Greenville sounds like a place I would like except I would have to get back into driving again. Right now, with 4 other drivers (sometimes, 5) in the house, I am happily driven around.
Kansas City is interesting, but I don’t want snow, at all. Not one flake. I hate snow. I dream of being a snowbird but I don’t know that I can afford that.
Wait. Have you seen my husband?
@orangepurple - I’m moving to keep them red!!!
I’ve said this before on one of these retirement threads – but I always assumed that in retirement I’d leave the Midwest and go back down south, where I grew up.
But two things have happened: first, the place in which I had planned to retire turned out to be much more socially conservative than I remember…or it has drifted that way. The last time I visited that place with my family, my brother and his husband were treated poorly. (Think public humiliation…)
Then, my only child has put down roots in Minnesota! She is marrying a MN native this summer, they’ve bought a house, and they’re talking about starting a family. She has said that she would love it if H and I were closer, and I would love to be a hand’s-on grandparent.
So it looks like we’ll be trading warm weather for grandchildren.
@scout59 --that sounds like a great bargain! 
Wow. Where do you get that? Do you have any evidence? Actually, you would be likely to be asked where you are from if you are white in a rural community! Because all of us who weren’t born here are “from away.” Your color is not a significant factor compared to your accent. 
Portland is one of the communities that has a very diverse population, and in fact I would venture to guess that because of refuge programs there are more Africans than African Americans in Portland. There is a large population of Somalis, and in recent years there have been an increasing number of people from Burundi. I have, actually, met people from all over Africa. Before the latest African diaspora, there were a lot of refugees from the various nations attacked by Serbia. I regularly shop in Korean, Cambodian, Vietnamese, Indian, and Middle Eastern markets. Haven’t checked out the Halal ones yet, although I know of three or four.
Yes, it is the whitest state in the union. But we are talking about living in specific parts of the state, and that is a different matter altogether. As it is in every state, I would venture to guess.
@fendrock, I checked out the walkability score of places where friends of mine live in Brunswick and Portland, and they were 80. Regarding inventory, realize that both are relatively small. Brunswick has a population of about 22K, IIRC, and the walkable center is not oriented towards condos. Portland is becoming more so, and in fact condo-led gentrification is becoming a big problem in the formerly inexpensive East End. If you are looking for new cookie-cutter condos you won’t find much. Portland condos are increasing being built for wealthy out-of-staters who can afford a pied a terre. Ist is no longer cheap.
Maine is a hidden jewel and I kind of hope it stays that way, although this past year’s tourism season was its best ever so I’m afraid people are finding it.
Personal experience from a short visit to Maine.
Could it have been not noticeable before when your brother did not have a husband to trigger the bigots?
I’m not only someone who will likely (eventually) retire with a moderate income, I edit a group of monthly newspapers for older adults, so I sometimes write about villages and co-housing options. I’m not sure if it’s been mentioned, but there are specific co-housing communities for older adults: http://www.cohousing.org/senior_community_list
Also, for those in the DC area like me, this is the nation’s hot spot for villages, with dozens of them in all shapes and sizes, from the first on Capitol Hill that has a paid director to ones that are all volunteer.
Of course, the DC area is very expensive, so it’s not a place to aspire to if you’re trying to save money. One of my thoughts is that I could sell my tiny house and move somewhere and live off the profit for a while. That’s why I’m enjoying reading about where you all live or suggestions. At the same time, my house is in a very walkable area (I just looked up the Walk Score, and it’s 65; I thought it might be higher), but it’s super hilly which means that the older I get the less likely I will walk those hills to the stores half a mile away.
Depending on your tolerance for cold and snow, my hometown of Cleveland has some of the lowest housing prices in the country for a big city. You could get a fairly large, nice inner-ring suburb house for $150,000. The smaller ones that need some work are only $80,000-$90,000. And National Geographic put it at #14 of top 21 places in the world to visit in 2018!
One personal experience trip to Maine…and you are dissing it’s population @ucbalumnus ?
I’m sorry…I agree with Consolation.
As someone from the Midwest, I’m often asked where I’m from when I’m in Maine…it’s the accent…not my skin color. We are on ME often enough with relatives living there.
I’m from Cleveland also. Another place I’d like DH to consider is Columbus.
@garland – Most times it sounds like a GREAT deal to me, too, but ask me again in February 2021 or 2022, when I’m in the midst of my first Minnesota winter.
Mr. B has a coworker who just bought a retirement property in Florida - the timing coincided with their g-kids getting older. They intend to live there in the winter and continue spending their summers in their cooler state where their kids live. The wife helped raise the g-kids. Now that the grandkids got older, the priorities reshuffled. Tweenage and teenage grandkids don’t want to spend every afternoon with grandma, but they absolutely love to come for a visit during their school breaks from November to April.
We did warn our kids that no matter where they settle, we will be having a long term rental once grand babies appear on the scene! 
We won’t! Our kids live 2500 miles apart…and a LONG way away from where we live. If they BOTH have grandkids for us…it would be impossible to have THAT many homes.
Plus…while I hope to have grandchildren and be part of their lives…I do NOT want to babysit on a regular basis, even for a few months at a time…in my retirement. I’d rather be a welcomed guest or have them as my welcomed guest.
My mother is in subsidized housing that considers income only. The waiting list in her building has been running over a year. It may be longer in other properties or parts of the country (we’re in northern New England). I think it’s Section 202. Income limit calculator link is in their program overview https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/housing/mfh/grants/section202ptl
It might be my speed if DH predeceases me, since our income will be primarily from his pensions and Social Security and would decrease quite a bit if I survive him.
Hey - different strokes! I would love to be a regular babysitter for my grandkids. I want to be that grandma who comes to the softball games and band concerts.
Yep, YOLO. If my choices are cold weather/live near daughter&grandchildren OR warm weather/live far away, I will take the former every time. To me, that IS “living better.”
@scout59 My parents, when they were in their 60s, moved to be near me and my husband after we had kids. It was only about a 60-mile move, but their idea was that they didn’t want their visits with grandchildren to be structured, pre-planned events that took an entire day and involved a sit-down meal. They wanted to be part of the natural fabric of their lives. Attend their music concerts. Watch their sports games. Pop over with a quart of home-made chicken soup. Maybe give them a lift in a pinch.
At first I was skeptical. Now that it’s been about 15 years since they moved here, I must say it worked out great. They live about 10 miles away, so we’re not on top of each other and don’t go to the same supermarkets and drug stores. But they’re close enough that we can help each other. Indeed, the shoe is now on the other foot. They’re in their 80s, and they need us now.
Nothing on the horion yet, but D1 lives nearby and told me I’d be the daycare. Lol. I recently re-checked with her and it’s still her preference. I explained it isn’t my idea of how to be locked in, but maybe a few days/week. Thing is, she trusts me, she apparently thinks I’m a good mother. (Whew.)
But the other thing is, I don’t want her to stay in this area. I was always encouraged to spread my wings and I feel she should, too. She once asked what I’d do, if she did move. I blurted out, “Come visit. A lot.”
I couldn’t take Florida, the heat and humidity. If any don’t know, it’s just not humid in Southern Cal, if you want sun and fun.