WHERE will you retire?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PVB is boring as hell, and full of Trump supporters.

And far from the airport.

Huh? JAX is an easy 35 or 40 minute drive from Ponte Vedra Beach. I've made that drive dozens of times.

The problem witk PVB is that people are becoming aware of this gem. Young families with WOH jobs are moving because the schools are great and they can live anywhere. Young retirees are moving in droves. The weather is great and the lifestyle is healthy. Property values are soaring.
As far as JAX airport, it is close but not a hub.
It's a great destination for those who want to escape stress.

I've visited several times and don't find it a "gem" at all. There's lots of traffic and it's swampy. The people are boring and it's full of cheap McMansions that make the new homes in this region look almost artisinal.

[Anonymous]

You might like Lewes. Just pronounce it correctly.

[Anonymous]

Charleston, SC, I think. It's where my mother is from, we still have family there, and we visit every summer, so we know it well. We've even been talking about buying a house now even though we're looking at 10-15 years before we retire.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A red state with a coastline.

Louisiana? Mississippi?

[Anonymous]

Naples - I don't want anything to do with the SE coast of Florida - way too many NY people for my taste. But I will always have a home here as my kids all live within an hour.

[Anonymous]

What about Winchester, Va? I've driven through it and it looks like good small city near the Blue Ridge, but only an hour or so from Dulles. It has a nice historic downtown area.

Cost of living and housing would be cheaper, but it's not that far from the DC area.

My main concern is that it would be very conservative.

Any experiences?

[Anonymous]

I like Winchester. A friend from there suggested I read the book "Deer hunting with Jesus" before moving out there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I like Winchester. A friend from there suggested I read the book "Deer hunting with Jesus" before moving out there.

I thought this was a joke. But I Googled it, and it's a real book about a guy who grew up in Winchester and returned to his hometown. It's subtitled Dispatches from America's Class War.


According to Amazon, "By turns tender, incendiary, and seriously funny, this book is a call to arms for fellow progressives with little real understanding of "the great beery, NASCAR-loving, church-going, gun-owning America that has never set foot in a Starbucks."

I'm kind of antithesis of the description above, so maybe Winchester isn't for me after all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Somewhere north of here in a blue bubble of a blue state
With a view (don't care if it is ocean, lake, mountain, pastoral or cityscape- I want to be able to see way more than 1/4 of a mile)
Probably lower COL
Near cracker jack healthcare system
Walkable to coffee
Within 90 minutes of decent airport
In a state that has ACA type benefit options as I will not be eligible for Medicare (if it still exists) when we move
Nearby college or university a plus
Where potable water is not scarce

I would love for it to be near our kids, but they will not be old enough to have permanently settled for us to do that.

You might fit in in Seattle which is beyond left these days.

[Anonymous]

I think I'll stay right here in Pimmit Hills.

(I'm only half joking...)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anywhere north of here. I cannot leave this expensive swamp fast enough.

I see you Donald!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This discussion is fascinating. Having grown up overseas (although I am American), it still surprises me how many Americans move away from friends and relatives during retirement. It makes no sense to me to go somewhere I've never lived before and start all over at age 65+. And the whole notion of moving to some gated retirement community or any retirement community far away from friends and relatives is simply bizarre to me. I mean, we need the company and support of loved ones even more as we age. Most of all, I want to live relatively near my child--why the heck would I want to live across the country or the world from my child?! I can see traveling to warmer climates or overseas but completely relocating makes little sense at that point in life.

I feel the same. I will stay put in DC.

However for the first decade of retirement, I will travel to a city and stay for 3 months, then come back for 3 months. I want to walk around and drive around a place instead of visiting it for a week. It would be fun to live in Amsterdam again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think I'll stay right here in Pimmit Hills.

(I'm only half joking...)

It really has it all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I like Winchester. A friend from there suggested I read the book "Deer hunting with Jesus" before moving out there.

Why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any non-white people on this thread? Where are you comfortable retiring to? I'm first gen South-Asian and not sure how welcome we are in rural communities...

I came from Asia straight to the South. No way I am retiring to the rural south.