Did anyone retirement locale become a mistake (pensions, federal, housing)

[GregW]

Renting a place for long enough to really learn about an area is a great idea if you can afford it.

[LauraC]

Originally Posted by OREGONRAIN

I think the whole country is falling apart, we may all need to just stay where we are for abit, and then maybe things will improve and we can all decide with more ease as to what to do. It seems alot of us are a little stuck, or a little at sea. Im not completely sure alot of our indecision is coming completely from within us, some yes but not all. I think the country has a feeling of being in a depressed mood and it is affecting all of our lives in some manner. When you think of it so many of us are asking is this place liberal or is this place conservative. Is it cost effective more there than where we are now. Are there part time jobs for the over 50 crowd, or will we compete with zillions of students for a job at Taco Bell, if that is the only job in town. No wonder we can't decide. For those of us with so much indecision, lets just stay where we are for now, or we could make things worse for ourselves.

It was important to me to know whether my retirement state was liberal or conservative since I have lived in 2 liberal states and I'm trying to get away from those people and their high taxes/high cost of living because they never met a government program/regulation they didn't like. It would please me to no end if other liberals sought out people like themselves in retirement. But all I see are people looking for cheap places to live in retirement without giving a thought that some of the inexpensive place are inexpensive because of ideology.

Other: If you don't want to compete with students for part-time jobs, don't live in a college town. And, you may be competing with more than students for jobs at Taco Bell/McDonalds...but those are the jobs Americans won't do or so I've heard.

[brokencrayola]

My husband will soon take early retirement. Since we still have 3 kids at home (had our children late in life) he will have to get another job despite the retirement (guess that means he really isn't retiring). We have pondered and searched online now for a year where we might want to live. I would like to live someplace warmer so we have looked into AZ., NV etc. Years ago we lived in S. Idaho for 5 years and were miserable and I never want to live anywhere and have that feeling again. The grass is not always greener and we are thinking we may just stay right in the area we are now. Visiting someplace and living there are two very different things.

[Panks]

Originally Posted by furyu

the banging and whining and whistling and beeping of machinery and trucks ALL NIGHT LONG, coming from the lumber mill.

How about putting in a pond and waterfall-the bigger the better! I saw one on a landscaping show once that seemed SO LOUD..like standing next to a real waterfall. Thousands of gallons of water falling over the rocks and into the pond 24/7. I remember thinking the sound would drive me nuts, but maybe it would be better than the lumbermill? You could always adjust the height and flow of water to reduce the sound.

[MotleyCrew]

We have construction going on in the development north of us, so trucks and cars start around 3:00 a.m here in the desert. We do have a waterfall that is very loud and it is our saving grace right now. When it is not running, we are up at #@%!!! 3:00 a.m.

[jguillot]

Someone on the Tennessee forum brought up another important thing to consider before purchasing a home or land. Check the zoning for the area. You would probably not be happy if someone put up a nightclub on the property adjacent to your residence. If the zoning allows commercial establishments, look for property or homes elsewhere. The CC&R's (covenants, codes, and restrictions) should also be checked. You would not want the CC&R's to be too strick, but at the same time, you would not want them to be too lax. CC&R's that are enforced will prevent things like abandoned cars on property, pig farms, running businesses out of garages, parking 18-wheelers on the street, etc. Checking the zoning and CC&R's could help to prevent you from making a mistake that you will later regret.

[mof29212]

has anyone moved after retirement and moved BACK after a year and if so how did you feel? Was it a "letdown" feeling or did you feel like "back at home" being in another house and neighborhood? Moderator cut: sorry, no private e-mail addresses, but someone can PM you.

[riverbird]

Reading this thread makes me feel not quite as dumb for taking so long to decide where I want to go.

A number of years ago, after my husband died, I decided I had to get out of San Francisco because there were too many memories. I wanted to live in the woods, so I took a job that seemed perfect, doing computer work in the Sierra foothills. The move turned out to be a mistake for several reasons: there were no other single people and the married people were not friendly; vegetarian food was hard to find; the summer heat and winter tule fog bothered me more than I expected; and there was little diversity, so after almost two years I packed up and moved back to the Bay Area.

That move taught me to take my time making up my mind about relocation.

[nancy thereader]

....I am so glad you revived this thread. I have always wanted to live in the Bay area , but I just do not think I would have the money for a condo (unless I bought a studio in the worst part of town). You guys are so lucky who are already there, like Monk and all. lol

[marmac]

I, too, plan to relocate in the very near future.

Since weather (climate) is a big deal for me, I visit the places I am interested in during their worst season.

If I visit during the worst weather and can handle it, I certainly will enjoy it when they have their best weather.