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Old 07-04-2013, 04:50 PM
 
Location: SW MO
23,593 posts, read 37,317,871 times
Reputation: 29336

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Quote:
Originally Posted by brava4 View Post
I love how you say "cooler temps" for Northern Maine. Although, my mother, in Vermont, has told me on and off how the winters are sometimes really bad and other times, not so much.

I love Maine and for many years have wanted to move there, even before retiring. In a way... I still pine for Maine.
And I loved No. Virginia in the 50s and again in the mid-70s. Unfortunately, elements of it seem to have since become somewhat Californianesque and that's what we wanted to leave behind.
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Old 07-04-2013, 06:02 PM
 
Location: Forests of Maine
37,238 posts, read 60,954,873 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brava4 View Post
I love how you say "cooler temps" for Northern Maine. Although, my mother, in Vermont, has told me on and off how the winters are sometimes really bad and other times, not so much.

I love Maine and for many years have wanted to move there, even before retiring. In a way... I still pine for Maine.
During winter, we tend to see one storm each week, followed by 5 - 6 days of clear sunny skies. It is rarely over-cast, and is only 'dark' during a storm [or at night]. Winters here are not dark and dreary. They are actually very bright.

I do not commute, so I do not care what driving conditions are like during a storm.

I have a tractor with a snow-blower and a long driveway [100+ yards]. To me, clearing snow is fun. I never have to touch a shovel.

There is a lot of outdoor activity in winter also.


With all of this said. I can see, if you still had to commute daily, if your home was not well insulated, if you burned oil [very expensive] to heat with, and if you were not an outdoor type person, then perhaps Maine would not be ideal.
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Old 07-04-2013, 07:16 PM
 
9,296 posts, read 16,583,418 times
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We moved north when we retired, as we love the four seasons and don't mind the winter weather. We also have an RV, so when we want a change in scenery we head out. We much prefer the cooler weather, mountains and green pine trees to the heat and humidity of the south. One important factor is to retire to an area where you won't be bored and have things that interest you.
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Old 07-04-2013, 07:35 PM
 
Location: Toronto, Ottawa Valley & Dunedin FL
1,409 posts, read 2,729,663 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by yofie View Post
... Is it fair to say that an even more over-arching factor in where retirees choose to live than the search for a warmer winter climate or other amenities is whether the destination is in the same country as the place of origin, with the same language, legal system, culture, medical insurance, etc.? (Thus, for example, northern Americans - along with Canadians - go as far away as Florida or Arizona and southern Australians [e.g. from Melbourne] go to Queensland - not a terribly short distance either, and some Canadians go all the way to Victoria, British Columbia, whereas Britons go largely to the southern English coast - despite some going to Mediterranean areas such as the Costa del Sol and the French Riviera that are warmer than anywhere in the UK.) ...
I think you're right. Proximity and familiarity are big factors, whether you're European, Canadian, American, or...Norwegian I guess. Of course, some like far, exotic locales in Asia and South America, but getting home when you're in trouble (illness for instance) is pretty important.

Then there's the snowbird phenomenon--part-time relocation probably lends itself even more to the benefits of proximity.

Quote:
Originally Posted by yofie View Post
Could another possible factor be whether it's the winters or the summers that are harsher in a given area? ...
This definitely applies to most Canadians, lol! And creates a lot of snowbirds, unless you can be content with Victoria or the Okanagan all year round.

I just wish that we'd allowed the Turks and Caicos to join Canada!
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Old 07-05-2013, 07:26 AM
 
31,672 posts, read 40,901,280 times
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Proximity to highways and travel. Being close to 95 puts our families and a lot of travel points within reach. Having an airport near by helps but it isn't the best place for direct flights. Also direct mostly highway shot to beaches.
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Old 07-05-2013, 09:21 AM
Status: "Octopi tastes like snake" (set 15 days ago)
 
Location: in the miseries
3,573 posts, read 4,485,041 times
Reputation: 4400
Odds favor I will be single when I'm older, Already retired, but wouldn't stay
here. The Villages in Florida is very safe and on my list. My biggest requirement
is safety.
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Old 07-05-2013, 10:59 AM
 
2,007 posts, read 2,886,288 times
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Watch house hunters international. Lots of good ideas. Top on my list is san Miguel de Allende Mexico. Safe, lots of expats including docs, still Mexican tho or close enough to get to the real Mexico!
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Old 07-05-2013, 11:35 AM
 
Location: high plains
802 posts, read 977,968 times
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my retirement factors include climate (no more six month texas humid blast furnace summers), culture (no more neanderthal bible-belt cannabis-haters), scenery (no more flat boring plains w/o trees), and affordable/comfortable/frugal living on social security/medicare. taxes no real concern. ruled out new mexico due to crippling drought and lousy governor. next best (closest w/cannabis) is colorado. pueblo to start, then high rockies when i get used to winter and altitude. northwest and northeast coasts are down-the-road probabilities, followed by canada.
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Old 07-05-2013, 11:35 AM
 
Location: Santaluz - San Diego, CA
4,498 posts, read 9,352,701 times
Reputation: 2015
Quote:
Originally Posted by clarksvillemom View Post
Watch house hunters international. Lots of good ideas. Top on my list is san Miguel de Allende Mexico. Safe, lots of expats including docs, still Mexican tho or close enough to get to the real Mexico!

While those shows can be entertaining and also helpful, just keep in mind these production companies re-run these shows into perpetuity. Some of these shows that air were filmed as long as 8 years ago and they don't put any disclaimers that those prices you see aren't valid anymore and the episode was originally aired in 2005, etc.

The popular episodes they keep re-running each and every year and people think the prices are what is in the episode which sometimes couldn't be further from the truth. So keep that in mind.

Also, the International episodes are largely fake just so you know. The property is long since purchased and most of the other properties they are seeing were NOT really considerations. "Reality TV" isn't so realistic sometimes.
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Old 07-05-2013, 07:49 PM
 
Location: Verde Valley AZ
8,775 posts, read 11,851,413 times
Reputation: 11485
Quote:
Originally Posted by newenglandgirl View Post
Totally agree. Figure the cost of your property taxes, water + sewer now, figure the rate at which these have risen over say the past 10 years (the rate probably rising much more in the last few years than years ago), and you can reasonably project what these taxes alone will be in another 5 to 10 years. I have a friend in NH who owns a home similar to mine with similar land size, and she pays $8K per year. She figures that at the rate her taxes are going up, it will be out of sight by the time she's 70. Others will argue that there is no state income tax or sales tax in NH, but that is so in other states (MA has no state income or pension tax, there is no tax on groceries, and no tax on clothing up to a certain amount). One should look at the big picture not just for today but at 10 years out when trying to decide affordability in senior years.
We've had some threads about moving to states with lower COL, taxes, etc. but I'm thinking it just might all even out in a lot of cases. I was talking to a lady yesterday who was realllllly not happy with AZ sales taxes. She was from Oregon so I understand where she's coming from as they have no sales taxes. Our sales tax...on non foods...is 10.035% and 3.0% on food, which I agree is probably too much. However, our 'other' taxes aren't that bad. This lady and her husband had bought a home here...to retire, of course...and I asked her about the differences in their home related taxes. She admitted they are a lot lower here. Also auto related costs and insurances. So their "no sales tax" leads to higher home related taxes? And our high sales taxes lead to lower home related taxes? Maybe.

Last year I vacationed in Oregon. Partly familial obligations/fun and partly nostalgia tour. I budgeted money to do shopping up there. With my discount and no sales tax I saved at least 20% on everything I bought. Some stuff even more. It was fun too!
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