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The summers will be hotter than I like here, but overall, the weather is great, I'm used to the possible earthquake factor, there is decent healthcare here, crimerateisacceptable, and I don't mind living with a majority of Republicans even though I'm Democrat, since I'm one of those weird Democrats who is okaywithpeopleowningguns.
No, the crime rate is not acceptable, Redding has a very high crime rate that is getting worse, not better. You are an active poster on the California forums, and surely are aware of this, many threads on Redding and it's problems. Hope that you are a gun owning Democrat, you need one in your chosen new home.
So far in the poll, I'm surprised that financial is in the lead. From what I read of the posters in Retirement, sounds like most are quite well off.
Second, the financial aspect is interesting in that there are few desirable places in the country where one might live on considerably less than what one is living on now, give or take a few hundred dollars a month and the balancing costs such as having to travel to back to the previous location to see family, if one has family left behind.
I'm surprised that the crime factor isn't higher in the poll so far.
I chose financial as I am a very early retiree and wanted to be in a country that provided me the most opportunity to grow my assets without those pesky taxes/insurance costs!
None of these applied to us as we had no desire to move after retirement.
My family is 4,000 miles away, but I seem them for a month every year.
Good medical care is within a reasonable distance.
Weather....well it's Scotland and rainy, so we simply escape to warm countries in the winter.
No crime at all in our immediate area.
None of the environmental disasters in our area.
Many of our neighbours are retired and it's very quiet where we live.
The one disadvantage for me in Scotland is the availability of a certain beverage that has made Scotland world famous. (I know Scotland very well, I was in the Royal Merchant Navy and lived and worked aboard a ship built in Greenock). I fear I would become too fond of the drink, sampling and comparing the various houses and varieties of that glorious amber colored liquid.
So far in the poll, I'm surprised that financial is in the lead. From what I read of the posters in Retirement, sounds like most are quite well off.
Second, the financial aspect is interesting in that there are few desirable places in the country where one might live on considerably less than what one is living on now, giveortake a fewhundreddollars a month and the balancing costs such as having to travel to back to the previous location to see family, if one has family left behind.
For a single senior retiring alone on a shoestring, a few hundred a month makes a huge difference. That extra few hundred pays your day to day expenses, food, utilities, gasoline, clothing, recreation, etc.
When researching a place for possible relocation, the crime rate is very important for myself. A few otherwise desirable places have been rejected because of a high crime rate. Suggest obtaining data from as many sources as possible, not all agree with each other. On occasion, a place with high numbers may actually be quite safe due to some irregularity in the data. Places that have a large number of tourists and visitors often fall into this catagory, since the data will reflect crimes commited by and against the visitors while being weighed against the permanent population.
I have to choose crime rate. I want to move to a place with fewer people and less snow, but am not willing to compromise on crime. That is why Hays, Kansas is in the lead. In addition to having a low crime rate, it also has a low unemployment rate. This means there are fewer idlers, loafers and ne'er do wells wandering around causing trouble.
I also want a community with a state university and an Arby's, but under 30,000 people. Hays meets all of these criteria.
Insofar as the choices go, all of the above and none of the above. If we had to choose one overriding factor it would be the fact that we wished to move to a particular culture which is why we ended up retiring to the MO Aux Arcs. Other factors were the wildlife, summer thunderstorms which I missed, a unique topography; subtle things not available for consideration in the poll.
It comes as no surprise to me that money and weather are the clear winners.
I didn't answer the poll due to the demands of ...ONE...choice.
I would have picked weather, but then I would have to ask myself why I am living in the Ozarks of Arkansas and not San Diego.( I can't afford the weather San Diego offers )
If you had to pick JUST ONE overriding factor that most influences (or influenced) your choice of where to retire, which of these would it be?
(realizing that usually there are several extremely important factors, in most cases, but in this case it would be the one that would, or did, tip the scales for-or-against a particular location choice)
Doctor, hospital.
Right now I live 40 some mile from a medical center. It might not sound far, but it's a pain.
My mother is 90 and sometimes has to be transported by med ambulance for appointments. It's hard on her, but this is where she grew up and we do it, but after she's gone, I'm moving where it is convenient for me and those that might have to look after me.
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