OT: Best place to retire

[Kitaman]

I'm with you. If it isn't within an hour's drive of salt water, I'm not interested. It's a long way off for me, but I'm not so worried about cost as I am about being somewhere that I can do the stuff that I like to do.

Yeah I will add that I am also an East Coast guy. I'm not fond of California, AZ, or the west coast. Nice to visit but I like the time zone here and being up and moving while 60%+ of the country is in bed or having breakfast. Have friends who love it out there. The weather is beautiful and you have no lawn care worries.

I'm just a sunrise vs sunset type. I will also say that I need to be near a populated City. I am not a country guy, driving 40+ minutes to get groceries, haircut or car repairs.

Finally I want to be a day's drive to DC, Philly, NYC and CT. I'm a city person, living in the suburbs.

I thought this trough as my time nears.

 

[ctchamps]

I'm with you. If it isn't within an hour's drive of salt water, I'm not interested.

Getting a little tricky to calculate what will be an hours drive 2o years out!

Not sure I could ever live inland when living by the Ocean (or Sound) for most of my life. There is something attractive to me about Ocean views or being short distances to the beach. I don't go to the beach that often but having the option is important, funny that I'm not sure why.

I'm thinking the coastal Carolina's in my future (warm weather and water).

Live not far from the ocean and seem to be going more to the pool. People who love golf and bicycling might want to check out the area in and around HHI. Three seasons, lots of restaurants, 40 plus miles of bicycle paths, 14 miles of public beach in which riding a bike at low tide is great, obviously golf and lots of southern girls in bikinis. Four story limit and most of the beach has private homes. Not as private as Kiawah, but no where near as built up and touristy as Myrtle Beach. They even have a few decent pizza joints. No hockey rink but did get one day of measurable snow within the past twenty years. Before my time. Sun City is an excellent retirement community of 10,ooo people and is about 29 miles from HHI with everything you can think of available to entertain people minus the hockey rink. .

The suggestion of Charleston is a good one. Boeing will infuse a lot of upgrades to an already beautiful small city.

HHI should get a good economic boost in twenty years. They just announced they are beginning the process of building a port in Jasper County , a very depressed county adjacent to Beaufort County on the Savannah River. Port will be the biggest on the east coast when finished in approximately twenty years. Far enough away to not ruin the beauty of HHI but close enough to help all the counties in the surrounding area economically.

 

[Stinger92860]

Anyone in or near Jupiter FL? I am thinking about eastern CT or RI coast for the summer and Jupiter in winter.

 

[HistoryMajor]

Stinger - West Palm Beach or Palm Beach are great places to live six months or so each year. (I bet you can guess which six months!). West palm is about 20 miles south of Jupiter. Condo are very affordable; the beach is right there and there are excellent festivals and great entertainment opportunities. Pro sports are NOT available unless you go to Miami - about 50 miles south but going to Miami can be a traffic nightmare. Excellent golf, spring training baseball, reasonable college sports, college continuing education and "culture" at FAU. Good golf but somewhat expensive - $55 to $60 for a round. Great restaurants and shopping.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Cary NC, also called Yankeeville, because of all the Northern transplants. pop. of 150K, suburb of Raleigh,10 minutes, part of the triangle of Durham, Raleigh and Chapel Hill. Excellent parks and recreation. 50 and 60's senior softball. I am playing my 11 season in over 60's league, two seasons per year, spring and fall. 2 hours to beach , 40 minutes to I95 via 4 lane hwy. 4 seasons with very little snow. Excellent cultural activities associated with the Univ. and Raleigh the state cap. 15 minutes to RDU international airport. Very reasonable cost of living. Google fiber is being installed, one of 6 areas across the country. Great and convenient shopping.

Very cool. Maybe i should try to transfer to cary.

Heard this somewhere: CARY = Concentrated Area of Relocated Yankees.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

Any idea how a full time RV'er get's mail. I'm not really sure you even need snail anymore, but I'm still curious. Do I need a P.O. Box some place? ...

Many options exist, including UPS stores with PO boxes, mail forwarding companies (bongo used to be good, not so much anymore), helpful family member or friend, etc. Get most stuff online, fill out USPS form with passport or S.S. #, and you're good to hit the road or the world.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Getting a little tricky to calculate what will be an hours drive 2o years out!

Live not far from the ocean and seem to be going more to the pool. People who love golf and bicycling might want to check out the area in and around HHI. Three seasons, lots of restaurants, 40 plus miles of bicycle paths, 14 miles of public beach in which riding a bike at low tide is great, obviously golf and lots of southern girls in bikinis. Four story limit and most of the beach has private homes. Not as private as Kiawah, but no where near as built up and touristy as Myrtle Beach. They even have a few decent pizza joints. No hockey rink but did get one day of measurable snow within the past twenty years. Before my time. Sun City is an excellent retirement community of 10,ooo people and is about 29 miles from HHI with everything you can think of available to entertain people minus the hockey rink. .

The suggestion of Charleston is a good one. Boeing will infuse a lot of upgrades to an already beautiful small city.

HHI should get a good economic boost in twenty years. They just announced they are beginning the process of building a port in Jasper County , a very depressed county adjacent to Beaufort County on the Savannah River. Port will be the biggest on the east coast when finished in approximately twenty years. Far enough away to not ruin the beauty of HHI but close enough to help all the counties in the surrounding area economically.

I like Hilton Head and did spring break there one year while at UConn. The whole of Beaufort county is pretty nice. I'd mention Savannah as well, it's like having a mini New Orleans nearby.

 

[upstater]

Cape Cod sounds good to me. Problem is housing. Being in one of those condo developments for old people just sounds like death to me. Probably smart to invest in a rental home that you make your home upon retirement. The bonus of being old there is that you never have to mow grass.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I go to Beaufort, SC quite often for work. Hilton Head, Savannah and Charleston are all have merit. Livebin or near Hilton Head and Savannah is about 30 min away. Easy access to I-95 and airport is decent. Savannah also has a large Gulfstream facility which provides good paying jobs. Can't get much better cuisine than Charleston or Savannah.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Very similar.
Many others refer to Cary as:
Containment Area for Relocated Yankees


I have a former grade school/college/ frat friend that has lived there for 20 years. A former staff member that reported to me retired there a few years ago. It seems that it is a popular destination for northerners.

I know a few folks with families who have moved to RTP from Jersey and CT. Overall, they like it. Its a 'manageable' city with a lot to offer, especially with the nearby universities who, except for the () Hurricanes (I mean Whalers), also provide the area with 'pro' sport teams. The weather in the Piedmont is also better than other parts of South and its just a 2 hour drive to the coast and a 3 hour drive to the maintains. Plus, the local airport is a decent size (halfway between Bradley and Newark). Only two common complaints I have heard of. First, the 'old' south in terms of social beliefs is alive an well in NC once one gets a few miles away from RTP (ditto for Charlotte and Ashville). Second, the county (Wake) and not the towns control the schools in Raleigh Cary, Apex, etc. With the pace of growth in the region, Wake County is adding a new high school just about every year. Thus, I know folks who moved to a neighborhood specifically for their kids to be able to attend a certain high school only to be redistricted to a different high school a year or two later, even if that new high school is further away.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

Cape Cod sounds good to me. Problem is housing. Being in one of those condo developments for old people just sounds like death to me. Probably smart to invest in a rental home that you make your home upon retirement. The bonus of being old there is that you never have to mow grass.

I live in a Community that is split down the middle one side is all age .The all age side is incredibly kid friendly , They have two regulation soccer fields, a softball stadium, huge playground,,a pool area ,that includes a water park and a k-8 school.
They also have a huge community center with basketball courts. And a gym. We and our guests have access to their facilities ,usually with a grandkids,for a small fee.
We share access to an 18 hole golf course ,But they don't have access to our side unless their a residents guest.
The age restricted side has its own community center .
The biggest club is the hiking club ,I think they have 200 members at various levels., but there are tons of activities.
There are people here in great shape , we also have a personal trainer on site.
I was inspired by watching this lady on the elliptical as I was lifting weights
She went full speed for over an hour. She was at least my age
My cardio was awful at the time I 've since lost 60lbs
and incorporate 45-60 minutes on the elliptical as part of my walking routine.
My goal it to start running again ,maybe do a marathon.
The ages in this type tend of community. Tend to be on the younger side.
We accept 10 percent as young as 45
We also have an ASU extension within our community's
All houses on our side single family one story from 1200 to 2800 sq feet.
The lots range from 7000 to 10.000 sq feet.
I chose not to have grass at all . But it's an option especially if you have a pet.
I don't have a pet but many do.
My favorite definition of freedom "is kids gone pets dead."

 

[HuskyHawk]

Cape Cod sounds good to me. Problem is housing. Being in one of those condo developments for old people just sounds like death to me. Probably smart to invest in a rental home that you make your home upon retirement. The bonus of being old there is that you never have to mow grass.

Plenty of grass lawns for almost every house in Cape Cod, except those few in the dunes on the arm. Not sure what you mean. While a rental could work, those are going to need to be walking distance to a decent beach, which is far more expensive. One of the quirks of Cape Cod is that you can go inland even a mile or so and the price drops dramatically. Often there are ponds near those homes. You'll just need to drive to the beach...which, if I'm honest, at 65+ who cares? Most towns have resident only parking beaches.

You can golf well into November and and a month earlier in the spring, the snow melts quickly and you have amenities designed to accommodate much higher populations than exist for 9 months a year.

 

[upstater]

Plenty of grass lawns for almost every house in Cape Cod, except those few in the dunes on the arm. Not sure what you mean. While a rental could work, those are going to need to be walking distance to a decent beach, which is far more expensive. One of the quirks of Cape Cod is that you can go inland even a mile or so and the price drops dramatically. Often there are ponds near those homes. You'll just need to drive to the beach...which, if I'm honest, at 65+ who cares? Most towns have resident only parking beaches.

You can golf well into November and and a month earlier in the spring, the snow melts quickly and you have amenities designed to accommodate much higher populations than exist for 9 months a year.

I go to the Cape every year, twice yearly, rent homes, almost all with burnt out scrub lawns. All near the beach. You can still buy $400k homes one street off the beach in some places. I know because I stayed in one this summer in a private community off of Old Silver Beach in N. Falmouth. Owner bought the house for less than $300k during the crash.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I go to the Cape every year, twice yearly, rent homes, almost all with burnt out scrub lawns. All near the beach. You can still buy $400k homes one street off the beach in some places. I know because I stayed in one this summer in a private community off of Old Silver Beach in N. Falmouth. Owner bought the house for less than $300k during the crash.

Yeah, I have two friends with homes near old silver. But most of the houses I see have nice lawns, including the one I rented. Lots of lawn services for property owners. Prices are up again from a few years ago.

 

[Dove]

For about 13 years many people have retired to...


the women's board.

 

[ctchamps]

For about 13 years many people have retired to...


the women's board.

YOU instigator! Just loved it. I'm giving it an award - the spotted dick award.

 

[Kitaman]

I'm giving it an award - the spotted dick award.

First, last and only one ever awarded . . . . . . . . . . . for life.

 

[ctchamps]

I like Hilton Head and did spring break there one year while at UConn. The whole of Beaufort county is pretty nice. I'd mention Savannah as well, it's like having a mini New Orleans nearby.

I go to Beaufort, SC quite often for work. Hilton Head, Savannah and Charleston are all have merit. Livebin or near Hilton Head and Savannah is about 30 min away. Easy access to I-95 and airport is decent. Savannah also has a large Gulfstream facility which provides good paying jobs. Can't get much better cuisine than Charleston or Savannah.

Wanted to mention Savannah. Easier to get to Savannah from HHI and region than it is to get to New York from New Haven. The drive from HHI to Charleston is about equivalent to the drive from New Haven to Boston with far less traffic. The cuisine in both those places and HHI is wonderful.

Thing I miss the most is the topography. I would love something like Acadia for instance with mountains adjacent to water. But that is 2 months of fun for me. SC is SEC and ACC territory but the HHI region is B!G territory. Maybe 35% of the population in the region is from Ohio. I'm just starting to see more people from the north east interested in this area. BTW I'm doing my best to lobby for UConn to the B!G.

Retirement, tourism and the military have a strong imprint in the area. I can't stress the importance of that final approval by SC and Georgia to begin the process of the port in Jasper County. Both states held off on the approval for years because the political pressure was too strong for Charleston and Savannah. Those two ports cannot accommodate the new container ships. Same with most ports on the East Coast. There is always the possibility that someone powerful and stupid will interfere with the process but if it does go as planned this region would retain it's charm but add important groups to it's tax base. There is a lot of wealthy and powerful individuals in this region that have already supported the buying of sensitive and beautiful land. I expect that to accelerate once people understand the impacts this port will have.

 

[UConniki]

San Diego area has the best weather in the world but it is expensive. Tennessee has become a popular destination as an alternative to Florida where the taxes are much higher.

What taxes(in FL are you talking about) ?

 

[tdrink]

The way my IRA looks right now, I am pretty sure I am going to retire to a hole in the ground.

 

[defaultroute]

Another vote for Raleigh. I've lived here sine 2002 and I love it. March Madness is a lot of fun here.

 

[defaultroute]

The way my IRA looks right now, I am pretty sure I am going to retire to a hole in the ground.

Two words: Index funds

 

[JimHurley]

Another vote for Raleigh. I've lived here sine 2002 and I love it. March Madness is a lot of fun here.

What's the weather down there like in November through February?

 

[defaultroute]

What's the weather down there like in November through February?

Usually in the 30-40's as lows and sometimes highs in the 50's. We definitely see cold temps here, but not nearly as biting cold as up there. However, 1 to 2 inches of snow shuts this place down. But it usually lasts a day or so and the sun comes out and melts it.

 

[upstater]

Two words: Index funds

Well, if you invested in Index Funds back in 2000, you have made a hefty 2.2% annually over that period.