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I think a lot of us found paradise many years ago and due to the aging baby boomers retiring these little best kept secrets are now being overwhelmed with retirees. I believe in 1957 and 1959 the largest group of baby boomers were born and that puts many of them ready to retire.
We were a very small middle class coastal beach town. Not any more, we a rapidly becoming a very affluent retirement community.
I am blown away with Vegas and now Reno. They have exploded with retirees. I have friends who retired to Boise, Idaho and Franklin, NC ten years ago and these areas are popular right now for retirees and prices to own and rent are climbing.
Some of us chose the quiet life only to see it become a boom area. We aren’t moving but damn things are changing rapidly. The good is that we now have great medical in our area though.
In a few years, I will be retiring and are thinking about the best places to retire.
Many people want to move to BOOM TOWNS in the Sunbelt. The media hypes these places as exciting for both workers and the retired. These BOOM TOWNS have rapid population growth. The population has doubled in the last 10-20 years.
Examples include these metros: Las Vegas, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Charlotte, Raleigh, Orlando, Tampa, Sarasota, and Fort Meyers.
As a retired person in your 60s and 70s what is so good about living in a large metro area with a huge population increase? Doesn't this mean sprawl, environmental damage, crime, heavy traffic, and stress? These type of places may be exciting for a young person looking for greater shopping, restaurant and job choices but how does the massive growth help a retired person?
On the other hand a retired person would not be happy in a dying town with no growth either. As an older person, what type of setting is the best balance for you?
No...mainly because of the taxes. Taxes change more in a growing place, whereas in medium or less growth, the taxes are more stable. For example, new schools will be built in a growing place. Schools need tax money (property taxes).
I don't regard Dallas as a boom town. It's an established city. There was time to plan the highways well. There are small burb cities north of Dallas that are growing faster, though. There are nearby burb towns & cities that will grow less quickly.
I think large cities are perfect for older people, since there are services & resources there that mid-size cities won't have. Senior services, Lyft/Uber availability, nearby grocery stores you can walk to usually or a short drive, senior classes of all sorts (exercise, crafting, quilting). Meetup.com is better in a large city; there you can find groups for seniors for bicycling or whatever. Lots of restaurants at different price levels, all specialties (Italian, Thai, Chinese, Japanese, steak n'taters, vegetarian...). Lots of theaters for movies (although some of these will be closing due to lack of business). Availability of fast internet and local tv towers to receive free broadcast tv. Doctors of all specialities. Hospitals. There will be other seniors there, if you make an effort to meet them, to socialize with.
I live in a semi-rural burb. It sucks. I'd never recommend this for a senior. I hope to move. If I can find someone to buy the house. That's another advantage in a big city: more chance of buyers to sell your home to.
I think large cities are perfect for older people, since there are services & resources there that mid-size cities won't have. Senior services, Lyft/Uber availability, nearby grocery stores you can walk to usually or a short drive, senior classes of all sorts (exercise, crafting, quilting). Meetup.com is better in a large city; there you can find groups for seniors for bicycling or whatever. Lots of restaurants at different price levels, all specialties (Italian, Thai, Chinese, Japanese, steak n'taters, vegetarian...). Lots of theaters for movies (although some of these will be closing due to lack of business). Availability of fast internet and local tv towers to receive free broadcast tv. Doctors of all specialities. Hospitals. There will be other seniors there, if you make an effort to meet them, to socialize with.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tzaphkiel
ditto.
No.
i like quiet. small town. big trees.
low cost of living.
where a fixed income goes farther. more sensible.
Perfect examples of the saying "Different strokes for different folks."
I wouldn't want to move to a boom town (I'm happy in my mid-sized city), but I can see why others might wish to.
Oh hell no! When I retired I moved from a metro area of 500,000 to a small mountain town of 900. That was perfect. Even at that it was almost too crowded at times. If I could find (afford) a place on 100 acres in the mountains I would be happy.
I’m already at the slow slow point, so my answer would be no. By the way, I love the idea of those three phases of retirement. For me, I traveled so much for my job, and was involved in so many activities while working, that in retirement I was already done with go go, and just wanted a very slow and very quiet lifestyle with occasional forays out to visit family or hear music. The big city was exciting and vibrant for many years while working, but guess it wore me out. Am very happy drifting through my days now. For those who enjoy poetry, my mantra for retirement is A Nun Takes the Veil by Hopkins. That last line says it all - out of the swing if the sea.
I have desired to go
Where springs not fail,
To fields where flies no sharp and sided hail
And a few lilies blow.
And I have asked to be
Where no storms come,
Where the green swell is in the havens dumb,
And out of the swing of the sea.
When we were considering about where to retire, my wife thought about us moving to the city in Ohio, where she was born and grew up and still has family. The city has had a slowly declining population ever since 1960. One of the major employers was always the huge paper plant; it only a shadow of it's former glory. Kenworth truck plant is the main game in town now. Seems to be more businesses closing than opening. Big drug problem. Kids with any ambition are long gone when they graduate. The ones left are like my in-laws; born there, live there and die there. Fine for them but I'm glad that my wife decided that she really did not want to live in that type of an area.
Where we wound up is growing at a nice pace. The leaders have made it a point to work at bring jobs into the area that will keep kids here when they graduate from high school or the local university. We have been here for over three years and really like the vibrant feel to the area. While I might not consider it to be a boom town, it is certainly growing at a faster pace then many others. For us, it works.
. . . . . Examples include these metros: Las Vegas, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Charlotte, Raleigh, Orlando, Tampa, Sarasota, and Fort Meyers.
Other than Ft. Myers, all the above cities are too large and too busy for retirees to move to.
I prefer either a town 40-50 miles outside of such a city or a middle size town with an adequate cultural and medical facilities.
We chose to move 10 miles outside of a booming city of 470,000 people.
I don't think Dallas is too large. I used to live in Dallas. It has half the pop of the Houston area, in TWICE the area. It has good zoning, so there are many decent neighborhoods within city limits. But it also has "burb" cities outside its boundaries in all directions, all of which are great. You can't even tell where Dallas ended & the burb began. Partial rail service, which is unusual in a south/southwestern city. It's a great place to live. It has a bit of a winter, but not too much. Humidity is normal year round. No particular disasters to contend with (the south & east coast have hurricanes, midwest has tornadoes, CA has earthquakes, etc.). TX does not have state income tax, & sales tax is normal. Property taxes are high (tax deductible), tho. Dallas's airport is a major hub in the country. There's also an easy-to-get-to smaller airport for traveling to/from certain locations. Homeowners ins. is low, due to it not being a disaster zone. It's super hot in summer, though, and can have droughts in the midst of summer.
I recommend Dallas for seniors. It's a great place. Or the burbs all around it. Houston is not a good place for seniors, the main reason being it's a natural disaster zone (hurricanes, tropical storms). An elderly person living alone does not want to have to evacuate alone at 80 years old; you also need extra cash on hand to evacuate. This is why so many choose to stay. HO ins is very high. And other reasons.
Atlanta is very pretty, but I spent only a few mos. there years ago, so don't know much about it. Phoenix is expensive, I think, and sizzling hot. I'd hate Phoenix.
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