One big thing is budget.

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.

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.

Unfortunately you have a nut for a Governor like we do in Texas.

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: https://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.

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.

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.

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

You have great taste in bikes

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.

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.

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.

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 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. https://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.

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.

Malta.

It used to belong to Britain and is very English with an Italian twist. The first language of the island is English. Nice weather all the year round.







Steve