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

I'm looking for warmer climate during the winter months as I had enough of cold and bitter winters. I'm looking for a location that is not hot like a frying pan during the summer months in which you have to endure 90-100+ degree temperatures for months at a time. I prefer a city or town with a college in it as I would like to take some classes to keep my pea brain from turning into oatmeal. Low taxes and/or cost of living would be an added bonus I'm looking for, but most of all, I'm looking for an area in which I won't die of boredom and that have state of the art movie theaters.


I have a short list that I'm going to dig deeper into checking out, but not real preference right now.


Asheville, North Carolina

Knoxville, Tennessee

Bellingham, Washington

Flagstaff, Arizona

Nashville, Tennessee

Lexington, Kentucky

Robert Crawford said:

I'm looking for warmer climate during the winter months as I had enough of cold and bitter winters. I'm looking for a location that is not hot like a frying pan during the summer months in which you have to endure 90-100+ degree temperatures for months at a time. I prefer a city or town with a college in it as I would like to take some classes to keep my pea brain from turning into oatmeal. Low taxes and/or cost of living would be an added bonus I'm looking for, but most of all, I'm looking for an area in which I won't die of boredom and that have state of the art movie theaters.


I have a short list that I'm going to dig deeper into checking out, but not real preference right now.


Asheville, North Carolina

Knoxville, Tennessee

Bellingham, Washington

Flagstaff, Arizona

Nashville, Tennessee

Lexington, Kentucky

Click to expand...

Robert,


I am a 45-year native of Hendersonville, NC which is about 20 miles south of Asheville so I'm very familiar with the area (I moved to SC for remarriage after the death of my first wife in 2008). Asheville is beautiful and very eclectic but it is a relatively small town (not sure if size matters), and life is pretty laid-back. It has also seen the influx of a lot of what the locals call "trust-fund babies" and I've heard it called the "Sante Fe of the East".


Weather is fairly moderate but it does have 4 distinct seasons, although the winters are nothing compared to what you're used to. It is home to University of NC-Ashevile and has several other colleges within spitting distance (my alma mater, Mars Hill College, Montreat College, and a couple of local community colleges).


WNC is a big destination for retirees and I aim to head back when my wife and I retire in 12 years or so.


On the movie theater side, it has a "stadium" style complex (the Regal Grande 15 at Biltmore) and several other standard multiplexes in and around the area.

Alex,


I've lived in small towns like Bloomington, Indiana, Champaign-Urbana, Illinois and even now in mid-Michigan. How is living in Hendersonville as homes seem a little cheaper there than Asheville?

I would remove Knoxville, Nashville and Lexington from your list due to hot and humid summers.

Prescott, AZ. is one to check out also.

How about Eugene/Springfield, OR?


Summer doesn't really start here until July, but can extend into late September. Temperatures usually don't get above 95, but when they do don't last for more than a week at at time. There's some humidity, but nothing like the East Coast. Fall is also usually pretty nice and doesn't get really chilly or rainy until about mid-October.


We have both Regal and Cinemark multiplexes (and supposedly more on the way), but also a longstanding art house theater. If you're into IMAX, however, you'll have to journey to Seattle to get the true experience. It's all Lie-Max in Oregon so far.


The University of Oregon and Lane Community College are available as continuing education options.


Oregon also doesn't have sales tax, which is made up for by higher income and property taxes (not sure if you are looking to buy a summer residence?).


Cost of an weekend evening movie ticket at the Cinemark? $6.65 ($4.40 senior).

Robert Crawford said:

Alex,

I've lived in small towns like Bloomington, Indiana, Champaign-Urbana, Illinois and even now in mid-Michigan. How is living in Hendersonville as homes seem a little cheaper there than Asheville?

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As a native, I loved it. But it is very small, mostly local businesses/restaurants with a few chains (mostly fast food) and a Wally World. For me and my family, it was wonderful and I hated leaving but my new wife was bound more by job and circumstance to Upstate SC than I was to H'ville (I'm still only 45 minutes away). Very relaxed and laid back. Lots of retirees from upper Midwest and Northeast. Apple country, with small downtown with lots of rural surroundings.

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.

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.

atfree said:

Robert,


I am a 45-year native of Hendersonville, NC which is about 20 miles south of Asheville so I'm very familiar with the area (I moved to SC for remarriage after the death of my first wife in 2008). Asheville is beautiful and very eclectic but it is a relatively small town (not sure if size matters), and life is pretty laid-back. It has also seen the influx of a lot of what the locals call "trust-fund babies" and I've heard it called the "Sante Fe of the East".


Weather is fairly moderate but it does have 4 distinct seasons, although the winters are nothing compared to what you're used to. It is home to University of NC-Ashevile and has several other colleges within spitting distance (my alma mater, Mars Hill College, Montreat College, and a couple of local community colleges).


WNC is a big destination for retirees and I aim to head back when my wife and I retire in 12 years or so.


On the movie theater side, it has a "stadium" style complex (the Regal Grande 15 at Biltmore) and several other standard multiplexes in and around the area.

Click to expand...

Alex,


My wife and I have been considering Hendersonville as a retirement community, too. We visited the area a couple of years ago and really enjoyed the area. It has much of what we have been looking for -- a traditional downtown area, scenic hiking trails, decent healthcare, etc. Our current city (Plymouth, MI) has that traditional small downtown area with independent businesses and restaurants, and we really enjoy that type of town.


We have spent a lot of time along the Carolina coast (we have owned a condo in North Myrtle Beach for almost 20 years), but it's just not somewhere I want to live full time -- too crowded and hot/humid in the summertime, plus the area reminds me too much of the suburban strip mall sprawl that we dislike so much in neighboring communities around here . The mountain areas of the Carolinas are much more attractive to us for a permanent residence. I would also consider areas across the border into Tennessee, where the cost of living is a little lower (if that is a consideration).

Scott Merryfield said:

Alex,

My wife and I have been considering Hendersonville as a retirement community, too. We visited the area a couple of years ago and really enjoyed the area. It has much of what we have been looking for -- a traditional downtown area, scenic hiking trails, decent healthcare, etc. Our current city (Plymouth, MI) has that traditional small downtown area with independent businesses and restaurants, and we really enjoy that type of town.

We have spent a lot of time along the Carolina coast (we have owned a condo in North Myrtle Beach for almost 20 years), but it's just not somewhere I want to live full time -- too crowded and hot/humid in the summertime, plus the area reminds me too much of the suburban strip mall sprawl that we dislike so much in neighboring communities around here . The mountain areas of the Carolinas are much more attractive to us for a permanent residence. I would also consider areas across the border into Tennessee, where the cost of living is a little lower (if that is a consideration).

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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.

Oh, yeah....

Taos, New Mexico. Add it, you must....

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'm reading with great interest (and great envy) too. A few more years for me though, too.


And then there's that little detail of my kids and granddaughter living nearby...

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.

Robert Crawford said:

I'm looking for warmer climate during the winter months as I had enough of cold and bitter winters. I'm looking for a location that is not hot like a frying pan during the summer months in which you have to endure 90-100+ degree temperatures for months at a time. I prefer a city or town with a college in it as I would like to take some classes to keep my pea brain from turning into oatmeal. Low taxes and/or cost of living would be an added bonus I'm looking for, but most of all, I'm looking for an area in which I won't die of boredom and that have state of the art movie theaters.


I have a short list that I'm going to dig deeper into checking out, but not real preference right now.


Asheville, North Carolina

Knoxville, Tennessee

Bellingham, Washington

Flagstaff, Arizona

Nashville, Tennessee

Lexington, Kentucky

Click to expand...

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.

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.

Take a look at this story about the best dozen places to retire...

http://www.destinationtips.com/destinations/the-12-best-cities-to-retire-in-the-usa/


I picked Boise for many reasons. For Robert Crawford reasons....

Boise has a wonderfully restored classic movie house, the Egyptian Theater. It also has an IMAX theater. Boise State University has 20,000 students and a decent football team. Boise averages 22 inches of snow a season, which is a lot less than the great lakes area. At 2700 foot elevation, Boise has a dry "high desert" climate.


Utility costs are low due to cheap hydroelectric power in the PNW and cheap local natural gas. Overall tax burden is low. Many states compensate for having no sales tax or no income tax by "jacking up" the remaining taxes to compensate. Idaho has sales, income, and property taxes but doesn't jack up any of the three.


Idaho comprises almost all of the Pacific slope of the Rockies west of the continental divide from Canada down to Utah. As such most of the state looks like a national park. Robert, are you an outdoorsman?


Idaho is a libertarian-conservative state, not a social-conservative state. The often clueless national news media (think Rolling Stone fake rape story) paints Idaho as a "Nazi" state. However Idaho was the first state in US history to elect a Jewish governor - Moses Alexander - back during WWI. Religion is about 20% Mormon, 20% Catholic, and the rest mostly avowed atheist and Protestant. The Southern Poverty Law Center site (hardly a right-wing mouthpiece) shows Idaho as one of a handful of states without a Klan chapter.


Robert, you didn't mention "access to water". You should consider this issue. Most of the southwest - California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico - appears to be entering a permanent drought. You probably don't want to spend your retirement under water rationing. That's a prime reason I chose the PNW.

Patrick_S said:

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

Click to expand...

The same is true of Texas. Property tax is the very devil in retirement since it's a fixed tax regardless of how much you make or spend. Be wary of states that brag "we don't have sales/income tax" since they generally jack up the property tax to compensate.


Did you ever notice there are NO states that don't have a property tax?

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?

Jim517 said:

I would remove Knoxville, Nashville and Lexington from your list due to hot and humid summers.

Prescott, AZ. is one to check out also.

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I've lived in Nashville as I attended college there so my pull there is strictly due to my alma mater. However, Knoxville is high on my list as it's a bit cooler than Nashville during the summer months.