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I don't know Dave - my husband worked for LAPD (Los Angeles Police) for 34 years - is there a more stressful job that you know of? ...
I have been told that Flight Deck Ops on a Naval Carrier is extremely stressful. Though I do not know from personal experience. US Federal Law Enforcement overseas is kind of stressful [I know from my own experience], though most of my career was underwater [which has a certain amount of stress on it's own].
I am glad that you like the South.
We really do enjoy the lower cost of living and low taxes here. I like cool weather particularly in the summer. The laid back, easy-going attitudes, polite drivers, folks who use their 'good' manners.
We are very happy here.
There are few places where my small pension can support a family. I am glad that we found one of those places
1) Lower cost of living, particularly with housing and overall taxes.
2) More pleasant weather, particularly in winter. Sure, July and August are hot. But you more than make up for that in January and February. I don't know about you, but I can still go outside in January living in the South without dressing as if I were about go arctic exploring.
3) Less hectic. And, by the way, there are lots of really nice cities in the South. Quit basing your assumptions on old reruns of In The Heat Of The Night. We enjoy a broad range of cultural activities, nice restaurants, and fun.
4) More civility. Sorry, once you live in a place where cashiers say "Thank You" like they really mean it, the children have manners, and people actually appear to give a rip about other people immediately outside their circle of friends and neighbors, it tends to be quite jarring when you go back to your hometown. Every time I go back up north, I am shocked at the casual rudeness of people there.
Good points here - I have bought twice the house here in SC than I could have ever afforded in ME. Sorry Beekeeper, a little town north of Bangor, ME isn't comparable to Southern Maine where I left - BTW my property taxes are 1/3 of what they were in ME
Enough "transplants" here so I can talk about the Red Sox if I want, but still Southern atmosphere - and College Football Saturdays are great. Plus, the ocean water is still warm in Sept & Oct. (lovely 81 degrees last week)
I thought there wouldn't be fall foliage here - but I was stunned how beautiful the foliage is in the upstate of SC to the Blue Ridge Highway in November!
July & August are hot, but I just couldn't do snowblowing the driveway for an hour just to get to work anymore. If I need to see snow that badly - I can just drive up to Western North Carolina.
... Sorry Beekeeper, a little town north of Bangor, ME isn't comparable to Southern Maine where I left - BTW my property taxes are 1/3 of what they were in ME
Wow, go for it!
Your property taxes are like 34 cents per acre per year.
Wow that is low indeed. I am stuck paying $1.05/acre/year.
You would be very hard pressed to beat that.
I had no idea that property taxes were so low there.
I think a lot of times people retire to the south to get away from the stress o the north, but really the stress is the job and when you aren't working, you shouldn't be stressed. Even if you live in New York City!
My boss is retiring this week and is moving to NYC. The vagaries of weather should not affect me nearly as much after retirement. I can go out as I choose or stay in as I choose. No need to struggle with a commute if I don't want to.
It is different strokes for different folks. If your parents are not talking to each other and not letting the other know they aren't all that happy with their decision to live in SC, then they have a problem. If you really believe that to be the case, perhaps you could act as a communication facilitator. Talk calmly and non-accusatorily (like none of the tone of your first post, but more of the later posts ) with each one separately to find out how they really feel about the place. If you find each is dissatisfied but doesn't want the other to know it (a not uncommon failing among people who love each other), then you could calmly mention to the opposite parent that dad/mom doesn't really like it all that much here. If that is really the case, then you would have planted the seed that they can talk to each other without sounding like they are being petulant or turning back on the deal they made to move there.
The key is disassociating your own feelings and assumptions and really listen to what each parent says.
Personally, I mind putting on a coat and boots in winter a lot less than I mind sweltering in summer. I would much rather enjoy long days of mild temperatures in summer outside than bundle up for the short days in winter. I hate having to hide indoors during summer because it is sooo hot. But that is just me.
When you get to be a certain age and have ailments like arthritis, the cold can be physically painful.
Absolutely a consideration and I'm surprised it wasn't mentioned earlier. I'm in my 60s, still working hard and probably will be doing so until I croak as I couldn't afford to live here otherwise (unless that 99 year old multi millionaire with heart and prostate problems ever comes along!)
That said, I have a little arthritis in one of my hands and I can't imagine ever living back in the cold again and suffering through the inevitably much greater aches and pains which would result. The sun makes me happy and keeps me active - on the rare occasions when we have a couple of grey days in a row here I become very sedentary and grumpy like a hibernating bear awakened too soon!
regarding cost of living----------some people use the taxes on land as a part of cost of living.
Unless you are living in a tent, I fail to see how land would be calculated into cost of living.
I can find parcels of land in my state that have very low taxes. However, if I were to build a house and live on that land,my taxes would skyrocket because of the taxes now being based on the value of that house.
If you look at many sites listing the same home plan in different communites in the same area the land can make a huge difference in the cost and value of the home with the land. Some land that is unimproved is worth muchless bascially. It cost millions to develop a commiuntiy to build homes on.Just the infrastructure and permoits can take millions years before you start building.
Plus, ice and snow contribute to a lot of hip fractures.
It is far more accurate to state some old people have less tolerance for cold.
Others have less tolerance for heat (my 90 yo mother being one of them. She is fine with the cold. And she has arthritis. She likes the dryness the arid west provides, regardless of the temperature.
It seems to me that there is a common idea among people who lived most or all of their lives in the north east and mid west, especially in those states with lots of winter snow and cloud cover, to want to escape that climate and go for the opposite in retirement. Those living in the colder areas that still get plenty of sun don't seem to want to leave it in droves after retirement.
The southeast retirement migration seems to be mostly folks from those gloomy winter states. Some like it and don't mind the heat and humidity they find, others find it isn't what they like at all and go back.
Maybe it is only a physiological need for vitamin D that drives the southern retirement migration phenomenon...
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If I need to see snow that badly - I can just drive up to Western North Carolina.
