Retirement locations

[MissDee]

So, Mr. Dee and I are seriously considering retiring some time next year. We know that we don't want to stay where we are (Seattle metro area), and I'm coming to the realization that I probably don't want to stay in the PNW at all. The summers are nice, but the long dreary dark winters are really hard for me. We've lived a bunch of different places around the U.S. and I know that there's no perfect spot, and we like many things about the PNW - however, the winters up here are becoming a deal-breaker.

Based on past experience and preferred climate, it seems like the southern tier of the midwest or the southeastern U.S. might be a good choice for us. We've recently begun looking at Texas (near Austin) and Athens, Georgia. Georgia is attractive to me because my sister and her husband live in Atlanta, so we'd be relatively close to them, Athens is a college town which is a positive in our book, and while I realize that the summers are hot & humid, the winters are short and fairly mild, but still with some seasonal change. Good gardening climate! Real estate prices look very reasonable in both areas, especially compared to here. Texas has no income tax (like WA), and Georgia's income tax structure is fairly friendly to retirees.

We obviously have to do more research - including in-person visits, of course - but I was wondering if anyone has input or opinions on these locations, or any suggestions of similar places that we might not have thought of. Where do YOU want to retire, and why?

[Josette]

http://www.topretirements.com/blog/grea ... oast.html/

Lots of side forums on this site. Funny we loved our visits to Seattle. Port Townsend, Sequim and Olympic National Park. It is always an eye opener when you consider the winter season or extreme temperatures. Of course, we visited during the summer months and thought it was beautiful. Kind of like the way we love Maine, VT and NH but don't want to be there either for the winters LOL.

[PaulaO]

I'm going somewhere in Kentucky (for obvious reasons), or the PNW because I like dark and dreary. Truly, I have summer SAD. I don't like sunshine or heat--it depresses me. I'm also considering Urbana-Champaign because it is a cool college town and my alma mater.

[Hayburner]

Check out Aiken SC or Charlotte NC. If I could, I'd move to Three Runs in Aiken. Unfortunately, I have a very small family and they are in Ohio. So, that's where I'll end up.

[Tabby]

How adventurous are you? There was something in our local paper about this recently. Apparently Ecuador is one of the best places to retire these days. I found this article on it: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathleen- ... 40999.html

From the article:

Why has Cuenca built a reputation as one of the world's top overseas retirement havens? In a nutshell, because:

-- It's a charming, walkable colonial city.
-- The cost of living is low (though rising) and the cost of real estate is near rock bottom for Latin America.
-- The health care is high quality, honest, and inexpensive.
-- You can enjoy its spring-like climate 12 months of the year.
-- Cuenca's large and growing expat community is one of Latin America's most established and integrated with the local community.
-- Ecuador offers user-friendly retiree residency options.
-- Ecuador uses the U.S. dollar meaning no exchange-rate risk for American retirees.

[emmalou]

My office is in Greenville, SC. I love it there. It's only a couple hours from Atlanta and as far as I've been told does not get nearly as hot and humid as Atlanta. It's a college town (Clemson) and has a beautiful, bustling downtown scene. Housing is incredibly affordable.

[texsuze]

Lots of nice area east of Austin, TX. Horse country but close enough to airports for travel. And not really that far from the coast. College Station (2 hrs. NW of Houston) is home to Texas A&M University (whoop!) and some nice places in the vicinity. No state income tax here, very friendly folks, plenty of state parks and state natural areas. What's not to like! You are welcome to PM me for more info, if I can answer any questions.

[Suzon]

No advice for you. We're preparing to blow doors on the bay area of California for the coastal range of Oregon. Hopefully DH won't suddenly seize up when the weather isn't 100% perfect all the time. I'm from Maine, so I was drooling over the beautiful slanted winter light up there when we were there at Thanksgiving. I really miss seasons. DH is going up this week to do some work on our place, so he'll get a taste of the rain....apparently the river not far from us is in flood so it'll be interesting to see what our creek looks like.

[boots-aregard]

I just drove around Sacramento with my daughter who is undertaking a new job there, and I really liked it. 2.5 miles by 2.5 miles (downtown), walkable, flat so it's bikeable. Lots of downtowny stuff going on. Only prob is everyone says you NEED A/C and I always worry about that kind of thing.

[Suzon]

I just drove around Sacramento with my daughter who is undertaking a new job there, and I really liked it. 2.5 miles by 2.5 miles (downtown), walkable, flat so it's bikeable. Lots of downtowny stuff going on. Only prob is everyone says you NEED A/C and I always worry about that kind of thing.

DH's family lives just outside of Sac, and you definitely need AC. Does have a very vibrant downtown with an art scene, etc.

[MissDee]

Thanks all for your replies! The PNW is lovely in the summer, no disagreement. There are few places I've been that are prettier on a glorious summer day. I feel the same way about Vermont and NH - great in the spring, summer and fall, but a little more problematic in the winter, don't know if I could handle that full-time. We've lived in Minnesota so I KNOW what "real" winter is all about. South Carolina is also on our radar but we've never been there, so I was glad to hear from the SC contingent.

I'd love to retire to California, but we can't afford to move back to the Bay area (which I adore) and their taxes will really get you, even in retirement. We're actually going down to CA for a long weekend in January, and will be flying into Sacto, so I'll check it out - we've only ever really driven through the outskirts. Not sure I'm up for Ecuador, although it does sound attractive, especially right now (looking out my window into another dark, gray day).

I talked to my sister yesterday and she's very excited about the idea of us moving near to them. She loves househunting so is already planning our scouting trip itinerary. Not that there's anything wrong with that! I'll take all the help I can get. Her taste runs to older historic homes that need a lot of work, though, and we may not want to go that route . . . it will all depend. It will be an adventure, for sure.

[Volte]

Just a tip that I learned from my parents: be sure to confirm that there is primary care availability in the towns you consider. My parents just moved to WA to retire on the Olympic Peninsula. They never thought about access to care--there are plenty of retirees there and two hospitals in the vicinity. They've discovered that there's not a single primary care physician accepting new Medicare patients in their community. They commute to Seattle for regular doctor visits. Not good.

[MissDee]

Thanks, Volte - that's an EXCELLENT tip and an issue I wouldn't have thought of. I feel bad for your parents, but reallly appreciate your passing it along. I would have assumed that with hospitals in the area, regular health care would be readily available as well as emergency health care. Time to do some more googling, I guess. Where on the Peninsula are they living, just out of curiosity? We considered Sequim and Port Ludlow when we were still thinking about retiring up here.

[hoopoe]

Sequim is the sunshine belt and has attracted retirees for years.

[Volte]

Sorry, MissDee. I just saw your question. They're in Port Angeles but it's a problem throughout the area. There is primary care access in Kitsap county--but by the time you're in Bremerton, you might as well take the ferry to Seattle where there's plenty of high quality care to choose from.

[MissDee]

Thanks for the follow-up, Volte - as I mentioned, that's something that I would never have thought to investigate, but it's now one of the first items on my checklist!