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How do you like Sarasota...I checked out a few places online there and it seemed quite expensive for Florida, although I know it is quite an upscale area.
I spent a week in Sarasota once. OK it was a weekend but it felt like a week. Make that a month. I think I just picked the wrong week, though so this may be an unfair comment. All I remember was thinking Hot! Buggy! Hot! Buggy! Hot! And so damn buggy I cancelled all our plans for out door things we had meant to do.
But.... this may be completely unfair. Maybe we picked the wrong weekend to visit. I know a lot of people love living there.
OK, that's good enough for me...I trust your judgement. Hot/buggy...cross it off my list (it was really only penciled in at the bottom anyway)! One of my best friends lived there for a short while but they always summered in Michigan...so that tells me something too.
I'll say again my opinion that affordable is a relative word that relates to expenses and choices we make. If I wanted to live in CA, though I'm not wealthy I could make it work depending on where I'd live there, opting out of certain expenses I have now in order to make it work. Yes much of New England is pricey too, but if you really want to live here there are many options to make it work. You just work with your budget sheet. If the high payment car and Whole Foods and holiday gifts for the cousins have to go, so be it. It's a matter of priorities. I'm guessing that most folks in the Retirement Forum could afford to live just about anywhere they want if they're resourceful with their budgets. JMO.
OK, that's good enough for me...I trust your judgement. Hot/buggy...cross it off my list (it was really only penciled in at the bottom anyway)! One of my best friends lived there for a short while but they always summered in Michigan...so that tells me something too.
My visit was a short one, though--not enough to judge fairly--so if someone else has a different opinion I'd listen to that person over me.
for what it's worth (for those of us who are still searching), AARP Magazine came out this month with 10 affordable places to retire:
Winchester, VA
Portland Maine
Gainesville, GA
Wenatchee, WA
Tulsa, OK
Cheyenne, WY
Columbus, Indiana
Ithaca, NY
Harrisburg, PA
Midland, TX
Anyone have any thoughts or experiences with these places?
well let me say, these lists change weekly and depend on who does the study, plus an area might be affordable but not desirable. One example I can think of on this list (I don't want to put anyplace down or hurt feelings) I would never live in Midland, TX. I know a little about Tulsa, parts of the city are wonderful; Harrisonburg might be great but think about the weather. We could go on and on. I don't think affordability is the only thing to think about and I would guess Fortune Magazine would probably have a different top 10. All these studies are good for is bragging rights for the city for a few months or years at best. I know,we live in a town that makes the top retirement list for many reasons. Yes, we love living here, could we find other places we love? of course...
nmnita wrote: Harrisonburg might be great but think about the weather.
Yeah Harrisonburg is in the eastern humidity zone. Summers would be quite uncomfortable there, though the rest of the year would have tolerable weather.
nmnita wrote: Harrisonburg might be great but think about the weather.
Yeah Harrisonburg is in the eastern humidity zone. Summers would be quite uncomfortable there, though the rest of the year would have tolerable weather.
that much is probably true, the humidity could be a loser, but I bet it isn't as bad as Florida and Texas for starters.
that much is probably true, the humidity could be a loser, but I bet it isn't as bad as Florida and Texas for starters.
People make it sound like Florida is horrible, but it really isn't. Right now in fact, it's one of the best places in the country to be weather-wise (massive heat wave in the south, east and midwest, even the north I think) Coastal cities here usually have breezes that make it nice, and weather rarely gets above low 90's. In fact, it's usually like mid to high 80s (so far this summer) Yes, summers are more humid but I have been to other states that felt several times worse. Anyway, I actually like humidity that's in a mid -range, don't like the bone-dry climates out west at all. Good thing we all like something different or we would be all crowded up in one little place!
nmnita wrote: Harrisonburg might be great but think about the weather.
Yeah Harrisonburg is in the eastern humidity zone. Summers would be quite uncomfortable there, though the rest of the year would have tolerable weather.
The two times I visited Harrisonburg, Virginia in the summer, a lovely fresh breeze was blowing across the James Madison campus. My companion and I both noticed and commented how good the air felt on those visits.
If you're talking about Harrisburg, that is in the state of Pennsylvania.
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