My parents retired to the Outer Banks, enjoying the low taxes, ocean fishing, and warm weather. However, medical care at that time (1990s) was non-existent. My mother often had to drive 90 minutes each way to Virginia Beach for appointments.
My wife and I were influenced by that experience when we considered retiring in the Methow Valley (WA). We love it there, best XC skiing in North America, great gravel and mountain biking and a terrific community. But, many people there have to drive 2 hours each way to Wenatchee for health care (the closest hospital is an hour away, but has serious financial problems).
So, we sold our cabin in the Methow Vallley 2020 and bought a Sprinter van. We either stay with friends there now or rent a place for a few weeks. We are sticking with Tacoma for now. Yes, our climate is not “sunny and warm”, but (spolier alert) it doesn’t rain any where near as much as the media would have you believe, and we get sun even on rainy days.
We just completed a two month, 9000 mile trip around the US, visiting 30 states. While there are many places (Finger Lakes, the “music triangle” south of Memphis, Flint Hills (KS), and western CO/eastern UT) that we’d like to spend more time, we love Tacoma. We bike to do all our errands, we have an excellent restaurant an cultural scene now, and SeaTac airport is just 35 minutes drive (also frequent bus service) away. Between Alaska and Delta, we can fly nonstop anywhere we want to go to visit family and for holidays. Turkish recently started non-stop service to Istanbul, and likewise Finnish Air to Helsinki.
Yes, traffic sucks here, but we can avoid it. And, we found that traffic sucks in many places in the US (surprisingly Bentonville area, AR, and there’s no mass transit there so you have to drive everywhere).
We’d consider long-term apartment rental in Andalusia, Spain, where we have friends or around Nice (ditto). Rentals there are very affordable as long as you are a block or two inland from the water.
For me, I looked at several factors to settle on my vacation property purchase and ranked them against various locations to pick a winner (in no particular order):
Weather – Sunny and warm
Currency as compared to my home currency
Walkability
Culture
Bike-ability
Amenities (dining, bars, grocery)
Airport connections to North America / world
Safety
Language spoken (Presence of some ex-pats who speak English)
First, visit location at different times of the year. Check for nearest medical facilities as well as grocery stores and how long it takes to get there…
Familiarity is important. I’ve lived here since I was 13. It’s my home, and it’s an amazing place to live. I don’t know if I can be totally happy living somewhere else. The plan is to travel everywhere, and come back home.
at 30 i followed my wife from ohio to colo. neither of us were close to our respective families[ who have all now passed]. we chose not to have children. when she died 4 years ago, i knew i would retire at 65 and head to land in [ my father’s home state] TN. in no particular order:
rain. humidity. clean [not dusty] air. quiet. low taxes. constitutional carry. space around me.
Reasonable cost of living including low taxes. Access to activities for retirees that include physical activities to extend life. Affordable housing with an HOA that helps preserve the beauty of the area. A mixture of personalities from different areas of the country. Accessible healthcare and dental care. Bike paths to aid travel inside the community.
Ability to visit family/friends easily, healthcare, local transportation options for when I’m no longer able/willing to drive, affordable housing, and inexpensive entertainment.
For me, that means a small city in the Carolinas or northern Georgia, one with a good public library and maybe a college with a theatre program. I have friends looking for places with good public golf courses, small towns with large lots for gardening, or near major airports for easy travel.
I’m amazed no one has mentioned easy access to quality healthcare. The mountains, beach, golf, even low taxes are “nice to haves.” Being close to excellent medical is ultimately essential for all retirees.
I have no idea. The soon-to-be retiree needs to know that picking a retirement location is like investing in a stock: The efficient market has made finding that undiscovered jewel almost impossible. As every investor is looking for that low-risk, low-priced stock with increasing dividends and outsized returns so is every retiree looking for that low cost of living, low priced, beachfront property with great weather and low taxes.
Retirement is quite a few years away for me, so I don’t have experience making the decision, but I can say I am thankful my parents and inlaws retired close by. I think my kids’ bond with their grandparents would not be as strong if it was a long-distance relationship. All of our lives are richer because we live them together.
One thing I think many don’t think of as being “personal” is taxes. Much is made by some of the desirability of a no income tax state. However, this needs to be evaluated in personal context.
Where will your money come from? Some states may exclude a portion of earned income for seniors. Some give a break on military or public service pensions or social security, to varying degrees. Some tax investment income differently than other income.
How expensive a property will you own, and thus how much does state and local property tax matter to you? (In our current no income tax state, it would matter quite a bit.)
You can get more granular, but the above are big ones.
We currently live in a no tax state, and put a fair amount of importance on this until we did a more personal analysis. The result – we anticipate two other states high on our list would only cost us a little more in taxes to live in, and one of them we’ll likely move to.
This is true for us based on our own answers to questions like the above, not necessarily for someone else, which is part of why I’m not recommending these states, just recommending doing some personal analysis to see how taxation differences really matter for your own situation.
And of course, taxes are only a part of the equation. Lots of other important considerations in Dick’s article and elsewhere in comments.
I often think geographically relocating is a mistake, but people like to dream about what could be instead of what is. Why not pick just exactly where you are? The further away from friends and family – the relationships you’ve cultivated for decades – the further away you are from the things that matter most. Friendships are absolutely like fine wine.
We thought about this, and that’s why we chose Texas after years of moving all over with the military (neither my wife or I are native Texans). No income taxes, warm winters and the friendliest people.
Maybe it’ll be a case of the “best laid plans of mice and men,” but that’s our strategy for now.
Family, friends, outdoor activities, cost of living are all key factors. Assuming you like your family 🙂 But in all seriousness, a spot that lets you cultivate relationships should be a big factor.
Getting outside and exercising is important to staying healthy in retirement, too. I like sunshine and warm weather, so the northern tier is not on my bucket list on retirement living regions!
Of course, taxes and cost of living are big issues for some, but if you have enough, then I say just pick where you think you’ll be happy and stimulated.
My parents retired to the Outer Banks, enjoying the low taxes, ocean fishing, and warm weather. However, medical care at that time (1990s) was non-existent. My mother often had to drive 90 minutes each way to Virginia Beach for appointments.
My wife and I were influenced by that experience when we considered retiring in the Methow Valley (WA). We love it there, best XC skiing in North America, great gravel and mountain biking and a terrific community. But, many people there have to drive 2 hours each way to Wenatchee for health care (the closest hospital is an hour away, but has serious financial problems).
So, we sold our cabin in the Methow Vallley 2020 and bought a Sprinter van. We either stay with friends there now or rent a place for a few weeks. We are sticking with Tacoma for now. Yes, our climate is not “sunny and warm”, but (spolier alert) it doesn’t rain any where near as much as the media would have you believe, and we get sun even on rainy days.
We just completed a two month, 9000 mile trip around the US, visiting 30 states. While there are many places (Finger Lakes, the “music triangle” south of Memphis, Flint Hills (KS), and western CO/eastern UT) that we’d like to spend more time, we love Tacoma. We bike to do all our errands, we have an excellent restaurant an cultural scene now, and SeaTac airport is just 35 minutes drive (also frequent bus service) away. Between Alaska and Delta, we can fly nonstop anywhere we want to go to visit family and for holidays. Turkish recently started non-stop service to Istanbul, and likewise Finnish Air to Helsinki.
Yes, traffic sucks here, but we can avoid it. And, we found that traffic sucks in many places in the US (surprisingly Bentonville area, AR, and there’s no mass transit there so you have to drive everywhere).
We’d consider long-term apartment rental in Andalusia, Spain, where we have friends or around Nice (ditto). Rentals there are very affordable as long as you are a block or two inland from the water.
For me, I looked at several factors to settle on my vacation property purchase and ranked them against various locations to pick a winner (in no particular order):
First, visit location at different times of the year. Check for nearest medical facilities as well as grocery stores and how long it takes to get there…
Familiarity is important. I’ve lived here since I was 13. It’s my home, and it’s an amazing place to live. I don’t know if I can be totally happy living somewhere else. The plan is to travel everywhere, and come back home.
at 30 i followed my wife from ohio to colo. neither of us were close to our respective families[ who have all now passed]. we chose not to have children. when she died 4 years ago, i knew i would retire at 65 and head to land in [ my father’s home state] TN.
in no particular order:
rain. humidity. clean [not dusty] air. quiet. low taxes.
constitutional carry. space around me.
Reasonable cost of living including low taxes. Access to activities for retirees that include physical activities to extend life. Affordable housing with
an HOA that helps preserve the beauty of the area. A mixture of personalities from different areas of the country. Accessible healthcare and dental care. Bike paths to aid travel inside the community.
Ability to visit family/friends easily, healthcare, local transportation options for when I’m no longer able/willing to drive, affordable housing, and inexpensive entertainment.
For me, that means a small city in the Carolinas or northern Georgia, one with a good public library and maybe a college with a theatre program. I have friends looking for places with good public golf courses, small towns with large lots for gardening, or near major airports for easy travel.
I’m amazed no one has mentioned easy access to quality healthcare. The mountains, beach, golf, even low taxes are “nice to haves.” Being close to excellent medical is ultimately essential for all retirees.
I have no idea. The soon-to-be retiree needs to know that picking a retirement location is like investing in a stock: The efficient market has made finding that undiscovered jewel almost impossible. As every investor is looking for that low-risk, low-priced stock with increasing dividends and outsized returns so is every retiree looking for that low cost of living, low priced, beachfront property with great weather and low taxes.
Retirement is quite a few years away for me, so I don’t have experience making the decision, but I can say I am thankful my parents and inlaws retired close by. I think my kids’ bond with their grandparents would not be as strong if it was a long-distance relationship. All of our lives are richer because we live them together.
Proximity to family, reasonable cost including tax situation, and near activities of interest which may be urban for some and rural for others.
Very personal. https://humbledollar.com/2021/11/on-the-move/
One thing I think many don’t think of as being “personal” is taxes. Much is made by some of the desirability of a no income tax state. However, this needs to be evaluated in personal context.
Where will your money come from? Some states may exclude a portion of earned income for seniors. Some give a break on military or public service pensions or social security, to varying degrees. Some tax investment income differently than other income.
How expensive a property will you own, and thus how much does state and local property tax matter to you? (In our current no income tax state, it would matter quite a bit.)
You can get more granular, but the above are big ones.
We currently live in a no tax state, and put a fair amount of importance on this until we did a more personal analysis. The result – we anticipate two other states high on our list would only cost us a little more in taxes to live in, and one of them we’ll likely move to.
This is true for us based on our own answers to questions like the above, not necessarily for someone else, which is part of why I’m not recommending these states, just recommending doing some personal analysis to see how taxation differences really matter for your own situation.
And of course, taxes are only a part of the equation. Lots of other important considerations in Dick’s article and elsewhere in comments.
Lots of good thoughts in this article.
1) Family close by
2) Enjoyable (warm) climate
3) Reasonable cost of living
4) Good Mexican food!
I often think geographically relocating is a mistake, but people like to dream about what could be instead of what is. Why not pick just exactly where you are? The further away from friends and family – the relationships you’ve cultivated for decades – the further away you are from the things that matter most. Friendships are absolutely like fine wine.
We thought about this, and that’s why we chose Texas after years of moving all over with the military (neither my wife or I are native Texans). No income taxes, warm winters and the friendliest people.
Maybe it’ll be a case of the “best laid plans of mice and men,” but that’s our strategy for now.
Family, friends, outdoor activities, cost of living are all key factors. Assuming you like your family 🙂
But in all seriousness, a spot that lets you cultivate relationships should be a big factor.
Getting outside and exercising is important to staying healthy in retirement, too. I like sunshine and warm weather, so the northern tier is not on my bucket list on retirement living regions!
Of course, taxes and cost of living are big issues for some, but if you have enough, then I say just pick where you think you’ll be happy and stimulated.