Have you or do you plan to move away from DMV in retirement?

[Anonymous]

Taking my money and leaving the DMV. It's ok but I would like the chance to live elsewhere. I have an only child and will follow her where ever she goes.

[Anonymous]

We'll retire in DC, as empty nesters don't need much space nor want to spend remaining life to maintain/furnish/repair/clean/upgrade it. We'll shed the car in favor of public transport and Uber or Zip car.

Our goal is smaller footprint and urban lifestyle with shopping, cafe, museums, zoo, arboretum and parks, protests, live music etc, also three airports nearby to fly out, mountains and water within reach, Alexandria and Annapolis near by, bus to NYC.

[Anonymous]

*another plus is never having to worry about entertaining out of towners, send them to free museums, White House, Capitol, zoo and whatnot.

[Anonymous]

We retired and moved to a small town where my DH grew up. We love it here and don’t miss living in DC at all. I do miss my DC friends, but we stay in touch and go back at least once a year, and a lot of them are starting to move out of DC, as well.

One thing I would caution you about is the run up in real estate values that has happened post Covid. We live in a town that you’ve probably never heard of, in a state you’ve probably never thought of moving to, but it’s a cute town and had been “discovered” by retirees and people who can WFH. Our house has doubled in value since 2018. Houses in good neighborhoods (near the water —not even on the water — walkable to downtown, etc) are as expensive as DC. They are building new cookie cutter developments on the outside of town that are relatively affordable, but I suspect that’s not what most DC people envision when they think of moving to a “more affordable” small town.

As far as I can tell, this is true pretty much everywhere that is attractively situated. The good news is that this town has an amazing number of good restaurants and shops for a town this size. However, just don’t assume that the cheap real estate that you remember from even five years ago is still there.

[Anonymous]

Don’t need “warmer” - I don’t think VA is very cold.

Really depends on where kids end up.

I still have friends where I grew up but not sure I want to live in Arizona now. Would be warmer though, lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We'll retire in DC, as empty nesters don't need much space nor want to spend remaining life to maintain/furnish/repair/clean/upgrade it. We'll shed the car in favor of public transport and Uber or Zip car.

Our goal is smaller footprint and urban lifestyle with shopping, cafe, museums, zoo, arboretum and parks, protests, live music etc, also three airports nearby to fly out, mountains and water within reach, Alexandria and Annapolis near by, bus to NYC.

Have you lived anywhere else in decades? DC has good walkability but the parks, restaurants, live music and shopping are very limited. I will give you museums but can’t say much for the zoo. Even saying shopping is odd since most shopping here is limited to CVS. There isn’t even a decent department store!

Mountains and water? Closest beaches aren’t great and are crowded. Mountains are okay but hardly the Rocky Mountains or somewhere like Vermont.

When I read a post like yours I assume you have no clue that DC isn’t that great. Most people are only in DC for work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We'll retire in DC, as empty nesters don't need much space nor want to spend remaining life to maintain/furnish/repair/clean/upgrade it. We'll shed the car in favor of public transport and Uber or Zip car.

Our goal is smaller footprint and urban lifestyle with shopping, cafe, museums, zoo, arboretum and parks, protests, live music etc, also three airports nearby to fly out, mountains and water within reach, Alexandria and Annapolis near by, bus to NYC.

Have you lived anywhere else in decades? DC has good walkability but the parks, restaurants, live music and shopping are very limited. I will give you museums but can’t say much for the zoo. Even saying shopping is odd since most shopping here is limited to CVS. There isn’t even a decent department store!

Mountains and water? Closest beaches aren’t great and are crowded. Mountains are okay but hardly the Rocky Mountains or somewhere like Vermont.

When I read a post like yours I assume you have no clue that DC isn’t that great. Most people are only in DC for work.

Did you miss "protests?" Tells you all you need to know. No ability to think outside their very narrow mind.

[Anonymous]

We will probably move near where our only child settles down, somewhere within driving distance. We don’t have any other family ties to DC.

[Anonymous]

All depends on where the kids end up, especially if grandkids enter the picture.

I’m not attached to NoVA, I’m more interested in being near family, wherever they end up.

[Anonymous]

I may be a minority, but I like it here. I would never have moved here if not for the fact that my spouse got a job here before I finished grad school, so I only looked for jobs here when I was graduating and followed. But now we’ve been here 20 years, our life is here. The idea of starting somewhere new as retirees holds no appeal whatsoever to me. And since we still have another 20 years to retirement age, with our parents being currently 73, 77, 78, and 81, statistically it’s unlikely any of them will be living when we retire, leaving no compelling reason to return to or near either of our hometowns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have moved to the Portland, Maine area and couldn't be happier. Do not miss the swamp one bit.

What are your winters like??

Some snow, some cold, fine on the whol.

Climate change.

What about hurricanes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I may be a minority, but I like it here. I would never have moved here if not for the fact that my spouse got a job here before I finished grad school, so I only looked for jobs here when I was graduating and followed. But now we’ve been here 20 years, our life is here. The idea of starting somewhere new as retirees holds no appeal whatsoever to me. And since we still have another 20 years to retirement age, with our parents being currently 73, 77, 78, and 81, statistically it’s unlikely any of them will be living when we retire, leaving no compelling reason to return to or near either of our hometowns.

Same. Great healthcare, three airports, reasonable climate, very walkable. Figure we will spend a month or two elsewhere during the year but keep this as a home base.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I may be a minority, but I like it here. I would never have moved here if not for the fact that my spouse got a job here before I finished grad school, so I only looked for jobs here when I was graduating and followed. But now we’ve been here 20 years, our life is here. The idea of starting somewhere new as retirees holds no appeal whatsoever to me. And since we still have another 20 years to retirement age, with our parents being currently 73, 77, 78, and 81, statistically it’s unlikely any of them will be living when we retire, leaving no compelling reason to return to or near either of our hometowns.

We also like the DMV and have a good social circle, but I'm not counting on my friends or my kids staying here when I'm retired. I think many of my friends will move away when they're no longer tied here with jobs and my kids will settle wherever they choose.

We'll probably keep our Arlington house (paid off) and just travel a bunch while our kids are finishing college and in their 20s. When they settle somewhere, we'll move to be near at least one of them. We have no plans to move to an area full of retirees. That sounds awful. If we want warm weather, we'll take a vacation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We'll retire in DC, as empty nesters don't need much space nor want to spend remaining life to maintain/furnish/repair/clean/upgrade it. We'll shed the car in favor of public transport and Uber or Zip car.

Our goal is smaller footprint and urban lifestyle with shopping, cafe, museums, zoo, arboretum and parks, protests, live music etc, also three airports nearby to fly out, mountains and water within reach, Alexandria and Annapolis near by, bus to NYC.

Have you lived anywhere else in decades? DC has good walkability but the parks, restaurants, live music and shopping are very limited. I will give you museums but can’t say much for the zoo. Even saying shopping is odd since most shopping here is limited to CVS. There isn’t even a decent department store!

Mountains and water? Closest beaches aren’t great and are crowded. Mountains are okay but hardly the Rocky Mountains or somewhere like Vermont.

When I read a post like yours I assume you have no clue that DC isn’t that great. Most people are only in DC for work.

I'm not the PP but this is an odd take. Rock Creek Park is beautiful, so is Glover Park, that's just to name two parks.

We have great restaurants...Michelin Star and otherwise. And, close by in Northern VA there's some of the best Asian food in the US. DC is not NY when it comes to restaurants but come on.

I see live music all over DC: 9:30 Club, Anthem, etc.

The Shenandoah Mountains are stunning, as are the rest of the Blue Ridges. I do agree on shopping and nearby beaches but neither makes me eliminate DC as a desirable place to live in any way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We'll retire in DC, as empty nesters don't need much space nor want to spend remaining life to maintain/furnish/repair/clean/upgrade it. We'll shed the car in favor of public transport and Uber or Zip car.

Our goal is smaller footprint and urban lifestyle with shopping, cafe, museums, zoo, arboretum and parks, protests, live music etc, also three airports nearby to fly out, mountains and water within reach, Alexandria and Annapolis near by, bus to NYC.

Have you lived anywhere else in decades? DC has good walkability but the parks, restaurants, live music and shopping are very limited. I will give you museums but can’t say much for the zoo. Even saying shopping is odd since most shopping here is limited to CVS. There isn’t even a decent department store!

Mountains and water? Closest beaches aren’t great and are crowded. Mountains are okay but hardly the Rocky Mountains or somewhere like Vermont.

When I read a post like yours I assume you have no clue that DC isn’t that great. Most people are only in DC for work.

I'm not the PP but this is an odd take. Rock Creek Park is beautiful, so is Glover Park, that's just to name two parks.

We have great restaurants...Michelin Star and otherwise. And, close by in Northern VA there's some of the best Asian food in the US. DC is not NY when it comes to restaurants but come on.

I see live music all over DC: 9:30 Club, Anthem, etc.

The Shenandoah Mountains are stunning, as are the rest of the Blue Ridges. I do agree on shopping and nearby beaches but neither makes me eliminate DC as a desirable place to live in any way.

Sure but can you safely hang out in these parks, especially as a woman?