Retirement this summer, any suggestions to relocate for my Golden Years? (1 Viewer)

[Robert Crawford]

As a film buff, I'd say downstate AZ. You probably have Flagstaff over the "not so hot"...but Flagstaff gets bitter cold.

As for Wash. State, I'd urge the eastern part of the state and eastern Oregon. Especially within 50 miles of tristate, including Idaho.

Flagstaff might get more snow than I expected.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Oregon is one of the worst states to retire to, very high property taxes.

Take Lexington off your list unless you desire to live in an area with a lot of racists.

Patrick,


I didn't know that was an issue in Lexington, can you explain more?

 

[Robert Crawford]

I have lived in Michigan all of my 64, soon to be 65 years. I have retired here and bought a condo/townhouse in Fenton. I love the change of seasons and all the things to do. I guarantee if you move from here you will be spending money and time to come back to here to take advantage of what Michigan has to offer. It is not perfect, the taxes are too high, but it is better than any place you have on your list. I laugh at all the people who leave here during the winter as they are missing some of the best parts of Michigan.

I'm not a Michigan native. I grew up in the NYC Metro area, attended college in the South and then lived all of my adult life in the Midwest in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. It's time for a change of scenery and new experiences elsewhere.

 

[Robert Crawford]

From Robert's post it sounds like he wants to be a snowbird, so I'm unclear whether he's looking to buy a home or for something with less commitment.

I'm not a snowbird per se as I like the four seasons as well as some snow. What I don't want is three straight months of below freezing temperatures with a possibility of snow every day. I don't like three straight months of extremely high temperatures either. I'm definitely looking to rent instead of buying a home which gives me the flexibility to leave if I don't want to stay there.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Thank you for starting what is already a pleasurable and informative thread, Crawdaddy.


I will eventually be looking to do the same, though not for at least a couple more years. But I'll be doing it with those exact interests in mind.

Yeah, I thought more than a few of us can benefit from such a thread.

 

[schan1269]

Sounds like you want Denver or Colorado Springs...

Flagstaff gets more snow because, compared to points north, it sits in a plain(meaning, weather actually gets there, for Denver and The Springs, weather tends to die 40 miles west).

Casper, WY is tremendous. I like it better than Cheyenne. Cheyenne might be higher, but Casper has the scenery.

Essentially, Cheyenne to Peubo, CO, rightfully deserves a look.

Freezing temps at 5000+ feet are nothing like at 1000 feet.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I'm not a snowbird per se as I like the four seasons as well as some snow. What I don't want is three straight months of below freezing temperatures with a possibility of snow every day. I don't like three straight months of extremely high temperatures either. I'm definitely looking to rent instead of buying a home which gives me the flexibility to leave if I don't want to stay there.

This is the main reason we are looking to leave Michigan, too, although my wife is having a more difficult time with the idea due to current family issues. She is looking after her mother (87 and suffering from dementia) and step-father (99 years old), so we are probably here until that situation changes.

Scott, it is a wonderful area. My wife and I have also looked at east Tennessee as well. Our ultimate retirement locale is TBD but we're sure it will be in one of those areas. My parents and brothers still live in H'ville so there is a family tie remaining there as well. But as my brothers are both 10-15 years older than I and my parents are in their 80's, when I retire I may be the only one left.

The town part I miss the most is all the local restaurants and stores where I knew everyone and they knew me.

This is an important feature for my wife and me. We have this situation in our local community of Plymouth, and I would greatly miss the experience. Dining at big chain restaurants doesn't appeal to us. Plymouth has a downtown public park, too, where free concerts are held in the summer, plus other events such as an Ice Sculpture Festival, Art Festival, and Fall Festival. We are looking for a community with similar offerings.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Sounds like you want Denver or Colorado Springs...

Flagstaff gets more snow because, compared to points north, it sits in a plain(meaning, weather actually gets there, for Denver and The Springs, weather tends to die 40 miles west).

Casper, WY is tremendous. I like it better than Cheyenne. Cheyenne might be higher, but Casper has the scenery.

Essentially, Cheyenne to Peubo, CO, rightfully deserves a look.

Freezing temps at 5000+ feet are nothing like at 1000 feet.

Flagstaff is probably off my list because I read it's average snowfall is more than mid-Michigan.

 

[Mike Boone]

I'm not a snowbird per se as I like the four seasons as well as some snow. What I don't want is three straight months of below freezing temperatures with a possibility of snow every day. I don't like three straight months of extremely high temperatures either. I'm definitely looking to rent instead of buying a home which gives me the flexibility to leave if I don't want to stay there.

Robert, I well understand your point about "three straight months of below freezing temperatures with a possibility of snow every day" as my wife and I live, and are retired, here in Northeast Ohio, about 35 miles south of Cleveland and Lake Erie. And being in a belt of weather that is the most overcast in the lower 48 states, (I think we only have 60% of the # of sunny days that New York City has, for example) the non-winter months are no bargain either.

The saying here is "If you don't like the weather, wait a few minutes, it'll change." The truth of that saying is constantly reaffirmed by warm weather outings that begin so pleasantly, then suddenly become rain soaked, wind ravaged, nightmares.


But lest anyone think that I might be trying to deter my fellow Home Theater Forum members from joining us in retirement in the hinterlands of Northern Ohio, just consider how often our absolutely horrid weather gives us a perfect excuse to escape to the comforting confines of our home theater. For a movie addict like me I'm in retirement heaven, not often distracted by the picnics that my wife's huge (and friendly) family tries to plan. And if we are attending one, and the weather flips to the negative side of the coin, as it seems to do half the time, no one is ever surprised to hear me exclaim: "Hey,

ya wanna go watch a movie?" Boy, am I lucky, what a retirement paradise!

 

[Neil Middlemiss]

Robert - I'd recommend Asheville, NC for a couple of reasons. It's a beautiful area (my wife and I vacation in the NC mountains almost every year,) it's progressive, interesting, vibrant, and it's near at least 2 awesome HTF reviewers


But honestly, some of the other areas that have been mentioned sound really nice too! I'd always imagined that when I get there, I'd retire to Oregon or Washington State (two places I've never been but ALWAYS wanted to go...can't explain why.)

 

[vidiot33]

If weather is the primary consideration, why not move to Hawaii? Another option is buying a rental home in Florida and going there a few weeks out of the year (winter) and renting it out to European tourists during the summer (they seem to love the hot weather).

 

[RolandL]

Robert, I looked up median sale prices for the cities you mentioned and thought about all the qualities you're looking for.


Try taking a look at Port Hueneme, CA if you get the chance. For a city located on the Southern California coast, the prices are fairly reasonable. It's also home to the Port Hueneme naval base nearby. And since it's a coastal city, hot summers won't be as hot as they are inland and the air quality is better.


For college courses, the University of Santa Barbara is located up north. To the east is California Lutheran University.


Los Angeles is about a 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours drive southeast. State of the art movie theaters are located nearby in the cities of Camarillo, Oxnard, and Ventura.

When my parents retired 30 years ago they moved to Ventura, CA. Its close to the ocean so its not that hot in the summer. In fact, they never had an air conditioner. When they lived in East Hartford, CT, there were three AC's in the house to keep it cool during the summer. If you go inland like to Oxnard, its a lot hotter.

 

[RolandL]

Thank you for starting what is already a pleasurable and informative thread, Crawdaddy.


I will eventually be looking to do the same, though not for at least a couple more years. But I'll be doing it with those exact interests in mind.

Charles and I live in the same state. I'm thinking Florida for my retirement, probably in five years, for having no income tax. I can stand the heat more than the cold and houses are cheaper than here in CT. My only problem is where do you put your home theatre room? All the houses I see in Florida have no basement and very few have 2nd floors. All the rooms are open floor plans so, how would you close one off for a HT?

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Dennis,


Boise intrigues me, but how would a single African-American male fit in there? I have a lone wolf mentality, but I do like to go out in social settings like restaurants, movie theaters, concerts, college classes and such. Also, I'm renting wherever I go so I don't have to worry about property taxes. I use to fish when I was younger so I definitely want to take that up again as a hobby. Is it Mountain time there?

It's hard for me to project - I'm not John H. Griffin. There are hardly any black people in Idaho. At the same time there are hardly any PEOPLE in Idaho (pop. 1.6 million). in the old west there were only a handful of black people - miners and cowboys. The more recent WWII black diaspora was mostly to centers of shipbuilding and aircraft production: LA, Long Beach, Oakland, and Seattle. So your question applies to most of the west outside that handful of cities.


Renters do pay property tax - landlords include it in the rent.


Southern Idaho, including Boise, are in Mountain time: northern Idaho is in Pacific time.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Other issues that should be considered by those wanting to relocate in retirement include access to advanced medical care and the crime rate. As you age you need more of the first and become an easier target for the second.

 

[Robert Crawford]

It's hard for me to project - I'm not John H. Griffin. There are hardly any black people in Idaho. At the same time there are hardly any PEOPLE in Idaho (pop. 1.6 million). in the old west there were only a handful of black people - miners and cowboys. The more recent WWII black diaspora was mostly to centers of shipbuilding and aircraft production: LA, Long Beach, Oakland, and Seattle. So your question applies to most of the west outside that handful of cities.


Renters do pay property tax - landlords include it in the rent.


Southern Idaho, including Boise, are in Mountain time: northern Idaho is in Pacific time.

Thanks Dennis as I've lived in areas beforehand without many black people so I don't anticipate any issues.


Even with the property tax added into rent, the rental rates are competitive to what I've seen in Knoxville and Asheville. Also, I thought the state was divided by two different time zones.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Other issues that should be considered by those wanting to relocate in retirement include access to advanced medical care and the crime rate. As you age you need more of the first and become an easier target for the second.

From what I can tell, Boise has really good medical care and low crime rate.

 

[Citizen87645]

Dennis makes a good case for Boise, but being the PNW, you'll also want to look into allergy issues.


Major downside to Eugene/Springfield - if you have seasonal allergies, it is one of the worst places to live in the country (watch those national pollen counts in June and you'll see at least three Oregon cities dominate the top five worst cities for the day). Sometimes, people who have never had allergies move here and develop them in a few years time.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Robert, what kind of medical care would you qualify for: Obamacare, Medicare, or VA care?


Boise is the biggest metro between Portland and Seattle to the west and Salt Lake city and Denver to the east. It's not surprising that Boise is home to a large cluster of hospitals including the flagship St. Al's. http://www.saintalphonsus.org/sarmc

 

[Mike Boone]

Robert - I'd recommend Asheville, NC for a couple of reasons. It's a beautiful area (my wife and I vacation in the NC mountains almost every year,) it's progressive, interesting, vibrant, and it's near at least 2 awesome HTF reviewers


But honestly, some of the other areas that have been mentioned sound really nice too! I'd always imagined that when I get there, I'd retire to Oregon or Washington State (two places I've never been but ALWAYS wanted to go...can't explain why.)

I used to know someone that had spent time in most of the states and felt that Asheville, NC was probably the most beautiful area in which she had ever stayed. But she was only a guest, having no residence there, herself.