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A point to make here and I know it has been made in this thread and in others. I have started a few on this topic and got a lot of response.
1. Sometimes the grass isn't greener
2. Some things like family and familiar places out weigh the exotic and the perceived nirvana
3. Taxes should not be used exclusively in your decision to relocate or not.
4. Visit and even stay in the area that you are considering
5. Weigh all options
6. Make a list of what is important
7. Be willing to compromise
8. Sometimes staying home is the best option
I wonder..do people originally from Florida relocate when they retire? If so, where to? (hopefully my question is not considered thread hijacking, sorry in advance if it is )
Some do. My family isn't "from" Florida (military), but my dad has been there, excepting about a 5-year stint in DC, since 1977. Dad is in the panhandle, but has several friends down in Capital "F" Florida who have chosen in the last ten years or so to retire to Tennessee and North Carolina. I suppose it's sort of a reverse migration, and perhaps a search for less homogeneity. My dad and stepmom have considered it, as well.
We recently moved from 285 to 66, in a "pre-retirement" move. We knew housing costs would be double what we'd left, and that things like eating out would be more expensive due to a higher local minimum wage. But in exchange we get an amazing climate, a well-educated population that supports all types of cultural efforts, and more opportunity for me for the final 15 years or so of my career. As a special bonus, the smaller metro means a 2-mile commute rather than a 17-30-mile commute. A more liberal tax base means support for transit that could wholly replace my automobile, if I so wished (We had 3 cars in Alabama -- one as a spare -- we're thinking of going to one car here). And, at risk of starting a tangent of howling controversy, moving from the South to the West means no more subsurface racial line of demarcation that runs through one's daily life in everything from politics to education to housing to everyday experiences.
...And, at risk of starting a tangent of howling controversy, moving from the South to the West means no more subsurface racial line of demarcation that runs through one's daily life in everything from politics to education to housing to everyday experiences.
It's easy to forget about race when everyone where you live is your color. In the case of Santa Fe - that means white. Note that I assume that the large Hispanic population there is also white (in Florida - our Hispanic population comprises people who are white or tan or black). Robyn
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Quote:
Originally Posted by golfingduo
A point to make here and I know it has been made in this thread and in others. I have started a few on this topic and got a lot of response.
1. Sometimes the grass isn't greener
2. Some things like family and familiar places out weigh the exotic and the perceived nirvana
3. Taxes should not be used exclusively in your decision to relocate or not.
4. Visit and even stay in the area that you are considering
5. Weigh all options
6. Make a list of what is important
7. Be willing to compromise
8. Sometimes staying home is the best option
This, and many of us prefer not to live in the southeast, Ohio or Michigan.
Within metro areas there is a great variation in prices. The highest are in areas with jobs and great schools, retirees don't need either. We are in #27, but can buy a place for 1/2 of what we will sell for within an hour to 90 minutes drive and still be close to younger family and friends.
Very useful. It shows how much NYS is effected by NYC in state rankings, usually driving it up to 1st or 2nd. Upstate metro areas are at or below the US average, however, and comparable to FL metros. Are local taxes included? Or just goods and services?
Good points, Golfingduo. We have considered them all, and went ahead and bought a place in NC. We'll be full time as soon as we sell the CT place. Strangely, although they live in CT, we have already spent more time with our 2 daughters and 2 of our grandchildren in NC than in a year's time at "home".With jobs and school, time together is infrequent and short. When they visit in NC, it's for a week or so, relaxed, and we do things together. In between, there's texting, etc. At some point, we may want or have to return "home", but our social life and activities have already improved incredibly, we will not have as much financial pressure(we will be able to afford to bring family down for visits), and yes, the weather is better, we haven't minded the summers.It may not work out, but we know this is a possibility and are not concerned. Time for an adventure.
A point to make here and I know it has been made in this thread and in others. I have started a few on this topic and got a lot of response.
1. Sometimes the grass isn't greener
2. Some things like family and familiar places out weigh the exotic and the perceived nirvana
3. Taxes should not be used exclusively in your decision to relocate or not.
4. Visit and even stay in the area that you are considering
5. Weigh all options
6. Make a list of what is important
7. Be willing to compromise
8. Sometimes staying home is the best option
Regarding numbers one and two, I think that many retirees don't tend to move where they think the grass will be greener or where there is a perceived nirvana but rather for more practical reasons. I admit I am going by my experience and those of the majority of what I read as well as my friends. What I see is that younger people might move for more idealistic reasons but older people tend to make a relocation choice for much more practical reasons such as the many already stated here: COL, taxes, weather, to be nearer to family from whom they may have moved away or have move away from them etc.
In my situation when I was in my thirties, I moved 2,000 miles from friends and family to a new city for the adventure and to begin a new life for various reasons. I didn't think the grass was greener or I was going to Nirvana. I just hoped that life would be different and maybe better. And that turned out to be true. Now I am relocating close to the area from where I came because it will just work out better for me in every way especially financially.
Anyway, there are so many factors as to why one relocates. These have been hashed out over and over again. There is only one truism and that is the reasons for relocation are different for different people. And those will probably be different at different times of people's lives. My first move was because I wanted to. My second is because I have to. I simply can no longer afford to live where I am. But that's okay, I have some great things waiting for me where I am going. It isn't Nirvana but it will do nicely.
There is no one size fits all. It's nice to have options but sometimes people don't. As the saying goes, you just have to bloom where you're planted. Sometimes you just have to replant yourself.
A point to make here and I know it has been made in this thread and in others. I have started a few on this topic and got a lot of response.
1. Sometimes the grass isn't greener
2. Some things like family and familiar places out weigh the exotic and the perceived nirvana
3. Taxes should not be used exclusively in your decision to relocate or not.
4. Visit and even stay in the area that you are considering
5. Weigh all options
6. Make a list of what is important
7. Be willing to compromise
8. Sometimes staying home is the best option
Boy this is a great post and has given me cause to pause. Our plan is to downsize and re-locate, Maryland is a very espensive place and I'm not sure retirement will be an option given our limited resources. But every time we take a trip we return home and I don't want to move. I know we will need to downsize, the upkeep and costs to maintain our current home is too much, and I'm not sure there are affordable options near us. But you make great points
Regarding numbers one and two, I think that many retirees don't tend to move where they think the grass will be greener or where there is a perceived nirvana but rather for more practical reasons. I admit I am going by my experience and those of the majority of what I read as well as my friends. What I see is that younger people might move for more idealistic reasons but older people tend to make a relocation choice for much more practical reasons such as the many already stated here: COL, taxes, weather, to be nearer to family from whom they may have moved away or have move away from them etc.
In my situation when I was in my thirties, I moved 2,000 miles from friends and family to a new city for the adventure and to begin a new life for various reasons. I didn't think the grass was greener or I was going to Nirvana. I just hoped that life would be different and maybe better. And that turned out to be true. Now I am relocating close to the area from where I came because it will just work out better for me in every way especially financially.
Anyway, there are so many factors as to why one relocates. These have been hashed out over and over again. There is only one truism and that is the reasons for relocation are different for different people. And those will probably be different at different times of people's lives. My first move was because I wanted to. My second is because I have to. I simply can no longer afford to live where I am. But that's okay, I have some great things waiting for me where I am going. It isn't Nirvana but it will do nicely.
There is no one size fits all. It's nice to have options but sometimes people don't. As the saying goes, you just have to bloom where you're planted. Sometimes you just have to replant yourself.
First of all, I have to say how much I will miss you, Minervah, even though we've never met. I'm saddened that you have to leave a place you've obviously enjoyed living in. As a Floridian who is relocating to Portland upon my husband's retirement, I regularly check and have posted in the Portland forum and have read so many helpful posts written by you. I wish you the best in your replanting!
I'm excited about my own repotting adventure, and now the other poster who asked where people who already live in Florida retire to, knows the answer is "as far away as possible". I know it is the dream of many to retire to a place that is warm and sunny and I wish them well. I enjoyed my time here, but I'm ready to try something new for the last third of my life. When our business obligations are filled, we'll be heading to Oregon. We're downsizing drastically and it's a very freeing feeling. Taxes are not really an issue for us. We will have deductions. Plus, I think some of the places with the lowest taxes also have the fewest government services and at this point in my life, I think I may need more of them. So, I don't mind paying my share.
And, we're going from number 33 on the list to number 51! Woo-hoo! Except these lists are absolutely meaningless.
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