Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We retired last year and moved from Southern California (world's dirtiest air, high taxes, traffic beyond belief, too much crime in too many areas, politicians are bankrupting the state, housing in good areas is still high and very close together in most areas.) Yes the beaches are beautiful - we lived a few minutes away...just couldn't go there on the weekend or in the summer because of crowds and traffic. Good weather and a diversity of things to do are the positives.
We moved to Kentucky near Louisville. We absolutely love it here. The cost of living here has allowed us to have a quality of life we never could have had in So. California. When our friends and family from California visit, they are amazed at the beauty, the friendly people, our large beautiful home, how inexpensive many things are and all the fun things there are to do here. Yes, we have 4 seasons, which we love. Very little snow in the winter. The last two summers have been unusually mild - it never made it into the 90's during the month of July. We adore how green it is here and how much water there is (Ohio River, lakes, streams, creeks, waterfalls). No dessert or crowds for us.
We just bought our retirement home - in TN. We originally planned to move to upstate NY, Catskills and we spent 2 years looking for just that right piece of property or house. Why there? We wanted to stay near family and somewhat near the area we both grew up in. But it wasn't right for us - we are done with snow - and high taxes. So we started giving the "where" question some serious thought and spent a lot of time researching. We picked TN for several reasons:
weather/climate
Low taxes
low land/housing prices
no income taxes
not too far from either coast
We checked our retirement incomes and know that we can live exactly how we live now - just in a smaller house and not so near the ocean (I will miss it) but there are planes - and we will be able to afford the vacations - still. THAT is what did it for us - not having to change our lifestyle - very little, if any, belt-tightening.
Some places that are just fine when you are in the workforce are not so great when you retire because they don't offer enough things to do, that you like to do, during the daytime Mon - Fri.
I find the daytime, the best time; the weekdays, the best days. It is a time and day when most of the places are all mine. There are no crowds in the stores. The parks, trails, mountains are peaceful. The recreation centers are there, just for me. Zoos, movies, theaters matinees, libraries, museums, art galleries are there for me, only me.
I leave the weekends to the weekday workers and generally stay home and do my chores. When, Monday comes, the world is mine, all mine. I can see much at a slower pace.
I do not like holidays because more people invade my quiet world. Monday Holidays make the weekends longer and I want Tuesday to come quickly. Fridays are not so quiet as the rest of the weekdays because many more people are off work.
The summers are nice but many children are not in school. It is when they return to school and I have the autumn, all to myself, that I tremble with delight.
If I want to see more people, then I go to downtown Denver and stand on the corner and watch the world work by. I can sit on the 16th Street mall and people watch. I do not even have to dress--I can look like a bum and perhaps get a free baloney sandwich in front of the church.
No hurry; I have no place to go; take a stroll along the creeks; eat a quiet dinner early or sit in a restaurant and just nest myself around a cup of coffee and observe and see--slowly.
"Not enough things to do"???? Yes, there is as much as you want and desire, and as much as do not want and desire. For having the time and the place to do nothing, peacefully; may be the best something that you can do.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,690 posts, read 57,994,855 times
Reputation: 46171
Quote:
Originally Posted by livecontent
I find the daytime, the best time; the weekdays, the best days. ...recreation centers are there, just for me. Zoos, movies, theaters matinees, libraries, museums, art galleries are there for me, only me.
I leave the weekends to the weekday workers ...
I do not like holidays because more people invade my quiet world. ...
The summers are nice but ... I have the autumn, all to myself, ..I tremble with delight.
...
"Not enough things to do"???? ... having the time and the place to do nothing, peacefully; may be the best something that you can do.
Livecontent
Ah-ha, you've stated most of the reasons I LOVED working evening shift for 28 of my 32 yrs in the trenches (and why I homeschooled kids, for more freedom to travel 'off-season') I was really spoiled Holidays and weekends were for overtime to pay for those fall vacations! We often took 4-8 wk 'field-trips' one in the spring and one in fall
Now for my retirement destination... I can usually find more than enough to keep me busy, but need to investigate areas with free college classes for seniors, that also have good international programs. I think it is time to learn a few new languages, but I will need to go to school in the evenings, as I can't stand to be indoors during daylight hours. Must be a farm-kid issue.
so...
1) Low Cost of living (property taxes, decent grocery prices, local produce)
2) Environment conducive to Passive Solar (off-grid preferred)
3) International airport within 1 hr
4) No stoplights within the county (negotiable if necessary, but no more than 2)
5) Available college within 30 minutes.
6) Nearby Indoor Lap swimming
7) Available medical would be nice, but with no insurance, a direct flight to Thailand might have to do.
10) Plenty of waste veggie oil to keep the Rabbit in free fuel (Chinese or Mexican eateries are best)
I find the daytime, the best time; the weekdays, the best days. It is a time and day when most of the places are all mine. There are no crowds in the stores. The parks, trails, mountains are peaceful. The recreation centers are there, just for me. Zoos, movies, theaters matinees, libraries, museums, art galleries are there for me, only me.
I like to drive distances (1.5 - 2.5 hours) to take outdoor photos. I enjoy driving and listening to the radio in my car. I didn't have this photography hobby when I was working. The long drives usually involve me being where I need to be when the sun comes up there. Much to my amazement I have found the best time to do the longer drives is Sunday morning when the workforce is still enjoying their one of two days of longer sleep. Who knew this when we were working? There is no roadway construction going on. The traffic lights are just flashing lights really early on Sunday morning. The Saturday drunks have already made it home. No one is waiting for a school bus. There's virtually no one on the road between 5:00A and 9:00A unlike Saturdays when some of the blue collar folks still get up pretty early and go to work. Also, I live in a predominantly Baptist area and their services seem to start later on a Sunday morning than for example, a Catholic area that has 8:00A masses.
I just do stuff closer to home Mon - Fri and picked my town based on activities offered in the daytime during the work week. I couldn't get those daytime Mon - Fri activities in my former town because there was hardly anyone who lived there that was retired. I don't golf and hate shopping (not that there is anything wrong with those things, it's just not for me) so I wasn't going to spend my weekdays doing that and I'm not a city person or a tourist town type. When I compared the demographics of my former town to my current one, the median age in the former town was 37 compared to my current town which is 45. When I mostly stick within a three town radius, M-F, I do my errands, take my classes, go on class day trips, go to my book discussion meetings and I see fishermen, boaters, walkers, runners, bicyclists, birders, other photography enthusiasts and dog walkers when I am outdoors in state parks, by the lake and in wooded areas. I hear others talking about their garden clubs, golf games, gambling excursions, art classes, bowling leagues, volunteer orgs and weekly card games that meet during the daytime. I'm just saying for the types of activities above, my current town is better than the town I lived in when I was working and if you haven't relocated yet, you might want to pick a place where you can do the things you like to do during the daytime, M-F, instead of at night or just on the weekend.
Where there is low humidity, milder summers & winters. Albuquerque or Chino Valley, NM.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I can see much at a slower pace.
Holidays and weekends were for overtime to pay for those fall vacations! We often took 4-8 wk 'field-trips' one in the spring and one in fall
)
There is no roadway construction going on. The traffic lights are just flashing lights really early on Sunday morning. The Saturday drunks have already made it home. No one is waiting for a school bus. There's virtually no one on the road between 5:00A and 9:00A unlike Saturdays when some of the blue collar folks still get up pretty early and go to work. Also, I live in a predominantly Baptist area and their services seem to start later on a Sunday morning than for example, a Catholic area that has 8:00A masses. 
