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Apologies to everyone for not building the poll in a more user-friendly fashion.. :-) ... I'm a newbie at this, LOL
I'm not surprised that Financial is the top factor so far. Seniors who have to depend on SS as their only retirement income (or perhaps SS plus a small IRA, or a pension subject to the vagaries of the stock market) need to consider "money first" -- unless they're assuming that either their family or the government will take care of them in the event that their money runs out before they die.
I also agree with Teddy52 and oldcold about the demographics element. Why is it regarded as so terrible to have that be a factor in where anyone chooses to retire or relocate? Why is it "okay" for parents to say that they don't want to move to a school district in which their child will be in the minority (either ethnically or religion-wise) because they don't want their kid to be bullied or ostracized.... but it's somehow NOT okay for a senior to say that they prefer to spend their remaining years in a place where the majoritiy of people share their culture/customs/background/etc? It's as if it's understood and accepted that "older people are set in their ways" about many or most things, but it's not acceptable for them to feel that way about the demographics of where they choose to live. As Mr. Spock might say, it's "most illogical".
In reference to Jrkliny's post number 38 on the previous page, perhaps an additional factor should have been added to the poll: "What my wife wants to do". There is a reason I didn't make that proposed choice gender-neutral; I think it's the wife who normally gets her way in such situations.
True! I didn't think to add "Spouse's Preference" to the list, LOL
But then again, if the original location was determined by a spouse's preference, the surviving spouse might well be looking for a new retirement location in line with where he/she would have wanted to go in the first place.
Maybe someone should make a new thread to ask "Where would you have retired if it was different from where your wife wanted to go?" LOL
Ah, yes. The wife quotient! Now why didn't I think of that? My wife lived in the Ozarks for most of the '70s about 40 miles south of where we are right now. She dearly missed both the topography and the culture. That was fortunate because I had lived in the deep south for many years in the past and missed the culture there which was not dissimilar to the culture here today. Add to that my desire to move out of California and back to the land of four distinct seasons and, as I am wont to say, back to America and happily we had a match.
It's interesting to ponder for a moment what would have happened if my wife had not been willing to leave California. My best guess is that over time I would have just become increasingly dissatisfied and eventually would have moved anyway, with or without her. By the same token, what if the shoe was on the other foot? As they say in real estate, "Location..." Thankfully my wife always said she'd follow me anywhere so a separation would not likely have occurred.
Glad Escort Rider made a point of this because it is truly a significant one.
In the instances I have observed (where people are moving back where they came from)................the most common reason is...." the wife wants to move back"
Rarely have I heard............" we want to move back"..........or " I want to move back"
It appears retired men can adjust more easily to new surroundings than retired women.
I picked weather as the most important factor, but there is sort of an asterisk. "Financial" condition has to hit a certain threshold, then generally there will be good hospitals/doctors, not too much crime, and one can jump on an airplane to go see relatives, or send them tickets. So after you let money cure all the things that money can cure, you end up with 'weather.' It doesn't matter how much money you have if you are living in a god-forsaken frozen wasteland, the money doesn't fix that.
In other words, finances are not important if you have enough money.
In the instances I have observed (where people are moving back where they came from)................the most common reason is...." the wife wants to move back"
Rarely have I heard............" we want to move back"..........or " I want to move back"
It appears retired men can adjust more easily to new surroundings than retired women.
Fortuitously you're not likely to hear either of those from us. We will one day move again but it will be horizontally to a nearby crematorium and then 50 miles away to the closest veterans cemetery.
Unlike another poster ,who got so upset with your comment they wished they could give you a negative rep, I see nothing wrong.
Many people like to live near people who are similar to them.
Most of the times, the term " minority" doesn't just mean color of skin is different, it means culture is different...........music, food,etc
Some people like " diversity" .
Some people don't and feel most comfortable living with people who are similar to them.
Have we become so "pc" that we must blast anyone who doesn't embrace diversity ?
I did not care for the comment but at least the poster was being honest. Many people on the New Mexico C-D forum inquire about moving or retiring to New Mexico but it is not for everybody. It is a relatively poor state with a high minority population and some socioeconomic issues - it's not the Midwest. Those of us who respond try to paint an accurate picture of the good and the bad. Most people in the state consider the diversity to be a plus and enjoy the different cultures. I've read some other city forums where you would think the Chamber of Commerce is responding to all the posts. Nothing worse than having someone go to the time and expense of relocating and hating the new place.
I could care less about the weather. The most important for me is the crime rate. It doesn't matter to me if it is eighty degrees outside or if there is five feet of snow if I don't feel safe in my neighborhood and in my town. Second to crime is cost of living because I am willing to have a somewhat higher cost of living that is affordable to me if the crime rate would be lower. My third concern is property taxes, because unless they are super low, they are always a ripoff. Property taxes do nothing but nurture a bloated, inefficient local government of do nothing parasites.
I think it's the wife who normally gets her way in such situations.
Really? I know of more cases than not in which the male spouse holds more of the purse strings and is the one in control.
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