Friday Night Dreaming - Where do you buy a condo to rent out now and retire to later?

[rzthomas]

Originally Posted by biker72

I haven't read all the posts but has anyone mentioned Arkansas??? A couple of co-workers have retired to Fayetteville because of the great mt. biking. A few weeks ago I took a trip to Bentonville for some nice road biking.

The Walton Family Foundation has donated $15 million for bike paths in the Bentonville area. Looks like year round cycling is possible.

For me, I'm happy where I am. My school/property taxes are capped because I'm over 65. Internest, ophthalmologist...etc are all close. Family is all here. I can ride all year.

I've traveled to Fayetteville for work and that town is incredibly liveable. Lots of amenities thanks to UA and Walmart money.

[froze]

Originally Posted by zap

edit



I spent a week in Palm Springs on business.

I quickly learned that while nice to visit, living in a place surrounded by desert was not my thing. I did a lot of cycling around Palm Springs that week and the wind was pretty strong.....came back from rides covered in sand.

I use to ride in that area many times, and when it's hot it's miserable, which is why I only rode there in the winter or late fall and early spring. Tramway road that goes to the tram is a bit of a strain going up but a blast to ride down where I reached 58 mph according to my computer, this was in the days before the Aero thing came around.

If the winds started to blow then the sand thing started to blow as well and you better clean your chain when you got home. This is true by the way of all those Mojave desert areas as well. Even with the sand I still got long life on my chains but I was cleaning them a lot. I always carried a bandana with me too because otherwise you would be inhaling sand which isn't good for you; I chose the bandana over a hospital type of mask because the mask restricted air more, and a bandana took care of the sand.

[paredown]

Originally Posted by rzthomas

I've traveled to Fayetteville for work and that town is incredibly liveable. Lots of amenities thanks to UA and Walmart money.

We thought we would be retiring there and had a house ready to go, then stayed in New York and had to sell the house--kind of an object lesson for the OP--don't buy until you know you are going to move to a place!

It is a decent place, and the University of Arkansas is there--which means it is on the map for shows and such (the Waltons kicked in money for a performing space), and the Uni is a good one.

Bit of a dearth of high-end grocery shopping (no Whole Foods etc at least when we were there; one nice independent up my Bentonville) and a pretty limited selection of good restaurants. You are only an hour and half from Tulsa and two-ish to Kansas City if you need more shopping choices.

There are lots of lakes and golf courses--the area around Bentonville/west of Bentonville is basically the lake region/summer vacation spot for those farther west, and some of those lakes are pretty amazing.

NWA is a decent regional airport (more Walmart money there) with good connections to Chicago, DFW and direct flights to La Guardia (and I believe Newark as well)

It is on the edge of tornado alley though--so you do get some spectacular summer storms, and it does get Gulf weather with humidity in the summer. Spring and fall are pretty nice, though and winters are not that cold.

[glepore]

Originally Posted by Spaghetti Legs

My hometown of Charlottesville (near Wintergreen noted above) is pricey but not on level of California, DC, NYC. People here rent their homes out all the time; I hear stuff like “staying with my brother this weekend while I rent my house out”. Around UVA graduation or other events, not uncommon to rent places out for $500/night.

Average real estate price in town is $200/sf.

Major academic medical center in town. Weather is pretty good, lots of arts, entertainment, restaurants, breweries, vineyards.

Ditto this. I actually bought here and rented a couple years before moving down. But there's already enough people moving in...

[Ken Robb]

Originally Posted by tctyres

Ken,
Is there any place in the coastal corridor Santa Barbara to San Diego corridor that is preferable in terms of low cost of living, good lifestyle? My partner lives in LA, and it seems like the market is just high everywhere.

I think Ventura and Carpentaria are less than LA and Santa Barbara. Farther north is Cambria which is a delightful small town on the coast and just over the hill from Paso Robles and I know homes cost less there.

I was recently surprised to find that my cousin and an old HS pal have moved to a new development in Nipomo which is just north of Santa Maria on route 101. It looks like a real bargain with Golf, Tennis, cycling.

[54ny77]

Shhhhhhh.....don't tell people about the Central coast. It's full.

Originally Posted by Ken Robb

I think Ventura and Carpentaria are less than LA and Santa Barbara. Farther north is Cambria which is a delightful small town on the coast and just over the hill from Paso Robles and I know homes cost less there.

I was recently surprised to find that my cousin and an old HS pal have moved to a new development in Nipomo which is just north of Santa Maria on route 101. It looks like a real bargain with Golf, Tennis, cycling.

[Louis]

Originally Posted by 54ny77

Shhhhhhh.....don't tell people about the Central coast. It's full.

Re: CA central coast

I figured I’d bump this to throw out something I’ve been thinking about lately related to the “best places to retire” issue. (I’m not too far from retirement, say 3-4 years max, so this is becoming more and more interesting.)

Feel free to comment as you see fit.

St Louis is affordable, and the riding out where I live is quite good, but the bottom line is that the weather stinks in a number of ways. Cold in the winter, hot and humid in the summer, and lots of storms and other nasty stuff in the spring. So I’ve always thought that I wanted to move to someplace with much better year-round weather for riding.

However lately, for a variety of reasons, I’ve been doing a lot more rowing (C2 erg) than cycling, which has lead me to conclude that maybe I don’t really need someplace where the weather is perfect 12 months a year. Since I prefer things a bit cooler rather than a bit warmer, I’m now thinking that having a few months a year that are a bit too cool for prefect cycling might not be that bad, since I can always supplement the cycling with indoor rowing. That way I don’t have to find the combination of great weather and affordable living. As much as I like the weather in, say, Santa Barbara CA, I’d rather not have to pay $750k for a run-down shack on 0.1 acres.

Bottom line, I’m now thinking that if I’m flexible and don’t really need to ride the bike 4-5 days a week, every week, in Jan and Feb, that will give me a lot more options.

[54ny77]

There' a word for people who do what you're thinking: snowbird.



There's a reason for why so many people do it, and you touched on a lot of it.

Originally Posted by Louis

Re: CA central coast

I figured I’d bump this to throw out something I’ve been thinking about lately related to the “best places to retire” issue. (I’m not too far from retirement, say 3-4 years max, so this is becoming more and more interesting.)

Feel free to comment as you see fit.

St Louis is affordable, and the riding out where I live is quite good, but the bottom line is that the weather stinks in a number of ways. Cold in the winter, hot and humid in the summer, and lots of storms and other nasty stuff in the spring. So I’ve always thought that I wanted to move to someplace with much better year-round weather for riding.

However lately, for a variety of reasons, I’ve been doing a lot more rowing (C2 erg) than cycling, which has lead me to conclude that maybe I don’t really need someplace where the weather is perfect 12 months a year. Since I prefer things a bit cooler rather than a bit warmer, I’m now thinking that having a few months a year that are a bit too cool for prefect cycling might not be that bad, since I can always supplement the cycling with indoor rowing. That way I don’t have to find the combination of great weather and affordable living. As much as I like the weather in, say, Santa Barbara CA, I’d rather not have to pay $750k for a run-down shack on 0.1 acres.

Bottom line, I’m now thinking that if I’m flexible and don’t really need to ride the bike 4-5 days a week, every week, in Jan and Feb, that will give me a lot more options.

[MattTuck]

A [rational] voice cries out in the wilderness!

3 months indoors/doing wintery stuff seems reasonable. For several years when I was first living up here, it seemed like I was able to get out deep into December and we'd hit some 70 degree days in March. More recently, it seems like the last decent riding weather is in mid-November and first good riding weather is in mid-April. To me, that is too long.

That could just be usual fluctuations in weather, for sure. Or the fact that maybe the warm days were ones when I had to be working and couldn't take advantage, but it definitely feels like it stays cooler longer.

Originally Posted by Louis

Re: CA central coast

I figured I’d bump this to throw out something I’ve been thinking about lately related to the “best places to retire” issue. (I’m not too far from retirement, say 3-4 years max, so this is becoming more and more interesting.)

Feel free to comment as you see fit.

St Louis is affordable, and the riding out where I live is quite good, but the bottom line is that the weather stinks in a number of ways. Cold in the winter, hot and humid in the summer, and lots of storms and other nasty stuff in the spring. So I’ve always thought that I wanted to move to someplace with much better year-round weather for riding.

However lately, for a variety of reasons, I’ve been doing a lot more rowing (C2 erg) than cycling, which has lead me to conclude that maybe I don’t really need someplace where the weather is perfect 12 months a year. Since I prefer things a bit cooler rather than a bit warmer, I’m now thinking that having a few months a year that are a bit too cool for prefect cycling might not be that bad, since I can always supplement the cycling with indoor rowing. That way I don’t have to find the combination of great weather and affordable living. As much as I like the weather in, say, Santa Barbara CA, I’d rather not have to pay $750k for a run-down shack on 0.1 acres.

Bottom line, I’m now thinking that if I’m flexible and don’t really need to ride the bike 4-5 days a week, every week, in Jan and Feb, that will give me a lot more options.

[Ken Robb]

Last year Leslie and I had reserved a nice "dog-friendly" hotel in Paso Robles for a few days. We planned to have some wine, food and conversation with our pal Cindy Steinbeck at her family winery and tour some others. It was 105F in Paso so we cancelled those plans and drove over the hill to Cambria where it was 68F. We stayed in a fun dog-enthusiastic(beyond friendly) motel on Moonstone Beach Drive. The real "board" walk above the beaches is right across the street and the town has several really good restaurants. There is a nice friendly vibe exhibited by the locals we met on the street, in coffee shops and restaurants. The only obvious drawback for me is the main local "supermarket" is just so-so. OTOH residents can easily pop over the hill to Paso Robles where there are plenty of good shopping options.

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

I havent read through the whole thread, but i'm not for the idea of buying someplace now with the idea of retiring there in many years.

so much of life is unpredictable. you may have no interest in cycling and be a cross country ski nut in 20 years, or a classic car guy, or a golfer or....

my plan is going to be to stock up on more liquid investments, wait and see.

having been through a bunch of crap lately, i think my real priorities in retirement are going to be close to family and good medical care.

I'd second this. Three years ago we sold our house in suburban Boston and moved to a family neighborhood on Cape Cod. Kids all around us, school bus every morning, great riding, running, kayaking, etc.

I'm fortunate to be able to work from home, and expect to be working for another 8-10 years.

Still near family.

Still near good food.

Still near world class medical care.

I expect at some point we might move back towards Boston, if only for access to the world class medical care. No known issues, but I've seen the back water medical care offered to relatives in south Florida...

Maybe our house will become a part time house...for now it's full time.

I recently put together a spreadsheet to evaluate buying a rental locally. Seems that unless a property is bought cheap and lots of sweat equity is applied, the numbers just don't work. Better, as others have said, to put money into investments that take less hands on management/maintenance.

You won't know what your interests will be in 10 years. If you asked me 10 years ago if I would be running half marathons, I would have laughed in your face. Today, I'm spending more time running on local trails than riding on or off road. Who knows in another 10 years!

(Oh, and the N+1 for running shoes is a lot easier to manage!)

[fkelly]

It was 105F in Paso so we cancelled those plans and drove over the hill to Cambria where it was 68F

Yeah. I use Weather dot com, monthly reports to scope out any place I'm considering for snowbirding. Been doing the southern CA. coastal areas for last 10 years. Did a few years in Laguna Beach, but the rental market is crazy there. Have had a couple of security deposits returned because the owners wanted longer term rentals (and I was renting for 6 weeks). La Jolla turned out the same way. It's hard to even find a rental in these tourist meccas. San Clemente is a bit more residential (though very vacation-y). Found a nice place there last year and have reserved it (fingers crossed) for next year. You can also take bike paths north and south avoiding much traffic on the PCH. There are other "residential" places (Oceanside, Encinitas) that might be more reasonable (but not cheap).

Once you go more than 20 miles inland you are looking at 90's and 100's from June through September.

For purchase purposes I'd have to add $1 million to the cost of my comparable house in Upstate NY, anywhere along the Socal Coast and probably $2 million in the Laguna/La Jolla type areas. That's nuts from an economic point of view.

[steveoz]

Originally Posted by Ralph

As you get older....and when you get old......you might think differently about where you want to live. I want warm, not cold.

I had my career in Central Florida (an area few tourists actually see), and wife and I spent many trips exploring other places in USA we might want to live in retirement. We spent weeks in the NW and especially liked the San Juan Islands.

We spent a month in Moab....in spring and again in Fall, countless months in most of the front range towns of Colorado. Then a month in Frisco and Breckenridge area. Months in Western N Carolina (own acreage there now), and New England.....especially Martha's Vineyard, Booth Bay, and Around Acadia National park. A month in Cour De Alene, even some time around Spokane.

And we did this in all the seasons.

We stayed places long enough to realize that visiting some place and playing, not the same as living there. Lots of other things to consider. Medical care being one. Here....no specialty is more than a 20 minute drive away.

So we stayed in our home in Florida. Sure....4-5 months of year it's hot, and sometimes humid. But it doesn't keep me off the bike. Frankly....I didn't even notice the 80-85 degree temps on my 35 mile ride this AM. Done by 10:30. In pool by 11. And no place I have ever been has more cycling than here....of all types, year around.

In retirement, and as I age, (78 now), there is no way I would trade Florida's (or Texas, or Arizona, or New Mexico, etc) heat for any place with a long winter. I want to be outside and active....and not breaking bones on a ski slope.

And many of these warmer clime areas have low real estate prices. $300,000 will buy you a nice home in a nice neighborhood close to all the trails and cycling hubs around here. Imagine same in other warm places. I would add S California....but it's expensive.

And BTW...we still like visiting most of those places for a week or so at a time, just don't want to live there.

If you don't mind me asking- what area in Central Fl are you in? I'm kinda in the OP's position - except I'm in S Fla and want to stay in state (but not down here...)- was considering Inverness area - there's a 40 + mile "rails to trails" path in that area, low crime, small town feel....lots of nature and cheap...

[Ralph]

Originally Posted by steveoz

If you don't mind me asking- what area in Central Fl are you in? I'm kinda in the OP's position - except I'm in S Fla and want to stay in state (but not down here...)- was considering Inverness area - there's a 40 + mile "rails to trails" path in that area, low crime, small town feel....lots of nature and cheap...

https://www.visitflorida.com/en-us/c...er-garden.html


Check out Winter Garden....Just W of Orlando. Very active cycling scene. West Orange Trail runs down main street and gets serious cyclists out of town to some great hilly cycling areas. Winter Garden Wheel Works on main street....rents nice bikes, has maps various routes, etc. Or...take trail over to Clermont area,,,,ride around lakes, etc. Very nice area for an over night visit. Race teams train here in cooler months.

I live about 15 miles NE of Orlando. Lake Mary area. Extremely active cycling scene around here...year around...all ages. I live very near the Seminole Wekiva Trail. Gets me out of hi traffic areas.

Inverness is a very nice small town near Florida Gulf coast. Wife and I love to visit there. Great overhead view of Withlacoochee Trail just outside of down town on the Visit Fl Inverness trailer. Has a very small town lazy feel to me. Much slower pace than where I live now. The 46 mile Withlacoochee State Trail can get you out in country fast.....or just ride the trail....not much traffic for miles and miles. Lots of trikes and recumbents used on that trail. Trike shop on trail at Floral City...a few miles up the trail from Inverness, and there is a nice bike shop on the trail in down town Inverness (David's World). It's probably safe to say lots of older users. There is a decent motel right on the trail near the nice down town.....Central Motel. OK to stay there for a visit. They accommodate cyclists. Believe real estate lots cheaper than where I live. Great place for retirement living. Not far from Gulf Coast....boating and fishing....at Crystal River. Did I say "very inexpensive living there". Check out trail map. Miles and miles of mostly no side roads, or heavy use. No mountains to climb, or desert humidity.....but otherwise hard to beat these places, especially for 365 day outdoor activity.

https://www.visitflorida.com/en-us/c...inverness.html
https://www.floridastateparks.org/pa...ee-state-trail

[chuckroast]

I'll echo what Ralph says about Inverness, it's a lovely small town and fairly close to the gulf via Crystal River and Homassasa Springs. Be aware though, it's not a "beachy" coast, if that's your thing.

We are about 45 minutes south in Spring Hill, Hernando County. It's closer to the gulf and closer to the Tampa metro area (TPA is 45 minutes from my driveway). The riding here is also good. For me, it's mostly on the Suncoast Trail, 46 miles that runs from Citrus County down to Hillsborough Co (Tampa).

There is a new connector, the Good Neighbor Trail, that runs from Brooksville (next town over from us) to the Withlacoochee. Eventually, the Good Neighbor will extend west to connect with the Suncoast.