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Arizona is just way too hot and dry. I'll take woods over dessert any time.
Being an AZ native I LIKE "hot and dry" because I grew up with it and I've lived in cold and snowy places, not to mention hot and humid places as well. I guess you aren't aware that AZ has the largest Ponderosa pine forest in the world? There's a TON of geographical diversity here and nobody HAS to live in the desert.
I like both my woods and my "dessert". LOL Sorry, couldn't resist.
I think Sedona has as perfect of a climate as you can get outside of California coast (too crowded and too $$$$$).
Too crowded?? Sedona only has about 10,000 population which isn't all that big. Or are you also including the tourist thing? I agree about the $$$$$ though. It is pretty expensive but there are a lot of smaller towns within 20 minutes of Sedona that are quite reasonable to live in.
We knew that we wanted to be in Western North Carolina. We considered Brevard, Flat Rock, Black Mountain, Weaverville and Asheville. We have been coming to this area for over 40 years. Asheville won out because we found the perfect (for us), home on the perfect mountain/wooded property. The weather is wonderful-true four seasons, cost of living is reasonable. We have found it friendly and welcoming. There is so much to do, learn and enjoy. We have been here almost 3 years and couldn't be happier.
a question...........years back, when reading retirement magazines.................western North Carolina was listed but the drawback was clouds and fog in winter.
One person interviewed she had to go to Florida for a month every winter to actually see the sky and sun.
She said the clouds and fog in winter were very depressing.
I would never settle in a state where I had to pay income taxes.
Thankfully, we pay no income tax in Missouri. That's due to a combination of factors, our ages (over 65), the fact that the state no longer taxes Social Security and a large portion of our government pensions is exempt. How sweet it is. We do pay sales tax and an annual "personal property tax" on our cars (far less than the annual vehicle registration fee in California and the property tax on our home is ridiculously low. We're content!
OK, so much for my memory then. I thought I recalled you needed public transportation as you had a hard time getting around, and I did remember an illness was involved. So glad it's working out for you!
Thank you. I think it's working well for me.
Your memory's fine. I do need public transportation and Cleveland's is pretty good so that was another reason I chose it.
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.
If you're going to New Hampshire be sure to visit Keene. It's a great little town with a huge pumpkin festival. It was on our short list until we went to Maine.
I fell in love with Eastport but it's too far from skiing. We also loved Belfast. We haven't spent enough time in Maine to make a decision. Actually there are so many amazing places that the wish list changes. There's a little town called Bridgton that we want to visit soon.
a question...........years back, when reading retirement magazines.................western North Carolina was listed but the drawback was clouds and fog in winter.
One person interviewed she had to go to Florida for a month every winter to actually see the sky and sun.
She said the clouds and fog in winter were very depressing.
True ?
We have beautiful fog that rolls down the mountains. There were days that were "sunless" but not so many that it bothered me. I guess I see beauty in every season. I am not one to get depressed easily. I know that there are people who need sunlight bulbs to combat seasonal depressive disorder, but have only heard about it from people who live in states much farther north.
Come visit for a month in the winter and check it out.
I've enjoyed traveling abroad over the years, but for retirement, the only places I'd consider would be New Zealand (Auckland) or Australia (Sydney). Both have, for me, agreeable climate and are cosmopolitan.
I used to dream of having a house on a mountainside somewhere. But now ... I realize that I'm too used to the stimulation of living in a big city. Consequently, I've given up on retiring in/near small mountain towns in the western US. I suspect I would even find Santa Fe to get dull after a while, although I still enjoy visiting there a lot.
I retired recently and, for now, I will keep my condo in a lively part of Houston; my idea is to spend summers somewhere cooler. Houston's OK if one is working and making a good income. Also, having family and friends here makes it harder to leave.
I'm considering moving to Austin or somewhere in SoCal along the coast. The drawbacks to Austin are that the summers are just as brutal as Houston (slightly hotter, slightly less humid) and very expensive if one wants to live in the walkable urban center. SoCal has nice weather -- at least along the coast -- and is also very expensive. However, I do have some family there and connections to other people. Since I like to walk, I would have to rule out places where I would have to deal with various street people when I get older.
So ... I haven't decided yet. I'm finding it difficult to build a very long list of places that have the climate and big-city amenities that I like.
So ... I haven't decided yet. I'm finding it difficult to build a very long list of places that have the climate and big-city amenities that I like.
We sound very much alike! Auckland or Sydney would be quite nice.
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Other my experience
