Retirees and near retirees...

[sam_gordon]

DW & I should have <15 years to retirement. So not close, but getting there. Starting to think about WHERE to retire. I know I'm looking for someplace not subject to snow/ice (although the way things are going, that might be the entire US in 15 years.

So, what "sold" you on where you've retired/going to retire? Did you move? Did you stay? I know there are a LOT of factors, money, family, etc, but was there something for you that "sold" you on your location?

 

[kdonnel]

I've thought about it but I believe I already live in an area with a relatively low cost of living that is just a few hours from both the mountains, the beach, and less than an hour from the busiest airport. Those are all criteria that have kept us in the area and will more than likely keep us in Metro Atlanta in retirement.

If we move in retirement I think where our kids end up will be the biggest influence.

 

[nw6675]

We went to DH's hometown.(VA) Triple yuck and we will move to my hometown. (NC)

 

[PrincessShmoo]

So, what "sold" you on where you've retired/going to retire? Did you move? Did you stay? I know there are a LOT of factors, money, family, etc, but was there something for you that "sold" you on your location?

We had plans to sell the house and move to Arizona. But, the fact that we'd lose our medical coverage (our HMO isn't there), and Medicare doctors are hard to find there. We coupled that with our children (adults) are still living in the house, and the fact that they would get it when we die, and even with the good jobs they have, they couldn't afford to find a new place to live if we moved, we opted to stay put.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Retired a few years now and still in the home we raised our kids - mostly because 95% of our family and extended family lives within 75 minutes of us. So the problem we have is if we decide to move far away, we'll be moving away from 95% of our family! And that's not what we want. Our current home isn't as important as being within reach of the family, and them within reach of us. At some point, we'll probably want something smaller with less lawn maintenance and snow removal requirements - but not yet!

 

[robinb]

Good question! I'm also interested in hearing what others have to say. I've been retired for a while but my DH will be retiring next year.

If you had asked me even 5 years ago, I would have said the Orlando area without hesitation. Warm weather, international airport, beaches nearby, 50+ retirement communities with built in activities and new friends, Disney APs ... what's not to love?

Welp, since then Florida's political climate has taken a hard turn to the right (opposite of my political views), housing prices are crazy and insurance rates, if you can even find a company to insure you, are insane. Like @kdonnel, we just may end up where our daughter settles with maybe a snow birding place for winter.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

I know we also had the conversation many years ago about retiring to Florida, most likely in the Tampa area, which we love. But the thought of the hot summers and storms in Florida eliminated that idea. Snow birding for us for now, too!

 

[CdnCarrie]

I have no desire to move away from all my friends and family. But we may become snowbirds.

 

[china mom]

First retirement was in 2010 and the kids ere 6 & 8 and my mother's health had begun to decline so we stayed put so the kids would have to switch schools and so we could be there for Mom.

Then we got decent local jobs (even though DH could transfer almost anywhere in the country) plus the 19 & 21 year old are still in the house so we are here for now.

We are not in a hurry but looking toward 2025 for a second retirement. We are thinking somewhere South but staying on the East coast. Maybe Florida for tax reasons (and political reasons - wink to robinb ). The heat and storms are a concern with Florida and, as mentioned, housing and insurance.

 

[maui22]

Good question. DW was forced into retirement a year ago. I'm within 5 years of retirement.
So many factors to take into consideration. Climate, taxes, healthcare, family, now we include property insurance, etc.

At present, we are planning to stay around family, but snowbird during January-March. This allows us to have mild summers, stay near family, really good healthcare where we are at, affordable compared to many other states. We like the idea of visiting different places each winter.

 

[SC Minnie]

We'll stay where we are. DH is already retired and would move to FL in a heartbeat. I have a few years and my mother lives about 45 min from us on a large plot of family land. Like a PP we live a few hours from the beach and the mountains and also ~20 min from an international airport.

We get enough change in seasons so we feel like we've have all 4 but winter doesn't last long.

DD has been in FL about 8 years now. We *could* move to the Orlando area but who knows if she'll be there longer term as her career progresses.

 

[easyas123]

We are in our early 50's and considering some of these questions. We think what we want to do is have a small place or in-law suite here 'at home' and a retirement home somewhere else. Presumably warmer??? Problem is we don't know where!
We love to travel, and anticipate doing a lot of it in the next 10-15 years and one idea we have is to keep a small place up here and pick different locations to rent in for 3 or 6 months a year.
I don't know what we will end up doing, a lot may depend on our farm. It's a LOT of work, but we are enjoying that work at the moment, however I know the day will come where the enjoyment is lessened and the work increased and at that point we may consider selling, then we will have to make a choice.

 

[barkley]

we were considering a few states with our criteria being-

safe environment

decent schools for our then school aged kids (i was an early retiree due to health) with multiple options for college if they chose to attend down the line

availability of medical providers/specialists in close proximity

reasonably priced rural land (we knew we wanted acreage)

reasonable cost of living and taxation

not excessively hot/humid (i can handle snow/cold).


we looked at the west side of the state (washington) but it had changed so much from what i remembered in the 80's it was just like the crazyness we wanted to leave behind in california so we decided to scope out the eastern side. the beauty took our breath away, the small towns are reminiscent of the best parts of northern california in the 60's and '70s, the cost of acreage and homes were very reasonable (can't say that's the case anymore), cost of living to this day is less than i experienced dating back to the 80's (my home/auto insurance, property taxes and utilities are all still lower than i paid in california), lots of great schools, lots of great universities and colleges (and from what i read on the dis much more reasonably priced than other states), incredible access to medical providers.


added bonus-VERY nice, welcoming and caring people (we knew not a soul when we moved here). oh-no income tax is nice too

 

[Southernmiss]

We're about 10 years from DH's projected retirement date. I'm not sure I'll be ready to retire then.

We like our area-it's our hometown. 2 sets of parents are still here. (DHs mom lives about 7 hours away.) For us, it will depend on the parents' conditions of health and where our kids wind up.

So far, 3 of our 4 kids are not in our area. And we would move near them in a heartbeat.

We did learn this week that a cousin our age has up and moved to New York City as their college age children are there. He can work from home and she got a great job in her field in New York. It's quite a different culture from the slow Southern pace they both have lived in all their 50+years. I rather admire them for making the drastic leap. Dh and I visited Boston last year and we would make a leap to Boston if we had the opportunity to.

 

[Chili327]

I'm about 15 years away as well, & the only 2 spots I thought of are Philippines or Costa Rica

 

[jrmasm]

https://www.aarp.org/money/taxes/info-2023/states-that-do-not-tax-your-retirement-distributions.html

 

[Christine]

Love these threads. I'm about 5-7 years out from retiring. My DH is already retired. We live in an area that "has it all" so to speak. But it is not "retiree" friendly in my viewpoint. It skews younger, full of rush/rush commuter lifestyle (I am one of them and have been). It's just not a place where I see where I would enjoy being as a retiree.

My requirements are:
Must be within 20 miles of a Trader Joes
Very mild winters (I could actually skip winter)
Easy proximity to top notch medical facilities and hospitals
Easy access to good restaurants, shopping.

Basically I don't want to drive an hour for something nor do I want to be run down on various mega-freeways trying to get to my doctor's appointment.

I don't know where that area is. Like another poster, I used to think I'd move somewhere in the southeastern part of the U.S. but the political climate in some of these places seems like it's gotten somewhat extreme. I don't want to be in an area that is skewed too far politically in either direction but something more moderate. It shouldn't even be a factor, honestly, and I never thought it would be but here we are.

I have visited my son in San Diego three times now and I love it there. It's still a "city" but it feels small and manageable to me as someone pushing the edge of getting old. I might be off base on that. But, dang, I think I'm priced out.

 

[longboard55]

Everyone loves to bag on California, but 35 years in one house and I have a property tax rate of .25%. Plus solar panels so very small electric bill. I could not afford to move

 

[Christine]

Everyone loves to bag on California, but 35 years in one house and I have a property tax rate of .25%. Plus solar panels so very small electric bill. I could not afford to move

I love most things about California but I think newcomers are pretty much shut out. It would take everything I had and then some to get into a house there, even a small one. I think the property taxes for new ownership as well as regular payroll taxes against retirement are not ideal. It's a shame.

 

[HeatherC]

About 5-6 years out here. Will most likely stay here in Massachusetts since family is all in New England which includes our three adult kids and we love New England. We definitely also want to be close to any future grandchildren.

Planning to most likely snowbird. We love Hilton Head Island and will spend time there. My MIL also has a condo in Delray Beach that will be passed down to us so may also spend some time there using that if we don’t wind up selling it.

Amazing how quickly the time flies and all of a sudden we are making retirement plans! In my mind, I am still 30.