<p>IxnayBob, you said it so much better than I ever could. </p>
<p>I hear from people (mostly relatives lol) that they could never live like us. In the smallest house in the best neighborhood ( which we did so our kids could be in the best school system in our area). We’ve moved since the kids got out of school and now live in one of the smaller houses in our neighborhood. They still talk to us ;)</p>
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<p>I’m hoping to be cremated and dug into one of my beds. </p>
<p>There are snakes in the Ozarks, but no alligators. You wouldn’t see many snakes in town anyway. . .</p>
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<p>I hope we didn’t commit a felony, if we did, it wasn’t Bob that did it. My father’s family has a sort-of tradition that they be cremated and serve some useful purpose afterwards. Some people find this squeamish-making, and I apologize if anyone thinks this is in bad taste. </p>
<p>My paternal grandfather asked that his ashes be kept in the trunk of a car and used on a snowy day. I promise you that no disrespect was intended toward him; he had been a helpful and useful guy all his life, and wanted that his final act also help someone out. </p>
<p>My father was a bit more laid-back (no pun intended) in his request that his ashes be planted in my sister’s vegetable garden. We all got together, did it, and had a good cry. </p>
<p>I have no idea what my request will be, but I had better start thinking about it. </p>
<p>Florida gets the nod for cheap and warm. You can choose between redneck Florida in the North; affluent redneck in the Northwest (Seaside) or New York Jewish in the South (Miami). Just a mile or so from coastline and its still super affordable. Way inland, where you get the nice gnats and flies, it even cheaper. What are we talking about Eugene!!???</p>
<p>Ha, someone would have to pay me to move to Buffalo, the snow capital. No way. I’d die by overdose of snow in the winter.</p>
<p>No palmetto bugs in Eugene. ;)</p>
<p>A friend from up here in the PNW retired into one of the communities outside of Austin, TX and absolutely loves it. It is cheap and filled with activities, plus 10 months of good weather.</p>
<p>I like Eugene, but here are some others that might meet the criteria of which I have either first hand or reliable second hand knowledge:
Lakehurst/Toms River, NJ
Paradise, CA (foothills near Chico, not too far from Sacramento)
Sequim, WA (maybe a little pricey and remote)
The Villages, FL - the rapid build-up of new retirement homes made this place, one of the originals, a real bargain.</p>
<p>My dad donated his remains to a medical school. The program’s website tells me that they will return his ashes in 2 years (!!!). My instructions from dad are to “make like you are planting something and bury my ashes on Mommy’s grave, then change the stone.” Ok, I can do that.</p>
<p>A lot of the places mentioned here are good for younger retirees who are still in vigorous health, but bad for older retirees who can no longer drive. I love where I live, but if Mr. Fang and I decide at some point to move, we’ll move to somewhere walkable. For me, Texas, Florida and (many parts of) Arizona wouldn’t qualify as walkable, because it’s too darn hot there now, and will be hotter in ten to fifteen years.</p>
<p>I am thinking that I need to plan for 2 or 3 moves, one within the next 5 years, and another, close to my daughter’s eventual home wherever that may be, so that (I can dream!) I can be available to help with her kids and later so I can be the least possible burden to her.</p>
<p>But I am not typical, since I am 48 years older than my kid (by adoption) and she’s my one and only.</p>
<p>Asheville, NC
Wilmington, NC
Chapel Hill-Raleigh-Durham area, NC
Charlottesville, VA</p>
<p>Clearwater, Florida is lovely. It’s on the Gulf Coast, and very near to Tampa, so easy flight out. Hattiesburg, Mississippi has often been called a great place to retire to, and it is, indeed, a lovely town. Amtrak stops there on the way from New Orleans to New York. Nice small college with sports. A bit hilly and not too hot, and far enough away from the coast to avoid hurricanes. I am waiting for grandchildren to decide where I’m going to retire.</p>
<p>No, we have no desire to uproot either. We won’t leave this part of Va even if we downsize. Right now all three sons are within 45 minutes so we see them fairly often. At least one of them seems intent on staying put, the other two aren’t averse to relocating for the right job. Time will tell.</p>
<p>BiL and SiL just moved to Milton DE not too far from the beach. Still, low cost and taxes.</p>
<p>IxnayBob, That would work for me. I have a friend who started a company specializing in mitochondrial DNA typing (and does a lot of forensic work) who wants to go to the Body Farm-- <a href=“Body farm - Wikipedia”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_farm</a></p>
<p>We have considered Winston Salem, NC. University of North Carolina School of the Arts is located there…tons of excellent and modestly priced music,theater, dance, etc. Wake Forest Medical Center is there too. It’s close enough to the NC mountains to go there, and it’s close enough to the ocean to go there too. Airports in Greensboro, Raleigh Durham and Charlotte are accessible enough. Cost of nice housing is decent too. Climate is mild enough but there is a change of seasons.</p>
<p>Where is there affordable living in Ocean City NJ?</p>
<p>I’m a Michigan native (such a beautiful state), but have moved around some since marriage. Hubby has been a management consultant for years and just got tired of fighting the weather and traffic to and from Logan during the Big Dig, so we looked around for a place where the airport never closed and the cost of living was low and where we could see ourselves retiring. We found all that and more in AZ and moved ourselves from Boston to Scottsdale in the late 90’s, before the housing boom, and when DS was only 2. We figured we’d plant roots early before we actually reached the retirement stage of our lives. Unfortunately, we did not pay enough attention to the schools. We knew AZ ranked 48th in the nation for per capita spending per student and that the schools didn’t rank well nationally, but we figured, there’s always private school, right? Not exactly, and we live in what’s touted to be the best school system. AZ is a bastion of tourism and retirement, and the tax base just isn’t here yet for supporting schools to the level we were used to in Andover. So, we blew that one, but definitely plan to keep our primary domicile here. The weather is superb nine months of the year and the cost of living well is extremely low. We just plan to get the heck out of Dodge and travel elsewhere during the summers. DS is now a senior in a high school back east and considers AZ his home, so he will continue to come back here until his life takes him elsewhere. His college/plans will take him all over the world, so we are not tied to any dreams of grandchildren in any place we can identify in the foreseeable future. We’ll just have to see what happens.</p>
<p>Choatiemom, I so relate. I left one of the best school systems in the Boston area to relocate in FL. On the positive side, my son did well in school with plenty of time to pursue his real interests. Less intensity or focus on colleges, good friends, reduced pressure. I see no downside.</p>
<p>I love your family’s philosophy, IxnayBob- great post! You would have to pay me a LOT to retire to Florida. My husband and I were just there near Sarasota to check on a family rental property and it is just not my thing. I just shut down in humidity and was miserable, even though we were right on the beach. Beautiful scenery,but not a fan of heat, jelly fish and being attacked by fire ants. </p>