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Hop in your car and take a nice long road trip. Stay away from the interstates and stop at all the yard sales. Pic a place you like the feel of.
The last three summers I've been doing that and cant really say that I've found any place I like more except maybe several areas of Colorado but the winters aren't to my liking. So maybe a summer and winter plan. RV summer trip x 4 months out of FL is my current routine.
The last three summers I've been doing that and cant really say that I've found any place I like more except maybe several areas of Colorado but the winters aren't to my liking. So maybe a summer and winter plan. RV summer trip x 4 months out of FL is my current routine.
If you've had that much exposure and nothing suits you, maybe you are being too critical or have unreasonable expectations. Adopt an attitude of "it's good enough" and learn to embrace the good qualities that present themselves. See how much of the world suddenly opens up.
If you've had that much exposure and nothing suits you, maybe you are being too critical or have unreasonable expectations. Adopt an attitude of "it's good enough" and learn to embrace the good qualities that present themselves. See how much of the world suddenly opens up.
What I posted was nothing I've found is better than my current place of retirement (for the last decade) - and no need to relocate.
I've been researching a retirement location for years. My criteria are: low/no state income tax; low humidity climate, and winter not too long or too severe (we don't need year-round warmth); good infrastructure and good medical resources; good airport to facilitate travel; near to mountains, hiking, boating, and similar attractions; preferably a university town with a good arts and music scene; good and growing economy and strong tax base to ensure civic improvement and maintenance of services. We've considered AZ, NM, TN, NC, SC, GA, TX, WA, and NV.
I've also considered Panama, Costa Rica, Mexico, Canada, Thailand, and Portugal, and have visited several. (International is more complicated due to residency visas and financial requirements (not to mention the need to - maybe - learn a new language), but almost all international locations are MUCH cheaper to live in than the US, with better/cheaper services).
We've traveled to my top tier candidates over the past several years, to see if the reality matches the numbers, and to see if we liked the look and feel of the place and people. My wife and I made a choice in December, and are having a house built in a 55+ community: Reno, NV.
I'm a retired 52 year old single male living in NW PA,
...
I really appreciate your help. Thank you.
We lived in Waynesboro, PA (Southern PA) about 12 years... We had good jobs and it was a rural area. A bit cold for us...
We have been retired in New Mexico now for over 15 years. We are in the Albuquerque area. We have decent/good hospital facilities here and the weather is decent.
We have also been to Arizona for several months at a time, and had considered retiring there.
I grew up in Southern Florida which has a variety nice areas.
I have also lived in AL, GA, MA, MD, NY, SC, TX and Overseas
If possible I would seriously consider renting for 6 months to a year before buying anything.
The last three summers I've been doing that and cant really say that I've found any place
...RV summer trip x 4 months out of FL is my current routine.
I suspect the RV is the problem.
It's almost impossible to get into the rhythm of a place if you're not in it day & night.
Commuting in and out to some campground just doesn't get the job done.
Look for a VRBO or short term sublet in walking distance of...
if you're 52 (OP) you might consider a two-phase retirement.....phase I is during the 10-15 yrs when you have a lot of energy to do things --explore, fitness, travel, etc --getting out of the house.....maybe a college town w/ lots of cultural stuff to do.....
phase II is when you'll likely be more of a homebody and maybe need more social/medical type support that a true retirement community might offer.....medical facilities, transportation, home health care availability, easier areas to drive, warmer climate?
just a thought....
Couldn't agree more! It's fun to dream of beautiful locales with fun activities, but the reality is you need to be practical when planning your retirement. For us, phase II came quite suddenly after dh had a stroke and it was discovered that he had diabetes and dementia as well. Arthritis changes are becoming more and more debilitating for me as well. You never know when a major change in your health will occur. We now realize the importance of being in a town with good medical facilities, public and handicapped transportation and especially some younger family members (children or grandchildren) that can be of assistance occasionally. Going out to eat is about all the entertainment we can handle now, so living in or near a town with many good restaurants (with home delivery too) is a plus.
I just wanted to say that I can identify with your situation. I'm about your age, single, and hoping to retire in a few years. A friend of mine, a former engineer, retired at 54 and uses the ACA for health insurance. If the ACA is eliminated, she's planning to go to a state that is likely to continue a similar kind of insurance plan until she's 65 and gets Medicare. She didn't have an inheritance or a massive salary. She just lived below her means, started investing young, and invested wisely. She also moved to a less expensive home and location when she retired early.
I hope to do something similar. I do think it's hard to know when you have enough money to retire if you don't know where you're going to end up because the cost of living really can vary. That's part of my problem. I want to relocate because I live where I do simply because that's where my job is and it's not a place where I would like to be long term , But don't know where I want to go. I started realizing recently that I should begin thinking about that and was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of possibilities. I'm also a little bit concerned about moving somewhere where I know nobody. I'm a natural introvert, but not a loner, so I worry about whether I'd be able to make new friends and feel a part of the community. I get what you mean about not feeling welcome or comfortable in some places. I don't know how a person figures out what place is right for them. But, some of the responses to you have helped me at least find a starting point. So, thanks for starting this thread.
Yes, it's overwhelming to think that you have the whole world, or the whole U.S. if you aren't into international living, to pick from. So you really do have to start by eliminating as many unworkable places as possible by figuring out what is MOST important TO YOU. No on else knows what your deal-breakers are...weather, COL, environment, proximity to ????, nearness to family, etc.
Make a list of priorities and then rank them in order from most important to least. Then use your priorities to eliminate areas. You can eliminate whole swaths of the country with just a few parameters. That will narrow it down and then you can drill down to find out more about how the remaining areas meet your priorities. Certain things will shake out as not as important as you once thought, or you can find workarounds to make them acceptable. This is just something you have to do and no one can tell you where the perfect place is for you. Only you can figure that out.
Oh...and get over the idea that this one move must be the big, final move. It probably won't be. Lots of retirees do the two stage, or even three stage, retirement. The place you live for your active retirement years may not be where you want to be when you can no longer maintain a yard, or your health goes downhill. That doesn't mean you can't live there for a while and move closer to healthcare or family when you need to. I know people who've moved to different places two and three times in retirement.
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