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I am considering the area I came from......Lafayette, IN...... or possibly Kentucky or TN or NC. I visited the Smoky Mountains recently.....and this made me realize that although mountainous areas are beautiful and easy to travel around, the wintertime driving might not be for me. So possibly a flatter location, but near a national park/beautiful natural area. I feel happiest when I am surrounded by nature. Still looking and still a few years from retirement. I do want to leave the hurricane zone and long, hot, humid summers.
Don't know about IN (have only driven through) but TN, KY and NC are beautiful. Smokey's are gorgeous but it's hard to escape humidity in the south and parts of the Midwest.
If you love to be surrounded by nature and beautiful scenery you could always join us in the Ozarks and swap hurricane country for the tornado belt. Here we serve excitement! Of course, we also get some humidity and it does snow every now and again although it doesn't usually last long if we get any at all.
Good luck finding the right place. It's ain't always easy.
I can take some humidity, just not 6 or 7 months of it with no relief Arkansas and Missouri are possible places. I just don't like extremes.....Arizona, North Dakota, not on my list.
As much as I've enjoyed looking at lots of communities, I'm also making a point to realize no community is a "perfect fit." There's no such thing so why drive myself crazy looking for it. Every place has flaws, and at the same time almost every place can work out and be a good place to retire, if you make up your mind to find ways to make it work.
Could more thorough research/visiting have helped you discover these issues before your move?
Did you decide to stay put or move again?
Great question! We retired in 2005 to Vero Beach, FL based on numerous trips, reports from friends living in the area, and personal observations.
Our disappointments were numerous. Sheeple, which is what gated subdivisions attract. Politics, be aware of how you feel and know that geography plays into it. Politics are bigger than how you vote. The heat, 77 degrees in New England is not anywhere near what 77 degrees feels like in Florida.
What did I miss? Local foods, open minded people, seasons, family and sports teams. Mostly we missed state pride. We were always so proud to say we were from MA but not so much, if anything, about Florida.
I became disillusioned right away. It took about a year or two for my husband to catch the 'We made a mistake' fever.
No. No amount of research could have changed things. It would have taken actual 'living there' time.
We moved on. We tried selling our house in 2008 then again (with more luck) in 2010.
Bottom line... mistakes happen. We don't look back and we don't beat ourselves up. We're happy with our 2nd, and current, retirement locale.
Bottom line... mistakes happen. We don't look back and we don't beat ourselves up. We're happy with our 2nd, and current, retirement locale.
Great attitude! You know, you're right. I like to think that I would just stay put and find a way to make it work.... but it's also true that mistakes do happen and why be miserable? A certain amount of bad fit I will tolerate but if it's really bad then fix it and don't beat yourself up. Life is too short to be miserable.
When I went to the place that wasn't right for me, I discovered "small" mountain town is in the eye of the beholder and that population density, zoning, homelessness, traffic and parking were important issues to me. I suppose I never really thought of it before because I never had to deal with it, in my life, in the suburban towns I lived in. But "mountain town" - who would have even thought of those issues?
This is so true. Just because a town is small doesn't mean they don't have these issues. The worst traffic I've ever experienced was in Asheville, NC of all places. And this is coming from a person who's lived in LA and DC, two places where the traffic tie ups are epic. But at the same time people in those cities know how to deal with it. The traffic in Asheville was surprisingly annoying. The town may be small but the roads are not adequate for the number of people living there, and some of the roads are very badly curved. The little bit of freeway they have circling that town is not big--but people drive very badly on it never the less. Who'd have thunk!
Quote:
Originally Posted by LauraC
Also, I was in the South in the mismatch place, and the people in this mismatch place weren't Southern, for the most part.
Very true! I've lived all over the south and many towns are not as "southern" as you might think.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LauraC
I discovered that if you read the local newspaper daily you can get a good sense of the town and the people in it. If you read the yellow pages online, you can get a good sense of what's in the town.
Two great tips. I totally agree about reading the local newspapers, but never thought about reading the yellow pages. I'll give it a try.
This is so true. Just because a town is small doesn't mean they don't have these issues. The worst traffic I've ever experienced was in Asheville, NC of all places. And this is coming from a person who's lived in LA and DC, two places where the traffic tie ups are epic. But at the same time people in those cities know how to deal with it. The traffic in Asheville was surprisingly annoying. The town may be small but the roads are not adequate for the number of people living there, and some of the roads are very badly curved. The little bit of freeway they have circling that town is not big--but people drive very badly on it never the less. Who'd have thunk!
I was very interested in your comments about traffic. Everybody knows about Los Angeles traffic - and indeed it is the biggest downside to living here - but not as many people realize that it is just as bad in a number of other places. I have personally experienced horrendous (not just "bad") traffic in St. Louis, DC, and Baton Rouge (Louisiana), and have read about it being just as bad in several other places. Of course Asheville comes as a surprise. Very interesting.
The traffic in Asheville was surprisingly annoying. The town may be small but the roads are not adequate for the number of people living there, and some of the roads are very badly curved. The little bit of freeway they have circling that town is not big but people drive very badly on it never the less. Who'd have thunk!
We would have. We seriously considered Asheville as a retirement destination when we first began planning in about 1998. In a relatively short period of time it seemed that half of all California retirees moved there. The results were predictable and inevitable. Housing prices shot up and traffic as well. It was reminiscent of what happened in Oregon and other states. We took Asheville off our list of potential destinations.
To be fair, the traffic in Asheville, while surprising, was not bad enough to keep us from liking the town. The main reason we took it off our list was that it was too far from a beach. And it became pricey. It was a cool town, though.
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Arkansas and Missouri are possible places. I just don't like extremes.....Arizona, North Dakota, not on my list.
You know, you're right. I like to think that I would just stay put and find a way to make it work.... but it's also true that mistakes do happen and why be miserable? A certain amount of bad fit I will tolerate but if it's really bad then fix it and don't beat yourself up. Life is too short to be miserable.
Who'd have thunk!
Traffic
