Fifty Plus (50+) - Looking for a good place to retire

We have retired.

Now we are looking for a place to retire to. We are both tired of winter.

So we are looking at places that are warmer. I don't like a lot of humid weather.

And we do want to keep riding our bikes.

We want to be in or near a small city. I don't want to be in the middle of nowhere
or in a big city.

Tucson Arizona sounds like the place for you. There are lots of other smaller towns on the outskirts of the Phoenix Metro area also. I live in Mesa Arizona and am very happy here. It's a lot cheaper than the California coastal areas for sure. Good luck.

Southern Italy. Far cheaper than the US, awesome food and wines, great life style for the money spent, easily accessible form many larger cities nearby, far cheaper real state than the rest of Italy, great beaches and areas to ride. Drawbacks are: not very english speaking oriented as the rest of Italy, a few years behind in high technology use, not so affluent as the rest of Italy.

We have retired.

Now we are looking for a place to retire to. We are both tired of winter.

So we are looking at places that are warmer. I don't like a lot of humid weather.

And we do want to keep riding our bikes.

We want to be in or near a small city. I don't want to be in the middle of nowhere
or in a big city.

Sri Lanka. They speak English, it's tropical, and totally cheap. Not sure about good bike shops, but there's always mail order.

Search on line. There was a report issue recently about the 10 worst states in the US to retire to. I would avoid those. I know New Jersey and New York were on the list, we considered that area and Pennsylvania and North Carolina were not on the list. I don't remember the other.

I really like the moderate climate of the PNW. Areas like Eugene and Bend Oregon are beautiful and offer a lot of outdoor and community activities. Arizona is pretty darn nice as well.

Check out Topretirements. com. My city, Fayetteville (AR), is usually ranked in the 60's out of the top 100 retirement cities in the US. I feel so blessed to live here (35 years) with the beautiful Ozark mountains, easy access to the Buffalo River, great cycling and hiking, and a wonderful cultural environment with the University of Arkansas. It is a city with so many opportunities and choices that are usually found in bigger cities. Check it out.

We are going to drive around and look at some of those places soon.

Sri Lanka? Now there's one I would have never come up with on my own.
Long drive if I wanted to go home for Xmas...

I love the idea of the NW. We will check that out.

We have retired.

Now we are looking for a place to retire to. We are both tired of winter.

So we are looking at places that are warmer. I don't like a lot of humid weather.

And we do want to keep riding our bikes.

We want to be in or near a small city. I don't want to be in the middle of nowhere
or in a big city.You just described Medford/Ashland Oregon. Actually you'll find some similarities between Oregon and Maine. Great cycling, Ashland theater scene, skiing nearby, wine country, 5 -6 hour drive to San Francisco. Nice area, check it out.

I don't know about southern OR, Shifty. They get a fair amount of ice in the winter and the area is pretty bike unfriendly. If the OP has had it with winters, and I assume that refers to temperatures that freeze water, he/she should visit the prospective locations in January to get a real feel for what passes for winter in those places.

Here's my odd suggestion: Winters, CA. In spite of its name there is no winter there. It is located at the foot of the coast range (on the east side) about 70 miles from San Francisco. Head west 10 miles and you are in the Napa hills; lots of great cycling there. Head east 12 miles and you are in Davis, CA with its University of CA campus. Go another twenty miles east and you are in Sacramento, which is a pretty large city. All of that can be reached by safe cycling routes (much of it bike path). There are something like 15 westbound trains per day from Davis to the greater Bay Area if you want higher-end cultural offerings without driving. Summer highs range from 90F to 110F, but there is no humidity and the delta breeze (very cool) blows in nearly every evening so that summer lows are in the 50s. What passes for winter involves highs around 55F and lows around 40F. Some years there is no frost whatsoever. Good golly, what am I doing in Eugene instead of moving to Winters myself?:rolleyes:

If you don't mind a bit of liquid sunshine, join Shifty and me in Eugene. We have the world's best summers, some truly great places to ride and a small but growing community of cyclists. Ice is rare, snow happens twice a year at most and is usually gone by day's end. We do have lots of days with some rain, but it's not often horrid unless it is one of those years when it keeps coming into June. We have a bit of grass pollen (large grass seed farms to the north of us, prevailing north winds in the spring/summer), so if you have issues with grass pollen go elsewhere. We also have lots of annoying petty theft, but that is pretty easy to deal with even if it is discouraging. The coast is 90 miles away by my favorite route (sometimes I don't have a single car pass me until I am ten miles from the water). If you drive the coast is only 60 miles away. Okay, now I know why I live here. :D

Good luck finding the right place. I advise trying out a few (just rent) before jumping in. You may find that you prefer to change homes every year or two. Of course, we expect regular updates, with pictures, of your hunting process.:)

We are going to drive around and look at some of those places soon.

Sri Lanka? Now there's one I would have never come up with on my own.
Long drive if I wanted to go home for Xmas...

I love the idea of the NW. We will check that out.

PNW sounds a bit more in line with what I think of in a place to retire. Sri Lanka might take a lot of checking.

current situation: Sri Lanka is a source and destination country for men and women trafficked for the purposes of involuntary servitude and commercial sexual exploitation; Sri Lankan men and women migrate willingly to the Persian Gulf, Middle East, and East Asia to work as construction workers, domestic servants, or garment factory workers, where some find themselves in situations of involuntary servitude when faced with restrictions on movement, withholding of passports, threats, physical or sexual abuse, and debt bondage; children are trafficked internally for commercial sexual exploitation and, less frequently, for forced labor
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - for a fourth consecutive year, Sri Lanka is on the Tier 2 Watch List for failing to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat severe forms of human trafficking, particularly in the area of law enforcement; the government failed to arrest, prosecute, or convict any person for trafficking offenses and continued to punish some victims of trafficking for crimes committed as a result of being trafficked; Sri Lanka has not ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol (2008)

Now if you never plan on any grandkids visiting you might roll the dice but North Korea sounds safer. IMHO.

You just described my town, and our neighboring town (the latter sponsors our bike group). Small-town feel, bike lanes everywhere, hills (if you want them), humidity not bad, lots of cyclists, good cycling year-round.

One of the geezer magazines, either AARP or Via (AAA), did a story recently on retiring in other countries. Some of them sounded pretty good. You should be able to find it online (may have been Sunset magazine, now that I think of it).
Neighbors of ours moved to Baja California six or seven years ago (from Reno, Nev.), and they love it. I like the country, but not their situation--the subdivision looks like a tract-house farm in Bakersfield. If I want that, I can stay where I am.
We looked at several possibilities when I retired three years ago, mainly because I'm a California guy and never liked the cold, but decided to stay where we are at least for now. We've lived here almost 40 years, with friends and connections, and my wife was pretty unhappy at the thought of leaving.
A note about Tucson, though: I worked there for a few years, and I like Arizona quite a lot, but Phoenix and Tucson hover over 110 degrees for months at a time. Don't let anybody tell you "it's a dry heat." It will knock you down and kick you. And you'd have about the worst two senators in the country, if that's a factor. that place is still struggling to accept Eisenhower.

You just described my town, and our neighboring town (the latter sponsors our bike group). Small-town feel, bike lanes everywhere, hills (if you want them), humidity not bad, lots of cyclists, good cycling year-round.

Sounds great, ummm, what town would that be?

One of the geezer magazines, either AARP or Via (AAA), did a story recently on retiring in other countries. Some of them sounded pretty good. You should be able to find it online (may have been Sunset magazine, now that I think of it).
Neighbors of ours moved to Baja California six or seven years ago (from Reno, Nev.), and they love it. I like the country, but not their situation--the subdivision looks like a tract-house farm in Bakersfield. If I want that, I can stay where I am.
We looked at several possibilities when I retired three years ago, mainly because I'm a California guy and never liked the cold, but decided to stay where we are at least for now. We've lived here almost 40 years, with friends and connections, and my wife was pretty unhappy at the thought of leaving.
A note about Tucson, though: I worked there for a few years, and I like Arizona quite a lot, but Phoenix and Tucson hover over 110 degrees for months at a time. Don't let anybody tell you "it's a dry heat." It will knock you down and kick you. And you'd have about the worst two senators in the country, if that's a factor. that place is still struggling to accept Eisenhower.

I've never been to Tucson, so I would like to visit. But you are right, I've only seen heat like that once and it about killed me.

Doesn't matter where you go to lose the winter cold- You are so adjusted to cooler summers that you will probably get annoyed at not being able to ride in 90% humidity and 100F temps.

So I reckon one of those big mobile Motor homes- then you can follow the weather.

Doesn't matter where you go to lose the winter cold- You are so adjusted to cooler summers that you will probably get annoyed at not being able to ride in 90% humidity and 100F temps.

So I reckon one of those big mobile Motor homes- then you can follow the weather.

I don't like them.

I should be able to find a place I like.

If it wasn't so far away, I'd consider one of those Brit expat communities on
the coast of Turkey.

I've never been to Tucson, so I would like to visit. But you are right, I've only seen heat like that once and it about killed me.I have a sister in Phoenix and another who recently moved to Tuscon. I never liked Phoenix (feels like a giant, flat suburb) but my family always told me try Tuscon since it is smaller and more "old west" feeling. So I went to Tuscon and it felt like a slightly smaller version of Phoenix. The weather is nice but you really have to like that endless suburb feel. Both cities have some great desert mountains around them if you like hiking, mountain biking, etc.

Depends on how "small" of a small city you like, but the semi-arid climate in SW Texas is IMO delightful. Alpine, TX (5,500 pop., www.alpinetexas.com) is at about 4,000+ feet elevation, with hills/mountains in the area up to almost 8,000. Humidity is usually (very) low, summers are moderate and winters mild. However, the nearest 100,000+ city is about 180 miles away. For me, that's wonderful, but it might be too remote for some. I know I'd like to retire in that general area, though.

Check out Topretirements. com. My city, Fayetteville (AR), is usually ranked in the 60's out of the top 100 retirement cities in the US. I feel so blessed to live here (35 years) with the beautiful Ozark mountains, easy access to the Buffalo River, great cycling and hiking, and a wonderful cultural environment with the University of Arkansas. It is a city with so many opportunities and choices that are usually found in bigger cities. Check it out.

And currently, we have at least 7 bike shops, one with two locations. The shop at which I purchased Slick has the best mechanic on the face of the earth. Thus far, if I can find a way to screw it up, he has found a way to fix it.

We have two indoor firing ranges and one outdoor range if you are a shooter/hunter.

We have two malls, each of which I visit one time a year in December.

We have this singing group, http://www.singingmenofarkansas.org/

We have this place for cultural endeavors, http://www.waltonartscenter.org/

The great out of doors is just a few minutes away from wherever you live.
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z90/gearloose_2007/HPIM0099.jpg

We have this baseball team, which plays in a really nice, new stadium,
http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/index.jsp?sid=t1350

And we have this bunch, the Ozark Roadies, which accepts new members and welcomes guest BF 50+ riders when they're passing through.
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z90/gearloose_2007/IMG_0765.jpg

I've never been to Tucson, so I would like to visit. But you are right, I've only seen heat like that once and it about killed me.You should visit, go in July to get a feel for 110 day after day. Tucson might be much bigger than you want, it's grown quite large over the years. There is only one area in Arizona I'd recommend, Cottonwood or Clarksdale in the Verde River valley. Very pretty and nicer climate, a bit milder. Thing is that you'll have to hold your nose from the stench of AZ politics these days.

TheHen is right, nice cycling in Oregon. We'd be happy to have you here.

Interesting that you want to leave southern Maine for someplace warmer. While the cold does bother me a little more than it used to, I'm looking at the Portland area as a possible retirement place. I understand the area is very bike friendly, and a good place overall for retirees. But... There is always the winter to contend with. Portland's winters are like Boston's: Long and cold.

New Hampshire does not have a state income tax of sales tax, but they do have wicked high property taxes. Not sure if they tax social security income, pensions, etc. Anyone care to share information?

Check out Topretirements. com. My city, Fayetteville (AR), is usually ranked in the 60's out of the top 100 retirement cities in the US. I feel so blessed to live here (35 years) with the beautiful Ozark mountains, easy access to the Buffalo River, great cycling and hiking, and a wonderful cultural environment with the University of Arkansas. It is a city with so many opportunities and choices that are usually found in bigger cities. Check it out.

I'd vote for Arkansas. I lived in Mountain View for three years and regret moving back to Wisconsin, even with all my family here.

It would be hard to recommend Western NC right now as I type this we have 6" of snow and it's still snowing. We expect another heavy snow on Monday. To be honest, I have a friend from Maine here and he wouldn't want to be any further south. If you are retired, you can travel during the couple months of winter if you want.

But if low humidity and mild temps are what you want, check out SoCal (as long as you can afford to retire there). Though small city it isn't.

Yellow Springs, Ohio. Nice college town with instant access to the Scenic Little Miami bike trail system.

We have retired.

Now we are looking for a place to retire to. We are both tired of winter.

So we are looking at places that are warmer. I don't like a lot of humid weather.

And we do want to keep riding our bikes.

We want to be in or near a small city. I don't want to be in the middle of nowhere
or in a big city.

One big thing is budget.

Sounds great, ummm, what town would that be?

La Verne, California -- recently rated as a top-10 city. The neighboring city (Claremont, which sponsors our bike group) was designated a Bicycle Friendly City by the League of American Cyclists, and was selected as the Stage 7 host for the 2011 AMGEN Tour of California. Both are college towns with a small-town feel.

St. Geroge, Utah. Near Zion National Park, mild climate, dry, reasonable prices, good health care, 2.5 hours to Vegas, pretty much year around riding.

La Verne, California -- recently rated as a top-10 city. The neighboring city (Claremont, which sponsors our bike group) was designated a Bicycle Friendly City by the League of American Cyclists, and was selected as the Stage 7 host for the 2011 AMGEN Tour of California. Both are college towns with a small-town feel.

I've been to Claremont. I wouldn't call it a small town, but then I live in a small town of 3200 so my sense of small might be skewed. I did like the area around Claremont though with easy access to Mt Baldy.

Tucson Arizona sounds like the place for you. There are lots of other smaller towns on the outskirts of the Phoenix Metro area also. I live in Mesa Arizona and am very happy here. It's a lot cheaper than the California coastal areas for sure. Good luck.
Unfortunately you have a nut for a Governor like we do in Texas.

Southern Italy. Far cheaper than the US, awesome food and wines, great life style for the money spent, easily accessible form many larger cities nearby, far cheaper real state than the rest of Italy, great beaches and areas to ride. Drawbacks are: not very english speaking oriented as the rest of Italy, a few years behind in high technology use, not so affluent as the rest of Italy.

My wife and I will probably retire to a coastal town along the Tyrrhenian Sea in Calabria. She was born and grew up there, and is a graduate of the University of Rome. I've been many times and agree with your evaluation. Look near Lamezia Terme: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamezia_Terme . The city is on the sea and a major airport is very close. The area has some splendid scenery, the famous Amalfi coast is a short 3 hour drive. The weather is like Ventura, CA.

A little known fact is that Italy is the #1 destination for relocating retirement-aged people. Food, climate, scenery and cost of living are primary draws.

Michael

Wow!

Thanks for all the replies and ideas.

We're going to take a road trip and visit some of these places.

Wow!

Thanks for all the replies and ideas.

We're going to take a road trip and visit some of these places.

One place that didn't get mentioned that I want to check out is Ataca, Costa Rica.

Bring your bike(s).

Having lived in both the Midwest (Chicago and Kansas) and the Pacific Northwest (Seattle) I can tell you there is a huge difference between "real" cold and PNW "cold."

Seattle typical winter day is 33 to 45 degrees, and either misty, drizzling, or lightly raining. It gets colder, but when it does it usually cold and clear (we just had a stretch of 25 to 30 degree days but they were bone dry). It can also be warmer. It occasionally gets below 20, and occasionally gets warmer (it was also up to 50 about 10 days ago), but usually it's high 30's/low 40's and wet.

That's east of the Cascades -- up in the mountains it's snowy, and in eastern Washington it can be colder. Also there are areas along the coast where it's much wetter, and a couple of areas that are in "rain shadows" of mountains where it's much drier.

So for someone coming from the upper midwest or New England this area would likely *not* be considered cold. And, at lower elevations, you are trading snow for rain.

Lots of people here get tired of the persistently cool, drippy weather in the winter -- but it's not what I would consider cold; you're not digging cars out of snowdrifts; and you can be outdoors 52 weeks a year.


As far as retirement places go -- I've played around with some of the online sites that rank retirement places (I think there are some in Money magazine's website?). I like the ones that allow you to set your own criteria about what's important -- for example, your definition of "good weather" may not be the same as mine (for example, I'd rather live through Seattle's winters than Arizona's summers). Also you can determine whether you care about things like distance from a major airport; distance from major arts centers; etc.

That being said, if I were looking at retirement places in the Pacific Northwest I'd look at Ashland Oregon (southern Oregon); maybe Eugene if you wanted to be in a college town; Bend, Ore; if you wanted to be around cooler weather; somewhere in Seattle area (area dependent on how close you wanted to be to a big city) - Seattle or its suburbs, Camano Island, Bainbrdige Island, Whidbey Island, etc.

How about an average high of 75 in August and an average low of 45 in January? We are half way between Malibu and Santa Barbara and right on the coast. Our city has gotten too big but a few miles up the coast is Carpinteria which still has the small-town feel. Great cycling up and down the coast plus you can head inland for some good climbing (if any climbing is actually good) and not many days that aren't good to be riding.

How about an average high of 75 in August and an average low of 45 in January? We are half way between Malibu and Santa Barbara and right on the coast. Our city has gotten too big but a few miles up the coast is Carpinteria which still has the small-town feel. Great cycling up and down the coast plus you can head inland for some good climbing (if any climbing is actually good) and not many days that aren't good to be riding.

Sounds wonderful.

We would like to buy a home, and I suspect the market there is pretty pricey for us.
But it does sound awesome.

On Phoenix and Tucson: Yes, the politics often goes beyond the absurd, especially of late. That may be a deal breaker all its own. It frequently makes me want to pack up and move. As far as the heat goes, I know it is truly hard to believe/understand, but you actually do become acclimated to it. I never thought it possible, until I did it. From a cycling perspective, I actually object more to the winter morning cold than I do the summer heat. The sprawling suburbia is ugly. I refer to Phoenix sometimes as "The strip mall capital of the world." You need to like surface streets, as they are often the better way to get somewhere than the freeways, which is the reverse of SoCal, where I spent most of my life. Arizona mountains and desert areas are beautiful. Thumb through some Arizona Highways photos. All in all, Arizona is a great place to cycle.

It's really hard to knock the less populated areas of Southern California. Climate is unbeatable in my book, and there's nothing like having access to snow and the beach... on the same day. Expense is of course the biggest obstacle.

I lived in the Caribbean for awhile. Desert island surrounded by turqoise water: Beautiful: culturally and economically difficult.

On Phoenix and Tucson: Yes, the politics often goes beyond the absurd, especially of late. That may be a deal breaker all its own. It frequently makes me want to pack up and move. As far as the heat goes, I know it is truly hard to believe/understand, but you actually do become acclimated to it. I never thought it possible, until I did it. From a cycling perspective, I actually object more to the winter morning cold than I do the summer heat. The sprawling suburbia is ugly. I refer to Phoenix sometimes as "The strip mall capital of the world." You need to like surface streets, as they are often the better way to get somewhere than the freeways, which is the reverse of SoCal, where I spent most of my life. Arizona mountains and desert areas are beautiful. Thumb through some Arizona Highways photos. All in all, Arizona is a great place to cycle.

It's really hard to knock the less populated areas of Southern California. Climate is unbeatable in my book, and there's nothing like having access to snow and the beach... on the same day. Expense is of course the biggest obstacle.

I lived in the Caribbean for awhile. Desert island surrounded by turqoise water: Beautiful: culturally and economically difficult.

I see you have a Sport. I have had a Gunnar Sport for years.

You have great taste in bikes :D

I'd vote for Arkansas. I lived in Mountain View for three years and regret moving back to Wisconsin, even with all my family here.

For a smaller town, Mena Arkansas is nestled in the beautiful Ouachita Mountains. And you (not I! :-) can always ride the 55-mile Talimena Drive.

I've been to Claremont. I wouldn't call it a small town, but then I live in a small town of 3200 so my sense of small might be skewed. I did like the area around Claremont though with easy access to Mt Baldy.

Yes, it's not a true "small town", but it is a college town with the small-town feel.

For years my wife and I kept an eye out during our travels for a retirement home. Over time we both came to the conclusion that we could never leave New England, or Massachusetts for that matter, permanently. The main reason is that there is nothing you can't do within four hours drive. NYC, Cape Cod, Maine, Vermont and Upstate NY provide so much adventure or whatever else you want, that it doesn't make sense to leave the area.

We found that places we really liked in other parts of the country and overseas were often found out my many many other couples looking for the same things as us. Now our plan is to take a couple of months in the winter and rent somewhere. For us that makes the most sense because we will be able to have the best of both. Winter and Summer. Personally, If I spent a chunk of my life in Maine, I would really have reservations about not spending my summers there. It's too nice to give up.

Have lived in Tuycson, AZ for 33 years now.
Reired and looked around but could not find anything that we liked better.
Have been in all of the lower 48 states and over a dozen countries.

. . . .
A note about Tucson, though: I worked there for a few years, and I like Arizona quite a lot, but Phoenix and Tucson hover over 110 degrees for months at a time. Don't let anybody tell you "it's a dry heat." It will knock you down and kick you. . . . .

Tucson, though farther south, is decidedly cooler in temperature than Phoenix. We live a few miles south of Tucson and have exactly zero problems with the summer heat. Shade is welcome and attention to hydration necessary but we enjoy even the hottest weather. We also, unlike some other areas of the state, enjoy a diverse political climate the tragic events of today notwithstanding.

Follow Levi Liehimer and move to Santa Rosa, some of the best biking in the world. Great climate, lots of wine, good roads and great food. You can ride all year long.

Check out Topretirements. com. My city, Fayetteville (AR), is usually ranked in the 60's out of the top 100 retirement cities in the US. I feel so blessed to live here (35 years) with the beautiful Ozark mountains, easy access to the Buffalo River, great cycling and hiking, and a wonderful cultural environment with the University of Arkansas. It is a city with so many opportunities and choices that are usually found in bigger cities. Check it out.

Fayetteville is a BEAUTIFUL town (I grew up there and attended the University of Arkansas in the late 1970s). It is very hilly but very scenic and cycling-friendly. Plus, the Hog Haus Brewing Company (http://www.hoghaus.com/) has some truly great beers!

I've lived in some different east and west states and in Mexico. Always seem to be happiest in California. I could go on and on about the problems in the PNW and other places, but it comes down to a matter of preference. If there is a general rule I've come away with- if it's cheap to live there, there's a damn good reason.

Another one for the PNW. I just moved here myself to retire. The Olympic Peninsula, little town of Sequim. It sits in the Rainshadow that Bengeboy spoke of. I just moved here from NorCal. Was tired of the heat myself. Sequim is basically a retirement community that is very Bike friendly. I sit in our old farmhouse, look out the window and see bikes go by all day. We have the Olympic Discovery Trail here that will eventually be 100 miles. http://www.olympicdiscoverytrail.com/index.htm There is also supposed to be an over 50 bike group that I have to look into. I have only been here 4 months. So just some more food for thought.

Move to Hi/Honolulu the weather is nice.

All depends on your retirement income.
Maybe Haiti for you??
Ohno

Well, humidity leaves out Florida.

Going for no humidity and no cold puts you pretty much into the "desert" south west. Given the patterns of water usage and the unsustainability, that might not be a good call.

Florida has some nice towns. Deland might suit you. It is a college town north or Orlando. It has good bird watching, close to the beach, some decent roads to cycle on. It also has the events at Stetson University. It has year round cycling. It is reasonably affordable. But it does have humidity.

No matter where you look, there will be trade offs.