Retirement - Where do you want to live and why?

[sstodvictory]

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For me it is in, or near, the upper Mississippi River valley between Red Wing, MN and Dubuque, IA - the region they call the "Driftless Area" because the glaciers flowed around it. The topography is what the entire upper midwest looked like before a series of glacial advances buried most of it in till. This region is hilly and scenic, low cost of living, has four distinct seasons, and it is a jewel of a place for motorcycling and sport car driving on pavement and gravel. Ideal location within would be around Waukon, IA, because from that location there are great trips in each of four different directions.

Second choice would be Southern Missouri for the same reasons. In that case the playground is S. MO, S. IL, N. AK, E. WY and E. KS.

Steve

 

[jlong]

Brazil. I'm tired of freezin my freakin ass off.

 

[daveinlax]

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For me it is in, or near, the upper Mississippi River valley between Red Wing, MN and Dubuque, IA - the region they call the "Driftless Area" because the glaciers flowed around it.

I live on the river in La Crosse (lax), WI and I dearly love my waterfront lifestyle especially not being in the floodplain but I fear that high property taxes might make this place to expensive for retirement. Just pulled the flatbottom to shore and hauled the motor up the hill to the garage Friday, now that's not a job for a 65+r! :shock:

 

[dshpipes]

I'd retire with two houses in very different parts of the country to accommodate the change in seasons.

Summer through late fall would be Ithaca, NY. The college students are gone and the backbone of the community comes out to play. Art, food, and community are vibrant here, as well as a strong hippie population which I love. The hiking is fantastic thanks to all of the beautiful gorges around and in Ithaca and there are plenty of places to camp, bike, and explore within a stone's throw of downtown.

Winter through late spring would be Jennings, LA. My family seeded there and a lot of family still live within 2 hours of there. It's a beautiful town with Victorian homes abound. I'm not sure if the town will still be alive by the time I retire, but I like to think that it will be. If Jennings died before I got the chance to implement this plan, I'd be in my clifftop home on the coast of California north of San Francisco.

 

[Muddler]

I'll probably retire to the coast. I've lived in a really big city for the past 10 years &, quite frankly, loathe it. Were it not for me wanting to stay married to Mrs Mudd, I'd be outa here. And she's here because she's caring for her very frail mother. I'm toying with the idea of moving to Namibia too - lower crime/ population density.

 

[Puff Daddy]

I want to retire near the sea and close to affordable golf. I don't require much, don't need a fancy house - a little condo or even a manufactured home in a senior park would be fine, but I want to be able to walk up and down the beach and surf cast on the days I'm not golfing. I'd love to retire to San Diego, but Florida might be more affordable.

 

[user 2031]

...

 

[ZeroContent]

I'd probably have to live in a van.

Winter - New England for Skiing and Snowmobiling
Early Spring St. George, UT for Rock Climbing
Late Spring to Early Summer - Slade, KY for Rock Climbing
Summer BC, Canada for Rock Climbing and hiking and camping
Early Fall White Mountain area in NH for Rock Climbing
Late Fall Seneca Rock, WV for Rock Climbing
then back to New England for the snow.

 

[plumbernater]

Back to the NC Mountains, way back in the mountains

 

[Brewdude]

First, while I'll very probably never "really" retire in the strictest sense my requirements for living out my last days are thus-

No windstorms (we have damaging windstorms in W. Washingtion state. Nov-Jan as a general rule)

No earthquakes (been through a 7.2 here in '01)

No exploding mountains (Mt. Saint Helens in SE WA state, circa '81. Need I say more?)

No bitter cold winters (grew up in the upper midwest).

No hurricanes (so FL and the gulf coast is out. And the east coast from FL on up doesn't appeal for various reasons).

So.... being that I like calm weather and warm, my first choices would be southern AZ, possibly the SE section of the state. I've looked into this casually and have identified several areas to be visited in the future.

Might also consider SW New Mexico. Again, several areas that hold interest. Need to visit.

I particularly like hot and dry. As long as the R/H is low I find I can stand temperature extremes pretty well and in fact enjoy them. OTOH I dislike cold and snow, which rules out northern WI which I'm fairly familiar with having spent much time there as a cheesehead and also love the area in the warmer months.

OTOH, if money was no object there's a pretty little hamlet in the Yorkshire Dales that has captured my heart.

So there ya go......



Cheers,

RR

 

[DrT999]

If my wife has her druthers, we'll retire to the Istrian coast, even though the health care available outside the cities can be pretty distant for retired folks (as her father has found out). We'll inherit a small 15th century cottage in a v scenic seaside town, but I don't know how well that will work. Guess we'll have to wait 13 1/2 years and find out!

 

[mark]

Anywhere but new york state. The taxes are killing me, the red tape is neverending, aside from the Adirondack mountains I'd just as soon give it all back to the indians.

Colorado in the summer and fall, the scenery is fantastic and I've enjoyed the fishing there. I'd like to hunt bighorn sheep and antelope.

Maybe Virginia in the winter, warmer weather, near the ocean for surfcasting. Lots of historical sights to investigate.

Southeast Alaska in the spring, steelhead and trout, Sitka blacktailed deer hunting.

Guess I need a motorhome,,

 

[Anonymous]

With the economic shennanigans going on, coming up on age 64, realistically, Retirement is the Impossible Dream.

If you think a re-play of Weimar Germany, where a loaf of bread cost 500,000,000 marks is impossible -- or even unlikely -- think again.

Fixed incomes have the clear potential to be death sentences, and there has hardly been a genuine "investment" opportunity in the last 15 years.

We live in interesting times.

:face:

 

[Harlock999]

Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
It's beautiful, the people are beautiful.
You can get every on foot or bicycle.
And some other reasons...

 

[Guy]

I have been kind of “retired” for some time, at least from the backstabbing office politics PC culture of the corporate world. Still living in the same place, for good or bad, working professionally in the music business, for me there is no place like NYC.

 

[hobie1dog]

OIl Nut Bay on the far North end of Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands


no police
no crime
no billboards
no politicians

 

[Airborne]

Paris.

 

[Airborne]

Or Rome.