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I think it might go a little deeper than this, at least as far as trying to draw a simple correlation between cost of living and how satisfying a place can be to live. Cost of living is determined by so many factors, some of which (availability of well paying jobs, quality of education) aren't always as important to retirees. Another is space/demand, which is part of the reason why so many cities that have relatively fixed real estate expansion availability like San Francisco and New York City are very expensive.
San Antonio is a lot cheaper than, say, Philadelphia, but do we really know that most retirees would prefer one of the other, or that more people are happier in one than the other? You could say "San Antonio is cheap for a reason" but do the reasons that make it cheaper than some other cities always apply to retirees?
An apartment in Texas for $800 a month in an urban area? Provide details, I do not believe you. Most apartments provide a subsidy if income is 31k or less for one person. I bring in about $300 too much for a housing subsidy, but not enough for the typical 1 br apartment market rate unit here in DFW area, where the rent is $1200-1700....
Cincinnati, Milwaukee, and Cleveland are major cities. Yes, they have issues, but they have typical big city amenities. Huntington and Morgantown, WV, other than having universities, aren't even comparable. WV is way worse off as a state than Ohio or Wisconsin. There's no way I'd want to live in West Virginia, though in saying that, I am really only familiar with southern WV.
I lived in Indianapolis for several years. $800/month is probably doable somewhere there, but it's likely in a rough area. Fort Wayne is mostly a dump.
I also lived in Des Moines for a year. It's a great city that punches will above its weight. It's way nicer than Columbia. Ames and Iowa City are nice college towns.
An older person would have basically everything they need in Cleveland, Cincinnati, or Milwaukee, even if they can't drive. You aren't really getting around WV without a car, and any services that are available will be a big cut below those cities.
Mobile homes that aren't on a permanent foundation are also not usually eligible for conventional mortgages. They also work differently from a property tax perspective. I'm over a property tax system from an IT perspective for a county government. I am not sure on all the details, but I do know they are broken out differently from typical owner-occupied residential real estate.
A modular home with a permanent foundation on a separate lot outside of an HOA or park would be treated the same from a lending and tax perspective as a traditional stick-built home in most areas.
Morgantown, WV is a beautiful area. I've never looked at it from a retirement standpoint so I don't know about healthcare, senior transportation options, senior retirement apartments, etc. I just know that the area is pretty. It's been awhile since I've been there. The area definitely gets snow but the spring and fall are gorgeous.
OH has lots of snow and it seems like the bitterly cold winters last forever there. No thanks.
I need a warmer climate. No snow. I could do Mobile, AL but I'm not sure that I would want to be dealing with the threat of hurricanes and evacuations.
There is no perfect place. One thing that I am positive about is that I don't want to live in a isolated, remote area or go off grid in retirment. Having helped elderly parents, myself, that just does not seem like a sustainable situation to me.
Desirable One-Bedroom Apartments readily available for less than $800 per month in somewhat safe areas
Dense, walkable neighborhoods where one could opt to do some errands on foot
Somewhat reliable bus transit if one opts out of car ownership (with the advent of grocery/restaurant delivery, Senior On-Demand Transit and Uber/Lyft, not the huge necessity it once was)
Extra points for college towns (although not to the point where one could feel alienated by not being university affiliated)
Climate and Taxation rates were not calculated. Climate is largely unimportant to me and taxation rates are not that far apart and often balanced by other expense factors
The List:
Alabama (Mobile), Arkansas - (Jonesboro, Little Rock), Arizona - (Tucson), Illinois - (Champaign-Urbana),Indiana - (Fort Wayne), Iowa - (Ames, Des Moines, Iowa City), Kentucky - (Lexington, Louisville) Louisiana - (Baton Rouge), Michigan (Kalamazoo, Lansing-East Lansing), New Mexico (Albuquerque), New York (Rochester, Syracuse), Nebraska (Omaha), North Carolina (Greensboro, Winston Salem), North Dakota (Fargo-Moorhead), Ohio (Akron, Canton, Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland, Toledo), Oklahoma (Norman, Tulsa), Pennsylvania (Williamsport), South Carolina (Columbia), South Dakota (Sioux Falls), Texas (College Station, El Paso, Lubbock), Virginia (Lynchburg), West Virginia (Huntington, Morgantown), Wisconsin (Milwaukee)
This is a great list of places to look at for retirement. The one thing I've noticed is that "best kept secret" type of locations don't stay secret for long.
Morgantown, WV is a beautiful area. I've never looked at it from a retirement standpoint so I don't know about healthcare, senior transportation options, senior retirement apartments, etc. I just know that the area is pretty. It's been awhile since I've been there. The area definitely gets snow but the spring and fall are gorgeous.
OH has lots of snow and it seems like the bitterly cold winters last forever there. No thanks.
I need a warmer climate. No snow. I could do Mobile, AL but I'm not sure that I would want to be dealing with the threat of hurricanes and evacuations.
There is no perfect place. One thing that I am positive about is that I don't want to live in a isolated, remote area or go off grid in retirment. Having helped elderly parents, myself, that just does not seem like a sustainable situation to me.
Actually, Cincinnati isn't one of those snow bound Ohio cities. It only gets about maybe 12" of snow all winter most years and it's usually not a long prolonged cold either with the coldest months being Dec-February. In November, the trees are still losing leaves and in March you'll see the daffodils and other flowers blooming. It's really not all that bad climate wise.
Cincy has tons of amenities, shopping choices, things to do and good public transportation, great medical facilities. There's also lots to see and do just across the river in Northern KY. If you like large cities, I wouldn't quickly cross Cincinnati off the list.
Yes I agree. Liquidating is best. Sorry I was in shock yesterday realizing our future would be much different than anticipated.
Maybe after this horrific worse snow since 1952, if we have a mellow winter, we may easily be able to catch up and he'll have a ton of work and extra time to get it done before winter sets in again. Where we currently live is not practical as a person ages. The other off-grid town was actually better. People live there fine until well into their 80's+ Anyhow I better get ready for work. Hope you have a blessed day
Everyone needs a Plan B because it doesn't take much for Plan A to go awry.
Two major areas for retirement: finances and health. A major change to either one, or both, will upset almost anyone's plans.
We moved to a cheaper area for retirement, but it wasn't survival mode. It was more of a strategic move to allow us to retire much earlier on our pension. I wouldn't have had to move if I wanted to work another 6 or 8 years.
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I think they're working on improving both however.
