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I keep reading advice that it's best to visit the towns, preferably several times, before actually making a decision on where to retire. My question is what do you actually do during these visits?
Do we contact a realtor and have them show us around? I don't want to waste anyone's time, as we won't be moving for a few years yet.
Should we contact the local Chamber of Commerce? What would we ask?
I can't see just aimlessly driving around, and we're both a little on the shy side, so walking up to strangers and asking questions is out.
What should we be doing during these research trips? None of the books or magazines I've read say anything beyond "be sure to visit the area first", so I'm a little clueless.
We've narrowed the states down to NC, TN, and KY, and have general areas, but now what?
Thanks for any help you can provide!
Most of the work is done before you go so you can eliminate places that aren't right for you so that you can spend more time in the towns that are right for you. See #8 below:
Some of these items may not apply to retirees looking to move to big cities.
8. When you visit, don't visit like a tourist, visit like a potential future resident. Visit the supermarkets and clothing stores. Do they have what you like (products, brands)? If you are religious, attend a service. If you like to golf, play while you are visiting. When you are in your hotel room, watch the local nightly news show. If you can attend a local event do it and take a look at the people. Do they look/act like your type of people? You know, if you are all duded up in designer fashions with sprayed hair and make-up, hoping for wine and cheese and an orchestra, and you get there and there are a lot of plain people in jeans drinking beer and listening to bluegrass (or vice versa), then you might not be in the town that's right for you. If it's an outdoor event and groups have their booths are you looking for the boy/girl scouts, NRA, Disabled Veterans, some ATV sales booth and corndogs, but if the booths are Stop The Nukes, $2000 Antiques, Save the Squids, frozen yogurt and the local yacht dealer (or vice versa), it might be a clue that the place isn’t right for you. If you like to garden, visit the local nursery and look around. If you like to read, visit the library and bookstores. Do they have the variety of the type of books you like? Are the books new enough to suit you? Buy a street map at the local gas station convenience store and mark it with your observations while you are driving around. (example: like the run down part of town). Bring a camera.
Last edited by LauraC; 06-04-2013 at 08:54 AM..
Reason: duplicate
Also, once you've done your research, do talk with ordinary people, there. I never realized how talkative and informative we Americans can be until I started to take my talkative danish wife to the US. She picks up people wherever she goes and surprises me with the life-style/local attitude information she gleans from her conversations with strangers in places, large and small, I am well acquainted with.
Also, once you've done your research, do talk with ordinary people, there. I never realized how talkative and informative we Americans can be until I started to take my talkative danish wife to the US. She picks up people wherever she goes and surprises me with the life-style/local attitude information she gleans from her conversations with strangers in places, large and small, I am well acquainted with.
I totally agree. For the last few years we've been making little trips to a variety of towns we were considering, and more often than not it was the little conversations we had with people that decided whether or not we were really interested in a town. Sometimes they left a good impression--sometimes they made us decide certain towns we'ren't interesting after all--all times we learned a lot of useful things.
I do think that husband and wife see things a little differently. We were almost set to move to one place, looked at property, made a couple visits and I figured we were on the same page. Driving home she said she didn't want to live there after seeing it as a fulltime home. I could see her point -- it was a nice place to visit (and I still do) but too touristy.
I eventually moved 1000 miles from "home". One thing that I didn't realize until I moved was that living within a few miles of an interchange of two major cross-country interstate highways means you will probably have friends and relatives visiting. That's great but not something I thought about.
Cruising a town enables you to see the neighborhoods with the cars on the lawn with no wheels as well as more desirable areas. We once looked at some very attractive houses, but when we cruised the neighborhood it was "no way".
You want to visit when the weather will be at its worst hot/cold.
Look at homes on Zillow and realtor.com. They have lots of good pictures.
Consider 55+ communities, they are NOT all the same. Active communities are different from assisted living and continuing care. Remember, never again will you be as young as you are right now. Stairs become a dirty word as you age.
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For the last few years we've been making little trips to a variety of towns we were considering, and more often than not it was the little conversations we had with people that decided whether or not we were really interested in a town. Sometimes they left a good impression--sometimes they made us decide certain towns we'ren't interesting after all--all times we learned a lot of useful things.
