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You can buy a nice home cheap in Palm Coast,Fl. (Thats just north of Daytona Beach) and the cost of living isn't too bad. Theres plenty of good medical care around also. The weather is nicer. No snow! Put up some solar panels and you'll only have a phone bill!
Ok you might laugh (it's ok, go ahead) but never having been to FL, one thing that I think about is spiders and poisonous (or non poisonous) snakes creeping around and getting into my apt/home if I lived there. Too cold up here in norther MN for those sorts of beasties, so that is my preconception of FL -- deadly sneaky creatures creeping in my abode and hiding in my laundry hamper or whatever! What can you advise me about this issue?
Ok you might laugh (it's ok, go ahead) but never having been to FL, one thing that I think about is spiders and poisonous (or non poisonous) snakes creeping around and getting into my apt/home if I lived there. Too cold up here in norther MN for those sorts of beasties, so that is my preconception of FL -- deadly sneaky creatures creeping in my abode and hiding in my laundry hamper or whatever! What can you advise me about this issue?
Florida has several species of venomous snakes, but you just need to take precaution around them, simple as that. Example: dont put your hands and feet where you cant see them, dont reach around or behind things w/o checking first, walk with shoes on, carry a flashlight at night, etc. Eliminate their food source (ie rodents) and you shouldnt have a problem at all. You might occasionally see a venomous snake passing through, just leave it alone, they want nothing to do with you. The only snake Id really worry about in Florida is the eastern diamondback rattlesnake. Google "Crotalus adamanteus" for all the info you want. Theyre neat creatures that just want to be left alone, dont be afraid of them or feel the need to kill them. Florida is also home to the coral snake, but theyre so small and elusive that youll probably never see one, let alone ever get bit by one. There are also many non-native pets that have been released into Florida (ie Burmese pythons, reticulated pythons, king cobras, etc), but theyre hardly "problems". Florida is also home to 2 species of black widows (mainy Latrodectus mactans), and the same rules/precautions apply to those as venomous snakes... just be careful where you reach, etc. Florida also has 2 species of scorpions (Centruroides hentzi and Centruroides gracilis), both of which are harmless. Their stings are not considered medically significant, and generally are roughly the same as a bee sting. If you have any other questions let me know, I study and keep scorpions and other venomous critters.
I am going cRaZy trying to figure out where to move in 3-4 years when I will take early retirement from teaching (I will be 55 then). Help / ideas greatly appreciated!
I guess it is reasonable to expect I should relocate in the USA, but I would also consider living outside the USA (although the dollar tanking against the euro does not help).
The fudge factor in all this is my mother who is 80 and recently diagnosed with Alzheimers disease; she was moved into assisted living last October, and currently lives in southern MN (I am 5 hrs away in northern MN).
I am so sick of living here in northern Duluth MN USA, it is lousy with snow and cold Nov-April, that is 50% of the year. I have also spent my entire life in the midwest (Iowa, Minnesota), so I believe I would like to move and live near or on the ocean--although I know cost will be a factor in that (I do not need to have beachfront, but to be close to the beach would be nice, even close driving distance). I also want to live south of Minnesota lattitude, I am so sick of snow and cold. I should have about $1.2M in savings plus another $2500/month in teacher retirement; I am frugal and live in a small simple house, I do not need much, I am single and I would be comfortable renting a small home or apt. My enjoyment comes from reading philosophy at a coffee shop, walking, photography, art/painting.
Any help, thoughts, ideas welcome in helping me brainstorm where I might move to in 3-4 years. ~Randall
Isn't WA in the northwest? = lots of snow, cold? I need to get myself south of MN lattidude-wise, I can handle 2-3 months of mild winter, but no more, I have paid my dues of winters to be sure. However on the flip side I have heard AZ is hot as hell in the summer, and FL summers are humid as a sauna, though I have never been to AZ or FL fwiw; at least in heat or humidity a person can walk outside without dying in 10 minutes from hypothermia, and you don't skid down a hill in your car and collide on the road from heat/humidty!
What? 4 inches a year? how can that be, it is so far north, next to Canadian border. Oh man, we get about 4 *feet* a year here, easily, perhaps more. That is crazy that a place so far north can have so little snow!
I am going cRaZy trying to figure out where to move in 3-4 years when I will take early retirement from teaching (I will be 55 then). Help / ideas greatly appreciated!
I guess it is reasonable to expect I should relocate in the USA, but I would also consider living outside the USA (although the dollar tanking against the euro does not help).
The fudge factor in all this is my mother who is 80 and recently diagnosed with Alzheimers disease; she was moved into assisted living last October, and currently lives in southern MN (I am 5 hrs away in northern MN).
I am so sick of living here in northern Duluth MN USA, it is lousy with snow and cold Nov-April, that is 50% of the year. I have also spent my entire life in the midwest (Iowa, Minnesota), so I believe I would like to move and live near or on the ocean--although I know cost will be a factor in that (I do not need to have beachfront, but to be close to the beach would be nice, even close driving distance). I also want to live south of Minnesota lattitude, I am so sick of snow and cold. I should have about $1.2M in savings plus another $2500/month in teacher retirement; I am frugal and live in a small simple house, I do not need much, I am single and I would be comfortable renting a small home or apt. My enjoyment comes from reading philosophy at a coffee shop, walking, photography, art/painting.
Any help, thoughts, ideas welcome in helping me brainstorm where I might move to in 3-4 years. ~Randall
Randall, what most retirees are doing is getting out of the cold winters, and then returning home, for many reasons. This way, you will have an opportunity to go every year to a different place, assess, learn, and observe how others live, without making a huge mistake. An then, if you really fall IN LOVE with a city, town, state, you are in a better position to make your decision. That is exactly how we are doing it. We have travelled most of the 50 states, and truthfully, there are very few we can really say we want to live PERMANENTLY. Good-luck.
I am going cRaZy trying to figure out where to move in 3-4 years when I will take early retirement from teaching (I will be 55 then). Help / ideas greatly appreciated!
I guess it is reasonable to expect I should relocate in the USA, but I would also consider living outside the USA (although the dollar tanking against the euro does not help).
The fudge factor in all this is my mother who is 80 and recently diagnosed with Alzheimers disease; she was moved into assisted living last October, and currently lives in southern MN (I am 5 hrs away in northern MN).
I am so sick of living here in northern Duluth MN USA, it is lousy with snow and cold Nov-April, that is 50% of the year. I have also spent my entire life in the midwest (Iowa, Minnesota), so I believe I would like to move and live near or on the ocean--although I know cost will be a factor in that (I do not need to have beachfront, but to be close to the beach would be nice, even close driving distance). I also want to live south of Minnesota lattitude, I am so sick of snow and cold. I should have about $1.2M in savings plus another $2500/month in teacher retirement; I am frugal and live in a small simple house, I do not need much, I am single and I would be comfortable renting a small home or apt. My enjoyment comes from reading philosophy at a coffee shop, walking, photography, art/painting.
Any help, thoughts, ideas welcome in helping me brainstorm where I might move to in 3-4 years. ~Randall
You could try western North Carolina. It has a very mild four season climate with mild winters and mild summers. The Appalachians are great, and it is not too far removed from the Atlantic.
Randall, what most retirees are doing is getting out of the cold winters, and then returning home, for many reasons. This way, you will have an opportunity to go every year to a different place, assess, learn, and observe how others live, without making a huge mistake. An then, if you really fall IN LOVE with a city, town, state, you are in a better position to make your decision. That is exactly how we are doing it. We have travelled most of the 50 states, and truthfully, there are very few we can really say we want to live PERMANENTLY. Good-luck.
What? 4 inches a year? how can that be, it is so far north, next to Canadian border. Oh man, we get about 4 *feet* a year here, easily, perhaps more. That is crazy that a place so far north can have so little snow!
Four feet - I cannot even fathom. They only get four inches due to the moderating effect of the Pacific Ocean; keeps temps cooler in summer and warmer in winter. Same with the rest of the Pacific Northwest.
Check out Las Cruces, NM. The people are great, housing is affordable and no more snowy winters in the dessert. Best of luck to you!
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Florida is also home to the coral snake, but theyre so small and elusive that youll probably never see one, let alone ever get bit by one. 
~Randall
