The pests have not been a problem for us. Of course this involves budgeting for pest control- just a cost of living thing. Tradeoffs. Do not miss snow removal, slippery sidewalks et al.
Would Maine work for someone not from the Northeast? Outsider…
Lots of retirees in Maine from away actually. It’s a fairly popular retirement spot. See my previous comment about CIA retirees, for one example.
If you don’t mind PNW gray winters, Bellingham, WA
Here is a really cool calculator if you haven’t seen it. You put in where you are and where you are going and it compares the cost of living in both locations in several key categories.
https://www.bankrate.com/calculators/savings/moving-cost-of-living-calculator.aspx
Madison has very similar lifestyle to Ann Arbor and has big water and bit less costly.
If you don’t mind cold winter weather, Hanover, NH is a pretty attractive retirement town. Home to Dartmouth College, it’s a small town out in the green and wooded part of the state and just across the river from VT. Lot’s of cultural vibrancy plus it’s big on outdoor activities - skiing, hiking, etc.
Plus one thing it has that is often increasingly important to retirees as they age and that hasn’t been mentioned much on this thread is nearby access to a major medical center. The Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center is right there, and it’s the main hospital serving all of the Upper Valley area and provides all the latest in advanced medical care.
The home of the Cougars!
http://www.best-place-to-retire.com/retire-in-pullman-wa_mobi
Eastern WA is cheaper than CA, has plenty of water (so far).
You know…it’s funny. My husband and I really have no consensus on where we might move to…if we do. But as New Englanders…the one thing we both agree on…we will not be moving further north. At all. My inlaws lived in the greater Hanover area, and then moved to Camden ME. It’s lovely…but the winters are just too darn long.
I’d love to summer up there!
@wis75 . Ha! Watch out. We might arrive bearing a salad and local beer.
Everyone has brought up so many important points-esp. the affordability, taxes, and health care. And one thing we are still very unsure about is preferred climate. We do like winter and cross-country skiing and being cozy by the fire. And I am not a fan of alligators. I spent a month at the University of Florida doing research and I never got over the presence of alligators in the neighborhood. I was in a fight-or-flight mode most of the time. And I couldn’t believe every else just acted like the alligators were deer walking across the yard. But I did love the lush greenness, flowers, and live oaks there.
I forgot to add that my husband wants a local brewery with good beer nearby. And I’m wondering if colleges and universities usually charge retirees the usual tuition rate or is there a less expensive auditing fee. This is something that would really make a difference if we lived near a private college–but I guess even a public one could be quite expensive.
I haven’t seen it mentioned here but I fell in love with Northfield, MN when S was visiting colleges. Two colleges (Carlton and St Olaf) to provide cultural activities. St Olaf is very strong in music. Twin Cities are only an hour or so away and there is bus service.
I would never move to a place with months of ice and snow. Breaking a hip can be the beginning of the end for many elderly women.
^ there is always the opportunity to be a snowbird. Personally I could not stand to ever live in a place that was miserably hot several months of the year. As they say different strokes…
I’m well aware of the hip break issue. My mom fell and broke her hip at age 80. Indoors. In July. No ice or snow required.
If any of you are familiar with Santa Cruz, CA (also a college town) and have an opinion about how it would rate as a retirement destination, I would love to hear about it since that is an area we are considering.
Right now, we have the best of both worlds for us. We still own our home in CT and visit several times a year while living in St. Pete Beach. We became familiar with the area when our children went to Eckerd College. We are over at Eckerd all the time for their guest lectures, movies, plays, concerts, art shows, classes, etc. We also attend USF and St. Petersburg College sponsored events. We love the city of St. Petersburg. It is a lovely, safe and walkable downtown with boat basin, parks, museums, galleries, wall murals, shops, dining and entertainment. There are a number of local morning produce markets with vendors, lots of outdoor music events and festivals. The area has many park, nature hiking and biking trails, kayaking, and all sorts of water activities. We are quite comfortable with the diversity of the area residents and this leads to fabulous ethnic and cultural events as well as social justice organizations that we are active with. There are the benefits of the city and close proximity to Tampa airport, the city of Tampa, the city of Sarasota as well as natural habitats, berry and citrus farms and even rodeos. We are surrounded by world class medical centers and practitioners who specialize in geriatric care. LOL, things to consider when retiring.
I have always thought Charlottesville, Va., (about 150 miles south of where I live now) might be nice (last year’s riot notwithstanding). I love the Blue Ridge mountains surrounding it. A quick check of home prices (I know nothing about the neighborhoods and how that affects prices) shows they are somewhat less than my current suburban DC location, but not as cheap as I’d hoped.
I saw this play out with my parents, and now, again right now, with my inlaws. They chose to stay in their northern Wisconsin homes and spend the winter months in Florida. This worked for a long time, until suddenly, one year, it didn’t. And when that “suddenly it didn’t” moment happened (is happening now) they end up stuck in the northern climate for the last few, difficult years.
I would switch it, and relocate to the south, but spend the summers up north, so that when that year hits when, suddenly, travel just isn’t desirable or possible, you are living in the place where the long, dark, icy winters are not a major factor in your life.
My parents would have been happier at the end, and my inlaws would be happier right now (as an April snowstorm is barreling towards them this weekend) looking out at sunny, green plants, and being able to walk from the car to the grocery store without fear of slipping.
Those little things become really important.
This made me laugh! I remember as an undergrad at UF encountering a 5 ft alligator sunning himself (herself?) on the sidewalk in front of the architecture building. Everyone else just gave it a wide berth, walking around on the grass so I did too. It was between classes and very busy but no one even batted an eye!
About those cockroaches; I’d take a backyard full of alligators over living with those things. There is simply no way to keep them out of the house without a monthly pest control service and I am not at all comfortable with whatever it is they use to spray. I grew up in Florida and for me, the roaches and fireants are a deal-breaker.
I do agree that Gainesville is really pretty and green. It’s a great town overall.
A little thing worth mentioning about any site in Pennsylvania: Pensions and retirement plan distributions (if you are retired) are not subject to state income taxes here.
@Barbalot Look at Lynchburg VA just an hour south of Cville. Nicer housing at half the price. Less traffic too.
I had two ideas when I read the OP, but they’ve already been mentioned.
Austin/Georgetown. … Austin is expensive to me, a lifelong Texan and someone who has lived in Austin more than 30 years. But to transplants from the coasts, it’s cheap, which is why people are moving here and driving up the costs for people like me. If you’ve never been here, please consider it. Visitors always are surprised how green it is. Why do people think Texas is all dust bowl? Georgetown has Southwestern University, a CTCL that is wonderfully integrated in the community. Ds1 used to live and work there. It’s close enough to Austin that you can drive in for whatever entertainment you want. I’ll also mention San Antonio. I have many friends who are relocating there from Austin.
Northfield, MN … FallGirl beat me to this one. Ds1 went to school there, and I loved my time in Northfield. I would tell people it’s a small town but not small-minded. A year or two ago, it was named a top 10 place to retire. Northfield Lines runs a route several times a day that gets you to the Mall of America, where you can then take the train to a Twins game or wherever. by car, it’s an easy 45-minute drive. Ds1 is back in MN, and I absolutely would consider retiring there if I thought he was going to stay in MN.
As I’m writing, it occurred to me that you might like Nashville. Ds2 is there, and I have loved my visits. On one, I took the freebie tour that leaves Bridgestone Arena, and it was led by a guy who moved there with his wife after retiring. They love it. There’s Vandy, Belmont, Lipscomb and others for college engagement. If ds2 stays there – and he likely will – we will consider going there, assuming ds1 doesn’t move back here!