fixedgearhead

In the answering of another post I thought it would be interesting to pose the question:
1: What would you choose as the ideal area of the country to retire to with the thought that it would be the most conducive to cycling activity. Year round good to moderate weather, good terrain, presence of bike culture options,eg: active racing scene, bike paths, off road possibilities, or at least great hangout possibilities.
2: Relative to the above, what would be the best for inexpensive cost of living on a fixed retirement income. I have lived in Calif. for many years and think that it is almost ideal as to the first part of the question, but the second one is where the rubber meets the road. If you don't have a large cash flow coming in then it gets pretty limiting to take advantage of the amenities if all your cash is going toward housing costs.
I know that a lot of the people on this board are far from the age where they have to concider the prospect of retirement, but the information would still be valid even if you are still working and a log way off from that "old rocking chair".


Fixedgearhead

smurfy

Wow, what a great thread! I'm in my early fourties, far from retirement but thinking about it more!

I think a cool area would be the Carolinas, although I haven't been there since I was a kid. North Carolina probably has some bike scenes, especially Chapel Hill or other collage towns, maybe Charlotte. There are bike companies like Cane Creek and Brew (are they still around?) located there, I think. From what I heard on news shows and newspapers NC is considered the new Florida.

South Carolina is somewhat more conservative (nothing wrong with that) but it has resort areas like Hilton Head and Myrtle Beach. Also the cost of living is relatively low and has a mild climate. I'm certainly not an expert on this area but it seems to be worth checking out

fixedgearhead

We took a long drive from Calif. when we left to come back to Ohio. It involved 6 months and we covered a lot of the USA. One of the places we liked was North Carolina. Ashland area in particular. Unfortunately it had already been discovered and was getting of pricey. Didn't get to South Carolina though. We did stay in Northwest Arkansas, Fayetteville, for a couple of months and that was one hot summer place. They have prehistoric creatures that come up out of the lawn at twilight. I kid you not. Crawdad looking things. 100+ temps and 100% humidity. Kind of a heat fog. We left shortly thereafter.

fixedgearhead

Phatman

my grandma lives in charleston, south carolina, and it is a gorgeous place. Charleston really is the "south" at its best, when you think of a "southern" town, this is it. The weather is pretty warm year-round, and it goes into the 50-60s in the winter. I think it snows about once every 10 years in south carolina. however, summer is VERY humid, with humities in the 80s, 90s, and very close to 100. Humidity is not so much a problem when biking, ive found, but running...sheesh...

Charleston is very close to the water, my grandma's house is about 5 miles from the beach, and this is nice, but that means that it is very flat. I've never brought my bike down while visiting her, so I really don't know the actual cycling conditions, but there seemed to be plently of country roads once you get out of the actual city.

DnvrFox

Inherent in your question is that folks will retire at some time and go off into that "other" land!

I am curious - I don't plan on "retiring," at least in the sense of not having a job. I guess as long as I can earn money and be productive, and someone will hire me, I will continue working in some capacity or other.

Anyone else share my thoughts on retirement, or am I (as usual) somewhere out in another world?

Many "retirees" that I see seem to degenerate pretty fast after they leave the working world.

There is just something about keeping your mind active and meeting challenges in the workplace that I don't want to lose.

Also, I happen to like the $$.

The Rob

I'd consider the Southwest, perhaps return to Roswell, New Mexico. My wife would have to die first; she's convinced that the southwestern United States is barren of all worthwhile life, or life as she prefers it anyway.

And I agree with DnvrFox. I wouldn't 'retire' in the sense of squatting on a limited income and mowing the lawn once a week. That's death standing up. I'd look for work that allowed me to benefit the community and give me something truly constructive to do. And I hear there's a lot of good cycling to be had in New Mexico.

naisme

Count me in on not retiring. I hope to live a long life and work. I will make enough that my benefits won't disappear, but I don't want to put my self on a shelf and call it a day, ever. I've come through too much for that to happen now. I'm no where near retirement age.

I was thinking of the South West with my brother and getting there before everyone else does so we can have a business catering to the crowd that will arrive and retire, and want to spend their pensions. Be more than happy to take their green.

fixedgearhead

I think it is great if you don't retire. I have just turned 62 and I "retired" at 50. After 30 years of workingin the Home Remodeling business I decided it was a young mans game and my body required some rest. What I did do though is find another pursuit that kept me active. That is bicycling. Fixed gear in particular. I ride and average of 60 miles per day during the season here in Ohio with a century at least once a month. All fixed gear, as I don't own any multi gear bikes at all any more. The winters here are more than I am used to coming from California, and my mileage is seriously reduced. I agree with you that any"Retirement" that you do, it is important to keep active. Whether with another type of job or interest that rings your bell. I didn't mean that you would sit on the porch and watch the world go by. My interest is in a more year round environment that is conducive to riding. Also not cost prohibitive. I have no interest in working again. I'm having too much fun riding.

fixedgearhead

DnvrFox

Southern New Mexico - i.e., the Ruidoso area or Alamogordo or Las Cruces (a real pretty town). Mtns but relatively mild. Ruidoso is about 7,000 feet, but you can get to a lower elevation of about 3,500 feet in about 50 miles

fixedgearhead

I agree that might be somewhere to look. The times that I have been thru that area it looked interesting along with parts of northern Arizona. We are going out west this summer for a riding vacation and I will make another swing thru that area and check it out more closely.

Thanks for reminding me.

fixedgearhead

Gordon P

I always found the 40 + hour work week/48 weeks a year/45 years of your life to close to slavery for my liking and decided to live life differently then others and live a semi-employed/semi-retired lifestyle at a very young age. So far, I have managed to keep a fine balance of working, traveling, volunteering and studying and plan to continue to do this as long as possible. Part of my retirement strategy is to live below my means and save as much as possible when I am working and then travel inexpensively as long possible. Where I live now has good cycling for about six months of the year with plenty of opportunities for short tours and like most cities, it has an international airport so I can escape winter and fly off to a warmer climate. Oh, and it is only 36 more days until I am in retirement mode again and will be taking five months off to cycle Europe.

naisme

Kewl

DnvrFox

Do you have wife, kids?

Gordon P

Kids do not travel well and wives get upset when their man disappears for months at a time. I do like having serial girlfriends however.

It is a shame or a tragedy, that in our affluent societies we cant take more time away from our careers to do things like travel, volunteer, raise families, build a house, study etc. I know of one very large firm that will only allow their employees to have a hiatus is when they have a mental breakdown! In France, employees can apply under state law to take leave from work for personal reasons and have their position held for them.

K6-III

Move to Provence in southern France and enjoy cycling heaven!

stinkyonions

i think you hit it on the head for me too. having the typical 9-5 job is something i fear when i graduate school next year. luckily i have a few friends who love to travel to but our schedules never seem to cross. traveling has probably been the most eye-opening experience for me and it was a far better pace of life everywhere i visited than the pace i have been used to in california for the past 22 years.

fixedgearhead

The only thing wrong with working 40 hrs per week is working 40 hrs per week at something that you hate doing. I worked that much and more sometimes at something that I truely loved, that satisfied all my creative needs and paid me a hansome wage. I worked for myself and only took jobs that I wanted to do. IE: they were interesting or challenging. There was always at least 6 months worth of work lined up ahead of me and I used to take time off between jobs and traveled and played along with my wife. There is nothing wrong with earning money. Just don't sell your soul to do it. Find something that you love doing and then do it. You will be happier in the long run and the money will take care of itself.

fixedgearhead

Gordon P

fixedgearhead, just curious, what kind of work were you involved with? I also love what I do, self-employed carpenter, but my hands are starting to give out on me, so the 40-hour a week is becoming difficult.

To answer your question about the cost of housing, I know that the rural towns here in Canada are dying fast and houses are dirt cheep, it may be the same in rural America as well. A place to start looking may be with an on-line real estate site that offers a national $ search category. You may be able to find two hoses in different cycling regions!

fixedgearhead

[QUOTE=Gordon P]fixedgearhead, just curious, what kind of work were you involved with? I also love what I do, self-employed carpenter, but my hands are starting to give out on me, so the 40-hour a week is becoming difficult.

I was a remodeling carpenter, probably much like yourself. I started out at 15
and worked at high rise construction for my apprentiship until I got my Journeyman card and later started my own buisness in San Francisco remodeling Victorians for wealthy doctors and dentists during the 1970 & 80's. Later I branched out to custom furniture making and custom built-in cabinets. At the age of 50 I found, like you, that it is a young mans game. Carrying sheetrock up flights of stairs does strange things to your back. I decided that was it, and I hung up my toolbelt. I had done rather well what with buying and fixing up houses and living in them and then selling them it allowed me to parlay that in the California real estate market into a house that was far above the value that I could have afforded had I just tried to buy it outright. 5 years ago my wife was offered an early retirement offer that was to good to refuse and we sold the house and moved to Central Ohio after traveling around the US for 6 months and just goofing off. We settled in a small rural town in Ohio which we were able to purchase a house for cash from the sale of the Calif house and put the rest in the bank. The reason we chose Ohio is that my wife was originaly from there and she thought she would like to reconnect with her family. While the bicycle riding here is lovely most of the year, the winters are dreadfull. The culture is also, shall we say, challenging in relation to San Francisco. Hence my quest for the perfect alternative. Also, my wife found that you can't go home again. You change after 40 years away from all the relatives who stayed here. The 1960's in San Francisco will do that to you.
So continues the saga of the ex-hippy cartenter and his ex-Peace Corps wife and their eternal quest for truth, justice, and the American dream.

fixedgearhead

SD Fixed

Thus my quandry as well. I'm hoping I don't get sucked into the San Diego lifestyle.