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I'm trying to learn more about the challenges and benefits of retiring to a remote location. I'm a writer who was assigned a story for the website of a popular magazine writing about the experiences of those who left the city to retire to a remote location and I'm having the hardest time finding people to interview... since those that live remotely are often not spending their time online!
Any help would be appreciated. What's been your experience?
Define remote.
Your idea might be different than mine. For example, I live in an exurb of Dallas and consider Marathon TX remote but not Taos NM. Abiquiui NM falls somewhere between the two.
If you consider Beaver Island remote, search for Beaver Island Forum and post your query there. Lots of big city retirees here on the island and some probably would respond positively to your project.
Yes; remote means many things to different people. I see remote as to hours drive to much of anything in good climate and 30 minutes in mountains with heavy winters that blocks access for perhaps weeks. But now days with boomers retiring say in Texas hill country ;you are perhaps 30 fast miles from good hospitals and of course helicopters have changed everything. Where my deer hunting camp was once 100 miles to good hospital now 30. It would be faster than getting to hospital in major city traffic now days.30 miles in mountains of Colorado with harsh winters with passes not passable for weeks and helicopters limited flight is a different story. If you search there are a lot on line that have sites even in remote west Texas. Just saw a story about a retired New York professor who lives where even water has to be delivered 25 hard miles from nearest roadway in far west Texas. He has a bog I believe but forget his name. He writes also for some scientific journals has internet access by solar power and satellite as I recall. A good source here is Texas Country Reporter who traveled the state for decades now doing his program.
I relocated from a semi-rural (suburbanish) area four years go. Once home from work in the evening we never went out, it was too far to town on a not-so-great road or we had to take a highway. I considered that area "somewhat" remote (though it wasn't in the wilds) and would not go into that situation again at my age 66. It also crossed my mind out there (no house across the street, fields behind, and neighbors far apart on either side) that I ought to have had some kind of weapon in case of home invasion. I've heard a few stories of elderly who live rural who met with unhappy endings. Police force in these areas can be minimal. So for me personally, driving and personal safety are first on my list of where to live in old(er) age. Others will differ. For your article, you can create a poll here on this forum.
We spent two weeks at a friends place that was somewhat remote (almost an hour to the store, two to a real hospital, no major airport anywhere close) and that was all it took for us to decide that it was peaceful fun when younger but not at all something that would work as we age. It might work if the whole family was there but not for an aging couple.
After I retired we moved to a very rural area. We are close to the interstate. We are 30 minutes away from the county seat [a city of 30,000]. We are 3 1/2 hours from the state's biggest city [60,000].
Our town has one store-front business [a gunsmith], we have a population of around 230 people. Generally the population-density around here runs between 1 and 10 people per square-mile.
I think of this as 'rural'. Maybe you consider this remote? I am not sure.
When I was shopping for land, I looked at many places where the access is seasonal [either 4X4 in the summer after the ground has dried, or winter using snowmobile or sleds], but access in spring and autumn are very restrictive.
I guess. I retired to a mountain town of 800 elevation 7,000 ft from a metro area of 500,000. Town marshal goes home at 10pm, nearest hospital 30 minutes away in the closest city of 20,000. I guess if you like bright lights, traffic and sirens this isn't for you. But if you like concerts in the town park, being able to walk anyplace without being accosted, fresh air and quiet, it's paradise.
I guess remote for me would be being an hour or more away from a major hospital, large grocery shop, movie theatre etc.
As guess as we age the Health Facilities become more important to consider
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