For those who wish to live in a college town…make sure you house is not in the same city limits because colleges do not pay any taxes yet the students use the city’s resources which have to paid for by the town folks.
I don’t know that I’d want to move out of the Seattle area. We kind of have it all, as far as what’s important to us. Access to anything, mountains and water, moderate weather, friendly, casual people, no state income tax. The only drawbacks are that it’s getting crowded during rush hour, and property taxes are trickling up.
I can see getting a winter place somewhere, or traveling a lot during the winter.
Do you want a home or a condo?
There is nothing cheap in the bay area anymore that is close to at&t park.
If you live in San Rafael Ca, maybe 10-15 miles north of SF, you get great weather, some writer said the best in the world. The next town south is Larkspur. From Larkspur, you can take the ferry to the city and you can take the ferry to the giants games.
San Rafael home prices are probably around $600-$700 a sq ft. 4th st has many ethnic restaurants. There are plenty of bikers and walkers in San Rafael. The Rafael Theater is a great movie theater that shows many indie films and documentaries. I don’t think the art scene or music scene is all that great. Point Reyes and Stinson Beach border the Pacific Ocean and are drivable from San Rafael. San Rafael is a suburb. Berkeley is also about 30 to 35 minutes away from San Rafael. You can partake in UC Berkeley activities and there is the Berkeley Rep for drama and UC Berkeley has concerts. You can also sit in Robert Reich’s class at UC Berkeley.
Novato is the next town north of San Rafael. Home prices are cheaper. $400 to $500 a sq ft.
Marin has an airporter, a small bus that can take people to the airport.
Berkeley is more of a small city feel. You can take BART into the city, the Oakland Coliseum or the Oakland Airport. I think you said you know Berkeley. Home prices probably run from $600 to $1,000 a sq ft.
I think the cost of the south bay is out of the question.
You can buy a home in the outer sunset in SF for less than $1 million. The Pacific Ocean is right there. But the weather can be foggy and not warm.
Maybe some towns in the east bay work.
Having seen multiple members of the extended family with dementia I’ve come to the conclusion that living close to a kid should be a high priority. I always thought that I’d like to retire to a building with a doorman in NYC. Lots to do. You don’t need a car. Some one else takes care of the snow. But real estate prices went crazy. So now I’m thinking a condo right next to a Metro North station might be a better bet.
@Massmomm --you said
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Taxes are lower in southern NJ, and overall, I believe they’re what we pay to expect services, and to take care of the less fortunate. I do not object.
Meanwhile, been down here for the past week. Every day is another great kayak trip or bike ride (took the ferry across the Delaware Bay today to bike in Del.–fabulous) and yet we are in a sane state and close to friends and family. If not unreasonable taxes are the price I pay to stay Jersey Strong, I’ll accept the bargain. (I’m such a Jersey Girl, would NEVER consider living elsewhere, lol.)
@dstark The Millennium Tower is near AT&T Park and it’s probably getting cheaper by the day.
I’m within 5-6 years of full retirement. We are in the burbs of DC and would like to move in closer near bus and metro, in a walkable neighborhood. We’ve talked about other places in the US but we can’t come up with a place that has everything we have here and that’s not totally unaffordable. We’d probably downsize to a small townhouse closer in and then rent our house. DC’s house rental market is very strong due to the military and government transients.
@youcee, lol.
I never got the appeal of the Millennium Tower. Do you undestand the appeal?
We have most of the features but lost the walkability because the neighborhood supermarket was bought by a CHURCH and became a huge church instead of a market. 
The other problem is we don’t have very good transit or bus, and our cost of living is high if you don’t own real estate already. The thing is that H will not willingly move, but probably would be OK with renting for extended visits to wherever our kids settle and start families.
@dstark I don’t know anything about that tower other than that it’s leaning and Hunter Pence lives there. I guess when he hits a HR they’ll now start saying “he really leaned into that one!”
@NoVADad99 - what about Greenbelt, MD? It’s a bit of a sleeper and maybe too far out but it’s worth looking at since it’s pretty affordable. Or Silver Spring? Definitely closer and more $$$ so you should act fast.
Staying in VA would probably be a wiser move tax wise. The closer in VA suburbs are astronomical though!
I don’t like Prince George’s county. It has, shall we say, problems. I live in Fairfax County, and to me, it has a lot more to offer. I will probably stay in VA for the variety and the lower taxes. We keep an eye on townhouses coming on the market in Falls Church, Arlington, or McLean if it’s not totally unaffordable.
My relatives had the walkability feature–could walk to the supermarket, library, restaurants, and more, but they still prefer to drive because they rather have the restaurants and stores they want to go to rather than those that are walkable. The lack of good readily available transit for SRs is a huge issue for many areas of the country.
Our “handivans” are a disgrace–folks can wait over 2 hours each direction to be picked up to get TO anywhere and to get back to their homes. Yes, it’s cheap $2/ride but most prefer to do just about anything to find another way of transit because it’s so unreliable. You also have to make reservations at least a day ahead of time and sometimes the driver NEVER shows up and you’re stuck.
Really enjoy everyone’s lists and opinions of what they want. I’m about 5 years away I’d guess from retiring. I’ve just recently moved to FL from NC after 26 years and agree that western NC is beautiful and attractive. I think I’ll end up on the gulf coast as home base and live different places several months out of the year. I’d love to try out DC and Boston. Maine and Wyoming sound wonderful too. I’ll travel to see my kids for as long as I can. I will have a plan in place so my care will be covered and as convenient as possible for them.
DH doesn’t want to retire. I don’t see us staying in our house long-term, though – it needs renovations and he hates yard work. I wouldn’t mind a townhouse, but I worry about mobility issues down the road. I want a BR and bath on a walk-in floor.
3BR condos in our area are more than what we would get for our 50 yo suburban DC house.
I’m not wedded to this area, but my docs are here (a biggie), and my kids grew up here so they know where to tap into resources. Maryland isn’t kind for taxes or estates, though.
In my fantasies, I think about Portland, Sacramento, San Diego (If I had $$), Louisville (near a sister and cousin, very affordable), Augusta GA (dad, sister and brother, and house prices are ridiculously cheap), south Jersey, and going back to Philly (Jewish community, reasonable housing prices, great docs, former colleagues).
I’m the one with friends and interests. I worry
that DH will be lost at sea if he’s not working. He doesn’t have any hobbies besides reading and cooking. I don’t want to entertain him every day!
Criteria:
Medical
Housing costs
Single-level house (hard to get in DC burbs)
Jewish community
Politically progressive
Enough square footage for crafts
Close to airport
Ability to visit grandkids regularly
I would like to retire tonight, but that won’t happen - it’ll be another 5-8 years. We have been planning to stay in our paid-for house in a low-tax area, but 4 bedrooms is starting to seem a bit big (although the house is only about 2000 sq ft), and it’s on two floors … might need one of those things lifts you put on the side of the stairway! The in laws have a cottage that we will eventually inherit & where we had planned to spend lots of time in our retirement. Recently, though, our cousins who owned the cottage across the street sold it. It’s a weird situation to be the backlot with easement access when it’s no longer family. Not sure what will happen - the new owners are nice, but it’s still sort of uncomfortable. We are thinking that if it doesn’t quite work out long term, we may sell our house & buy a smaller one on a lake near where we currently live. We will stay in our midwestern state, because our D is going to move back to the area & start a family within a couple years … I don’t mind snow, and I really want to be near my grandkids when that day comes.
It’s interesting to read the different perspectives. I’ve added some things to my care about list.
Places on our “check out” list, which varies as I do more research are, in no particular order:
Portland
Seattle
Staying around DC (currently in MD, but would consider VA)
Tennessee
California (I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area as a child, but I want to check out San Diego
Florida/probably Tampa area
Arizona, probably the northern part
I love the idea of Maui, but don’t really think it would work for us
I’m going to research Texas and Utah.
Colorado and NC were high on my list until recently, but I’m realizing my husband really doesn’t want to deal with snow, and NC seems to be getting more expensive and neither of us is happy with politics there these days.
I would love to be near my kids as they launch and have children, but we don’t know where that will be, and they may move around themselves.
We’ve talked a lot about locations, but for those who have retired, how did you decide it was time?
For those who haven’t, what will go into your decision?
I have always thought I wanted my kids to be done with undergrad school, and I wanted to help pay off any loans. We are fortunate to have saved enough so they won’t have any loans, and our youngest will be done in 2 years.
At this point, my mom, who lives on social security alone, is a big concern. Right now she lives in another state, and I do not support her, but at some point I will likely significantly assist her financially, and she may wind up living with or near me.
Another big question is how much money is a reasonable amount to have? I know nobody can answe that question for me. I’m fairly risk averse, so I will likely continue working at least a few years after my minimum retirement age.
BUT, I do want to retire when I’m young and healthy enough to enjoy travel and the great outdoors.
Hum, I think I will make my 4 bedroom, 1- story home a B&Bs just for CCers. SE FL, 4-5 miles from ocean, 30 minutes to airport. Since I’m in healthcare, I have assess to the best here. New kitchen, newish wood floors, all new bathrooms, etc. ( thanks to the 2005-6 hurricanes, I had to redo a lot ).
@bookworm Can you promise none of those giant flying cockroaches that Floridians like to call Palmetto bugs? 
They creep me out and would be one reason I would not settle in FL.
My list includes no huge bugs!