Having skimmed through the posts, I’m putting in votes for a second look at the Maine coast, Oregon’s Corvallis/ Willamette River Valley area.
Portland is lovely and has the services that you are looking for, arts, hospitals.
No one has mentioned Bar Harbor, which has surprisingly good medical facilities, a research community, arts, and a lovely homey community with a nice library (small but nice) and the national park.
Living on the coast of Maine is not nearly as cold as living in the midwest – wisconsin for example. It’s much warmer because of the ocean. Also many Mainers save money living there and so can travel to a warm climate for a few weeks in Feb-march and come back for spring to arrive in Maine. It’s quite lovely. Bar Harbor is close enough to the Orono international airport and in the summer there are nonstop flights to the airport in Trenton from NYC and probably elsewhere
Corvallis is mild in climate, has great resources surrounding the campus. The hiking and food are great. Prices also reasonable. The Oregon coast there is beautiful.
I personally have spent a lot of time in Madison and othe rplaces in Wisconsin, and other places in the midwest and while there are many nice things about those areas (the people mostly) the scenery to my mind is so very dull and you really feel like you’re just so so far from everything. Also it’s cold as heck there – again Maine is warm in comparison and the coast of Oregon is mild and pleasant.
Sometimes, like in Mexico and Costa Rica, expats can buy into the country’s healthcare system. For short stays of many months, many do travelers insurance. Also, paying out of pocket is much, much cheaper than healthcare in the USA. As someone said previously, that’s why countries like Mexico and Costa Rica see medical tourism. Many Americans seek elective treatments abroad to save $.
Hmmm . . . that’s not what the National Weather Service says. Average high temperatures in Portland, Maine are roughly 2 degrees warmer than Milwaukee from December through March, but Milwaukee’s average daily highs are actually a degree or two warmer than Portland from April through November.
And the average daily lows in Portland are 2 to 5 degrees colder than Milwaukee throughout the year, including the winter months. So if anything, Portland is the colder of the two.
Portland also gets a lot more snow: 62 inches on average, which is 15 inches more than Milwaukee’s 47 inches.
Like coastal Maine, Milwaukee is adjacent to a very large body of water, Lake Michigan, which has a moderating effect on its climate. And Lake Michigan is warmer than the ocean off the coast of Maine. Concededly, it gets colder away from the lake, including Madison. but only a relatively small part of the Midwest is as cold as Madison. Also some parts of the Midwest are pretty far south. Cincinnati, for example, averages about 10 degrees warmer than Portland in the winter months, with about 1/3 the snowfall.
As for being “so very far from everything,” Madison is just over 2 hours from Chicago, the nation’s third largest city, and Milwaukee’s even closer to both Madison and Chicago.
As for the “dull scenery,” I certainly agree with respect to some parts of the Midwest, but not all of it. Michigan’s Sleeping Bear Dunes were named “the most beautiful place in America” by ABC’s 'Good Morning America" a few years ago, and Michigan’s Pictured Rocks and Porcupine Mountains, the sea caves in Wisconsin’s Apostle Islands, and Minnesota’s North Shore are pretty spectacular, too. Lumping all of the Midwest together as having “dull scenery” is a bit like driving the New Jersey Turnpike from end to end and pronouncing the entire Northeast the “ugliest part of the country.”
Thanks, we differ because of experience and taste.
Not to beat a dead horse but I’ve spent years and years in Wisconsin, Chicago (which I love), Milwaukee area, Madison area, Michigan – I personally find it dull compared with the Maine Coast and Oregon. Of course there are lovely spots everywhere, but in great measure it’s flat and to my mind rather dull. Sorry, People are lovely.
When I moved to the Maine Coast, the temperature difference there was large enough so that I, though it was snowing, I didn’t have to wear a coat. I was used to much colder climate in the Midwest.
@shawbridge - I’m like you. Most of the college towns I like are expensive. And some are obnoxious, like Boulder (smile. I jest in part. Boulder is wonderful, but way too white and way too pleased with itself for my liking.)
I love to ski. That said, I couldn’t take Maine or Madison winters year in and year out. You’re talking about six months of cool/cold/dreary weather and world-class snowstorms. I feel I’m just too damn old for that.
My college town retirement fantasy includes the SF Bay Area/Santa Barbara areas. Haven’t explored Oregon or Wash State, but they sound tempting too.
Bellingham (WA) is wonderful. Home to WWU. Close to Canada, and the airport is lovely. Nicest TSA folks (after HI TSA). Hope it stays that small. Skiing is not that far away.
You’re entitled to your opinion, of course, and your life experience is yours alone—who am I to judge? But the official National Weather Service records say that most of the Midwest is warmer than Maine, including the winter months. Both Chicago and Detroit, for example, have average daily low temperatures about 5 degrees warmer than Portland in the winter months, Cleveland and Indianapolis 6 to 7 degrees warmer, Kansas City and Cincinnati 10 degrees warmer.
Don’t get me wrong, I love coastal Maine and I’ve actually spent a lot of time there. It has many things going for it, but winter weather is not one of them unless you’re coming from Minnesota, the Dakotas, or Alaska. Or parts of Wisconsin away from the big lake.
Glaciated upper Midwest is dull? Sure beats flat Florida for scenery. Visiting the beach is nice but I would get tired of the Florida monotony- flat, sand, flora. And deserts that appeal to too many people (brown and gray mountains are not my thing). “Cooler/warmer” by the lake applies near the Great Lakes. The forested hills and valleys are vastly different than the plains to the south. Minnesota (twin cities included) seems to get the great plains weather- the weather from the west often moderates within Wisconsin.
Sarasota should be considered its own separate city and not part of Tampa. Driving in heavy traffic on I 75 to get anywhere in Tampa can be difficult, you would never want to do it on a regular basis for taking classes at USF or the scattered throughout the city Olli classes. Plus drivers are terrible here (everyone from elsewhere kept their bad habits and natives don’t know what a turn signal is…). Many cities in Florida are senior citizen friendly because there are so many of us. Some are upscale with artsy amenities far beyond population expectations. Others are more for the live cheaply crowd.
A newer neighbor considered moving away after a couple of years (summer weather) but has reconsidered it. We have a great neighborhood and she is close to stores et al here. Moving to a NC city would have put her further from stores and she would know no one. Choosing a retirement city is something to do in your sixties, not seventy or beyond generally. Once we decide we are tired of a house and may need a senior living apartment or more care- perhaps in ten to twenty years- we will likely move near where son is located then. I personally cannot see living in retirement communities- I want the college/library amenities and not their activities. Oh- and The Villages is out! Wrong demographic for us politically.
“I personally cannot see living in retirement communities” @wis75 – I recently spent several days in an upscale retirement community in Northern California. It was so mellow and quiet I felt half-dead already. When I retire I want lots of people around me, the sounds of life, cars and children. I want walkable neighborhoods and services so I’m not car-dependent. In short, I want the opposite of living in a retirement community. I want to live in a just-starting-my-adult life community. It seems so much more, well, alive
My daughter and son-in-law live in Chapel Hill, NC and I think your assessment is spot on–except for your comment on the weather. Compared to MA, winter in Chapel Hill is wonderful. Spring/summer not so much. It’s miserably hot and muggy. My kids come back up to MA in the spring/summer whenever they can.
I live in Durham. I love it. Summer is hot. Fall and winter is wonderful. Cost of living here though is climbing. But, you will find a progressive enclave in a conservative state. The big negative here for me is lack of public transportation. We in Durham/Chapel Hill want it but the state actively works against us.
Interesting about San Diego getting mentioned in this thread. We never considered it a college town when we were investigating relocation. But UC San Diego and San Diego State University are both part of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, and San Diego Community College has an extensive Emeritus set of courses for 55+.
We had a long list of criteria for relocation, spurred by me having realized I didn’t need to live with winter for the rest of my life. Access to transportation and good medical care were on that list. After we moved here, I got myself a primary care physician in the UCSD medical network since they get so highly rated in so many specialties. Her office, which is in the same building as the labs, is about a 12 minute drive. Two major hospitals are in the same neighborhood. Other medical needs like dentist, dermatologist, ophthalmologist et al are also within 15-20 minutes.
Still don’t miss winter after three years (or thunderstorms/tornadoes/hot muggy days). A bit of nostalgia for the first flowers of spring and crisp autumn walks, but the benefits of nice sunny days nearly year round make up for it.
I grew up in a true college town (East Lansing). It was a wonderful place to grow up and I can see many of the same reasons for that might apply to life in retirement. In those years medical care wasn’t anything special; MSU’s medical school wasn’t even started until I was 13.
Folks… it’s perfectly ok to have different opinions - there is no one perfect place It’s like picking college. You learn about the various factors and make a decision based on which factors are high priority.
It’s like picking college. You learn about the various factors and make a decision based on which factors are high priority.