What were / will be your criteria for choosing a location for retirement?

[choke]

I've been thinking about this a lot lately and my current thought is to buy a sailboat and travel the oceans. Of course for various reasons that may not be possible when the time comes.

If not, then I'll be in Wyoming. I like the solitude and the mountains and I have zero desire to be anywhere near a large city. As Jeremiah Johnson said, "I've been to a town Del".

[weisan]

Originally Posted by exapkib

Watching my parents go through this process several years ago changed the way I think about my own retirement.

he turned to me and said, "I should have built this place much smaller and many years earlier. I saved until it was clearly comfortable and responsible to make this dream a reality, but now I'm too old to enjoy it."

My dad "retired" when he was 50. He's now 80.

I am always intrigued by others and how they handled their retirements.

I have come to the conclusion, retirement is not age-dependent, or where you live or how much money you have saved up...it's a state of mind and the way you have chosen to live...every day of your life, regardless of where you are and who you are with. I been retired long time ago...

[glepore]

[QUOTE=robertbb;2759914]Does it really need to be legal? (serious question).

Well, no, other than its indicative of a liberal mindset, or libertarian. So in that way, it does matter.

[maj]

Originally Posted by choke

I've been thinking about this a lot lately and my current thought is to buy a sailboat and travel the oceans. Of course for various reasons that may not be possible when the time comes.

If not, then I'll be in Wyoming. I like the solitude and the mountains and I have zero desire to be anywhere near a large city. As Jeremiah Johnson said, "I've been to a town Del".

Interesting meteorological factoid that, no matter what direction you travel, there’s always a cross-wind in Wyoming.

[IMG][/IMG]

[T-Crush]

Originally Posted by Tickdoc

Following the kids/grandkids to their eventual locale is our plan. (Assuming one of them will settle down AND live in a decent place is a big assumption here

Barring that, small town Colorado/NM would be my choice, anyplace with a beach would be hers.

I'd opt for Colorado/NM as well, but she continues to say "there's no beach there," and suggests Hawaii. The inverse of the follow-the-kid scheme is to pick a spot that they would love to visit and use that to bring them to us. In that sense, her Hawaii idea has some merit.

Home for the last 25 years is a college town in SoCal. Not near the beach (from a weather perspective) so it's over 100 many days in August, but ride early and it's wonderful. One of the best mountain stages of the Tour de California is a at the base of my hill, so there's no lack of choices on terrain.
As much as I dislike California's cost of living, it might make sense to downsize and stay here.

Then again, the thought of a house in La Quinta, CA for 9 months and then "summer" somewhere else could work too.

[rccardr]

Our decision in where to retire was driven by our love for where we already live- Northern Virginia’s famous/infamous Fairfax County. After 50 years here, we’ve learned to live with the traffic and the taxes. Sure the summers can be hot and humid, but the winters are seldom bad and we both grew up in northern states with much worse snow and cold. Six years into retirement, still feel we made the right choice.

As a result, we’re a half hour from some of the best culture (music, art, dance) in the world, a couple hours train ride from Philadelphia, NYC or Boston, and a short ride to either domestic or international airports. Our daughter and SiL moved to DC five years ago and started having kids, so there’s that. The riding is excellent, everything from MUP’s to Skyline Drive, horse country, gravel roads, all either completely local or within an hour’s drive. Not into the MTB scene, but friends tell me there’s plenty of it around.

Also love our home. After 32 years, it’s long since paid off & we know it well and after looking at local options last year, decided to sink a bunch of money into making it better than anything we’d be willing to move into. Couple new bathrooms, a screened porch addition and some hardscaping later, we’re looking forward to staying here well into our 80’s. I’d still like to do a down-to-the-studs kitchen remodel, but that will have to wait until we’re comfortable with a construction crew inside the house for six weeks.

[echappist]

Originally Posted by Louis

We have a lot of retirement threads, lots of them focusing on $ and how good the cycling is. I’m starting to think about this stuff, but stepping back a bit, I’m wondering what criteria you folks think are important.

I currently live in the far-west suburbs of St Louis, MO, and I don’t see myself here too long after retirement, primarily because of the weather. (main gripes are too hot & muggy in the summer & too stormy in the spring & summer, but winter isn’t that great either)

So, as I conside moving, I’m thinking of the following items (not necessarily in order of importance).

What criteria would you add or change?

1) Weather: Nice summers, but willing to have a few months of cold weather, if that’s that it takes to find an affordable location. (I don’t think I’m willing to pay Santa Barbara CA – type real estate prices to find the absolutely perfect spot – see below for more on that.) The less snow the better. Cold weather with lots of clouds / drizzle for extended periods of time (PNW) would be a downer, but of course summers in that area are quite nice.

2) Very good road cycling. Doesn’t have to be Provence or Tuscany perfect, but nice enough. Rolling hills would be ideal.

3) Affordable housing is always nice. I’ve done some poking around on Zillow and have found some places in CA where $500k buys you a POC shack on 0.1 acres. I’m willing to pay $500k, but not if that’s all it buys me. This probably rules out a lot of places on the west coast, and most likely all the ones we’ve heard of – but do let me know if that’s wrong.

4) A medium-sized city would be great, preferably with a college / university in town to lend some vibrancy and culture. Someplace where you can go out on Saturday and get some decent Thai (or whatever) and see and independent movie is nice. I’ve been in some small towns in MO where the only no-meat options at the nicest local restaurant are either a side salad or a grilled-cheese sandwich. That’s not for me.

5) I’m young and healthy enough that at this point a “good local hospital” is not yet on the radar. That will eventually change, but I’m not going to let my inevitable decrepitude drive my current choices. One of my favorite lines in “Waiting for Godot” - Pozzo: “They give birth astride of a grave, the light gleams an instant, then it's night once more.”

So, please share your thoughts – I’ve found that when making a big decision you have to be sure to use the correct criteria, and often up front it can be difficult to know what’s important and what isn’t.

Thanks
Louis

Edit 1: I'm single (no kids) and location relative to family isn't really a driver (yet). But I know that for many folks moving to where the grand-kids are is super-important.

Edit 2: I don't think I'm going to go for "One location in the winter and one in the summer." I know that gives you a lot more flexibility, but I don't want to deal with the hassle of the constant moving and having to maintain two locations. Having one is enough trouble.

Either Madison or MSP would check boxes 2-5. We get the occasional week of hot summer, but otherwise nothing remotely as bad as the humidity in the mid-Atlantics (e.g. NoVA, Philly, and NJ). I complained about the 10-14 day stretch of constant gray skies in the winter, though I've been told that such an occurrence is uncommon. It's not sunny the way southern California is sunny, but there are a lot of sunny days.

Also, SoCal may have mild winters, but its summers can get brutal, with a few days above 100 F each year.

[Matthew]

My wife has already made my choice. I'm retiring right where we are. West Michigan. Good cycling, large enough town for things to do and close enough to Grand Rapids if you want to venture to the city. Lots of lakes and rivers, dunes and trails. We are in a custom, 2yr old home we love. Downsized from what we had with no regrets. Much of our family is deceased and we never had kids. She hates heat and humidity so that rules out the south and southwest etc. We love Colorado but there isn't much water. Here, we have Lake Michigan less than 2 miles from our house and dozens of lakes and rivers to check out if we choose. And Michigan is far more than Detroit. Head north and it is just beautiful. But winter SUCKS!!!! My only real complaint.

[texbike]

Lot's of great responses and ideas in this thread. I'm looking forward to following it.

From my perspective, I'd like a place that has a bit cooler and less humid climate WITHOUT mosquitoes (as close to a Mediterranean climate as possible). A small(ish) town (<100K people) that has decent amenities with quick, easy access to fantastic outdoor activities (hiking, biking, water sports primarily with skiing not too terribly far away).

To me, SLO is the perfect spot. I was on a call with one of the local vineyards in Paso Robles this past week and it reminded me how much I love that area. I also like the Ventura/Ojai/Oxnard/Camarillo areas. I've also been attracted to Arcata/Humboldt or something in North Marin/Sonoma. Or possibly Sequim/Port Townsend in Washington. Outside of those, I would love to hear about more ideas that fit those critera.

Texbike

[Ralph]

I've been retired since 1998. I guess we could have moved about anywhere we wished....so we stayed where we were. Central Florida. Don't live near where the tourist come...nothing like the Disney area or beach areas, love our Florida home, slight rolling hill area, huge year around cycling culture, bike trails and good routes every where, and the weather doesn't bother us. Did I mention no state income tax, and reasonable real estate taxes...and home prices if you are buying. Great medical care, because at my age 79, beginning to need it. And when we want to get away...well airplanes do go about every where. Colorado and NC Mountains are our favorite place to visit, but we prefer living here VS there. Lots of great place to spend a few months, but living there a few months not the same as year around. I know this place not on anyone's list, so maybe that will slow down growth.

My personal view is you can be happy and satisfied with your life about anywhere.

[Tickdoc]

Originally Posted by texbike

To me, SLO is the perfect spot. I was on a call with one of the local vineyards in Paso Robles this past week and it reminded me how much I love that area. I also like the Ventura/Ojai/Oxnard/Camarillo areas.

Drove thru paso Robles From San Jose in March and Fell in love with the scenery there. Couldn’t help but wonder what it must be like to live and ride there.

[Ken Robb]

Originally Posted by Tickdoc

Drove thru paso Robles From San Jose in March and Fell in love with the scenery there. Couldn’t help but wonder what it must be like to live and ride there.

Last year we had hotel reservations in Paso Robles and plans to visit a friend at her family's winery. It was 105F as it often is in the Summer so we cancelled all Paso plans, drove over the hill to Cambria where is was 72F, got a lovely room on Moonstone Beach that was VERY dog-friendly and had a lovely time. I could imagine living in Cambria, Morro Bay, or San Luis Obispo. I was surprised to learn that two of my childhood pals and their wives have moved into new homes in Nipomo. One of them claims it has a lovely Mediterranean climate but I remember a few HOT days there when I drove through on my way to Monterey or SF.
Another of my childhood friends loves living in Half Moon Bay.

[MikeD]

Originally Posted by Ken Robb

Last year we had hotel reservations in Paso Robles and plans to visit a friend at her family's winery. It was 105F as it often is in the Summer so we cancelled all Paso plans, drove over the hill to Cambria where is was 72F, got a lovely room on Moonstone Beach that was VERY dog-friendly and had a lovely time. I could imagine living in Cambria, Morro Bay, or San Luis Obispo. I was surprised to learn that two of my childhood pals and their wives have moved into new homes in Nipomo. One of them claims it has a lovely Mediterranean climate but I remember a few HOT days there when I drove through on my way to Monterey or SF.

Another of my childhood friends loves living in Half Moon Bay.

I'm thinking central coast California myself. Great riding around Paso Robles. I live in the Bay Area, and the central coast is much less crowded, which is my main beef about where I live, plus in my neck of the Bay Area, the local riding isn't too good and it gets hot in the summer. The central coast doesn't have the redwoods though, and Sonoma County is pretty damn nice, although the roads are in poor condition. Gold country east of Sacramento has great riding as well. Cost of living, taxes, and housing are high in Cali though. Being able to ride year round is a plus though, unless you live up high in the mountains.

[eddief]

with 32mm tires or more. makes the rumble roads go away...almost.

[Gsinill]

A lot will depend of the 2020 elections.
About 10 years away from retirement, if things go wrong in November, it will be somewhere in the EU.
For the US, I always thought we might end up in southern WI, still close to Chicago, nice scenery, lakes... but after the recent madness there I am not sure anymore.