The thread Denver started got me thinking about a question we have been struggling with for the past several years, where do we want to live when we retire.

Things which are important to us include:

1. Low taxes, low cost of living
2. Good medical access
3. Community with shops within walking/riding distance.
4. Outdoor activities
5. Cool climate - moderate humidity (not too dry, not too hot)
6. Clean water, clean air.
7. Mountains, lakes - easy access to good skiing, biking and hiking
8. Good airport

This seems like a tall order. So far I have not found too many places. Communities on the south side of Salt Lake City seem possible but the air in the valley can get quite the brown haze and summers are hot and my skin does not like the dry climate. Areas up along the western edge of the Tetons also seem quite interesting but healthcare is far away and there is no major airport near by. Coastal California does not appeal to me nor does Washington State, areas further inland might but I have no experience with them.

Several friends at work are struggling with the same issue. We do like where we live but the taxes are just ridiculous with no end in sight. We just may need to consider a retirement home and a second home for recreation (seasonal rental possibly) until we can no longer use it. We will consider all the factors listed in DFs post when choosing that retirement house.

I have about 6 years to decide and I need more suggestions.

When I lived in San Antonio there was a large retired population there.

I plan to check out thr Ft Myers/Naples area.

Bend Oregon or Durango Colorado

Bend is on the divide between the the cascades and the dry, sunny great basin. Bend is sunny, mild and the weather is far better than in the Willamette Valley. Unlimited year around cycling. Mt. Bachelor is a 15 minute drive. Ski in the morning, bike in the afternoon. Clean and almost pollution free. Nice people with a Vermont-like social culture.

Florida is really a great place to retire, but you'll need to scratch numbers 5 and 7 from the list. Our summers are very hot and humid, but it will take a full change of the seasons to become acclimated. If you want rolling hills, the northern part of Central Florida may be more appealing. Anything south of Tampa is pretty flat, unless you are on the coast and there's a lot of tall bridges in the area.

Edit: State sales tax is 6% (counties may add 1-2 cents more) and there is no state income tax.

Prescott, AZ ain't too bad. There's a local regional jet-served airport and PHX Sky Harbor is a two hour shuttle away. High state sales tax (10%) is a minus.

Bend sounds like a real possibility. I'm at the same stage in my life, but without family to consider, I'm widening my search area quite a bit. Still 5-6 years off for me, but not too soon to start looking around. There is a 95% chance that I'm bailing out of California. The politics and financial condition of this state make Greece look like they are on a solid and sound financial footing.

An overseas location is a distinct option. Among places I'm seriously considering are Andalucia Spain, Appenine Italy, Aquatiane France, and coastal Uruguay. If I do stay in the states, I'll probably end up somewhere between Spokane, Washington to Bozeman, Montana. Winters are kinda tough, so might migrate south to Cedar City, Utah. Unlike you, cyclinfool, I need to live in a low-humidity area. No, "need" is not the correct word. Let's say that unless forced to, I'd go "crazy" in an area with a lot of summer humidity.

Having never lived on the east side of the Rockies, I'm not sure what you mean. Is there a rigid social structure such that if you are not of a certain social status, that you are an outsider? Isn't Oregon fed up with all the Californians moving up there?

Culture and social status are not really equivalent, so I can't answer that question directly.

Oregon has a substantial "Yankee" cultural influence from it's earliest days. It also has a more relaxed and somewhat liberal social culture than some other parts of the western US.

I'll contrast Utah and Vermont. Utah has a much more conservative and hierarchical social culture than the West Coast or the New England states. Vermont has a more idealistic and liberal culture, based on New England values.

Both Utah and Vermont offer great quality of life, but the social culture is not the same.

Missoula Montana is a nice collage town with great natural setting and plenty of recreation.

My wife and I have decided to retire in Italy, her home country. It will be a challenge for me to learn a new language and to adjust. However, I'm very excited about the fun lifestyle and personal enrichment this new life will provide.



Michael

Costa Rica, and medical costs are low, even if you don't buy in to the public health system and pay cash.

If you know Spanish, Italian will be easy. On my trips to Italy, if I couldn't communicate in my very limited Italian, and they didn't understand English, when I talked to them in Spanish, the Italians understood completely. They couldn't talk back to me in Spanish, but understood what I wanted/needed.

What part of Italy you going? I'd love to go to one of the larger cities, but those are way too expensive. I might end up in a small village about an hour's drive from any major city. Far enough away to enjoy the dolce vita and fantastic cycling, but close enough to major airports and the symphony/opera.

I've heard that. Very reasonable cost-of-living and many retiree benefits, such as discounted public transportation. But ... it's in the tropics.

Our situation is somewhat unique. My wife is a recent cancer survivor. She is now 100% healthy with a low risk of reoccurrence, but we have decided to retire early. She also is a Southern Italian native from Amentea, CZ. Her parents live a block from the beach and don’t really need caregiving, but are very elderly. We will have our own apartment attached to their residence.


The terrain in Southern Italy is much like the southern and central California coast with an almost identical climate. It’s very economical, and we should not need to touch our savings. I’ll be a EU citizen with full benefits. Americans with Italian heritage can become full citizens, otherwise legal residency can be difficult.

Southern Italy is less developed than northern Italy, but still modern. We will need to travel to Rome or Milan for the best healthcare and for culture and shopping. We will have a good international airport within 30 minutes. Most of the time we will enjoy a simple and relaxed dolce vita.

With Oregon's anti-manufacturing regulatory attitudes, huge (HUGE) PERS burden, and consistently high unemployment, California isn't much further ahead in the slide to financial insolvency. I am concerned about staying here to retire, because I think taxes will rise (as they have) and fees will further increase (if they can't tax it, there's a fee on it). There just isn't the base here to support the $$$ that are going out in social services and the PERS.

I do love living here - and I live in the Willamette Valley, where we get wet, foggy, and have a short dry spell called summer. Bend is nice if you like the high desert, but I would caution you to look carefully at the financial stability of things if that concerns you about CA.

And, Oregon is liberal as liberal comes. If that's the way you go, then fine. But some folks won't like that so much. Finally, think about Portland (Portlandia...). Portland dominates State politics - if a measure sounds good to the city folk there, and it passes, it will carry the state. So the rest of Oregon is legislated to be more like Portland every year.

But for beautiful scenery, access to the coast and the mountains, wonderful cycling opportunities - Oregon is a great place.

Great thread!

My wife and I have been working on this question for years. I've collated stats for all of the towns we thought we might like, and have frequently flown to these locations for a long weekend. We've had a realtor drive us around to show us the area and the houses, then driven ourselves around.

At this point, we're down to:
- Ft.Collins, CO
- Fairfield Glade, TN
- Asheville, NC
- Greenville, SC

We love Ft.Collins, but probably won't move there because the cost of living is a bit higher than we're looking for, and I really want a house on a wooded lot (i.e. 100% privacy in my back yard) and those are not available in that area.

Fairfield Glade offers a lot. Despite being in the south, it's at altitude - so it doesn't get as hot or humid as the surrounding areas, and the cost of living is very low. It's built on a vacation resort, so it has lots of decent facilities including 5 golf courses and 12 lakes. But it's a bit remote, so my wife is having second thoughts.

We have not yet visited Asheville / Greenville.

But - I'll be monitoring this thread for more good ideas.



If anyone is interested in the huge tables of stats I've built, I'll be happy to forward you the spreadsheet. Most of the data comes from this excellent site:
https://www.bestplaces.net/city/Default.aspx
I currently have stats on:

United States (national average)
Frederick (where we live now)

Albuquerque, NM
Asheville, NC
Bellvue, CO
Bremerton, WA
Charlottesville, VA
Colorado Springs, CO
Cookeville
Corvallis, OR
Crossville, TN
Estes Park, CO
Eugene, OR
Fairfield Glade, TN
Flagstaff, AZ
Fort Collins, CO
Gainesville, FL
Greenville, SC
Lake Tansi
Longmont, CO
Loveland, CO
Nashville-Davidson, TN
North Little Rock, AR
Orem, UT
Portland, OR
Provo, UT
Rochester, MN
San Diego, CA
Santa Fe, NM
Sedona, AZ
Virginia Beach, VA
Windsor, CO

I've spent time in both Asheville and Greenville. Very nice places. Hincapie has a planned development just north of Greenville. Furman University, where one of my daughters attended, is almost like a state park.

Hey, made the list!

College town, Oregon State University, go Beavers!

I've got my eye on Portland, Maine. My time will (hopefully!) come along in 7-10 years. Portland is one of the most bike friendly cities on the east coast. It's a small city,
very low crime, good public transportation. The only downer is the sometimes harsh winters. That, and they haven't got a Trader Joe's, at least not yet.

I had not considered Oregon but if they are spending themselves into a problem then that's not where I want to be.
I actually like Colorado, particularly the Frasier valley but the airport is kind of far and medical services are as well. I have been to Bozeman Montana, I like it but it is hard to get to and I can;t recall seeing a major hospital, it's pretty rural. Missoula might be worth considering. Costa Rica is right out for me. We actually like winter.

It's an interesting question, this, and one I have recently discussed with a friend of mine. I retired last year, aged 56. I was made redundant and decided that I wouldn't attempt to get another job, on the grounds that having a little less money than I had planned was a price well worth paying for stepping off the treadmill.

So, while I can't afford to live wherever I like - at least, not in a property that I might want - there aren't many places that would be impossible for me. And I certainly will not stay indefinitely in precisely my current location. But as yet, I haven't gone anywhere, for this reason. In my view, one's life consists more of people than places. I would be extremely cautious about moving somewhere I knew nobody - breaking, or at least weakening, existing social ties and having to create a completely new social circle. In particular, I have a distaste for the idea that I might end up spending most of my time with other retired people, for no better reason than that we all had time on our hands.

So, my current solution is to remain in the community I have a stake in, but to explore alternatives. I'm going to spend three months in Southern Spain this winter, in a place where I know a few people. The weather will allow me to ride every day, and I'll take the opportunity to improve my Spanish, and thus increase my options for the future. I suspect that I shall retain a base somewhere near my current location, but travel - and that wherever I am living, I'll spend at least two or three months each year touring on my bike.

I see you live in N.Y. - you have to retire to Florida, it's the law. I live just north of Daytona Beach and the wx is really pretty good. Cold enough in the winter to make you glad you moved and hot enough in the summer to make you wonder why you did.

Look at Grand Junction, Co. It has everything you listed.

Most of the "Front Range" of Colorado comes close to meeting his criteria. It isn't a "cool climate" but the heat index isn't bad and winters are moderate. Some places are pricey, but not all. I also like the central Oregon suggestions.

But normally you have to trade off some of these vs the others. For instance living here in the suburbs of Madison, Wisconsin offers several of these benefits. The taxes aren't low and there are no mountains, but there are many wonderful nature areas in the vicinity. There are many, many lakes. And we score very well on the rest of the list.

South Shore, Lake Tahoe, NV.

This site has just about any information you could want for US cities.

https://www.city-data.com/