Oh! If you think Madison has too much traffic then you certainly would not like Milwaukee.
I can drive from Madison’s far west side (near Middleton) to the far east side in about 25 minutes.
Last night I parked in a free lot along the UW-Madison campus Lakeshore Path around 8pm (15 minutes from Middleton), walked along the lake’s wooded path for 10 minutes to the Memorial Union Terrace, watched the sun set over sailboats on Lake Mendota while listening to free music, ran into my next-door neighbors, took pictures with a Bucky Badger statue, then walked down State Street to the Capitol, ate at Ian’s Pizza near the Overture Center, people-watched dressy wedding guests, flirting teenagers, babies in strollers, college students, street musicians, saw a 70 year old man get down on one knee to re-enact his engagement in front of Goodman’s Jewelers, then walked back to Memorial Union, then 10 more minutes to my car. A fun 2-hour jaunt.
Traverse City has a great xc ski trail right in town which is meticulously groomed and a vibrant xc community. It’s really a great community for those who like to be active. Find somewhere to go in March and it’s perfect
@ZZdecision2016 Another place you might want to check out is Durango, Colorado. A beautiful little college down in the prettiest part of the state, IMO.
I have a friend who retired to Durango. The property taxes on his 2 bedroom, 1 bath condo are only $1,500 per year. He loves it there - lots of natural beauty and local breweries.
This is exactly what we did/are doing. We plan to rent in college towns for the summers. Ann Arbor is first on our list, and may be the last as it is one of our favorite places. We are looking forward to summers in Eugene and Corvallis, too. No definite targets after that as we think these first three will inform our future decisions.
Be sure to pay attention to demographics Religion and politics do matter, you don’t want to be the liberal in a conservative area, an atheist in a religious area or the converse. Also ethnic groups. We get used to the flavor of where we live and until we spend time in a different area forget about those subtle little things. It is easiest for mainstream people.
Winter is a definite factor- include both summer and winter in long stays. Some places are delightful to visit for a week or two, but what do you do for years on end? Madison is great- did that campus area thing mentioned above often enough while in college but that was in my past. Not part of the university or medical communities. Nice to be away from hometown Dane County and relatives. Get emails from HS classmates still local- my life has been so different moving away.
Keep track of seasonal activities. Summer could be jam packed but winters slow, or vice versa. Consider if you will be an outsider or if plenty of newcomers also made the same retirement choice.
The AARP article is well-meaning, but not so helpful. It sings the praises of Boulder, CO—a perfectly lovely college town to be sure. But the online cost-of-living comparison tool I use says that it costs 76% more to live in Boulder than my present location in St. Paul, MN, mainly due to housing costs that are nearly four times higher in Boulder. Cost of living isn’t considered in AARP’s “Livability Index” but all but the wealthiest retirees it’s at least a major factor and could be a deal-breaker for most.
It also mentions Rochester, MN as a college town, which it most assuredly is not. The University of Minnesota recently opened a Rochester campus which has all of 368 students and offers only two undergraduate majors, a BS in Health Sciences and a BS in health administration. Not even a nursing school—that’s in the Twin Cities. The Mayo Clinic in Rochester is a world renowned health care provider which also maintains a medical school with 263 students. Rochester is a nice town and many retirees move there for access to outstanding health care, but there’s nothing about it that has a college town feel.
AARP makes a good point, though, that access to high-quality medical care could be an important consideration in favor of certain college towns with strong university medical centers. Ann Arbor and Madison come to mind, but surely there are others.
“It sings the praises of Boulder, CO—a perfectly lovely college town to be sure. But the online cost-of-living comparison tool I use says that it costs 76% more to live in Boulder than my present location in St. Paul, MN”
It’s all relative, though, Certainly, for many retirees - those coming from Boston, DC, NYC, Seattle, SF, LA, etc. Boulder will seem cheap.
I don’t know how long-term you are considering, but my parents live in a place called Jefferson’s Ferry. It is a senior living community. Right now, my parents have their own apartment in the main building there, eat most of their meals in the dining hall, go on trips, etc. Whenever they need to, they will be able to move into assisted living or the nursing home component. There is also a rehab section. It is nice because, when my dad eventually needs to move into the nursing home part, my mom will be able to stay in the apartment and be right in the same building as he is, making visiting at any time really easy. And my mom is having surgery in a couple of weeks, and will recover in the rehab, where my dad will be in his apartment in the same building, and can visit her easily, too.
The State University of New York at Stony Brook is under ten minutes away, so they are constantly taking advantage of cultural events there. There is a bus right from Jefferson’s Ferry to these events.
I have friends in the Boulder area and it is barely, if at all cheaper than the big cities of California. I did a little comparison looking on line which confirmed the cost. With the change in marijuana laws, much new money has come into the Western Slope (the line of towns from Pueblo in the south to Fort Collins in the north. Boulder is the most expensive. A few years ago I considered moving there, as family and friends have migrated to the area. While property taxes are low, wages are as well, and a move would have made a significant decrease in my income. It is lovely, however far from affordable for those without a great deal to spend to spend on a house if wanting to live in the city limits.
Not that Madison is any bargain, as prices are rising here as well.
There are many less prominent college towns which would be pleasant to live in.
A real perk for us has been the Osher- Olli senior classes led by volunteers. Have many intelligent people from different backgrounds. Not all colleges/U’s have these programs. Investigate what goes on for seniors and the local college. Include the possibilities of auditing classes (especially for free). Check on the public library system as well. Figure out your comfort zone for size, religion and politics as well. Many, many factors.
Portland Maine has a very active Osher-Olli organization. The city itself has great adult ed classes. And Maine Medical is a significant teaching hospital. I can testify that the care there is excellent. The nursing staff is superb. I cannot believe the difference between my experience there and that of my father at Norwalk Hospital in CT, for example. I actually opted to stay an extra night, after being there almost a week. When is that last time you heard of someone volunteering to stay LONGER.
@ZZdecision2016 Damariscotta is a vacation town almost 30 miles from Brunswick. It is in no way a college town. There are plenty of similar places much closer to Brunswick if that is your preference.
Personally, I find the emphasis on access to top health centers a bit weird. Is everyone especting to be an semi-invalid from age 65 onwards?
The likelihood of needing some type of specialized care certainly increases with age, so I think scoping out local medical care is smart.
My sister and brother in law have to drive 25 minutes for most of their medical needs and now they are no longer able to drive. Big problem. With foresight (unfortunately lacking in this case, since sis already had multiple medical issues), they would not have moved to the locale they chose 10 years ago.
I lived in an area with a lot of retirees. One couple was driving 80 miles round trip 3 times a week for his dialysis.
I have always been very healthy. Recently I needed a usually minor procedure but my recovery has not been smooth. I’m very glad to be where I can use Dial a Ride for appointments. And yes, my situation suddenly occurred at the above-mentioned age.
Having had two friends die of cancer in the last year, and far to many others busy with broken bones and other issues requiring surgery, the health care issues are no small matter. We are in an eating healthy and biking everywhere active sort of community, but it certainly is not keeping the grim reaper at bay. On the other hand, the small town Arizona hospitals do far more now than years ago, where dialysis and cardiac surgery meant a long trip to Phoenix, so I’d imagine other smaller cities have better care these days.
Some small cities have NO or very few specialists, so if you need specialty care, you need to get there. In our state, many places have NO lung, GI, ophthalmology or other specialists do you need to fly to see them in Honolulu, when you can get an appointment.
It is short sighted and ignorant. It’s not just a matter of suddenly becoming decrepit- an active person can incur a significant sports injury and need good specialists. Anyone can need a sophisticated eye care practice, besides all the normal cancer and heart disease risks. Wait until you have to drive 2 hours to a top medical facility every week…
We love the Nashville area for all the reasons mentioned in this thread. We have top universities, top sports (pro and college), lots of recreational activities and a relatively low cost of living (going up…). I’m still working, but we are planning to stay right here. Our airport is easy, people can get to us and love to visit this area, and the climate is generally pretty good. Great medical care, too.
Short sighted and ignorant? Your civility continues to astonishes me. B-)
Someone above said that 25 minutes is too far to travel for health care. By that standard, we should all live on the hospital doorstep. (There are cabs, Uber, rides for seniors…) Someone else suggested that people might consider living in Rochester, despite its lack of other desired amenities, simply because the Mayo Clinic is there.
I’m aware that living at significant distance from good medical facilities can be a big problem for some people. For that matter, living where driving is required to buy groceries can be an even bigger problem for many more people. These are realities. I’m not advocating that people with mobility or health issues go and live in the wilderness, for doG’s sake. I guess I’m just saying that if you really love living in the wilderness, don’t not go there because someday, somehow, it might not meet your needs. If your circumstances change, you can accommodate them. In the meantime, LIVE.
BTW, I happen to live in a place where I am 20 minutes driving from an excellent hospital and specialists in just about everything. And, as you know, I am currently using both on a regular basis. So I am hardly unaware of the need.
I’ve never heard of Osher-Olli - I will have to look it up.