Retirement in California (Santa Barbara: condo, mortgage, how much)

[ndfmnlf]

When Californians talk about retirement, it is usually about them selling their homes/businesses and moving to a cheaper state to spend down their assets. Has anyone here tried to do the opposite, i.e., moved to California from other states to retire? Where in California did you move to, and did it go as smoothly as you planned? Appreciate your inputs.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by ndfmnlf

When Californians talk about retirement, it is usually about them selling their homes/businesses and moving to a cheaper state

I'd bet fewer people than is perceived move when they retire. By moving, they may be leaving their families, friends, social networks, doctor and medical networks, and community familiarization. In addition, they would have to foot the bill which is about 8%-10% of the cost of the home - so that's pushing $40K to move out of their $400K home. How much tax savings (in a presumably lower tax state) would it take to counter that?

Here's a City Data thread on this:

The Negatives Of Moving Away for Retirement


"But a growing number [of retirees] also want to stay close to home. They want to live around people their age in new developments that combine the comforts of suburbia with the perks of a resort. They'll trade year-round summers for proximity to family, friends and doctors. And because 35% of boomers say they'll keep working after they officially retire, they want to stay close to professional contacts."

from

USATODAY.com - Forget Florida: Retirees are staying put

Originally Posted by ndfmnlf

moving to a cheaper state to spend down their assets.

Finally, for Medicaid planning, it's best to have nearly all of your net worth in your primary residence because your primary residence isn't a countable asset for medicaid eligibility when nursing home time comes around. That's why a guy with a $1.7M home has the government pay for his nursing home and the guy with a $150K home (and $350K in IRAs and 401Ks) spends his own money.

[Clarks]

Also, by the time of retirement, many people have their homes paid for, they don't have an overriding financial need to move.

Those who move are often younger retirees, who can get out of their mortgage by selling, and have enough to buy a home in a cheaper place, although, because of years of that, cheaper places are getting harder to find, generally a place with bad weather (which for me is anything east of the 100th Meridian, know your Stegner)

[CAVA1990]

I think people tend to move where their family is. If kids have moved to CA, the parents are more likely to follow.

[Clarks]

We moved from a cold snowy land, sold our house and relocated to the central coast of CA, in part to take care of a parent! Reversed your position, (which is still valid) We moved from one part of CA to another, a less expensive area to a more expensive area.

However, if it had not been for the ailing parent, we would be in Central Nevada, a fine place to be, few services, no malls, few people, and lots and lots of land to wander around in.

[CAVA1990]

My parents moved from Carmel Valley to Reno to be close to my siblngs. I thought they were out of their minds.

[Ultrarunner]

Friends moved from Colorado Springs to Santa Barbara...

They sold a beautiful home of 30 years and bought a condo in Santa Barbara with an ocean view... one block from the ocean...

They moved for two reasons...

1) As much as they loved Colorado... the winter snow and ice was taking a toll especially after one of them had a bad fall last winter on ice.

2) They have children and grandchildren in Southern CA and wanted to be close.

It's been 5 years and they have no regrets.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

Friends moved from Colorado Springs to Santa Barbara...

They sold a beautiful home of 30 years and bought a condo in Santa Barbara with an ocean view... one block from the ocean...

They moved for two reasons...

1) As much as they loved Colorado... the winter snow and ice was taking a toll especially after one of them had a bad fall last winter on ice.

2) They have children and grandchildren in Southern CA and wanted to be close.

It's been 5 years and they have no regrets.

Sounds perfect. I can understand both reasons.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by ndfmnlf

When Californians talk about retirement, it is usually about them selling their homes/businesses and moving to a cheaper state to spend down their assets. Has anyone here tried to do the opposite, i.e., moved to California from other states to retire? Where in California did you move to, and did it go as smoothly as you planned? Appreciate your inputs.

Actually, we made that move to preserve our assets. We didn't have a home to sell because we didn't want to be mortgage poor aftert we married not all that long ago so when we retired we moved to another state and area we knew we'd enjoy, bought an easily affordable home and the overall cost of living is considerably lower than it is in CA, as are the taxes.

That being said, and as I'm looking out the window at the remaining snow, I can well understand why people from other states retire, move to CA, downsize and enjoy the relative warmth and abundance of recreational activities.

[Steve97415]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

I think people tend to move where their family is. If kids have moved to CA, the parents are more likely to follow.

They do, but this seems terribly risky and puts a lot of pressure on the kids to stay put for the foreseeable future. Most mid-career professionals move around quite a bit. I know of someone right now who has the opportunity to take a significant career promotion that would require moving from Phoenix to Silicon Valley. But his parents pulled up stakes to move to Arizona last year so they could "watch their grandchildren grow up." So now he feels stymied in his options and will pass on the job opportunity even though both he and his wife feel ready for something different. But for his parents moving in to town, they would have moved to northern California.