<p>Edad: Portland, Oregon?</p>
<p>Portland is high on the list since my W has relatives there. I hate rain and think Medford/Ashland might be a better choice. I have not yet visited either area. I believe both are pretty expensive areas. I guess that means I just need to work longer.</p>
<p>Colorado or Montana</p>
<p>And if I have enough money, a flat or apartment on the Upper East or West Side of Manhattan.</p>
<p>How about the mountains of North Carolina? Asheville has become quite popular–beautiful outdoor activities, mild winters, great restaurants, art galleries, etc–and it’s enough of a city that there should be adequate medical care. If you want a more remote community, there are many smaller towns, especially west of Asheville in the souhtern highlands and just south of Smoky Mountains National Park, where there are beautiful mountains, lakes and all accompanying activities.</p>
<p>Montana has not been on the list. Any specific area? I have vaguely considered Grand Junction. It has the disadvantages of isolation and a cold climate. I suspect artsy/intellectual might also be a tad bit lacking. If I compromise on a cold climate, I suspect Spokane will be more appealing.</p>
<p>I would like it if we could have an apartment in NYC and a place at the beach…sigh…no time soon!</p>
<p>North Carolina was high on our list until we started reading about all of the issues around the drought, reduced lake levels, and water use policies. Now we are not so sure. We would like to get out of the 24x7 traffic around here, but we enjoy the benefits of the area and don’t really want to be far from good restaurants, cultural activities, medical services and friends. </p>
<p>Just got back from Maui vacation and DH is looking at the on-line real estate ads. If we sell everything we might not starve for 30 days or so :)</p>
<p>dg, a few Long Islanders still retire to Florida. For the last 10 years or so the hot spot has been Ashville. After a long year and a half living in Arkansas, I have a hard time considering the rural south. My sister is retiring to NC so I will have an excuse to visit and do some exploring.</p>
<p>Eric Weiner’s new book, The Geography of Bliss, ends up with the conclusion that Asheville is the place in the U.S. where people seem to be most contented. I admit it started to sound nice – until I realized that everyone who reads his book will likely move there!</p>
<p>As someone who grew up outside of NYC (NJ suburbs) and is currently living in NC, my DW and I have similar dreams to several already posted here. We call it our 3-House plan: a Mountain lodge (for the falls and spring), a Beach House in Delaware (for the Summer), and an apartment or Condo in either DC or NYC (winter lodging). Now, we only have to hit the jackpot on the Megaball to make this dream a reality…</p>
<p>I heard someone in Georgia won the drawing by themselves last night, maybe I’ll go hit them up…</p>
<p>Singersmom07-- DH checks real estate ads every single place we go! It’s a longstanding family joke. We’ve been to Maui several times over the past 5 years, so he’s really scoured those listings. Recently spent several days in St. John, USVI, so of course he’s checking those ads. We’ve pretty much concluded wherever we end up for the majority of the year, we’ll spend the worst part of our New England winters some place very warm – but we don’t have to own a place to do that.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Yeah, I can do the same thing all within CA…</p>
<p>Mountain home in Mammoth or Lake Tahoe
Apartment in San Francisco
Beach house in Carmel or La Jolla ;)</p>
<p>Minimize travel costs…</p>
<p>I note that only “overseas” mentioned proximity to son. This is of great importance to me but how does one factor that in in an age when my sons are likely to change jobs every few years? Incidentally, I had started a thread on Asheville quite awhile back (So what do you know about Asheville?) Please visit that thread if you’ve got firsthand knowledge to share!</p>
<p>edad, I was just in Grand Junction and was pleasantly surprised (not having been there in a decade or more). Remember it’s a much milder climate than most of Colorado, and drier so not much snow to shovel. There are lots of small galleries and several budding wineries. Lots of public art in the small downtown district. Several good prew-pubs. Reminded us of WallaWalla, which is also getting a reputation as a nice place to retire.<br>
H and I have discussed moving back to Pullman (where we went to grad school at WSU) but I suspect the snow, hills and long dark winters would be too much.
Portland is pricy - maybe Salem, or Eugene?
We still have 3 more years of tuition to handle, so it’s just speculation right now.</p>
<p>edad:</p>
<p>I’ve been to Medford Oregon before and it was pretty nice - lots of mountains and nature and I believe not as rainy as Portland. I checked on realtor.com and Medford housing looks to be highly affordable - at least compared to more urban areas. It’s a relatively small town. I haven’t been there in winter before and suspect it’d be a bit cooler than San Diego at that time of year.</p>
<p>NC taxes are high, income taxes start at 6% and above 20,000 go to 7%. Sales taxes are high, only exclude partial for food. Property taxes are not horrible, but they are rising. NC definitely offers it all in terms of terrain. Politically and culturally, Jesse Helms was not an accident. There are more retirement friendly states!</p>
<p>The “proximity to kids” issue": the good thing about where my H and I are going to end up (near Cape May, NJ) is that this is the yearly vacation spot of our family since my kids were little. Even if they move, visiting there will be a good thing for them, since they love the area. My D is in a fairly permanent feeling relationship with a Jersey boy, so that bodes well, and my S is looking at a poker career, and we are not too far from Atlantic City. So, we feel that this choice is as good as any for knowing we will see them a lot.</p>
<p>“proximity to kids”
If you only knew where they were going to be and they would all stay in one place 
S1 in border patrol; but planning on moving in a couple of years. S2 in CO with girlfriend, If it works out he may stay. S3 is at home - figuring out how to move him out. DD is planning a performance career - you live where they pay you this week. </p>
<p>So I agree with garland - live in a vacation place and they will come see YOU. We just have to figure out where that will be - that we can afford.</p>
<p>Perhaps the Knoxville, Tn. area, maybe Greenville, SC</p>
<p>Virginia or South Carolina. We bought property in Virginia but might just go to Charleston area. Definitely the southeast. 4 more years and I think about it daily.</p>