300,000 For House-Where To Buy (insurance, buyers, campgrounds)
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$300K will buy you alot of house in many areas of Texas! I suppose you really need to think about where you want to go health-wise, climatically, if you want more rural or big city life, coastal or more inland, etc. Your question is very open-ended, and if you could narrow it down a bit, you would get alot more definitive answers. Hope that helps!
We are both 60. We just sold our house and would like to take the equity of $300,000 to buy another house (total costs so no mortgage) as we enter early retirement. Our family is scattered across the country so we're not tied to any particular area. We've read that the BEST HOUSING DEALS are in Florida, Arizona, Nevada right now. Basically we want a 3000 sq foot house on a large lot or small amount of acreage in a town or small city that boasts a good public library system, a college would be nice and at least an average growing season.
Any suggestions?
Note that in Texas annual property taxes are about 3% of the market price. For a $300K home, that's about $750 per month.
Your family is scattered so you must have an idea about a lot of different places.
What appeals to you and what doesn't? Do you like cold weather, four seasons, prefer a pretty consistent temperature all year? Do you like the arts, you mentioned the library but what about outdoor adventures - 60 is the new 50 Do you have hobbies that have a huge following in a certain area?
It sounds like you are very open but I am sure you have some likes and dislikes as far as weather, entertainment that is available, how far you want to commute to see kids or have kids see you, etc. Maybe then you can narrow it down to a few regions and spend more time researching those specific places.
When you are so open, sometimes it makes it hard to get started. We did that when we just bought. We thought we liked one area but we were "open" to several others. When we started looking we decided that the one we were partial too was not the right area and it took a lot longer than expected but we found one that was just right and are looking forward to moving in 3 weeks. Good luck!
Montana (preferred), wyoming, south dakota, north dakota. Go for a smaller town where there are no jobs. No one to bid up home prices to insane levels like in the cities where everyone is competing for a job. Thing is that they spend so much on cost of living that they never get anywhere!
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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I would be very cautious of following 'best housing deals'. I think Detroit is even better value than the cities you mentioned, ... you can get pretty decent deals about anywhere, including highly desirable locations. Homes in remote towns are even better deals, and some have satellite college campuses and are members of libraries that can mail your stuff to you the next day. BUT... My concern would be resell value. I did a 'relocation spreadsheet' and the cost of housing unit was a minor overall contributor to variables, and had negative effect in case of the future need to resell. Equity gain was flat, resell times exceeded 24 months (In a good market). Transportation / medical / utilities / taxation / grocery costs all were stronger overall cost drivers.
If I had kids scattered around I would want to be someplace near a regional airport hub, and also some place desirable and accessible to them.
I'd do Loveland, or Ft Collins, Colo; For good quality of life + decent resell potential (if you ever plan to move) + extensive hiking within a few minutes, 45 min to RMNP or 2 hrs to WY or the heart of Colo. Plenty of year-round sunshine and diverse local economy + close proximity to major population centers (Denver, Boulder, or Cheyenne within 1 hr).
1 hr to Major airport
CO has friendly tax rates for seniors
If you can handle the rain... Vancouver / Camas, WA / Portland, OR (Largest urban park in USA + many other parks) are well equipped for hiking, libraries, colleges, culture, and a great and convenient international airport. Property values will probably hold within reason for long term, as it is very desirable area to move to. Mild climate, 1 hr to spectacular beach or Mt Hood or Mt St Helen's. 1.5 hr to Mt Rainier or Mt Adams, 3 hrs to Seattle or Bend. 20 minutes to Columbia Gorge (Very good hiking and scenery.) Anything grows in this climate (even certain types of palm trees) Lemons and oranges need to live indoors much of the year. Plants subject to mold (roses) have challenges, but it is the rose capital of the nation.
Other decent spots in the area the fit your criteria (Border towns have unique value and you can leverage the advantage of each state for taxation issues, soon to be even more critical)
Hood River, OR / White Salmon, WA (1 hr east of Portland) slightly drier (about 50%)
Hermiston, or Milton - Freewater, OR / Walla Walla, WA (Dry / arrid)
Roseburg, OR
Bend, OR
Moscow, ID / Pullman, WA
Spokane, WA / Coeur d'Alene, ID
Sandpoint, ID
Missoula, or Whitefish, MT (Bozeman is nice to)
Boise, ID
Ogden, UT
You have lots of options. Tough to beat the friendliness of people in the plains (KS, NE, SD, ND, WY, eastern CO)
Climate and access to travel, medical, and kids might narrow your choices.
I have found it very interesting and informative.
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Do you have hobbies that have a huge following in a certain area? 
