<p>H was in a serious traffic accident this summer (recuperating nicely), and hasn’t yet returned to work. The enforced togetherness and his idleness have brought us to contemplating retirement, which is about 3 years off. As empty nesters, we clearly should already be getting rid of the large colonial that is a huge money suck in real estate taxes and maintenance. But the big question is, what then? Do we stay in the very expensive area where we have friends, docs, and a long history, or find an entirely different part of the country to lay down new roots? Having dealt with the burdens of caring for elderly parents who retired far from us, I’d advocate for living near our kids, but they haven’t permanently landed anywhere yet–and these days, who can assume they will stay in one place for long? We aren’t terribly outdoorsy or involved in sports, but love being near the ocean; we don’t care for hot weather and can cope with cold, we enjoy cultural opportunities and intellectual stimulation; we lived in NYC for a time and can see ourselves in a big city again where everything is a mere stroll away. So, with the whole country to choose from, including staying in our own expensive backyard, where do we begin to look for that lovely low-maintenance condo? Are other “old” CC parents facing this same issue?</p>
<p>I have the answer for you.</p>
<p>Check out “The Villages”, which is a town located about an hour north of Orlando. I live there. You can get around with just a golf cart. There are two town squares where every night, bands are playing. They have a million different clubs, of every conceivable interest. They call it day camp for seniors. But it is not old codgers. The people here are all “young” 65 year olds, who play tennis and golf. There are about 100,000 seniors who live in this town. It is like a new city. The people are very nice. Mostly midwesterners though. Do not come here if you are seeking “diversity”.</p>
<p>mommaj: I’d suggest looking at the past 5 years of Money magazine’s “best places to retire” for a start. [Best</a> Places to Retire 2010 - Money Magazine on CNNMoney.com](<a href=“http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bpretire/2010/]Best”>Best Places to Retire 2010 - Money Magazine on CNNMoney.com)</p>
<p>Forbes has a list: [Best</a> Places to Retire 2010 - Money Magazine on CNNMoney.com](<a href=“http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bpretire/2010/]Best”>Best Places to Retire 2010 - Money Magazine on CNNMoney.com)</p>
<p>as does U.S. News: [Best</a> Places to Retire - US News Business](<a href=“http://money.usnews.com/money/retirement/best-places-to-retire]Best”>http://money.usnews.com/money/retirement/best-places-to-retire)</p>
<p>Just like college rankings, I don’t think any of them are the end all, be all, but they surface concerns to think through. </p>
<p>My friends & I have a few requirements after dealing with our parents:
- Must be near good public transportation, or have cab service, or have a good senior transport service.
- Good medical center (including cancer care) within easy reach of the above transportation methods.
- Good arts/sports availability also within the above transportation zones.
- Food markets & general retail within walking or transportation zones.
- Limited winter weather.</p>
<p>DH & I want to retire closer to the coast, but not on the beach (don’t want to deal with evacuations & tidal surge at an advanced age if we can help it) with access to near-year round golf. And no offense to Floridadad but there is no way I could live at the Villages; my inlaws are in a similar active adult community in FL and my MIL hates it. I doubt I would like it; I like to be surrounded by all ages.</p>
<p>Our list is simple:</p>
<ol>
<li>Must be near a major airport as our kids are unlikely to be near where we are…plus we hope to be able to travel.</li>
<li>Change of seasons…but not a lot of winter.</li>
<li>Near to cultural things …music, theater in particular.</li>
<li>Near a major medical center.</li>
</ol>
<p>We haven’t found it…yet…so we’re still in our too big house…but then DH isn’t retired.</p>
<p>I can’t think of any better place to go from here and consider myself quite fortunate as a result.</p>
<p>Our list is almost the same as thumper’s but would add:</p>
<ol>
<li>Close to the water. Doesn’t have to be the ocean, maybe just a lake or river that we could throw the canoe/kayak in. Nearby hiking would also be a plus.</li>
</ol>
<p>I live in NYC and I could never imagine living anywhere else. Best city in the world. I haven’t been to every city in the world, though.</p>
<p>My favorite three retirement spots (another 10 years, sigh)… </p>
<p>Chicago downtown / Lincoln Park in a highrise.
Boston area
Washington DC/Arlington/Baltimore</p>
<p>I don’t mind Chicago weather, have lived in Boston for a few months, and love the things in DC. I can’t see myself retiring in Florida or some such, or the West Coast. Six months of the year here, and six in the Old Country in Europe should also be an option. I can’t see myself retiring overseas either…</p>
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<p>Those would be wonderful…but unfortunately out of our price range!</p>
<p>The closest we’ve found is actually Winston-Salem NC…we loved it there. It fits all of our criteria…but we are chickens to relocate.</p>
<p>I would like a small university city. But the reality is that with one kid I will be staying close to her.</p>
<p>My wife told me already.</p>
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<p>Same here. I already live in San Diego - there are tons of things to do and see, there are plenty of hospitals including a major medical center, the weather is great, and and our house is paid for to boot. Why would I want to move somewhere else?</p>
<p>We made our last move back to Toronto several years ago now, with the intention of staying, and with retirement in mind. My H retires next year and I’ve been partially retired for a while now. We love it here, it is a city that has everything we could possibly need or want. Four of our five Ds have also settled in the area. We bought a home in Hilton Head for when we want to get away in the colder months. As I’ve mentioned in the many times this topic has been discussed here on CC previously, I can’t imagine picking up and leaving my family, current home, wide circle of friends, our community involvement, etc. and starting all over somewhere new where I know no one.</p>
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<p>Funny, but I already have all those things – in the suburbs near Washington, DC. But we still have the big house. Gotta get rid of that one of these days.</p>
<p>I would love to live back in a big city, places to walk to, public transportation. When I was visiting my Mum and brother in England this year, I went out quite a bit with my brother. He retired recently and is thoroughly enjoying life. London is expensive but there is so much to do there that is not expensive. For instance he joined RADA and goes to a lot of plays there. The plays are all by final year students and they are good. He pays 6 pounds per play (less than $10). I went to 2 and they were wonderful. He goes to several things like that a week (some more pricey). I started thinking I would love to move back to London at least part of the year. But my kids live here so I probably wouldn’t even if I could afford it, which I can’t. But I would love a big city with more to do - preferably with a good infrastructure so I wouldn’t need to always drive everywhere.</p>
<p>We have ALL of the things on our list also…here in suburban CT…but we too still have the big house.</p>
<p>If I lived in San Diego, I wouldn’t THINK of moving. If I could afford to move there, I would.</p>
<p>If we are going to sell this house, we would need to buy something in either a less expensive real estate market (Boston, Chicago, DC, and San Diego don’t exactly fit that)…or just stay put. We too love our house, neighborhood, friends and the things we can do that are near here. I could stand with a LITTLE less winter.</p>
<p>Investigate Delaware. Wilmington and Newark specifically. Both are close to lovely beaches and both are manageable cities.</p>
<p>I lived n southern California for eight years. It was fun while we were there, but I always knew we wouldn’t stay. We missed the seasons and the weekend trips to see the fall color and snow didn’t really do it for us.</p>
<p>Flagler Beach (or Palm Coast) Florida - nothing like it!</p>
<p>I’ve said it before, but the Cape May area is exceptional. Taxes are much lower than anywhere else in NJ, lots of culture, medical center AC, bigger in Philly ( close enough for us) and water EVERYWHERE!</p>
<p>Can’t wait to live there fulltime–spend almost half of our time there right now.</p>
<p>Four seasons, but winter is rarely severe (the last 2 years notwithstanding.)</p>
<p>This topic has been on our minds too. One thing I have found to be very useful is to read the letters to the editor in the major newspaper of areas you are considering. Our local paper contains the rantings of various zealots and bigots. It fairly accurately reflects the mentality of our community. Geographical considerations are important, but I also feel it is important to be in community with people who share your values.</p>