Retiring to a 4 season state - anyone done it? How? (single, places)
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Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pine to Vine
I always thought the PNW had 2 seasons: summer and rainy.
'rainy', is relative... Drizzle is more accurate, and it takes a LOT of days / yr to accumulate 50+" of drizzle.
Description is somewhat true for West of Cascades (that would be <30% of the Land mass, >70% of the population of the left coast portion of PNW), or ~ 10% of the entire PNW. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Northwest (handy list of cities about 1/2 way through Wiki)
Natural weather conditions that are acceptable (i.e. tornadoes / hail / wind)
Climate (arid or wet)
Important services (medical, EDU, Airports, shopping...)
Cost of Living expectations (Housing, Groc, fuel, utilities, food, medical) all vary a LOT in 4 season areas.
Desired recreation
Walkable city, vs rural escape
Then you can get some real good and meaningful advice! (From Duluth to Deming, and Anchorage to Asheville).
There are many very great 4 season destinations (within USA and elsewhere).
Lots of ways to 'do-it',
while able... I FLEE when have a chance (gotta love the freedom of retirement)
Ideally it would be NZ or South America (and occasionally) during USA winters, but I like snow, and leaf colors and flowers, so.. a bit of all 4 seasons is required.
I now further appreciate the many grain farmers from Saskatchewan who have 'winter' farms in Australia. Enjoying LONG days year round would have advantages (and you can 'jet' to snow on your own terms!). While in my youth I seemed to love the challenges brought by winter blizzards (caring for calves and lambs, busting ice and hauling wood for the stove, Ice Skating and missing school)... Not so sure I would find the same enjoyment in blizzards as a retiree / risk of falling or Heavy Equipment injury moving snow / health fragility... stranded in a stuck vehicle on a country road for a few days.
may be a good chance for an early EXIT... such as the ill, aging, Asian, U of OR prof that headed to the high woods the day before a big snow storm. Never to be found (IIRC)
But there is a subtle difference between spring rain and fall rain, and winter rain is a completely different kind of rain. Summer is usually pretty dry.
I’ve read that the Inuits have dozens of words for snow. Sounds like people from your neck of the woods must have as many for rain.
There is nothing redeeming about 6 months of bone-chilling, snow slopping, black wet snow tromping winter. Seasonal affective disorder for the darkest of days.
When I moved west from Wisconsin I was astonished that December could be bright and crisp - and that I would actually enjoy being outdoors. I hibernated in Wisconsin. And got fat.
I didn't have to do that in Northern California. If I missed the snow - I'd drive to it.
Those of you who "love" 4 REAL seasons? You can have bitter midwestern weather.
You replied to Cebuan, who said "No, do not realistically expect that you just hop on a plane when you want a bit of relief."
I think the point Cebuan made is valid because flying has become such a pain that many of us don't want to fly anywhere, let alone just to escape some weather.
It is not nonsense for someone who does not like to fly.
But it is certainly realistic "to expect to be able to hop on a plane when you want relief" from winter. People do it everyday. Maybe not those who don't like to fly, or aren't willing to put up with a little discomfort for a few hours in exchange for weeks of sunshine, but nevertheless it is realistic and very doable if you can afford it. If you won't fly, that's a choice YOU make, but it's not unrealistic for the majority of folks who fly somewhere every year for pleasure or work.
Snow-birding is a big thing and tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of retired folks do it every year, some for a few weeks, some for 3 months or more. Some by air, some by auto, some by RV. Lots of people live in colder, or 4 season, climates and get away when the weather gets them down, or keeps them inside too much.
But it is certainly realistic "to expect to be able to hop on a plane when you want relief" from winter. People do it everyday. Maybe not those who don't like to fly, or aren't willing to put up with a little discomfort for a few hours in exchange for weeks of sunshine, but nevertheless it is realistic and very doable if you can afford it. If you won't fly, that's a choice YOU make, but it's not unrealistic for the majority of folks who fly somewhere every year for pleasure or work.
Snow-birding is a big thing and tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of retired folks do it every year, some for a few weeks, some for 3 months or more. Some by air, some by auto, some by RV. Lots of people live in colder, or 4 season, climates and get away when the weather gets them down, or keeps them inside too much.
But it is certainly realistic "to expect to be able to hop on a plane when you want relief" from winter. People do it everyday. Maybe not those who don't like to fly, or aren't willing to put up with a little discomfort for a few hours in exchange for weeks of sunshine, but nevertheless it is realistic and very doable if you can afford it. If you won't fly, that's a choice YOU make, but it's not unrealistic for the majority of folks who fly somewhere every year for pleasure or work.
Snow-birding is a big thing and tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of retired folks do it every year, some for a few weeks, some for 3 months or more. Some by air, some by auto, some by RV. Lots of people live in colder, or 4 season, climates and get away when the weather gets them down, or keeps them inside too much.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hannah5555
For a lot of retirees, that's a big if.
Booked well in advance, a round trip flight to Florida from the New England airports is sub-$250.
Median income for retirees age 65 to 74 is $47,432. A Florida trip done on the cheap is within reach for a large fraction of retirees.
With AirBnB, cooking your own food, and taking public transportation with a bit of Uber/Lyft, you can do two people for 10 days in a studio apartment walkable to the beach for $1,500 plus your grocery bill you would have had at home. I checked MIA/Miami Beach, FLL/Fort Lauderdale, and TPA/Clearwater Beach.
4 seasons doesn't need to be the same as a winter in the upper Midwest. I don't know why people just jump to extremes the first chance they get.
Although, most people who talk about a "4 season" climate, are talking about a place that gets a significant winter. I mean, near Atlanta where I grew up, we got more or less 4 distinct seasons, deciduous trees leafing out in spring, with leaves in summer, falling leaves in fall, and bare trees in winter. But not many people are talking about Atlanta when they say "4 season" - they mean a winter with SNOW.
And, yeah, agreeing with mlb - why would anyone *want* to live in the upper Midwest, with that bone chilling, snowy winter? I spent a couple winters in Iowa, and you can't pay me enough to make me consider living there again.
People live particularly in the Northeast for jobs that they can only get there. Once you are retired, if you are truly retired, you don't have a job. So you can live anywhere you want.
Why one would want to have that rough winter beats me.
If you like to ski - fine - what about Idaho, Colorado, etc.? Better quality of snow, and a dryer climate with a better summer. I have lived in both states and they are head and shoulders better than the Midwest, at least to me.
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)... Not so sure I would find the same enjoyment in blizzards as a retiree / risk of falling or Heavy Equipment injury moving snow / health fragility... stranded in a stuck vehicle on a country road for a few days. 
