If you moved when retiring, how long did you research?
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After retirement, we left Southern CA to move to Europe. Research time: 1.5 years. Enjoyed it tremendously, but after seven years, that was enough.
Moved back stateside to a small town in CT. Research time: none. Lasted three months, did not like it. Reason: The scenery was breathtaking, but people were colder than the weather. After seven years living where everyone greeted everyone else with warmth, we couldn't handle the indifference.
Moved to SC. Research time: none. Loved the 2.5 years living with Southern charm and hospitality, until someone offered to buy our place. Couldn't refuse.
Moved to Southwest FL, right on the water. Research time: three months. Loved the beauty and tranquility, but hated the humidity. Lasted two summers.
Now we are living in a cabin in a small mountain resort in CA. Research time: none, since the place has been in the family for the last 30+ years. We are planning to stay here for the next couple of years at least, longer if we could, but who knows what life will bring.
Last edited by Ol' Wanderer; 03-03-2012 at 01:33 PM..
I traveled a lot and lived all over. It was always in the back of my mind that perhaps one of these places would be a great retirement area. So I thought about it a lot.
Living in Minnesota for 15 years left me hating Winter, cold, and gloom. I never wanted to shovel snow again in my life. I think that's one of the reasons I chose Las Vegas.
I think I'm arriving at a place in my mind, my considerations, that there will be at least two places I live in retirement. The first, following retirement in about 4 years, will be where I'm most active as I wind-down. The second will be where I move as illness increases or I begin to have mobility issues. There could be another, where I live my last years if I suffer from long-term illness. That's not how I started this journey of research, but the more I focus on it I think that's how it might end. And I'm okay with that, if it's what happens.
I listed 3+years. I'm in the early years of retirement, and I can't say I'm someone that could just focus on a particular spot. I don't feel the USA as a whole just reaches out to everyone in the same way, and gives off that welcoming feel we all need. We really need that in life especially as we get older.. We all have different needs so for me its taken longer. Reading Best Places to retire lists are at least for me a waste of time. I think for many people they are a waste of time also. No one size fits all. Someone or one's is probably making quite abit of money from those lists in more ways than one. I am going to leave Oregon in 2 weeks. I am moving not vacationing. I am returning to my roots in New England for awhile. I'm going to take this road trip and visit places and people, and I feel its all going to fall into place during all of this.
Location: Prescott Valley,az summer/east valley Az winter
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Wife and I looked in Az for a retirement home for years~ never found what we wanted. Then started looking in websites for a home in PNW and were going to make an exploratory trip when we happened to see pics of a location in Colorado Springs. We decided to stop there on way home to Iowa to see it. When we hit Iowa we sold our house and started moving because we bought in CS on way through. That was 4 years ago and we have never been happier.
We researched retirement areas throughout the US for at least 10 years prior to retirement. We spent many of our vacations in search of the "perfect" retirement spot. The search got quite intense the last 4 years before retirement but the whole process was interesting, educational and fun. It helps to narrow the search down to 2 or 3 areas and revisit those areas before deciding....do all the research you can, ask lots of questions, talk to the natives and learn as much as you can....then go with your gut feeling....the whole experience was really great for us.
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