Seattleites Where are You Retiring? (2013, unemployment, to live in)

[TwoByFour]

Originally Posted by ctr88

Why not be snowbirds and live in the Seattle area say May though Sept and somewhere warm the rest of the year? .

My wife and I just retired and left Seattle after living there 35 years. Spend Sept-May in Maui and the summer in the Columbia River gorge. Weather-wise it is ideal but I can tell you it is a real pain to maintain two houses separated by an ocean. We have two of everything, including cars (so 4 total), two doctors, two dentists, we keep having to reset our addresses, mail gets lost, we forget that important documents or papers are in the other house, and to make matters worse, we have a dog that has to snowbird with us. And medical insurance is usually tied to one state, so that is a problem for us.

We are going to keep doing the snowbird thing for a while but I am pretty sure we will get tired of it and settle in one place or the other. I cannot see spending the winters in rural Washington, so we will likely just stay in Maui. Or return to Seattle, although that has lost the charm it had when we moved to Seattle many years ago.

[jamesbndgrl123]

Originally Posted by cocaseco

Meh. I just left Fort Collins for Issaquah after 17 years there, 30 in Colorado. It has changed so much it's not even close to what it was. It is brown and dead much of the year. It is hotter and hotter each summer, with an all time high last summer of 105 and the normal is now 45 to 50 plus 90 degree days. It used to rain and snow on a regular basis, now its more drought and water restrictions and brown landscapes. I thought living there with access to Denver was providing everything, but when I see what Seattle has to offer a feel like a farm boy in the big city. Then there are the increasingly visiual gang markings, the prolification of rattle snakes and the ever closer forest fires. YMMV

I guess, but I couldn't take endless cloudy days! Yes Issaquah is greener than Fort Collins. Loveland/ Fort Collins, has way less crime than from where we live in Chandler, AZ or most of the PHX Metro suburbs by a long shot!

[tifoso]

Originally Posted by pnwretired

Answering the OPs original question on where to retire:

Good grief - its seems like I change my mind weekly. I have been retired for 10 years; hubby has 4 more. Ugh.

I think if money is no object - San Diego should be your choice. I was born and lived there until 1983 when I moved to PNW. Believe it or not I do not like to see the sun 24/7. I like the change of seasons. I have loved living here up until about 3/4 years ago when this grey, overcast weather day in and day out is really getting to me. I don't mind the rain - it's the grey. Even when the sun does shine it rarely comes out in the a.m. Have to wait to afternoon when we do get it. Oh, there are some days that does not happen but those who say different are blowing smoke, or they just don't notice. LOL

You can keep AZ. I for one hate, hate that dry, scorching sun. I would rather have humidity even though don't know if we would like it. Figure we can stay indoors if it got too bad. I also hate the desert, cactus and things they call flowers there. Just not appealing to me. Again, sun 24/7 is not for me even if I liked that scenery.

I thought at one time I would like Colorado Springs. Colorado is actually one of the best states to move to for retirement and tax purposes. At least that is what I read a few years ago. Was disappointed in it and someone told me it is because they are expanding and so much road work etc. Come back in a few years when they are done so guess we will visit again.

Loved Utah and also NM. We are thinking of the SE though. Tenn is high on our list as well as SC. North Carolina - maybe - just more expensive to live there from what I can gather.

Thought of Eastern WA but still in the same state and WA is definitely not good retirement state even though we don't have a state income tax. They get you other ways. So the cost of living in my estimation is high.

Hubby is from ID and I do like it there so that might be an option if the humidity thing becomes an issue with us.

So many choice but we have a while yet..............

I read recently that less than 2% of all retirees move out of state so it's interesting to find so many people here on this thread planning to do just that.

Like you, pnwretired, we went through a long process with a lot of twists and turns before making a decision. It was fun and enlightening, though.

Seattle is a great place to live while one is working, but it doesn't hold the same appeal for me as a retirement destination. I like to be outdoors as much as possible, but I'm not one to spend a lot of time outside in the rain. So I like sun and warm weather...to a point. That point comes when it gets so hot I can't sleep at night without air conditioning. While we love visiting the desert, living someplace like Tucson or Palm Springs wasn't going to happen.

Nor was a place that had a lot of snow and cold weather during the winter. Don't get me wrong; I love visiting the snow. I just don't like it visiting me. So that eliminated not just otherwise attractive options like Flagstaff, but also places in Colorado and Utah that might otherwise have made the short list.

And while neither were deal-breakers, we wanted two other things: being close to salt water and to a reasonable level of urban amenities. Add those to the desire for a temperate climate with more sunshine but without excessive humidity and that really narrowed the choices. Which was probably a good thing, given my proclivity for analysis paralysis.

In the end, the finalists were Ashland, Napa/Sonoma, and Monterey/Carmel. These were all places we'd visited many times. (We obviously aren't as adventureous as you ) In the end we chose Napa. Great weather (warm and sunny, but not so much that we need A/C), close enough to SF and Oakland, and reasonably close to salt water. Once down there permanently, I'll be able to ride my bike almost every day without getting wet. No, it's certainly not cheap, but for our situation anyway, it was no more expensive than Ashland once the Oregon income tax is taken into account. Monterey was great, but housing was too expensive. And given that I'm going to be in Seattle for awhile longer, it's nice to know we can jump in the car with the dog in the early morning and be in Napa in time for a late dinner. Monterey's a further two hours away.

Best of luck with your decision. I'm sure you'll have a great time figuring out where you want to land!

[Alex54seattle]

After nearly 40 years in Seattle, we retired to Maui in the spring of 2012. We'd vacationed in Hawaii for 30+ years and chose Maui, as it had the best of everything for our needs. Vacationing and living in a place are very different. After 15 months I'm ready to jump island! Yes, the weather is perfect, everyday. Summers have been hot (we're at the ocean), near 90 and humid, requiring AC, which for our 3br/3ba runs $300-550 month. Food is expensive, with few options. PLUSES: low property taxes, pension not taxed, amazing ocean and beaches, incredibly friendly people, shorts and flip flops 365. You WILL miss friends and family, and have more than your share of guests. I have been back to Seattle 3 times, and I must say I feel more at home there than here. Don't forget to factor into your perfect place – along with affordability and weather; family, friends, community.

[Tiger108]

Southern Oregon will be drier, but colder, and more isolated, than Seattle. Ashland is nice, plus close to many great outdoor activites, and popular with retirees, but is also pricey. Nearest airport is Medford (and it's not a big airport). We considered it but decided it would be too isolated overall, and too cold in the winter. Others would love it. We'd never move to Arizona, due to the summer heat. Colorado is beautiful. Can you take the cold? (I assume you mean mountainous parts of the state, not the plains). We're actually considering retiring to the Puget Sound area, though not Seattle (too expensive, too crowded). More likely someplace like Gig Harbor, Port Orchard or Sequim.

[LaylaM]

Just bumping this thread back up again. Any new ideas out there?

We took our June trip to Tucson, as planned. Unfortunately, the scorching heat just didn't agree with me AT ALL. I really like so many things about that town, but I'm just not a desert person at heart.

We never did make it to North Carolina, since DH just doesn't want to move that far from the West. I was initially disappointed, but really I can see his point. I think it would be just too drastic of a cultural shift for us and way too far from family and friends.

Still on our quest, but getting pretty discouraged at the moment. Even thought about some 'affordable' areas in California, during a temporary bout of insanity.

I envy those of you who have found that 'sweet spot' that feels just right for you. After 2 years of steady research, we still haven't made up our minds.

[Inkpoe]

Perhaps you should look into the High Desert climate instead, where it's not as scorching? Like Flagstaff? Or even Boise.

Or you can do like our other retirees and head on over to Spokane (and CDA). Maybe even look into the Tri-Cities area (Kennewick).

[LaylaM]

Thanks for your suggestions Inkpoe. Agreed that the high desert towns would have some attractive weather advantages and, though we like Flag, Santa Fe and Sedona, those cities just don't quite fit our criteria. I am curious about Boise, since I've read some good things on CD. Eastern Washington - meh.

You may remember in my first post that Denver metro was, originally, our choice. We've since put it on the back burner as we consider aging in altitude, snow and long periods of cold. I know sooner or later a compromise will have to be made somewhere. There's no perfect place!

[Seacove]

I think we would want to retire here or around here. Maybe Whidbey, maybe Anacortes, maybe even Poulsbo but definitely Western Washington as there is no place more beautiful.

[CarawayDJ]

Originally Posted by LaylaM

Thanks for your suggestions Inkpoe. Agreed that the high desert towns would have some attractive weather advantages and, though we like Flag, Santa Fe and Sedona, those cities just don't quite fit our criteria. I am curious about Boise, since I've read some good things on CD. Eastern Washington - meh.

You may remember in my first post that Denver metro was, originally, our choice. We've since put it on the back burner as we consider aging in altitude, snow and long periods of cold. I know sooner or later a compromise will have to be made somewhere. There's no perfect place!

I'd rethink that. Two friends I worked with in San Diego now live in Denver a love it. They have both said that the cold is VERY exaggerated. Can't go by the raw temps. When the sun is shining in these high altitude environments it feels much warmer. There isn't much snow sticking on the ground in Denver. FWIW, my two raised in SoCal friends like Denver weather about as much as they like San Diego weather. That is not to say it is the same, only that they like it about as much.