I haven't given much thought about where I want to retire to but my mother keeps thinking I'll move to Nova Scotia. Well, I just love it up there but I just can't see it. They have winter and area above the 45th parellel. I left MI almost 8 1/2 years ago because winter was beating me up so badly and moved south for very mild winters. When I moved to NC, cost of living wasn't much more than what it was in Central MI. What I didn't know was they tax everything, including my little retirement fund from Dow Chemical. My late husband's final gift in taking care of me was setting it up to transfer his retirement benefits to me. Besides, this state is just about broke. They give away funds in Medicaid because that's what the people want and I see alot of abuse of state funds. I call it the "entitlement mentality".

My aunt & uncle retired a few years ago and moved from Las Vegas to someplace in Idaho. I think it was an economic decision. Another widowed friend of mine just moved from NJ to Myrtle Beach, SC. She said she couldn't afford to live in NJ anymore. When she explained the cost of living in her retirement community, I decided I couldn't afford to live in NC either.

Since I have worked with the elderly population for the past 30 years, I can say access to quality healthcare is a major priority. Sometimes, I think our thinking is all screwed up. When we are younger and raising a family, we tend to live in towns and cities so they have the best educational opportunities and then, after they are grown, we retire and move to the country, way from those cities, just to get a little more space. Unfortunately, access to better healthcare systems tend to fall a little on the short side. There is nothing more frustrating then dealing with a rural area, call the high-tech teaching hospital, give a heads up at the local ER as to why I'm sending someone in (based on what the doc at teaching hospital instructed me to do) and have it all fall apart at the rural hospital because they didn't understand what I was talking about. I never thought I would say it but there are hospitals that are basically first aid stations and unfortunately, that seems to be where people retire to.

I think I'll just live on my own as long as I can then go live with one of my kids. Each one owes me about 18 years that I worked and supported them (just kidding). Penalities on early withdraw from IRA accounts go away in 6 months and 7 days. Eligibility for Social Security Widowed benefits open up in 1 year and 7 days. Soon I will have choices and choices makes a world of difference. I think I'll follow my mother's example and just continue to work. She is 79 and still works, when she wants to. I just can't think about retirement at this point in my life.