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Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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My husband and I have been thinking about retirement lately (about 8 years off, we think). One place we are considering is a town we vacation in for a week every summer. I remember reading on here about someone who did just that and hated living where she used to love vacationing.
Has anyone on here successfully retired to where they used to take vacations? Did you test the waters first - rent for a short while? Spend a season there before you retired?
We wouldn't live there year-round, as we plan on spending winters in Florida, so I wouldn't need to worry about the "this town is deserted in winter" syndrome. We would likely live there for 5 months per year. It is expensive, though, so it would probably be worth trying out first before taking the plunge. And may be worth testing the idea a few years before we retire to see if we'd like it.
Rent for the five months you would be living there for at least for two years. Living some place off season can be very different than vacationing there during prime summer season.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dothetwist
Yes. Twice. Never regretted it!
We DID visit at the worst weather times of the year in both places as weather/climate is very important to us.
I have been fortunate to always live in desirable recreation sites, and still maintain PT homes in each:
in USA...
Colorado (Near Estes Park)
PWN (Columbia Gorge)
TX (Hill Country)
Each location is within 1 hr of airport, has main home rented, with a separate (free) living space for us (i.e. a cabin with independent dwelling / access) + RV hook-ups, a spare car and a shop / barn.
Benefit=
Deductible travel between 'vacation' spots, as well as 1/2 food expense (maintaining Income properties) (deductible as allowed by IRS) (Hint: keep your Domicile in an Income Tax Free State (there are plenty).
Lush cash flows help too!!
Friends with high income (usually online businesses) domicile in US Protectorates (Some are very nice places to visit and live!)
For 'house / location hunting' I recommend house / pet / plant sitting during rotten weather (As per above). I noted over 40 House-sitting requests on one site alone)
We also always stay with locals, never a hotel / motel. (I like to get the 'straight scoop')
For future Healthcare needs, we will do similar in Thailand or Ecuador / other countries welcoming Health Care Refugees (with money,,,) from USA (France, Spain and Italy are also coming to the rescue, with some affordable options). I have been getting my medical quoted outside USA for several yrs. 15 Million worldwide do similar. https://patientsbeyondborders.com/
yes and no -- used to visit Gatlinburg and loved it/love the smokies. Retired 45 min west in Monroe County, Tn. We visited several times in each season 'just to be sure'.
Used to live in a tourist town and just didn't want that again.
When you are looking for a new retirement home be sure to evaluate each place from the stand point of living their and not vacationing.
Since you have been to the town a few times you should have a good feel for it. Just make sure it has the day to day services you will need. If it does nothing wrong with your idea.
I probably would not retire to my vacation spot. Would be too crowed during vacation season. Not have the medical facilities I would want.
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
9,779 posts, read 15,795,280 times
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Thanks for all of the replies! I think we will do a rental there for the whole summer - in the name of research, of course. I've been going there for 35 years, and I love it, but I'd hate to lay down a chunk of cash and then have buyer's remorse. We'd most likely be going May to October, so it will be mostly in season, so the off-season isn't too much of a concern to me, although it's not as dead in winter as some other touristy places are. Healthcare might be a bit of a concern, but I will look intio it. Since we just visited, I've been looking closely at housing costs (yikes!) and taxes (better than I thought). I'm glad to hear that this idea has worked for some of you. Thanks so much!
Has anyone on here successfully retired to where they used to take vacations? Did you test the waters first - rent for a short while? Spend a season there before you retired?
We wouldn't live there year-round, as we plan on spending winters in Florida, so I wouldn't need to worry about the "this town is deserted in winter" syndrome. We would likely live there for 5 months per year. It is expensive, though, so it would probably be worth trying out first before taking the plunge. And may be worth testing the idea a few years before we retire to see if we'd like it.
Any thoughts? Comments? Thanks!
Back when we were about 40, we came up with a list of 20 places that we might want to retire to. We had already visited all 50 states at the time.
Over the course of the next ten years, we visited nearly all of the cities at one point or another. We were able to see what cities we liked and what cities that we did not think would neet our needs.
After that, we selected the top three candidates for retirement. At that point, we planned to visit all three locations and make a final decision. And we did not move to any of the three locations. Instead, we ended up moving to Southern Arizona after spending two months there in 2014.
There are a LOT of cities that I like to visit. Many of these cities would not be appropriate for our retirement.
If you do plan to visit, make sure that you visit at different times of the year. Arizona is a lot more pleasant in the winter than in the summer, although we like both seasons.
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(maintaining Income properties
) (deductible as allowed by IRS) (Hint: keep your Domicile in an Income Tax Free State (there are plenty).
,,,) from USA (France, Spain and Italy are also coming to the rescue, with some affordable options). I have been getting my medical quoted outside USA for several yrs. 15 Million worldwide do similar. 
