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In my mom's case, she moved to a smaller town where she could buy a modest house with a little bit of land and where the cost of living in general was cheaper. The crime rate is much lower where she is now as well. She could have stayed in Seattle, but the cost of living here is very high if you are on a fixed income.
A fixed income that can't handle the cost of living in a desired area plus a desire for a better climate, will influence a lot of decisions. I don't think I could handle winters up North or Summers in Arizona.
Good retirement areas are seldom the places where someone wanting a good income would go when they were younger.
A lot depends on how much they are involved in the lives of their families and if they live nearby.
I have to agree with the other posters. When you are younger and possibly have kids, you tend to locate where the job market is good, the schools are desirable and there is a family atomsphere. As you get closer to retirement or consider relocating for later retirement, most likely you are not concerned with school anymore, not really concerned with a family atmosphere and want to find an area that you can remain independent financially.
I don't think it is a case of leaving everything, as the OP suggested, more a chance to find areas that meant your needs w/o having to consider the needs of jobs, children, etc.
I see it as a chance to be a little selfish and only consider what will be perfect as possible for my hubby and me.
I understand those reasons, It just always makes me sad that as people age they leave where they lived. It has a lonely touch to it. Where I live a lot of people retire only to be found endlessly at the casinos and it always makes me sad inside that they are not with their familes and extended families. I see alot of elderly people that retire up in Northern wisconsin out alone doing there grocery shopping when it looks like they could sure use some help. I guess I was just wondering what they are looking for in retirement that could not be satisfied where they spent the bulk of their lives.
I know what you mean but it is funny....you see them as lonely but maybe they are happy with their situation. I have a family member who is totally happy being on her own and loves her peace. She has children and grandchildren, so it is not that she does not have anyone, she just chooses to be on her own. She may seem lonely to others looking at her but it is actually just the exact opposite.
It is good that you have such a caring attitude....it may just not be the life for you when you retire:-)
In my case it was years of jobs, schools, kids, and then inertia that kept me in a place I thought was less than I wanted. It was only in retirement that I was able to really choose where I want to live and am happy I finally moved... sad for me would have been tolerating what I didn't want for no good reason.
We are retiring and moving to be closer to our family. We are lucky to have close friends in our new town also. We are leaving the DC area which has a lot of fun stuff to do, but who wants to sit in traffic for hours to get there? And the people who move here are pretty transient - government and military people. Here today and gone in a few years.
Cost of living, crime, and taxes are out of this world, and close friends are also moving away to be closer to their families.
Even though my husband has lived his entire life in this area, it does not have what we are looking for at this point in our lives - family, fun, friends, and a sense of belonging to a community.
We will be moving from IA to TN. Closer to the gulf, closer to the ocean, the mountains, cheaper to live, large lot that certainly cost less than the same one would here, I-40 replaces I-80 for travel, NO WINTER.
Family? Don't see them now, won't be any different then.
Casinos? Allegiant now flies from Knoxville to Las Vegas. That's where we go now. No change there.
Travel? Better! We've traveled the Midwest to death, now we get to do the same to the south. Cool!
New friends: The area we're moving to has a fairly high retiree population, Country Club, Lakes, golf courses, and enough specialty clubs that, as one person told us, "You have to say no just to have some free time." They also have trips a few times a year. Casinos, museums, plays, symphony, shopping, etc. I believe they're going to Ireland in 2008.
I am building a three car garage and will put a full woodworking shop in the 3rd bay.
Who says anything about moving being a lonely thing? Not us!
Why not move when we were younger? Jobs. No reason to toss good jobs just because the weather sucks 4 months out of the year. But once the need for a job is gone, we're free to go wherever we want!
As for the elderly that live alone: my wife's aunt lived alone after her husband died. She refused to move in with family until she was in her mid 90's. Some people just prefer it that way...
to move away when they retire. leave eveything they know. why didn't they move when they were younger. i guss i do not get it
I think your question and follow up statements are very valid concerns. I've seen folks who move and later regret it. Often, I think folks reach a point in their life where they want change. Sometimes it works out great, sometimes it backfires, and usually it is a mixed bag.
Cost of living, and getting by over a 20-30 year period frequently drives the decisions. Also, many folks have "itches" they would like to scratch before it is too late in life to do so. These could be to travel or experience a different lifestyle.
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O.k I guess
