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We knew we would be moving somewhere away from family and friends so decided an active 55+ community would help us get involved with fun activities and build a network more easily. So then we identified all our must haves like the financial impact/taxes, proximity to airports and colleges, our weather prefs, etc.
For five years before retirement, we visited a few places every year. Couldn't find perfection. So we simply did not leave Dallas for another 2 years while we still visited places. We went during the most wicked times for weather. Florida was a place we really believed would fulfil most of our desires. But we simply couldn't stand the humidity in August. Phoenix was a top consideration, too, but every 55+ community we liked seemed too far from the city. Carolinas, too humid, etc. etc. etc.
So once we decided the Las Vegas valley held promise for us, we rented a house for a time and tried it out before making a purchase. Its a long, introspective decision....
We knew we would be moving somewhere away from family and friends so decided an active 55+ community would help us get involved with fun activities and build a network more easily. So then we identified all our must haves like the financial impact/taxes, proximity to airports and colleges, our weather prefs, etc.
For five years before retirement, we visited a few places every year. Couldn't find perfection. So we simply did not leave Dallas for another 2 years while we still visited places. We went during the most wicked times for weather. Florida was a place we really believed would fulfil most of our desires. But we simply couldn't stand the humidity in August. Phoenix was a top consideration, too, but every 55+ community we liked seemed too far from the city. Carolinas, too humid, etc. etc. etc.
So once we decided the Las Vegas valley held promise for us, we rented a house for a time and tried it out before making a purchase. Its a long, introspective decision....
This is an interesting question because you say, repeatedly, 55+.
How we view ourselves in age does have a big factor in it. There are the years by the calendar, there are years by which we believe, there are years by socialization, and there are years by which we deceive ...... at the very least.
Take socialization for example. One of my issues in life is that at mid 50s, I have never experienced what most of the population has, so I am out in touch with them in a very big way.
I don't know if there is an answer for this.....but it might be another issue for one to consider.
Another poster looking for the perfect climate that doesn't exist. There are many threads about this very topic. You can do a search, above.
I know the usual suspects will soil their shorts over this suggestion, but why not a place like San Miguel de Allende in Mexico? It's safe, cheap and the weather is perfect year round. Oh, and universal healthcare. A ton of Americans already live there.
I know the usual suspects will soil their shorts over this suggestion, but why not a place like San Miguel de Allende in Mexico? It's safe, cheap and the weather is perfect year round. Oh, and universal healthcare. A ton of Americans already live there.
Because for some of us, my country, right or wrong, is still my country.
I know the usual suspects will soil their shorts over this suggestion, but why not a place like San Miguel de Allende in Mexico? It's safe, cheap and the weather is perfect year round. Oh, and universal healthcare. A ton of Americans already live there.
Of course I'm speaking only for myself and I'll try not to soil in my pants. I don't feel right about moving to another country that in many ways is still third world. Although your community is low crime and beautiful, I still don't want to be seen as an elitist American in another land. I want to be able to get into my car and drive maybe 200 miles in any direction if I feel like and not have to think about a corrupt police force that expects a bribe if I'm pulled over and I certainly don't want to live in a country where you may have to bribe someone to stay out of jail for whatever reason. I also don't want to live in a country known for having a corrupt government, not that ours is perfect. I want to fit in with local people as much as possible having similar cultures and lifestyles.
I personally would never feel comfortable there no matter how beautiful it is. I'd always have my guard up.
Similarly, I don't want to move to a 55+ community here in the U.S. I want to be around and live around people of all ages.
Last edited by marino760; 07-18-2017 at 03:44 PM..
As to the original question of how we decided where to live in retirement... We started with each of us (DH and I) creating a list of needs, wants, and deal-breakers. Then we compared lists and tried to remove any contradictory items, and rank the remaining criteria.
Ours included a few absolutes that would be deal-breakers, both dealt with climate. DH wanted no snow shoveling/artic cold winters. An occasional couple inches was okay though, because it would melt and not require shoveling. I wanted no deep-south style 90 degree with 90% humidity weather. So that ruled out huge swaths of the country. He hates the desert too, so that took out the southwest.We were left with the west coast or the mid-southeastern states.
Then we listed our wants. Mine was proximity to mountains and forests for camping and hiking, and to be on, or very near, a good size lake for boating and kayaking. His biggest want was to be in a golf community and preferably live ON the golf course. We also realized that moving cross-country to a place where we would know no one, we wanted a social network that we could easily plug into. So we started looking at planned communities with clubs and activities. Then, of course, our budget came into play and we had to set some limits around our home cost, and COL, as well as taxes, and HOA fees. This eliminated most of the west coast. We also wanted to be near enough to access, but not in, a bigger city with all the usual amenities like hospitals, cultural activities, etc.
After that, I started looking at specific communities and comparing them to our criteria. It became very easy to cross communities off our list now that we had a list of criteria that each could be compared to. When it came down to the final few, we flew cross-country and visited several areas by car to see if they were what we had anticipated. When we finally visited our last one, we knew we had hit the mark as soon as we arrived. We loved it.
We made another trip to really try it on for size by renting a home in the neighborhood for over a week and behaved just as if we were living there. We drove to the shopping centers, went to movies, restaurants, etc. We toured homes in our price range with a realtor. We met neighbors, we golfed, we even rented a boat and toured the lake. We spent a lot of time talking to locals wherever we could find people to talk to. The thing that amazed us was the friendliness and warmth we encountered everywhere we went. So our minds were made up and we've been very happy with our decision.
It sounds like you knew what you wanted, did your homework and the rest is history. Congrats!!
I know the usual suspects will soil their shorts over this suggestion, but why not a place like San Miguel de Allende in Mexico? It's safe, cheap and the weather is perfect year round. Oh, and universal healthcare. A ton of Americans already live there.
I worked in Mexico for about five years. I had enough of Mexico and the way things work south of the border.
In Tucson, I get enough of the good aspects of Mexican culture with few of the headaches that I experienced south of the border.
OP First thing I did was ask DW and myself what is it that we are wanting in a retirement location. It is then I started researching by coming here to C-D and talking to a number of posters. Then I visited a few places to either eliminate them or validate them as potential. Then created a weighted spreadsheet, something someone here has suggested to you as well. List things you want and do not want in your new location. Be sure to take into account that any move will require you to start all over again looking for support systems like doctors and mechanics you can trust. Also family and friends will be left behind and you might find yourself coming back more than you know.
However after all of that we have come up with alternatives to leaving the home area we have lived and loved in for over 34 years. We have things we do not like here in this house of ours. One is the amount of maintenance the house requires. Second the amount of snow that needs to be removed each winter. We also have things we love about this home as well. All of our friends are here. The weather is neither too cold nor too hot. It has 4 very distinct seasons and all have good and bad days but more good than bad.
Also with respect to our retirement income the state is reasonable. Property taxes are a bit high but with a paid off mortgage our housing costs are acceptable. So we will continue to live here for a bit more time. By here I am speaking of the too big of a house for us for a while longer. Later we will downsize the home to something that will require us to do less maintenance.
I read this and I'm thinking - that's what we've been doing; that's how we feel about where we live; that's what we think about the house and expenses . . . Then I realized you're in Central Mass and we're in NY pretty close to the border so we're probably an hour and a half away.
I think you hit the nail on the head as to why even retires that can afford to move usually stay put. Some eventually downsize but still stay in the town they're familiar with and have roots in.
Of course I'm speaking only for myself and I'll try not to soil in my pants. I don't feel right about moving to another country that in many ways is still third world. Although your community is low crime and beautiful, I still don't want to be seen as an elitist American in another land. I want to be able to get into my car and drive maybe 200 miles in any direction if I feel like and not have to think about a corrupt police force that expects a bribe if I'm pulled over and I certainly don't want to live in a country where you may have to bribe someone to stay out of jail for whatever reason. I also don't want to live in a country known for having a corrupt government, not that ours is perfect. I want to fit in with local people as much as possible having similar cultures and lifestyles.
I personally would never feel comfortable there no matter how beautiful it is. I'd always have my guard up.
Similarly, I don't want to move to a 55+ community here in the U.S. I want to be around and live around people of all ages.
Totally agree. Just because I might be able to afford a palace and a maid there, does not make moving to Mexico any more appealing. And wow, yes it's really right in the middle of the country -- nowhere close to the U.S.
We did research pertaining to relocation to another country; and went off to various countries to investigate. In addition to concerns about not maintaining US medicare if we wanted to return (so it was a cost we maybe would carry), we still had overall concerns about the whole country. It is one of our imperatives to not feel cloistered in any specific area. I find I'm intolerant to cruises if we have more than a day at sea -- start feeling claustrophobic. Sometimes I just need to get in the car and drive anywhere I please. Love to do that. But, knowing that need, it factored into our where to live formula and excluded most expat destinations. Examples: Mexico, yes many expat areas are nice but I don't think we'd feel safe just getting in the car and driving off somewhere else in the country. We were pretty serious about Budapest for a while, saw opportunities there but again concerned about the outlying areas in Hungary and our freedom to just drive about the countryside safely. Costa Rica, Belize, etc. we know we'd get Island fever.....
But our wanderlust is not satisfied. And so, we will be renting homes during hot months here in various places. Buenos Aires next summer........
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