I do like the Durango area but that is the only part of the Rockies I've been to. For an outdoor life style, they have it all. Costa Rica deserves a look also. There are many Americans already retired there.

One of the men I previously worked with who is retired also, is of Italian ancestry and has been on vacation there a number of times and loves it. He has aquired Italian citizenship and will likely move there in the next year or two. He likes the scenery, the people, the food and the was of life. Reading cycling journals on Crazy Gut On A Bike about touring in Italy, that would be a prime choice.

My older brother had a ranch outside of Silt, another brother in Rifle. Neither lives in Colorado anymore. Said the politics are getting pretty bad. Those on the Western Slope are a pretty independent and don't want outside influence in their lives.

On Portland, OR. Another younger brother moved to that area right after high school. He is now in Vancouver, WA. Again, the politics and tax structure of a fairly liberal political balance of power area.

I would seriously consider some mid-sized town on the Washington side of the Columbia River with easy access to decent shopping in Oregon, but just east of the Cascades, (for mild winters and abundant sunshine days). It's pretty far from Oregon, but Pullman or Spokane intrigue me. I'd like to be in a college town, because of the youthful attitude and opportunity for some culture, (stage plays and symphonies). I also have ancestral roots in western Idaho, but don't know any living relatives in the area now.

We're just north of Taos, NM. Smithsonian just listed it as #2 of top 20 small towns in the U.S. Biggest issue is distance from airport, about 2.5 hrs. to Albuquerque. Road riding is OK, but mtn. biking, skiing, etc. are world class. Santa Fe is a lot closer to ABQ, has similar attractions, a lot more retirees, and a full complement of Targets, Kohls and Best Buys. We have a non-super Walmart in Taos, and that's about it for big box stores.

We just spent the day over at Wild Rivers Recreation Area. It's located on federal land bounded by the Rio Grande and Red Rivers. Limited but spectacular camping facilities, lots of hiking trails and views to infinity and beyond - both up and down. I took photos of kayakers about 1,000' below the overlook.

Southern CO, UT and AZ are all within 4-8 hrs. drive if you need more places to visit. The hospital is small, but has attracted an increasingly competent staff, like my wife. :)

For any place you're considering, I highly recommend spending a fair amount of time there before moving. We were familiar with northern NM, and have a built-in group of friends and local info from my wife's job.

And you will need a Jeep. ;)

I have been there in various seasons. I worry about forest fires there, could loose everything.

I have heard this is a good place and has popped up on my geographic surveys

For some this is an import consideration. For us it isn't. We are pretty strong introverts. We have lived in our current home for 12 years, I can't even tell you my neighbors names, not that we don't like them, we just don't socialize. I have friends at work but we do nothing outside of work. I have two close cycling friends, one moved about 5 hours away, we see each other occasionally. We have another close friend 2 states away. So I really don't think this is a consideration for us.

So, you must be from Upstate NY. ;)

I grew up "south of Salem and north of Eugene," and still have family in the area. After living in the SF bay area for the last twenty years I could never go back to the cold and wet.
In the last few years I have spent time in the Carson City- Minden area. Close to Tahoe, four hour drive to the ocean, Reno airport is close. The winters can get cold, but usually not for long, and the white stuff does not stick around. If the summer temps get too hot, Tahoe is a half hour drive.

That's a great area...as scenic as parts of the UT basin without the "do you belong?" question. Great road riding and great MTB. Pretty much great outdoor stuff all the way around. Two weeks or so of hot in the summer, otherwise really pleasant. And right now it's bargain basement real estate. It won't stay that way...what drove the initial run up was people retiring out of CA with 401k/Options that they didn't want to pay 11% tax on; NV has zero state income tax.

Fires can happen anywhere in the west; there's virtually nowhere on earth where you can avoid natural disasters of some type.

Nobody has mentioned the midwest. I believe it was Conde Nast or another travel organization which rated Ann Arbor, Mi as the #1 retirement destination. I don't live there but have lived in Illinois, Kansas City, Greenville, Sc and Atlanta as well as visiting most of the cities in the country. I live in Kalamazoo and enjoy most of the same benefits as Ann Arbor: major university, stable white collar industry, four seasons, skiing, abundant lakefront properties, wine country, a bike friendly community and all four seasons to enjoy at midwestern prices.

Marc

+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.

I'm a zillion years way from retirement, but a dear friend just went through this as she's retiring this year. She selected Witchita, Kansas.

What's the cost of living there?

Do you have the name(s) of a few towns in that area?

Also - is there a decent sized airport within an hour or so?

Sounds good – and I plan to research it. The state finances sound like a real concern, though.

HOT and HUMID – not for me :(

And – what’s your opinion of the area, and how would you compare the two?



Thanks!

So:
- Live in Washington with no state income tax
and
- Shop in Oregon, with no sales tax.

:D

It's nice to plan and daydream, but if the real estate market doesn't bounce back in the next 5-6 years, I'm not going anywhere. I'm not upside-down, but can't afford to pay a realtor to sell the place. If I sold it myself, I'd walk away without anything.

Being near family is not a concern for me. My only daughter is not married and has no plans to. She's almost to the age where having children would not be feasible. I can pretty much go wherever my heart leads me.

Walla Walla or Kennewick? Closest Oregon city of any size would be Pendleton. I wonder if they have a Costco?

Wouldn't Vancouver, WA fit the bill?

That's where my brother and his family are. Too rainy most of the year. It's beautiful when the sun is out, but that is rare. I grew up and lived my whole life in a Mediterranean climate, (warm dry summers, cool wet winters, low humidity), here in SoCal with about 10-15 inches of rain a year average. To a cyclist, even that little amount is too much.

I'll go into lurk mode for now. I don't want to hijack this thread any longer...I'll continue to read with great interest.

That depends on what your needs are.

The Vancouver and Portland area has something like 2.3 million people living in the metropolitan area. The weather can be damp, wet and cool for much of the year with limited sunshine. Summers, which usually start in late June into September are nice with highs to 100 degrees. The good thing is humidity is low.

Living here (I live in western Oregon and south of Salem), the outdoor activities are really extensive. The coast is an hour west, Cascades an hour east, the lakes I enjoy are an hour to three hours away. There are also many rivers around for fishing, rafting, canoeing and kayaking.

Then if you travel further east , north or south you'll find a completely different climate and terrain. Both states are pretty large with much to do and see.

As for a retirement destination, I think we don't have enough sunshine.

The Bend area, which is 3 hours further east does offer lots of sunshine. We like to vacation around the Bend area to enjoy the lakes and camping. There's also some good road and mountain biking around the Bend area, which is often referred to as, central Oregon.

What I do like about Oregon and Washington, is the diversity that the different climate zones offer. Coastal beaches, rain forest, high mountains (Cascades), wine country, farmland, high desert, and northeast Oregon has the mini Alps or better known as the Eaglecap wilderness.

Oregon is fairly wide, it takes apx. 13 hours to drive from west to east. Hopefully this gives you an idea about the diversity that's available.

As John V said, Florida is very humid and hot in the spring, summer and early fall. Low taxes and no state income tax are nice and we draw a lot of retirees from the north. Our area, Northwest Florida, is a huge retired military attraction with all of the bases with medical and exchange facilities and a very pro-military population. I'll stay here to retire but my dream is to retire to England (and bug Stapfam and Chasm54 to go riding all the time.)

Our beaches and shoreline on the gulf are spectacular and pretty much recovered from the BP disaster. However, as said it is humid. did I mention its humid?

Bill

Surprising that there is so little mention of New England here. I was born and raised in Hackensack, NJ and went off to college in Springfield, MA in 1964. Have lived in CT since graduation in 1969. I've done many, many miles of motorcycle riding throughout New England and cross country so am familiar with most of the places people have mentioned. I would have no problems living anywhere along the Blue Ridge or many parts of CO for instance but New England does have it's own charm. Low taxes is not one of them in CT or MA and RI is too flat for me. But, VT, NH, and parts of ME are really nice. A couple places that leap to mind are Peterborough, NH, the Middlebury/Vergennes area of VT and coastal ME away from the Rte. 1 commercial fiasco. If you could put up with higher taxes and cost of living the Mystic, CT and western MA areas are also excellent places.

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.

Cost of living is on par or below most western states. Taxes a relatively low thanks to the gambling resort income. Low taxes can sometimes mean low service; NV's service level is pretty high, night and day compared to California where you pay 2x the taxes for 1/5 the service.

Nevada's finances ...I don't know of any state that's doing well. That said they have a reasonably diverse economy and a tax system that makes sense; the huge upside is a part time legislature that meet for 120 days every other year. A few years ago they had a surplus and refunded money back.

The housing upside is the middle to low range housing is bouncing back, a lot of the "dead" inventory is in the $500k and up properties. You can buy high end stuff at about a 60% or more discount. Starter homes are getting multiple bids.

I bought a foreclosure in Reno two years ago and we're right side up.

Reno/Tahoe airport is an hour from most of the area (bad weather not withstanding). Very easy to deal with, not crowded at all, lot's of parking.

As mentioned, Minden/Gardenerville are worth looking at, Reno and the outlying areas are pretty nice.

PS: I'm not getting paid by the chamber of commerce on this. We lived there for 10 years until we relocated to TX for my wife's job, we're back now and split time between there and SoCal.

That's true with any place and most people either forget or don't realize that. You can get used to hot or cold in a year.

I've lived a lot of places and found that out. When we moved to Chicago, the first winter was brutal. The next year I commented to someone about it wasn't so bad and they responded it was much worse than other years - I got acclimated!

The only thing I've found si as I get older, warmer weather sounds better all the time.

You mentioned SLC and the communities south of SLC. Try the southern end of the state. St.George has a good airport and medical services. Actually anywhere from Cedar City to St. George has good weather, golfing biking and two ski resorts. Brian Head and Mt. Charleston, NV. There are two colleges, the Shakespeare Festival, the south end of the Wasatch MT range, good fishing and boating. Two hours to Las Vegas. Unfortunately a ton of Southern CA retirees have found it.

Boise, Idaho. It is a community built around recreational sports, especially cycling. Climate is decent (doesn't get too hot or cold) and its not too expensive. Right now this is on the top of my short list of places to retire...

As to Utah, St. George is also on the list. Doesn't have the religious influence like SLC but a nice, diverse community with good medical facilities (as its is a retirement community) and very close to recreation plus it has an awesome bike trail system.

Avoid California like the plague although frankly no weather is as nice. I just think the state is going to implode in the next few years.

Also don't forget about a place like Frederickburg Texas, in the Hill Country. Miles and miles of beautiful country roads just made for cycling. Close to Austin; diverse culturally, people are hospitable and lovely.