area that has enough people who *do* frequent them!

Yes, plenty of people say the same thing. I wonder why that is? Maybe we preceive that people who frequent the high arts would be fun to talk to?

[Mgoodgadsdenchamber]

Dear teebopop,

Let me introduce you to Gadsden, AL. I am the Retiree Dev, Manager for the chamber of commerce in Gadsden, AL and Etowah County. I have lived in New York, Orlando, Nashville and many other places but I have found a cheap cost of living here and have found where my heart calls home. We do have some retirement communities here. We have low property taxes, low cost of living, low gas, and groceries compared to other cities. For example, a lot of people 20 minutes from the city have purchased mobile homes and are happy in those. We do have trailer park communities and we have subdivisions with different price ranges within your range and then homes with acres.... For example I am getting married and we are selling his home of 2400 sq ft. brick, 3br, 1 bath, that has a shed, barn, and 8 acres with a circle drive for around $85,000. We have just bought 10 acres on a good location for $2500 an acre. We have festivals that keep you busy. There are activities at our Senior Activities Center every Friday and Saturday that brings around 200-400 retirees there. We have year round fishing and 4 climate season. We have Weiss Lake 20 minutes from Gadsden [SIZE=-1]in Centre, Alabama, the home of beautiful Weiss Lake, 33000 acres of blue water known as "The Crappie Capitol Of The World," and we have the Coosa River that also has big bass fish and Mens and Women's National Fishing Tournaments with big prize money...... We have local Bingo, 45 minutes from the Dog Track in Birmingham, AL that has slot machines, and about 3 1/2-4 hours from Casino type gambling like Silver Stars Hotel & Casino in MS. We have beautiful scenery here. Near where I live is Little Rock City and parts of the movie "Failure to Launch" was filmed there. We have a 90 ft beautiful cascading water fall Noccalula Falls....We have the Gadsden Cultural Arts with exhibits year round....We would love to send you a retiree relocation informative package. Mod cut.[/b] You can be as country as you want or as much city as you want to be all in one place and where everyone is helpful and friendly. Discover your Fountain of Youth here with us in Gadsden, AL....Retire to the Good Life........Find out about our secret Gadsden, AL........... We are sharing Gadsden to the rest of America.[/SIZE]

[Submariner]

My wife likes to take in a play once or twice a year. Her sister lives in Maryland, very near DC. So she goes down there to visit her sister twice a year and together they tour DC museums, they see plays, the opera, and Woman's Rights marches.

We do not live anywhere near those things, however it does not preclude us from enjoying them whenever we wish to.

[BucFan]

Speaking of retirement books - I searched Barnes and Noble, and there are plenty. Anyone have recommendations for their favorite "How to" retirement book - no necessarily "how to" financially get through a retirement, but rather "what to do" now that you're retired (ie how to enjoy retirement),.

[cousinsal]

Originally Posted by desertsun41

Try this:

****.com - Find the Best Place, the Best Job, the Best Home for You! (http://www.****.com/survey/InvalidSurvey.asp?ID=CB4E4DEEAFCE4A83D48F6558B041B 867 - broken link)

I have taken this test a few times over the years while dreaming of where to retire. Strange how every time I take it there is a different answer.

This site does not spam you. It takes about 15-20 minutes and is very detailed with your likes and dislikes. It finds you the most perfect spot that matches you.

Good luck !

This is amazing - it says I should live where I DO live now, and where I grew up, too! Funny. Thanks.

[MotleyCrew]

I would agree with Waterlily on Sun City, AZ. There are condo's for under $150 as well as little patio homes. The HOA fees are not painful, you would be close to Del Webb hospital and Boswel hospital. The weather is awesome most of the year so snow removal will not be an issue or an expense. Heating bills are very low.

[mrschilicook]

Boy does this sound familiar. Before we retired I read every book and magazine about WHERE to retire, BEST retirement spots, etc. I looked at **** (no matter what criteria you put in, certain cities always come up so I'm pretty sure cities pay to be on this list), Sperlings Best Places, etc.
I did tax comparisons (they don't tell the whole story), weather comparisons (some stats are incorrect in Sperlings), crime comparisons (again..a relative thing and can be misleading), water/air quality comparisons. I searched Realtor.com and local real estate sites for a variety of areas. We bought an RV and spent 5 years checking out all sorts of areas. Looked for low property taxes, low/no income taxes, no snow, etc...what we found is:

You WILL pay taxes one way or another....find someplace where taxes are moderate in all areas. Cause if you don't pay income tax you'll probably make up for it in real estate tax. Some places have high insurance some low. Some places have lower gas prices, but longer drive times. etc..etc...

Find a place YOU like no matter what the books say. If you don't want snow go south. If you want a little snow hit the midwest, if you want wide open spaces, hit Wyoming, Montana, etc. Then determine what your MOST important 2-3 critiera are and check it out.

After 5 years of searching with a long long list of "wants and needs" it ended up our top criteria was: A litte snow ok, lots of snow wasn't. Lower cost of housing (from CA or Las Vegas). A "rural" feel near a small city. Lots of places to play (lakes, rivers, restaurants, sports, etc.).

So here we are between Springfield and Branson MO....we love it and for us it is nearly perfect.

[texdav]

About half or the peole I have talked to that live in retirement communties left after not liking them. I guess it just depends on what you like and can get use to.I definely do not want to live in a big city tho.