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I've always enjoyed MTNS and lived in a couple of really nice mtn towns. That said, down the road in retirement, I'm looking to move to a Mtn town and I was wondering if any of you had recommendations on towns to move to? I've lived in Helena, MT and Juneau, AK. Natural beauty and
public land are very important to me. It would be nice to find a place that is somewhat affordable, too. I'm planning on retiring in about 11 years. THX for your input!
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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I'd go for the same thing if I found it in an area close enough to decent medical facilities. We're thinking about the Lake Tahoe Nevada area, with a 1/2 hour drive into Reno/Sparks, but it's not what I would consider "affordable". Closer to us now, Leavenworth WA is more affordable, also Wenatchee WA which is not in the mountains but close.
You may want to consider Mariposa Ca. It's a gateway community to Yosemite National park and is surrounded by BLM and US Forest Service land. Real Estate is quite reasonable for California and a very nice home on acreage can be had for under $250,000.
The weather is excellent but it does get warm in the summer but the humidity is very low. You'd be 3 hours from Monterey and the Pacific Ocean for a change of scenery.
Like the OP, we want to retire to a mountain town. We considered these locations:
Asheville, NC
Flagstaff/Prescott, AZ
Colorado Springs or Fort Collins, CO
Flathead Valley, MT
Missoula, MT
Helena, MT
Bozeman, MT
North Idaho (Anywhere from Coeur d'Alene to Bonners Ferry)
The short list was made up of the locations in MT and ID. Asheville was crossed off the list because we decided we wanted to stay in the west. Still, it's a delightful town and western NC has a lot to offer. AZ was crossed off the list because we had concerns about the long term water supply, and it is a drier climate than we wanted. We had similar concerns about Colorado. I also recommend anyone considering CO take a look at their water laws before locating there.
The short list was made up of the locations in MT and ID.
We ended up choosing to move to Sagle outside Sandpoint in Idaho. There were a number of factors, but a couple of the main considerations were a much longer growing season in ID vs. MT, almost twice as much rainfall per year, and we really like the small town feel of Sandpoint itself.
We have bought a home there, and are about 18 months away from moving to our paradise.
No, no, NO!!! Everybody! Forget about northern Idaho. Awful place. Full of red necks. Closed minded people. Democrats are run out of town on a rail. Everybody carries a gun. Too much snow in the winter. Yeah, just stay away.
(At least until I purchase my retirement home there next year.)
No, no, NO!!! Everybody! Forget about northern Idaho. Awful place. Full of red necks. Closed minded people. Democrats are run out of town on a rail. Everybody carries a gun. Too much snow in the winter. Yeah, just stay away.
(At least until I purchase my retirement home there next year.)
ll
I hear tell that Randy Weaver's old place is up for sale.....
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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There are some very nice places to retreat to in No ID. I have several friends who retired there. It is not ez for all... healthcare for specialties means driving a bit. getting to the car means trodding through 3 ft of snow for some of my friends who retired there and built their dream acreage in their 70's. 13 yrs later... they are in a tough spot. Tough to sell a home you MADE. (and not a lot of buyers who can afford it. Locals sure can't.
Mt Homes... I grew up in Estes Park, CO, nicer place to visit than to live. YMMV
I would consider a place such as Roslyn, WA (Close enough to airport to GET AWAY, yet in n income tax free state.
Wyoming was on my top choices, but the 'total cost of living / lifestyle' shot it down. (Energy state boom and bust cycle / many hours to an airport for me (I travel 2-3 weeks / month)
There are some very nice places to retreat to in No ID. I have several friends who retired there. It is not ez for all... healthcare for specialties means driving a bit. getting to the car means trodding through 3 ft of snow for some of my friends who retired there and built their dream acreage in their 70's. 13 yrs later... they are in a tough spot. Tough to sell a home you MADE. (and not a lot of buyers who can afford it. Locals sure can't.
I agree with all of that, and often tell people that deciding to retire to a rural area is a decision made with your heart, not your head. There are potential pitfalls, some of which you mention above.
We pray for good health that allows us to enjoy rural living for a good long while, and if the time comes when we can't handle it we'll deal with that reality then. In our case we are lucky enough to be retiring relatively young (61 for me, 52 for my wife), so hopefully we should be able to enjoy a good many years there.
I do worry about support for the current real estate values in north Idaho. They are clearly being driven by people like us - retirees moving from other states bringing equity from strong real estate markets. As long as that influx creates demand we'll be fine, but if that goes away people participating in the local economy can't afford the higher end of the market. In the end we decided that if we loose some money over the next 20 or 25 years it will be worth it to have enjoyed living there for that time.
In a few rare moments when I think "what have we done?" I consider my friend who just retired to the Yaak in Montana, and realize compared to there we will be living in a big city.
Dave
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