Originally Posted by
Latitude65
It has always amazed me how many people retire to somewhere else, somewhere warm and then return after a few years to where they spent most of their lives. So, a couple years ago I started asking some of these folks questions. Also, I asked snowbirds where they were going to live when they got too infirm to snowbird.
Bottom line: There is no place like home. Home being the place where their lives and aqaintances have been.
Some people can move and be happy. Most I know cannot. So, be very, very sure of your decision; especially in an economy that may very well make the decision permanent.
Good post. We're a few years from retirement. I'll go out in 7 years, my wife in 13. She's from Brazil and once she finishes her masters & I retire, I suspect she'll look for a job back in Brazil. That's fine w/ me - I've made 15 trips or so to Brazil for business and for personal and would love to give it a try.
But, even with that, we may hold onto the home here. It's paid for, taxes & insurance only run about $160 a month currently and it's the perfect size for us. Despite all the personal opinions expressed here, the local politics don't impact my life and for 8 months out of the year, I love it here. The other 4 months? We deal with it but getting up early to go cycling or kayaking.
It's good to have options - southern Italy, as posted earlier, sounds attractive too. Chattanooga is an option and since I've lived in Wilmington NC, I could see us there also. Arkansas sounds beautiful - there's a lot of small towns that might work as long as there's access to the larges towns.