Best places to retire?

[Lamb]

My husband still has 9 years until retirement, but we're talking now about where we should live. Where are some of the best places to retire in terms of taxes, weather, safety, cost of living, etc....?

 

[Josiah]

IF you can afford it.... and IF really bad government can be tolerated.... definitely California. It's still a popular retirement state but pricey, very pricey.

 

[tango]

My husband still has 9 years until retirement, but we're talking now about where we should live. Where are some of the best places to retire in terms of taxes, weather, safety, cost of living, etc....?

It's really hard to say without knowing your personal goals.

Do you have family members you want to stay near to? That restricts where you can go, geographically speaking.

Do you prefer warm weather or cold weather? Do you speak other languages, and if not are you averse to learning a different language? Are you looking to stay within the US or is a move abroad an option, assuming you can qualify for visas etc?

Do you have a preference for a place in the city, suburbia, smalltown or out in a remote area? To what extent would you shift your preferences to avoid higher crime rates, or to be closer to things like medical facilities? If you live in the middle of nowhere you don't have to deal with neighbors but if your vision or health fails and you can't drive any more you're kinda stuck.

Would you rather live in a retirement community where everything is done for you, or have more space and more freedom but more responsibility to maintain a place yourself?

So many variables, it's hard to give a useful answer.

 

[Lamb]

It's really hard to say without knowing your personal goals.

Do you have family members you want to stay near to? That restricts where you can go, geographically speaking.

Do you prefer warm weather or cold weather? Do you speak other languages, and if not are you averse to learning a different language? Are you looking to stay within the US or is a move abroad an option, assuming you can qualify for visas etc?

Do you have a preference for a place in the city, suburbia, smalltown or out in a remote area? To what extent would you shift your preferences to avoid higher crime rates, or to be closer to things like medical facilities? If you live in the middle of nowhere you don't have to deal with neighbors but if your vision or health fails and you can't drive any more you're kinda stuck.

Would you rather live in a retirement community where everything is done for you, or have more space and more freedom but more responsibility to maintain a place yourself?

So many variables, it's hard to give a useful answer.

Well, how about saying where YOU would like to retire and why?

 

[tango]

Well, how about saying where YOU would like to retire and why?

Your question sounded like it was looking for ideas. I haven't really thought about moving from where I am now. I don't know I'd want to start retirement by having to build a completely new life.

 

[Lamb]

Your question sounded like it was looking for ideas. I haven't really thought about moving from where I am now. I don't know I'd want to start retirement by having to build a completely new life.

It sounds like for now, you're staying put?

 

[tango]

It sounds like for now, you're staying put?

For now at least, unless my circumstances change or governmental economic incompetence drives me to make a drastic move.

 

[Albion]

My husband still has 9 years until retirement, but we're talking now about where we should live. Where are some of the best places to retire in terms of taxes, weather, safety, cost of living, etc....?

For what it's worth, I read somewhere that North Dakota and Michigan are the two states that suffer the fewest natural disasters such as California and Florida have experienced in recent years. And I think the cost of living in both of them beats many other parts of the country. However, winter itself isn't considered a 'natural disaster' if you'd want to escape that, and there are plenty of places that are warmer.

 

[tango]

For what it's worth, I read somewhere that North Dakota and Michigan are the two states that suffer the fewest natural disasters such as California and Florida have experienced in recent years. And I think the cost of living in both of them beats many other parts of the country. However, winter itself isn't considered a 'natural disaster' if you'd want to escape that, and there are plenty of places that are warmer.

A guy I knew years ago often talked about moving to Arizona. For him the chance to live the rest of his life without having to cut grass or shovel snow again was a big attraction. But then there's the heat...

 

[Lamb]

For what it's worth, I read somewhere that North Dakota and Michigan are the two states that suffer the fewest natural disasters such as California and Florida have experienced in recent years. And I think the cost of living in both of them beats many other parts of the country. However, winter itself isn't considered a 'natural disaster' if you'd want to escape that, and there are plenty of places that are warmer.

I've been to North Dakota...no thanks!

I love Michigan, but not the winters. I'm looking for milder winters.

A guy I knew years ago often talked about moving to Arizona. For him the chance to live the rest of his life without having to cut grass or shovel snow again was a big attraction. But then there's the heat...

Arizona is WAY too hot for us!! I have a friend who lives there and wow, no thanks to that one either with that heat, even if it's a dry heat.

 

[tango]

I've been to North Dakota...no thanks!

I love Michigan, but not the winters. I'm looking for milder winters.



Arizona is WAY too hot for us!! I have a friend who lives there and wow, no thanks to that one either with that heat, even if it's a dry heat.

Maybe you and your husband need to be snowbirds. Sell the house, get an RV, and spend your retirement heading north and south to stay in the weather you prefer?


I hear Nicaragua is very nice. Never been there, and not sure I'd want to uproot and have to learn a new language as part of retirement, but it's an option. I have periodically toyed with the idea of Norway but the same concerns apply there.

 

[Albion]

I've been to North Dakota...no thanks!

I love Michigan, but not the winters. I'm looking for milder winters.

LOL. Yes, I hear you! I mentioned what I did for two reasons--

First, I thought that was an interesting piece of information--the states that were ranked as least likely to have catastrophic events like hurricanes, droughts, and so on.

Second, in your post you included a number of different characteristics that the ideal retirement location might be expected to provide. I don't think it's possible to have all of them simultaneously, so anybody in your situation would seem to need to decide which ones rank the highest on the wish list.

For instance, many people would probably say "Florida" right away, and one of its claims to fame is the tax set-up there, BUT many people also find the summers in Florida insufferable and the traffic a headache.

Where are some of the best places to retire in terms of taxes, weather, safety, cost of living, etc....?

 

[Forgiven1]

We lived mostly in Nebraska and northern Iowa. I had this need to get out of winter so here we are in south Texas. Gets a little on the warm side in the summer (ok, downright hot and humid) but there is this little thing called AC. We also have lots of people who live up north in the summer and down here in the winter.

Cost of living depends on where you go. No state income taxes but property taxes are up there.

 

[Lanman87]

We have a bunch of people moving to North Alabama in retirement. Several neighbors in my sub-division are retired and moved from out of state and several folks at church have moved from out of state after retiring. I asked them why (I'm shocked anyone would want to move to Alabama).

One couple said they compared Alabama to Florida and Arizona. The cost of living in Alabama is way less, the state of Alabama doesn't charge state income taxes on pension plans, our property taxes are low, and we have four seasons, but the winters are very mild compared to where they moved from. Also, North Alabama has lots of outdoors stuff to do and Huntsville is a 'hip" city with lots of concerts, festivals, and good restaurants. North Alabama is also more "Christian" than many areas of the country, in that we have lots of churches and a higher percentage of people attend church regularly. You don't get weird looks for asking the blessing before eating at a restaurant or sitting on a bench at a city at a park reading your Bible. It is very common to go to a coffee shop and see someone reading/studying their Bible.

We are also getting a lot of families who move from more liberal states. I know one family that moved from California. He works remotely and could buy a bigger house for way less money and wanted to get away from the liberal government of California.

I can retire in just over 4 years, if I will or not is another matter, but I will have options. My wife wants to sell everything and move to Europe for a year. I want to build a small house on 20 acres of land 20 miles from the nearest traffic light.

 

[Lanman87]

If you are looking to move South, here is Southern Livings best places to retire in the South list.

Article

 

[Lamb]

If you are looking to move South, here is Southern Livings best places to retire in the South list.

Article

Oooh one of those places is an hour away from where my husband's family moved to for their retirement. Cool