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My in-laws are set to retire within the next 10 years, and they love the Seattle/Medina area. Only problem is, the property crime levels are enough to drive anyone away. My parents settled in Connecticut, and retired there. I'm 24, and just bought the home I plan to "retire" in.
It's a really long stretch for you, but maybe look at South Windsor, CT.
The thing is you can't have everything you want - there are things about every single place that aren't going to be your first choice or favorite.
The best cost of living and lowest crime are in areas that are probably humid and/or hot. The best weather is probably where there are tons of people and high cost of living. I don't consider desert weather good weather because if is often unbearably hot in the summer.
The East Coast has beautiful areas but many of them are crowded, have high housing cots, high crime and heat and humidity in the summer and snow in the winter. The further north you go, the colder the winters - the further south the hotter the summers.
The mid-west has heat and humidity and dreadful winters but great all-American cities and towns and often low cost of living.
We wanted access to a city that offers great services, a good airport, is centrally located so that we could drive to fun places, lower cost of living than So. California, nice safe suburbs, lots of green trees and natural beauty (we detest the desert) - so we chose Kentucky.
It is hot and humid in KY for 3 months out of the year but there are days in the 70's with mild weather in the summer too (the heat and humidity is why things are so lush and green). Spring and fall are gorgeous. The winters are usually fairly mild with some snow that doesn't stay on the ground very long. They have theater, a symphony orchestra, first class hotels and restaurants, a ballet, museums, great shopping, lots of good hospitals and doctors, a large and very nice airport, boating (the Ohio River) and lots of open beautiful spaces - we aren't thrilled with the humidity and heat during some of the summer but there are so many things that we do love about KY.
Weather isn't everything. Quality of life comprises a whole lot of things besides weather.
Big word for make a list. The reality is if you can be honest... and for some brutally honest... then build a list that starts as most important and ends at least important.
Then find a place that fits the list. If you do it by "how you feel" then tomorrow might take you in a completly different direction.
My wife and I made our list and spent 2 years and many trips to a general area (few states near the Blue Ridge, Va, W.Va, Ky, Nc, Tn, Ga,) and finally made our choice.
I wanted seclusion she wanted community, I wanted rural she wanted services and convienences... so it wasn't easy, but we did it.
Worked for us... but we made the commitment to the process because we knew if we defined the logic (what) and made the process support the logic it would be a good choice... oh yeah... we prayed a lot about it.
My in-laws are set to retire within the next 10 years, and they love the Seattle/Medina area. Only problem is, the property crime levels are enough to drive anyone away. My parents settled in Connecticut, and retired there. I'm 24, and just bought the home I plan to "retire" in.
It's a really long stretch for you, but maybe look at South Windsor, CT.
Your 'rents settled in CT??!! The state with the highest tax burden? How did they do it? I love CT and have lots of family in NY but my husband just responds with the word 'taxes' whenever I make noise about going back.
have you considered northern Nevada, we are retiring in Northern Nevada from Alaska, we plan to be snow birds. When we decided to retire outside we started traveling around and kept coming back to Nevada. No state income tax, low sales tax and low property taxes. We are out in the middle of nowhere they says but it works for us. Power, Water, telephone and roads that lead anywhere and everywhere.
Look into Huntsville, AL. Boeing has a large contingent here so you might be able to get some insider opinion but it's cheap here, plentiful housing in all price ranges and a lot to do. Close to Nashville, Atlanta, Asheville, Memphis and Birmingham. Good airport, I-65 runs by just west of here and the Army (Redstone Arsenal), NASA (Marshall Space Flight Center) and aerospace contractors are the primary employment.
Retiring: Knoxville-and other southern cities such as Greenville,SC...both have high air quality issues in the spring and summer. Greenville altho a super lovely place is rated the highest in the country for upper respiratory diseases..check out topics like asthma, allergies to get a descending list of cities across the country. The valley of the mountains (such as Maryville, Tn) gets you more air quality issues...here the vegetative gases from the Smokys play into that.
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