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Access to things you enjoy....in my case, family (GC), biking, gym economic considerations, climate, scenery.
Those were considerations for us but the one true test was that we feel like we fit in so well with the people. More so than in the town where DH has lived all his life and I've lived for 36 years.
This past spring we vacationed in Silver City NM, our 1st visit there even though we spend time every year in northern NM. We were only in SC for a week and at the end of it we said "gee it wouldn't be bad to live here!" even though it's to hell-and-gone remote by our standards and lacks most of the cultural amenities we favor. But we really really really liked the people there and felt very comfortable around them. We're not moving there, we're settled on NW AR, but we plan to make it a regular vacation spot.
Last edited by biscuitmom; 10-02-2016 at 05:51 PM..
Been retired for 6 months in a rural area outside Humacao, Puerto Rico. Am loving it because:
1) eternal early summer weather - 82-85 Highs and 72-78 Lows pretty much year around. We're on the coast and can drive an hour up into nearby mountains for 55-60d evenings if we miss coldness and want a little "weather'.
2) neighbors have chickens and goats and we have a view of open jungle and the Caribbean with nary a house in sight but a major city of 1.5 million people, San Juan, less than an hour away. Great clubs, restaurants, ultra-modern new IMAX theater. The Caribbean's largest cruise terminal with 3-4 ships leaving port every day usually. Great way to get to know the other islands and central America. Have already taken two.
3) 3 miles away in Humacao has a Sam's Club, Walmart, Pep Boys, and a bunch of both PR and American restaurants.
4) Merry hispanic foreign'ish culture but half the people speak pretty good English and has American Commonwealth Status, full protection of US property law, no need for guests to get visa's or even have passports
5) Reasonably competent medical, much lower cost
6) Green, green, green. Absolutely verdant with ferns, flamboyan trees, palms. Comes at the cost of 90-100" of rain a year. However, seldom more than an hour or two a day. I prefer an hour of warm cloudburst over days and days of cold drizzle.
7) Wonderful and helpful neighbors. Think rural or small-town US like when I was born in the 50's in the MidWest.
8) Real Estate prices ok in San Juan, very reasonable in smaller cities and rural areas, especially if outside the big tourist and expat-dominated areas. Property taxes 10% my previous Texas taxes. (11.5% sales tax recently is a bite, though, due to government bonds going bad).
Those were considerations for us but the one true test was that we feel like we fit in so well with the people. More so than in the town where DH has lived all his life and I've lived for 36 years.
This past spring we vacationed in Silver City NM, our 1st visit there even though we spend time every year in northern NM. We were only in SC for a week and at the end of it we said "gee it wouldn't be bad to live here!" even though it's to hell-and-gone remote by our standards and lacks most of the cultural amenities we favor. But we really really really liked the people there and felt very comfortable around them. We're not moving there, we're settled on NW AR, but we plan to make it a regular vacation spot.
biscuitmom, I consider SC my hometown as I went to junior/high school in SC and I visited my parents there regularly until I was 40 when they moved away. I've toyed with the idea of retiring there but agree it is just too remote and lacks activities and decent medical facilities. If it were only a little bit more like Ruidoso wrt activities... But I've recommended it many times on the NM CD subforum for those who want to retire in a small NM town as it is a very nice place with a great climate. A good deal of of my high school classmates still live there or have family ties and a few have returned for retirement.
Moving from the Boston area to Ridgway, CO.
If I didn't know and have Ridgway, I'd stay where I am, despite the taxes and humid summers. I love my house, am near to making money per diem, and do have some friends.
But I have always wanted to live in a small Western town and came to know Ridgway while vacationing. The mountains speak to my soul and I love the weather. I want a horse life while I'm healthy enough to have one, and just couldn't get interested in one near Boston, even if I could afford it (which I could). I think I will be more able to be community-involved in Ridgway (a very small place) than I have been in this suburbanizing lovely little town where I currently live. Since going to Colorado on vacation in 1988 (and even before that, driving through in 1978) I have felt like part of me belongs there, even while I lived near Boston for the mental stimulation and employment.
I am from south Jersey and always disliked the humid summers, the ever-increasing congestion and sprawl. I moved to New England from there when I was 20 and never considered living there again (although the diners are terrific).
I lived in Pittsburgh for two years for college. A very different Pittsburgh 45 years ago! and if I had to live in a city, I would now consider Pittsburgh for affordability, hill views and culture.
RIDGWAY! Love it. In another life, I dated a guy who built a house on that "ridge" above the town. On the way there, I'd pass actor Dennis Weaver's "Earthship" made of tires, which I just found here: (wonder if its still for sale? Gorgeous!)
Oh, and we picked South America in order to be on the beach, mainly for financial reasons. As Bamba-Boy said, property taxes are a fraction of TX (or most other U.S. locations)---in our case, just 1%. We looked at PR but it was already out of our price range for beach areas. It's a trade-off, and a HUUUGE adjustment, but we're happy. Looking forward to exploring more areas around here.
We were sick of snow, traffic, taxes, car maintenance and so much insurance!
It wouldn't take much at all to convince me to live in Cedar City. It's a pretty awesome place!
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WOW, small world! Lived in SE Utah for 10 years---site of many, many movies. "Lone Ranger", "Thelma and Louise", the Old Westerns with John Wayne, just to name a few. The Colorado River---it is world-class scenery.
But again, snow and cold.
The Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City was terrific.
RIDGWAY! Love it. In another life, I dated a guy who built a house on that "ridge" above the town. On the way there, I'd pass actor Dennis Weaver's "Earthship" made of tires, which I just found here: (wonder if its still for sale? Gorgeous!)
[vimeo]86786943[/vimeo]
[vimeo]86786943[/vimeo] https://vimeo.com/86786943
That is SUCH a beautiful area--the scenic San Juan Mts. A lot of snow, though. Would you leave in the winter?
I wouldn't leave in the winter. I have no problem with winter (having lived in New England for most of my adult life). If I don't have to get on the road for work in bad weather, I am fine staying in with dogs, books, wood stove... If I need someone to shovel, I'll hire someone local.
The earthship house is no longer listed, but I haven't seen it listed as sold, either. Maybe they took it off the market.
Really, if it weren't for Ridgway, I wouldn't be planning to go anywhere. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to spend summers away from humid Massachusetts and couldn't figure out how to have two places, dogs, two cars, etc, and finally decided just to move in retirement.
So far all the places I have thought about I have crossed off my list.
Reason being too large, too much traffic, too hot, having to learn my way around again, find the shortcuts I love to use when I find them. Having a doctor I like (I've gone through a few of them). And of course, the friends I have here, at least one of them, I'm not sure I want to move away from. A nice comfortable friendship with another woman can be hard to find. I'm not saying we don't have ups and downs, just the ups are more than the downs. So far no eligible men in sight. hahaha
I am still considering a look at New Hampshire. I haven't been there yet but hope within the year to visit. I want a small town, sidewalks, coffee shops, library, grocery and pharmacy. Within reasonable driving distance of a large city for whatever might interest me there. I love trees and water and wildlife. Nice parks with a place to sit and read or just watch whatever is there to watch.
I have a nephew in northwestern part of VT and I love it there. I also have thought about the more remote areas of northern NY state.
Guess I have not helped much, but these are my ramblings. At 74 and being alone, I am not sure how much longer I have to make anything like this happen.
Question,are there Trader Joes in South Florida or Sarasota?
Don't care.
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