Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Retirement
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 02-01-2015, 09:31 PM
 
Location: SW Florida
14,840 posts, read 11,978,561 times
Reputation: 24610

Advertisements

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cubanchic View Post
We have another 12 years before retirement but keep thinking of different options, we do have property in Sebring on the lake but would have to put in a home on it so that is something that we might not do at all. We recently visited Mount Dora and loved the area very much but it is also expensive for retirement.

We do have family on Husband's side in NC so that is something we might look into but so far for right now we plan to rent out the majority of our house out to one of my son's and keep the converted garage as a studio for us to visit when in Cutler bay and do a little bit of RVing around the country in state parks. We have a three year old grandson that we really don't want to miss out on and perhaps more in the future so for us having a place in the Miami area or close by in very important to us.

I agree the heat and humitiy during the summers are bad for us, but in retirement if we could escape from June until Nov. we would be happy.

I guess that would make you "reverse" snowbirds, then. I have to admit I've thought it would be nice to do the same thing.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 02-01-2015, 09:59 PM
 
Location: Las Vegas, NV
255 posts, read 448,319 times
Reputation: 334
Quote:
Originally Posted by popcorn247 View Post
Yes, I want to live in the middle of the country, not the southeast, in a mid-size to small town (< 100,000 pop.), where drivers are non-aggressive, traffic is not horrendous, spring, summer, fall and winter. Summers long enough to grow a nice veggie, cut flower garden, an area where I can grow lavender and peonies, yummy tomatoes, etc. My only relative, a sister and her husband, live in southern California. That has a lovely climate, but that's about it.

I will visit the Midwest in a few months to scout some places. My years in south Florida have been interesting, but I am finished with it. No more. The county I am living in is 15% Anglo-, I guess I don't want to be such a minority.
Just be careful not to move to a place where they have catastrophic floods or tornadoes. You don't want to lose everything and have to start all over again.

There is a magazine called 'Where to Retire' that features a lot of smaller towns and often tells the story of retirees who have moved there; why they chose it and how they like it. I have seen it in our local library. You could also find it in a big bookstore like Barnes & Noble. I used to read it years ago. There's also a book like that that would be found in the reference area of a library, if not in circulation. That might be helpful too.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-01-2015, 10:25 PM
 
Location: Silicon Valley
18,813 posts, read 32,296,465 times
Reputation: 38564
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jukesgrrl View Post
One thing never ceases to amaze me when people speak of ideal places in which to retire. Most people seem to assume that they will spend their retirement in the same state of physical and mental health that they have right at this moment. I take care of an elder in my home. I see all of her relatives and friends. Most of them put themselves somewhere they thought was idyllic when they retired in their sixties. Yet in ten or twenty years, they are now facing having to move YET AGAIN. Why?

They chose a place not at all attuned to the needs of people whose abilities are waning. They bought homes in places where one cannot function without driving a car. They bought homes with property that needs serious upkeep. They bought homes with stairs and other features not conducive to limited mobility. They bought homes not close to a hospital and/or without good healthcare options. They bought homes far from relatives and close friends willing to lend them a hand when they are temporarily or permanently disabled.

Folks, you aren't going to be the same person when you are 75 as when you are 60. And statistic say that most of you will live even longer than that. People who are 80 have about the same car accident rate as newly licensed teenagers. My 88-year old mother has 11, count 'em, 11 doctors, most of whom she sees regularly. And that's not counting her dentist, eyeglass provider, or hearing-aid specialist. Have you accounted for how you will get groceries, clean your house, take care of the yard, do laundry, even take out the garbage when you break a hip or have a knee replacement? Because that, or something quite similar, will probably happen to you not long after you buy your retirement home.

I don't want to sound like Debbie Downer, but please be realistic when you are choosing your retirement place. Or it will just be the first of several retirement places for you. And if you think it will be a pain in the butt to move when you are 65, imagine how hard it will be when you are 85. Or better yet, imagine who you are going to get to do the moving for you.
With respect, then we might as well all just move straight into assisted living facilities when we retire. I'm where I want to be until Altzheimer's takes me away. No, not Calgon...LOL.

I am in no way going to think about the day when I can't take care of myself. When that day comes, I'll deal with it, until then, I'm going to love where I live.

So, what's important for me in retirement? Weather! With a capital W.

Unfortunately, I also had to find somewhere I could afford. I knew I wanted to stay in CA - grew up in CA, moved to WA for about 18 years, then to TN, back to WA and finally back to CA. Hate snow, reeeeallly hate humidity, so CA is where I knew I needed to stay.

That said, in order to retire, I had to move from the most perfect weather on earth and my daughter and a couple of good friends in the SF Bay Area. So, thought I'd found my retirement spot in Redding, CA. But, the summers go on for half the year at 100 - 117 degrees - not kidding - from Mid-May to Mid-October.

For me to be happy, I need to be able to spend time outside every day. It turns out, I found my bliss in Crescent City, CA, where the weather is very mild year round. It's not a fancy town, by any stretch of the imagination, but the people are friendly, and the ocean is in my front yard and the giant redwood forest is in my backyard, and it's never too cold (no snow!) or too hot. Temps range pretty much year-round at 50 - 70 degrees.

Yes, it's cloudy and rainy more than other parts of CA. But, not every day all the time. There isn't a lot of culture, being mainly a blue-collar type tourist town. But, that's okay with me. I never have money for stuff like that anyway.

And, as someone else mentioned, I was just approved for a HUD voucher, so I can live here really cheap in senior housing.

If you must have four seasons, you wouldn't like it here. If you want to be able to go outside most every day of the year without freezing or sweating to death, and you love the outdoors and don't need a lot of great shopping or culture, it's perfect.

And, BTW, Oregon is just 30 minutes away and they have no sales tax.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-01-2015, 10:35 PM
 
16,368 posts, read 30,090,906 times
Reputation: 25410
I relocated from the Chicago Suburbs to the Tucson area back in December. We spent about six months looking at Delaware, E. Kentucky, and E. Tennessee, and had made trips to each of them. However, we came down to Tucson for a couple of months and decided to stay. Here are the reasons we moved:

1) There are a lot of cultural opportunities in this area with some great museums and a lot of great cinema. Also, there is a major university that brings in a wide variety of well-educated people into town.

2) We found a great community to belong to. I know MOST of the 200+ neighbors in the area and have made a lot of friends. Most of the people are retired from their successful careers but there is not a lot of snobbery and most people live pretty simply. There is also a wide variety of ages and each year, the area gets younger. There are community interest groups and many lectures and free movies each month.

3) Our home is small and requires little maintenance and no yard work. It is ADA compliant and has no steps. While that is NOT a concern at 55, it will be down the road.

4) There is little congestion in my area. A traffic jam is five cars at the traffic light. If something is 20 miles away, I will get there is 25 minutes. Try that in Chicago.

5) The area is affordable - low taxes, low cost of living, and you can get a decent meal for under $10.

6) Most people in the area volunteer at one or more of the local charities, museums, schools, etc. When I retired, I did not think that volunteering would be as much fun and as satisfying as it has been. A couple points to Escort Rider on that. Also, I have found that people who volunteer seem to live well a lot longer than those who don't. I have met a lot of folks in their 80s and 90s who are very sharp mentally and quite active and they serve as my mentors.

7) The community has a lot of gyms and swimming pools which has encouraged me to be more active than I was up north. It also helps that the average high has been in the 60s and 70s this winter.


Like any place, there are drawbacks:

1) The number of good restaurants is lacking in Tucson. However, that has forced me to cook a lot more recently. You can have ne heck of a great meal at home for $10.

2) Currently, the closest hospital is 24 miles away. However, a new acute care facility will be opening May 1st.

3) Flight costs are pretty high out of Tucson. However, Phoenix is two hours down the road.

4) Public transportation is somewhat limited. However, there are three local bus services that will drive seniors to all their medical appointments and for shopping. Also, a lot of neighbors will drive seniors to the local grocery stores.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-01-2015, 11:53 PM
 
Location: Traveling
7,020 posts, read 6,233,631 times
Reputation: 14658
Quote:
Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe View Post
With respect, then we might as well all just move straight into assisted living facilities when we retire. I'm where I want to be until Altzheimer's takes me away. No, not Calgon...LOL.

I am in no way going to think about the day when I can't take care of myself. When that day comes, I'll deal with it, until then, I'm going to love where I live.

So, what's important for me in retirement? Weather! With a capital W.

Unfortunately, I also had to find somewhere I could afford. I knew I wanted to stay in CA - grew up in CA, moved to WA for about 18 years, then to TN, back to WA and finally back to CA. Hate snow, reeeeallly hate humidity, so CA is where I knew I needed to stay.

That said, in order to retire, I had to move from the most perfect weather on earth and my daughter and a couple of good friends in the SF Bay Area. So, thought I'd found my retirement spot in Redding, CA. But, the summers go on for half the year at 100 - 117 degrees - not kidding - from Mid-May to Mid-October.

For me to be happy, I need to be able to spend time outside every day. It turns out, I found my bliss in Crescent City, CA, where the weather is very mild year round. It's not a fancy town, by any stretch of the imagination, but the people are friendly, and the ocean is in my front yard and the giant redwood forest is in my backyard, and it's never too cold (no snow!) or too hot. Temps range pretty much year-round at 50 - 70 degrees.

Yes, it's cloudy and rainy more than other parts of CA. But, not every day all the time. There isn't a lot of culture, being mainly a blue-collar type tourist town. But, that's okay with me. I never have money for stuff like that anyway.

And, as someone else mentioned, I was just approved for a HUD voucher, so I can live here really cheap in senior housing.

If you must have four seasons, you wouldn't like it here. If you want to be able to go outside most every day of the year without freezing or sweating to death, and you love the outdoors and don't need a lot of great shopping or culture, it's perfect.

And, BTW, Oregon is just 30 minutes away and they have no sales tax.
So what is the average rent? Are there senior income based apartments? The place sounds wonderful but could a person on a fixed income afford to live there?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-02-2015, 01:22 AM
eok
 
6,684 posts, read 4,218,609 times
Reputation: 8515
Quote:
Originally Posted by jadedlady View Post
Just be careful not to move to a place where they have catastrophic floods or tornadoes. You don't want to lose everything and have to start all over again.

There is a magazine called 'Where to Retire' that features a lot of smaller towns and often tells the story of retirees who have moved there; why they chose it and how they like it. I have seen it in our local library. You could also find it in a big bookstore like Barnes & Noble. I used to read it years ago. There's also a book like that that would be found in the reference area of a library, if not in circulation. That might be helpful too.
Older people are more likely to need doctors. Smaller town doctors tend to be less competent than big city doctors. And if you get too old to drive, it's hard to take a bus in a smaller town. So most older people are better off moving to a moderately big city, if they can afford it. Louisville, KY, is about optimum size, and has a relatively low cost of living.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-02-2015, 04:33 AM
 
2,790 posts, read 6,098,609 times
Reputation: 2732
Quote:
Originally Posted by jadedlady View Post
Just be careful not to move to a place where they have catastrophic floods or tornadoes. You don't want to lose everything and have to start all over again.

There is a magazine called 'Where to Retire' that features a lot of smaller towns and often tells the story of retirees who have moved there; why they chose it and how they like it. I have seen it in our local library. You could also find it in a big bookstore like Barnes & Noble. I used to read it years ago. There's also a book like that that would be found in the reference area of a library, if not in circulation. That might be helpful too.
How ironic that you should bring this topic up. Anyone remember the date August 24, 1992? Hurricane Andrew. I did lose nearly everything in that storm. I had to live with friends for six months until I found a place to live. Thousands of people were affected . All the street signs, traffic lights, concrete light poles, power poles were down. It was at least two YEARS before things seemed to be getting back to normal. The aftermath of the storm was worse than the storm itself! Contractors ripping off people, weeks and months without electricity in the worst hit areas. I was living in Leisure City, just north of Homestead. I totally lost my home. Six months later, I was able to move into a sturdy, home that was fully repaired. The area looked like a war zone. Helicopters flying supplies in for weeks, dusk to dawn curfew, speed limit of 20 mph due to no traffic lights or stop signs. I was living in the middle of a natural disaster. Where I worked was horribly affected and we spent months on the cleanup.

Everyone freaks out about tornadoes, but hurricanes affect so many more people! I am sure that I suffer from ptsd due to that storm. The stress when there is a storm out in the Atlantic or the Gulf and the Hurricane Center says it is heading our way . In 2005, my area was hit by FOUR storms: D-storm (I forget the name), Katrina, Rita and Wilma. I hate them!!!!! I hate putting up storm shutters, I hate paying outrageous homeowners' insurance ($4,550.00 this year), I hate living in a third world-feeling area where my ethnicity (white, American) is 15% of the population in Miami-Dade County. To be honest, I would much rather live in tornado land then hurricane-prone areas. I will be sure to choose a place that is not in a flood-prone area.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-02-2015, 05:18 AM
 
Location: Tennessee
37,746 posts, read 40,817,184 times
Reputation: 62006
Quote:
Originally Posted by popcorn247 View Post
I have recently retired and I know that I want to move out of Florida, back to a 4 season climate. I would like to hear from folks that are retired and are happy in their location.....staying after retirement or those that moved to a new location after retirement. Happy and living now in.....?
The best location for retirement is the one that will provide you with the things/activities you want to do during the day time to replace your 35 - 40 hour work week and provides those things in the variety, quality and abundance you are used to having and that you can afford. It's different for everyone. Don't settle for pretty, warm and cheap if the things you like to do regularly are a distance from where you will be living.

I'm happy in my town in East Tennessee because it offers me the things I like to do: taking classes, photography opportunities and a camera club (speakers and contests) and a nonfiction book discussion group (I like to read nonfiction). The book discussion group meets about 2 - 3 blocks from where I live and goes out to lunch after the meeting. One of the camera clubs meets around the corner from where I live. My classes are held in the same building where the camera club meets (around the corner). My long street ends at a lake for bird photography so when I only have an hour or two, it's convenient. The supermarket is less than a mile away, as is my doctor (and the hospital should I need it). I live very well on my pension but that was never my first priority in picking a suitable location.

If your "hobby" is shopping or high dining experiences, you'd be miserable in my town but if you liked running/biking/walking you'd love it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-02-2015, 06:53 AM
 
2,790 posts, read 6,098,609 times
Reputation: 2732
Quote:
Originally Posted by LauraC View Post
The best location for retirement is the one that will provide you with the things/activities you want to do during the day time to replace your 35 - 40 hour work week and provides those things in the variety, quality and abundance you are used to having and that you can afford. It's different for everyone. Don't settle for pretty, warm and cheap if the things you like to do regularly are a distance from where you will be living.

I'm happy in my town in East Tennessee because it offers me the things I like to do: taking classes, photography opportunities and a camera club (speakers and contests) and a nonfiction book discussion group (I like to read nonfiction). The book discussion group meets about 2 - 3 blocks from where I live and goes out to lunch after the meeting. One of the camera clubs meets around the corner from where I live. My classes are held in the same building where the camera club meets (around the corner). My long street ends at a lake for bird photography so when I only have an hour or two, it's convenient. The supermarket is less than a mile away, as is my doctor (and the hospital should I need it). I live very well on my pension but that was never my first priority in picking a suitable location.

If your "hobby" is shopping or high dining experiences, you'd be miserable in my town but if you liked running/biking/walking you'd love it.
I am interested in hiking, rocks, animals, visiting natural areas, history, museums, hunting mushrooms, birding, visiting historical sites, attending festivals, county fairs, reading and gardening and fishing! I like walking barefoot on soft grass, picking flowers from my own garden to bring into the house and I enjoy cooking.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-02-2015, 07:46 AM
PDD
 
Location: The Sand Hills of NC
8,773 posts, read 18,310,798 times
Reputation: 12001
Quote:
Originally Posted by popcorn247 View Post
I have recently retired and I know that I want to move out of Florida, back to a 4 season climate. I would like to hear from folks that are retired and are happy in their location.....staying after retirement or those that moved to a new location after retirement. Happy and living now in.....?
So a lot of people from the Northeast retire to FL because they are tired of the cold Winters but a lack of four seasons sends them looking elsewear. I am sure there are plenty of places across the contry with four seasons but for Eastcoast people NC seems to be the closest to "home".
Some people call NC retirees halfbacks after moving halfway back from Fl and that's OK. When we lived in the NE a trip to Fl required at least a weeks vacation but now it is just a weekend trip and that is the same for a summer trip to the Northeast.
Everybody says the humidity in NC is a killer but anybody who has lived in NJ will tell you the humidity there is just as bad only that the summers (the real hot part) in the NE are about a month shorter than they are in NC.

NC is such a large state that most anybody can find an area where they can be comfortable year round either the mountains,the shore or areas in between.

As far as politics and religion, who cares? I do what I prefer no matter where I live.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Retirement

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top