Suggestions on Best Place to Relocate To (real estate, crime)

[chicagoguy74]

I am trying to do some tentative planning on a visit to a potential retirement/relocation visit for next year. We currently live in the suburbs of Chicago but would eventually like to move somewhere warmer. Here are our criteria:

1. Like I said earlier, somewhere warmer. My wife hates the cold weather and after the last few winters I'm pretty fed up too. Ideally we'd like a location that still has four seasons but much less severe winters (shorter winters, less below 0 weather). I'm not a huge fan of excessive heat/humidity, but could deal with it if other factors on our list were met. We also currently have a pool and would imagine we'd have one when we move so that is a factor to keep in mind. Also, rainy/overcast areas are out as my wife loves the sun. I would imagine this would rule out the northwest.

2. We love the outdoors. I am an avid hunter (especially deer hunting) and fishermen. We like to camp, hike, boat, etc. Like I mentioned earlier, my wife loves the sun and spends most of the summer in the pool. I love the woods, especially the pine/birch woods of northern Wisconsin. We have a family summer place (north of Minocqua) up there on a lake but the distance (6 hours away), bugs and weather (not very warm) limit the amount we use it. Ideally, I'd love to move that location somewhere warmer.

3. We need more interesting geography. We both have grown up in the suburbs of Chicago and are tired of the flat cornfields. Ideally we'd love either 1) living on a lake; 2) in or near the mountains; 3) near the ocean/beach; 4) in the woods. If we could combine any of these 4 it would be even better.

4. Since we won't be moving for at least 10 to 15 years, our kids will be grown and the quality of schools won't be much of an issue. We'll also most likely be retired before we make a permanent move so the employment shouldn't be much of an issue.

5. Neither my wife nor I are big shoppers so living near a large city isn't a requirement. My most frequented stores are Menards and Meijer and my wife shops mostly at Target and Jewel. We really only need a grocery store and home improvement store fairly close. If anything, we're looking for a quaint, clean town with some character to it. We actually visit Door county in Wisconsin every year and love the festivals, small shops and restaurants.

6. We are active and are looking for an area where we can continue to be so. I like to landscape, hunt, fish etc. We like to ride bikes and hike. We would also be interested in trying new activities like rock climbing, skiing, etc. We spend most of our weekends during decent to warm weather swimming, playing games (bags), have fires in fire pit etc. We wouldn't be interested in a retirement community but might like a more private community.

7. We aren't real social people and prefer spending time with each other and family over others. We'd like a town/community that is friendly, somewhat social (like festivals etc) but also somewhat private.

8. We would like to build on a large lot/land. We currently live in half an acre so something that big or larger. I'd love to live on a couple of acres of which part of it was a "yard" and the rest wooded/natural.

9. Other factors that are important include crime rate(obviously an area that is safe); cost of living (Illinois is very high...gas, taxes, housing...so I would imagine most areas would be less); politics (We lean toward the conservative side but do have some more liberal views. We aren't hippies, health nuts, religious etc. We believe less government is better. We want to escape some of the terrible corruption of Illinois).

Like I said, we aren't looking for a place ASAP but rather in a few years. Our timetable might be be similar to the following:

- Visit areas over the next few years....vacation and research at the same time.
- Purchase land/lot maybe 5 years from now.
- Build when funds are available (maybe 7-10 years from now)
- Use the second house as a vacation house until move in 10-20 years.

I know our list is very extensive and I'm sure that no place meets all our criteria. I've done some research and have a couple areas in mind but am interested in unbiased suggestions from others.

Thanks in advance!!!

[nightlysparrow]

Sorry, but you're attempting to plan up to 15 years in advance? I cannot imagine any area of the US that will not be substantially changed by then, especially since that time span will include the retirement of ALL the the Baby Boomers who haven't yet done so.

Population, popularity, droughts, floods, climate change (worse winters? worse summers?), expansion or reduction in retail and businesses, crime rate, politics, healthcare options, laws including environmental laws, not to mention COL issues like taxes, utilities (especially) and real estate prices will no doubt be seriously different.

[breeze823]

oh i think you'd love it here (sw va) winters, we have snow but not super intense...hunting is huge here, beautiful scenery, blue ridge mountains and the parkway, festivals, lots of open land....shall i save you a spot?!

[swale]

North Carolina fits most of your criteria. The previous suggestion of SW Virginia is also good.

[Bluefox]

Wait... I don't understand. Are you not planning to move for 10-15 years?
Or once you move do you not plan on moving again for 10-15 years? If the former, why on earth are you scoping out relocation options next year? Sounds like a fool's errand. That is so far away! There is some virtue in planning early, but there is also such a thing as too early.
A LOT can change in 15 years.

[dude1984]

That's a bit out, but somewhere in Oregon or Washington state...you guys have more than enough time to find the right place.

[Arushan]

Grants Pass, OR could work... But 10-15 yrs is a long time.

[DubbleT]

Ten to fifteen years might be a bit far to pick a particular town, but I think it's not a bad idea to start checking different regions or areas that early on.
Ditto on sw VA and NC being good areas to look into. Add nw TN to that and check out our tri-cities TN subforum.

[chicagoguy74]

Thanks everyone for the responses! I agree that any area will change significantly in the next 10 to 15 years. However, we're not trying to pick a particular town right away. Rather, we'd like to become more familiar with possible areas while also vacationing. My family hasn't traveled all that much so we figured we could provide our kids with some real life experiences while also becoming familiar with potential retirement options. Down the road (like 5 to 10 years now) we might consider purchase land/a lot.

Eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina, and western Virginia were all tops on our list. Oregon and Washington look beautiful but wouldn't rain and/or lack of sun be an issue?

[breeze823]

Originally Posted by chicagoguy74

Thanks everyone for the responses! I agree that any area will change significantly in the next 10 to 15 years. However, we're not trying to pick a particular town right away. Rather, we'd like to become more familiar with possible areas while also vacationing. My family hasn't traveled all that much so we figured we could provide our kids with some real life experiences while also becoming familiar with potential retirement options. Down the road (like 5 to 10 years now) we might consider purchase land/a lot.

Eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina, and western Virginia were all tops on our list. Oregon and Washington look beautiful but wouldn't rain and/or lack of sun be an issue?

i couldn't deal with all the rain/cold in the pnw...growing up, my parents had friends in seattle we'd go up and see (from san diego) and i'd hate having to waste part of my summers there, it was cold in the summer....or at least to someone from socal....i've just never been into the pnw i guess because of my childhood memories!