Fifty Plus (50+) - Where to retire?

What a wild idea. It would be interesting to see what it would be like to live in Spain without speaking Spanish. I know I'd love to visit either city (or better yet, both)
But that is a long way from family... I don't think my wife would buy having her (currently just one) grandchildren in a different country.

Yeah, I know. That was my point earlier, one's life is about people, not just places.
But don't dismiss it altogether. You'd pick up enough Spanish, or Italian, ina few months. Barcelona is a wonderful city with a convivial and quite sophisticated atmosphere. Siena, and Tuscany in general, is irresistible - especially for those like you who are interested in both cycling and the arts. In fact, I may just have talked myself into it. LOL.

Certainly visit. These are both places one should see, even if one doesn't intend to move there.

Why did nobody mention Victoria BC?

I flirt with that idea from time to time, but I suspect I will probably stay just where I am, humid summers, cold winters and all.

Some intriguing thoughts.

At some point I am going to need to determine a process by which I can narrow choices and decide.

I think what you are suggesting is a decision matrix. That's part of the process.

It is kinda nice living close to grandkids.

Totally - but if your kids are spread all over the country/world, it's not really possible.

Every time this thread pops up I'm always fascinated by the answers.

Why does someone spend most of their adult lives, prior to "retirement" in a place they hate?

Was their a boat anchor tied to their butt? Sheeple syndrome?

... Why does someone spend most of their adult lives, prior to "retirement" in a place they hate? Was their a boat anchor tied to their butt? Sheeple syndrome?

For me, I have a great job I can bike commue to. Finding another job teaching what I love at a college would be pretty hard to come by. And it wasn't always so awful here. It was never great, but it tanked during the housing boom and got worse after. So I tough it out, enjoy the weather, and the fact I can get to San Francisco and Berkeley in a bit over an hour. But to retire here? I'd move if I could do it reasonably.

I know exactly where you are. You're pretty close to me, and I ride in that area all the time. Your town has among the highest taxes in the region, if not the highest of all. Town of Colonie, where I live, seems to have the lowest around. I grew up in this town, but property taxes were a major consideration when I decided to move back to the area. It seems the reason for the differences in tax rates between Niskayuna and Colonie is that your town discourages retail and other types of commercial development. The revenue from local businesses takes some of the tax burden off of the homeowners over here.

IMHO even Colonie tax rates are excessive compared to where I lived in Virgina - when I moved here 12 years ago even moving to Colonie would raise my prperty taxes by 4X on the same value house, not to mention doubling sales tax and incom tax. I love where I live, but I don't want to hand over the local county a new custom made CF bike with super record group every year.

Every time this thread pops up I'm always fascinated by the answers.

Why does someone spend most of their adult lives, prior to "retirement" in a place they hate?

Was their a boat anchor tied to their butt? Sheeple syndrome?
Good question. I like the place I'm living now. As I get older I like warmer weather, and as my income will no longer be indefinite, the tax burden becomes more important. Also, up tp now all the family lives here, but that will change over the next year. I don't like that, but that's the way it is.

It's great to be affluent and healthy in a low-tax southern state. If either of those change, life can be not so good.

The eastern part of NC - to which my parents retired - is pretty much in a "race to the bottom" against 3rd world countries as far as wages, taxes, and services go.

Just my thoughts ...
How so? I've been vacationing in the Wilmington area for 20 years, and I've not seen any obvious changes. As for the dream houses, a lot of vacation homes went up for sale when the national economy tanked.

Why does someone spend most of their adult lives, prior to "retirement" in a place they hate?

Sometimes there just aren't any viable alternatives. :(

Interesting thread, even if it is hard to relate. I'll be retiring to my shack in the country a few miles from the small Georgia town where I was born and have lived all but a couple of years of my life. I do hope to visit many of the places mentioned here, but home will be home.

+1 on this. When we married, we made a decision about where we wanted to live. We moved to that area and found jobs, finished school, built careers, raised our kids, built a social network, etc. I'm a handful of miles from a world class city that I’ve come to know and enjoy, and we're both less than 130 miles from the places of our birth. We can be in the mountains in less than 1.5 hours or on a beach in about an hour. There are miles of rolling Amish farmlands less than 40 minutes away. We hope to travel and spend more time doing so. We've never enjoyed "high class, luxury" travel. Rather, we've liked seeing and being in places as if we were living there... you know, get the feel of the real culture. A co-worker that I like and respect a great deal retired to Leiden in the Netherlands and loves it. We rented his home for three weeks while he was traveling, and I can see why he likes so much. Almost everyone speaks English, it is a very cycling friendly place, winters are relatively mild, etc. I suspect we’ll attempt to do other travel in this manner. It would take some major shifts in our current situation to trigger a desire to be somewhere other than home.
My younger brother retired to Ashville NC, but he and his wife only stayed one year. It was just too much of a culture shift for them. My parents retired to Florida for two years, but then moved back to their original home in central Pennsylvania. They missed their network of friends and the great winters didn't compensate for the unbearable heat in the summer. A high school buddy retired to Billings Montana and loves it there.... except the winter. So, I guess I feel somewhat fortunate that I’m living where I want to be living.

... on the road.. go bike touring..

... on the road.. go bike touring..

This is part of my plan. I'm not ready to become a cycling tourist without a home, but I could spend 12 weeks a year touring. My retirement location allows touring nine months of the year. Touring is easier in Europe with bike friendly trains and passenger ferries to help support long distance and international travel.

Cycling touring is both an economical and a very intimate way to visit a new region of the world.

Every time this thread pops up I'm always fascinated by the answers.

Why does someone spend most of their adult lives, prior to "retirement" in a place they hate?

Was their a boat anchor tied to their butt? Sheeple syndrome?

I don't hate where I live. After I retire there may be places that will fit my retired lifestyle better than my working lifestyle.

Why did nobody mention Victoria BC?

I flirt with that idea from time to time, but I suspect I will probably stay just where I am, humid summers, cold winters and all.

'cause most of us chatting about this topic are Yankees and Victoria is in the Commonwealth. As mentioned earlier, unless one is independently wealthy, they don't want you. At least on a permanent basis. I know because I've been checking.

IMHO even Colonie tax rates are excessive compared to where I lived in Virgina

No doubt, but I was comparing apples to apples, i.e., bordering townships, not communities separated by 500 miles.

If you want to talk taxes, you can experience negative tax rates by moving to Alaska. Utopia doesn't exist. There will always be compromises. As a matter of fact, Utopia literally means "no-place".

Maybe a small college town within a reasonable drive to an actual city... Sugestions?

Boulder, Colorado (not inexpensive, though)
Lawrence, Kansas (great town, 45 minutes to Kansas City...I don't love the weather, though)
Iowa City, Iowa (tough winters, 3 hour drive to Chicago)
Madison, Wisc. (not exactly California weather)
San Luis Obispo
Davis, Calif.

How so? I've been vacationing in the Wilmington area for 20 years, and I've not seen any obvious changes. As for the dream houses, a lot of vacation homes went up for sale when the national economy tanked.

The empty retirement dream houses I was referring to were on the market long before 2008 - my dad passed in 2000. The experiences I had driving around looking at big empty dream houses were in the 90s.

By "race to the bottom", I mean that eastern NC by and large had abandoned the effort to build a skilled educated work force. It seems to be a spiral - "reduce the cost of doing business" with big tax incentives, lax environmental regulation (hog waste lagoons the size of lakes, dump whatever you want in the water), and very low wages. The tax incentives are paid for by cutting spending on education, which means a less skilled work force, so you have to offer bigger incentives, even more lax regulation.

As a retiree, why do you care?

When you 1st move to a town where the only non-government jobs in town pay minimum wage, it looks great. The services you buy can be very cheap. After a while, you begin to realize that when the best jobs in town pay minimum wage, anyone with the skills and motivation t make more than minimum wage moves to a place where there are non-minimum wage jobs. :)

Since Wilmington has UNC-W, you may be somewhat insulated from that effect. College towns have disproportinately large numbers of skilled, motivated workers who are willing to work for minimum wage - at least during the vacation season. :)

YMMV

Grand Junction, CO

(They don't even own snowplows)

Grand Junction, CO

(They don't even own snowplows)

My brother lives in GC. It has its good and bad points. It gets pretty dang hot and dusty in the summer with a persistent desiccating wind. In spring there are lots of biting gnats which are annoying. Winter can be cold but not extreme at all. The desert is nearby so it's easy to get warmer or head to the mountains for skiing. Mtbing is great, road riding is very good, though local choices can be limited. There are only so many roads.

If I ever move there I'm buying a raft and cruising the rivers on long trips. Love river trips and GC is a great jumping off point.

I'd have to get out of town in the summer. My brother has a cabin up at Dallas Divide which is a perfect location to spend the hot months.

Asheville has really grown. I couldn't live there but it is only 45-60 min drive away to the east. My town is a small college town but the expanding University is making traffic a mess. Our weather is very moderate but skiing is only so so and very dependent on winter temps. This last year it was so warm I don't think it was much of a season. Biking is excellent though difficult. Mtbing is also great though some short drives are required to get to a trail. Hiking is great also. We have lakes too though I don't have a power boat, I often think I should.

Medical care is very good. Asheville has a couple of excellent hospitals and our town has a local hospital with a good reputation. There are always festivals and craft fairs here and the arts are supported. But the summers are trending hotter lately and the humidity can get up there. Often the air quality will suffer especially at elevation during hot dry summer periods due to the coal plants to the W/NW. I use AC here at the house starting about mid June through Aug mostly to dehumidify. We do get 50" of rain a year though it comes in big bunches.

We get a huge influx of summer residents from Fla. Our county can triple in population from late April- Oct. It is also a vacation destination so the summers can be busy though there are always places to go that are nice and quiet. Road riding is always great.

Asheville has really grown. I couldn't live there but it is only 45-60 min drive away to the east. My town is a small college town but the expanding University is making traffic a mess. Our weather is very moderate but skiing is only so so and very dependent on winter temps. This last year it was so warm I don't think it was much of a season. Biking is excellent though difficult. Mtbing is also great though some short drives are required to get to a trail. Hiking is great also.

Were my family situation different, Asheville would be the top of my "affordable" list. The top of my "unaffordable" list is the Upper West Side (of Manhattan). I keep buying lottery tickets.

Me??? I want to retire in the Appalachian mountains near Butler, TN. Watauga Lake? Gorgeous! No state tax in TN. 20 miles away is Boone, NC which is also awesomely pretty. Don't know how NC taxes compare to TN though.

What are your thoughts about Fairfield Glade, TN?

When you all are talking "no taxes" what do you mean? No income tax? No sales tax?
Is it enough that it matters a lot, as in changes your life style?
Are you giving up anything to live in these places?

When you all are talking "no taxes" what do you mean? No income tax? No sales tax?
Is it enough that it matters a lot, as in changes your life style?
Are you giving up anything to live in these places?

Rate of taxation one variable in determining the quality of life you will enjoy after retirement, but only one variable. Often it's not the most important variable (for example, if you have kids, proximity to kids may be more important).

I think that lot of retirement planners over-value low tax rates. I have seen a number of folks move to a sunny, low tax state, only to move back to where they grew up after a couple of unhappy years.

In my thinking, trying to understand the whole picture is critical.

Asheville is a bit of a tourist mecca (Biltmore) and has pockets of new agey stuff, which might be nice if you like it.

Greenville is not a tourist spot, but it is a very clean town with a largely upscale population. The highest end cycle shop I've ever seen was in Greenville. It isn't particularly newe agey at all.

Many thanks! Looks like it will definitely be worth my while to go down there and look them over. Based on your description, Greenville might be a closer fit - but we'll visit both.

Many thanks! Looks like it will definitely be worth my while to go down there and look them over. Based on your description, Greenville might be a closer fit - but we'll visit both.

To be honest, I don't know much about Greenville, SC other than it has an active cycling community. From watching the evening news it has a lot of a crime too. Not sure how much the media plays that up though.

To many retirees where I live but fortunately they give more than they get as most adopt volunteer careers and they really become part of the community.

The cheap living low tax attitude drives me nuts though. Retirement is a modern convention. My great grandparents and most grandparents worked till they dropped with their boots on. Our communities income steam is dominated by transfer payments (SS, Pensions, Pension funds, interest, dividends, etc.). In fact w/o retiree immigration, we'd have negative population growth. Just sayin...

The pressure on local social services by retirees (not to mention school districts) is not really sustainable. Most BB's are going to be screwed because of no savings, pensions, investments, except for SS and M and the pressure on those will be enormous. Particularly the end of life costs.....unbelievable in last 3 years as you are drifting away in a demented fog. My mothers was about 150K and that was inexpensive and she was physically fit as a fiddle. She so wanted to be sent out to sea on the proverbial ice pack because she knew.

Glad you guys and gals bike as that'll save scads of $$$.

My wife and I don't think we'll ever truly retire as work is good, but I've no great answers about the dilemma.

To many retirees where I live but fortunately they give more than they get as most adopt volunteer careers and they really become part of the community.

The cheap living low tax attitude drives me nuts though. Retirement is a modern convention. My great grandparents and most grandparents worked till they dropped with their boots on. Our communities income steam is dominated by transfer payments (SS, Pensions, Pension funds, interest, dividends, etc.). In fact w/o retiree immigration, we'd have negative population growth. Just sayin...

The pressure on local social services by retirees (not to mention school districts) is not really sustainable. Most BB's are going to be screwed because of no savings, pensions, investments, except for SS and M and the pressure on those will be enormous. Particularly the end of life costs.....unbelievable in last 3 years as you are drifting away in a demented fog. My mothers was about 150K and that was inexpensive and she was physically fit as a fiddle. She so wanted to be sent out to sea on the proverbial ice pack because she knew.

Glad you guys and gals bike as that'll save scads of $$$.

My wife and I don't think we'll ever truly retire as work is good, but I've no great answers about the dilemma.



I agree with what you say. Here in the mountains of NC, we get so many seasonal retirement residents it really stresses the system to handle all of them. Mostly they seem to get in the way.

Holy crap!

Some of you seem oblivious to the fact that you'll be drawing on "SS&M" soon, and that three years before you die you'll be entering the last three years of your life.


Have we become such a disposable culture that unless you're generating tax revenue your life is not worth living?


This scares the crap out of me.

IMHO tax rate itself is not the issue, it is the value you get for the taxes you pay. Where I live now the community is paying for generations of waist and a blotted system. For the services I get I would be glad to pay twice what I would pay where I lived most of my life, but not 5X. I do believe that if you want nice bike paths, parks and roads with big shoulders you will pay higher taxes, but it has to be reasonable, you need to see the value. I feel I have to move to protect my estate. The multi-tier government bureaucrats are likes pigs at a trough.

Not far from were I grew up, in north costal san diego county. I left the area for several years, then came back to marry a woman I connected with at a high school reunion. She reconnected me with so many people I had drifted away from. I feel too much at home to want to leave. For me it is all the intangible things. Cost of living? The woman I am with now rescued me from rural Nevada. I'll take quality of life any day.

Holy crap!

Have we become such a disposable culture that unless you're generating tax revenue your life is not worth living?

Our society never conceived (in the 1930's) that retirees would be retired for say... 40 years (my father for example, retired at 55 and he's fast approaching 95). Nor did anyone realize how amazingly medical sciences advanced to allow for longer lives.

And we've a nation of unhealthy people approaching their mid 60's.

This is serious, deadly serious. Are we headed for mass extended stay low rent rest homes to care for the elderly who will not be able to care for themselves and/or their children will go broke attempting to care for them? I see no solutions other than a broken middle and under class. I also see that many BB's will never retire. Of course euthanasia is no solution. I believe humans want to be productive, working or retired. And as I noted, many retirees have retiree careers and are contributing members of society, their idea of "work" is different than yours or mine, but work they do..

What are your thoughts about Fairfield Glade, TN?
Crossville, TN??? Blah. Supposed to be good for golfing. I've not actually been to Fairfield, so I can't tell you anything about it one way or the other. I've ridden my motorcycle through Crossville a hundred times though going to the Smoky's. I don't golf, so there's nothing there that interests me. YMMV

To many retirees where I live but fortunately they give more than they get as most adopt volunteer careers and they really become part of the community.

The cheap living low tax attitude drives me nuts though. Retirement is a modern convention. My great grandparents and most grandparents worked till they dropped with their boots on. Our communities income steam is dominated by transfer payments (SS, Pensions, Pension funds, interest, dividends, etc.). In fact w/o retiree immigration, we'd have negative population growth. Just sayin...

The pressure on local social services by retirees (not to mention school districts) is not really sustainable. Most BB's are going to be screwed because of no savings, pensions, investments, except for SS and M and the pressure on those will be enormous. Particularly the end of life costs.....unbelievable in last 3 years as you are drifting away in a demented fog. My mothers was about 150K and that was inexpensive and she was physically fit as a fiddle. She so wanted to be sent out to sea on the proverbial ice pack because she knew.

Glad you guys and gals bike as that'll save scads of $$$.

My wife and I don't think we'll ever truly retire as work is good, but I've no great answers about the dilemma.




Great post.

I think you have solved many of the issues. Unfortunately, most Americans are oblivious.

I grew up in a great town with great schools. Everyone benefited from the investment in education, people moved here from all over for the the opportunities and quality of life that the education system supported.

About 25 years ago I noticed that most of the BB started complaining about the taxes and the welfare state. Most of these people had made a fortune on the thriving economy and increase in property values. Now most of these same BB are dependent on Medicare and none of them are refusing their SS checks.

My wife and I have decided to retire from our current careers, but we will both work or volunteer or both. We will continue to fund our children's education and we will provide direct care-giving to our parents so that they can stay in their home and not end up in some geriatric warehouse.

Staying fit and eating a healthy diet will be key to our quality of life, also.

America can solve it's problems, but most people don't understand what provided America with it's prosperity. We continue to elect politicians who only serve a few narrow special interests and who long ago stopped caring about the general well being of society.

The thread is mainly about North American options, as well it should be.

Personally, having married a lovely North American, and helped her to maintain a nice little Victorian cottage in Santa Cruz CA, I'd always thought of retiring there. The Santa Cruz Tandem Riders club takes off from just across our road.

Just can't afford the medical risk. 40 years diabetic, uninsurable. Everything, even being knocked off my bike, would be 'downstream risk of an existing condition'.

Pity. I like the Pacific Coast.

I am giving some serious consideration to Ecuador. Cost of living is low, as are taxes. Lots and lots of expats living there. Much slower life style. The expats I have talked to said they wished they had moved there long ago. Check it out on Internationalliving.com. Maybe I will see you there.

+100 My retirement location will depend on where my grandchildren are living when that time comes. Currently, they are a Navy family and there Dad still has several deployments ahead before he retires. So, when the time comes for me to retire, my wife and I want to be close to my grandsons. I agree with Chasm54's statement retirement is about people not places. I just hope wherever they settle down is a bike friendly location. quote.

This idea can backfire. We have friends that have moved three times to be near there children. Funny how the kids jobs will transfer or change along with location. One time they moved to Ireland and had to come back. For us its let the kids find us if thy can. This is our time to go and go. Just saying.

Great post.

I think you have solved many of the issues. Unfortunately, most Americans are oblivious.

I grew up in a great town with great schools. Everyone benefited from the investment in education, people moved here from all over for the the opportunities and quality of life that the education system supported.

About 25 years ago I noticed that most of the BB started complaining about the taxes and the welfare state. Most of these people had made a fortune on the thriving economy and increase in property values. Now most of these same BB are dependent on Medicare and none of them are refusing their SS checks.

My wife and I have decided to retire from our current careers, but we will both work or volunteer or both. We will continue to fund our children's education and we will provide direct care-giving to our parents so that they can stay in their home and not end up in some geriatric warehouse.

Staying fit and eating a healthy diet will be key to our quality of life, also.

America can solve it's problems, but most people don't understand what provided America with it's prosperity. We continue to elect politicians who only serve a few narrow special interests and who long ago stopped caring about the general well being of society.
What are BBs?

What are BBs?

Baby Boomers.

Baby Boomers.
Thanks.

All this negative talk about BBs, in spite of the fact that we're all guilty as charged, reminds me of a funny book by Joe Queenan called Balsalmic Dreams. He has a bit to say about us, not all of it bad, and most of it quite funny.

I now return this thread to its scheduled self-loathing.

Pity. I like the Pacific Coast.

Do I recall your saying you hailed from Yorkshire? Nothing much wrong with the Dales as a retirement location. I lived in Skipton for a year, loved the place. Tended to avoid Park Rash (http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/194793)when out on the bike, though... Torture at any age.

Thanks.

All this negative talk about BBs, in spite of the fact that we're all guilty as charged, reminds me of a funny book by Joe Queenan called Balsalmic Dreams. He has a bit to say about us, not all of it bad, and most of it quite funny.

I now return this thread to its scheduled self-loathing.

One fact often over looked by proponents of the Greatest Generation theory is that it's one thing to engage in dangerous pursuits when your family, friends, and society regards you as a "hero" for doing so. It's another thing to stand tall for what is right (think Civil Rights, Women's Rights, anti-war, etc.) when it flies in the face of societal norms and can get you ostracized, hurt and/or killed. At best you are reviled by the society in which you live.

OK back to our regularly scheduled programming.

One fact often over looked by proponents of the Greatest Generation theory is that it's one thing to engage in dangerous pursuits when your family, friends, and society regards you as a "hero" for doing so. It's another thing to stand tall for what is right (think Civil Rights, Women's Rights, anti-war, etc.) when it flies in the face of societal norms and can get you ostracized, hurt and/or killed. At best you are reviled by the society in which you live.

OK back to our regularly scheduled programming.

I think your statement is overly broad and full of generalizations.

At least in my arena of disability advocacy, I am continually writing and saying things that - in many cases - go against the grain of lots of folks. Just a couple of examples:

http://www.ourwebs.info/IssuesFromPadco.htm

http://www.ourwebs.info/LEGPROFOREXTERNALSTUDYOFDDDSYSTEM.doc

While many hate my guts (literally), we do make a bit of progress, with the recent firing of an Executive Director who was our main nemesis. Whether or not my writing had anything or much to do with it, I don't know, but I suspect it did.

So, by at least one group, I am highly respected.

I think your statement is overly broad and full of generalizations.

At least in my arena of disability advocacy, I am continually writing and saying things that - in many cases - go against the grain of lots of folks. Just a couple of examples:

http://www.ourwebs.info/IssuesFromPadco.htm

http://www.ourwebs.info/LEGPROFOREXTERNALSTUDYOFDDDSYSTEM.doc

While many hate my guts (literally), we do make a bit of progress, with the recent firing of an Executive Director who was our main nemesis. Whether or not my writing had anything or much to do with it, I don't know, but I suspect it did.

So, by at least one group, I am highly respected.
Dude. You're doing the right thing.

+1, Denver what you and your family is for the good of many. and these people need good advocates like y'all. Keep stepping on toes and ruffling feathers.

Bill

This idea can backfire. We have friends that have moved three times to be near there children. Funny how the kids jobs will transfer or change along with location. One time they moved to Ireland and had to come back. For us its let the kids find us if thy can. This is our time to go and go. Just saying.

I totally agree. My two children are the most important thing in my life, but they may end up,anywhere. If I live close enough to a good airport they can visit me.

The information web sites listed early in this thread have lead me to several places to investigate. Over the next year or two I will need to allocate some vacation time to this cause. One area that has raised it's head is Pocatello Id. I did visit this area once almost 20 years ago, was there for only a day but I recall it as being very nice. I will have to go back.

I like Phoenix, but forget 5 and 6 for May thru September (although I like riding those months here).

I love the double centuries in California

Me too. I've been here since 1995. We have no debts and will avoid purchasing a second home which will enable us to travel to various parts of the US, Brazil and Europe during the hot summer months. We have friends from a small oceanside village in Croatia so we'll start there. My wife's from Brazil so that's an option as is our desire to stay in Italy for a few months also.

I think your statement is overly broad and full of generalizations.

At least in my arena of disability advocacy, I am continually writing and saying things that - in many cases - go against the grain of lots of folks. Just a couple of examples:

http://www.ourwebs.info/IssuesFromPadco.htm

http://www.ourwebs.info/LEGPROFOREXTERNALSTUDYOFDDDSYSTEM.doc

While many hate my guts (literally), we do make a bit of progress, with the recent firing of an Executive Director who was our main nemesis. Whether or not my writing had anything or much to do with it, I don't know, but I suspect it did.

So, by at least one group, I am highly respected.

The whole idea of a "greatest generation" is a generalization. The point I was trying to make is that the Baby Boomers generation (in contrast to the "greatest generation") often acted in opposition to society's norms (yes a generalization) as a way to make society better (IMHO). The entire panoply of civil rights, including those of peoples with disabilities, grew out of that awareness and effort.

In the mid-'70's I was the Director of Personnel and Labor Relations at the Mansfield Training School in CT. This was a 24/7, 365 days a year residential facility for people with mental ***********. I helped create and implement a program of investigations of alleged abuse of the residents. This eventually became an independent office enacted into law by the State Legislature. The activists of the day were almost all of the Baby Boomer generation an they put into motion protests and lawsuits that forced the closing of the Training School and allowed the clients (that's what they were called back then) to move to group homes where they could live in "the least restrictive environment." The movement for "disability rights" grew out of the Civil Rights movement of the '60's IMO. Again, acting against society's sentiments of the day.

Oh, for God's sake you can't even type retardashun?

Oh, for God's sake you can't even type retardashun?

Individual(s) with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Emphasis on the "individiual," not the condition.

That other word is extremely offensive to almost everyone (parents/family, clients, professionals) now in the field and has been outlawed in all governmental usage.

Group homes are no longer the "LRE." Folks are living in apartments with supervision or, as in my son's case, a home where he lives with a family as the only individusal with a disability living in that home.

However, MANY folks leaving high school at age 21 nowadays are living with their parents, some until their parents are in their 80's, due to massive and never-ending waitlists. Please see:

http://www.noewait.com

also, in regards to the argument that "natural supports" will resolve the problem, please see:

http://www.ourwebs.info/naturalsupportmain.htm

As you are no doubt aware, the famous Olmstead decision (http://www.accessiblesociety.org/topics/ada/olmsteadoverview.htm) under the ADA is the catalyst for many Justice Department interventions reaching agreements with states to close institutions all across the country.

How does this relate to "Where should I retire?"

Those folks in this forum who have, as family members, individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities severe enough to require lifetime support and/or care have a huge other factor in when, where or whether or not they can retire. A complicating factor is that Medicaid Home and Community Based Services do not transfer from state-to-state, so, if I was to want to retire in Florida (and have my child near me), for example, I would face a waiting list of 21,000 folks of about 15-20 years (I would be 92) for services.

For individual and heartbreaking synopses, please see:

http://www.facebook.com/NOEWAIT

Where, every day, I post one more short story of an individual or family on the waitlist, such as:

I am a 37 year old Mentally Challenged Adult with an elderly mother whom is also not well. We do the best we can to get by, but we need HELP as to many American Families!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My Sister typed this for me, but I told her my thoughts in my own words

and

"My son has brain injuries and resultant severe developmental delays. He has been waiting in Florida for any kind of services since 2003. We adopted Chris when he was 6, he's 37 and we see no relief in sight."

The most devastating (and this is true) situation is where an adult child living and receiving services in Utan has both her parents die, has other supportive family in Colorado who want to provide support, but can not be serviced in Colorado because she would go to the bottom of Colorado's wait list. She remains in Utah with no family support.