@menloparkmom, @BunsenBurner is correct. My wife is a Canadian citizen and has always wanted to move back to Canada. But, my first job was as a professor at one of the most prestigious universities in the world and nothing in Canada was competitive. But, now I run a consulting firm with a global clientele and teach one week a year at my old school so we could be anywhere. She is really attached as @Iglooo points out to the community of friends and colleagues she has built up in Boston. It was hard for her to come with me to Sausalito for winters though she has built up a community there as well.
We donāt have interest in moving, at least while we have one of the kids an hour away. But itās still fun to look at the lists. It makes me smile to see things like āgood bikingā along with bad winters. I guess Iāve gotten spoiled living in CO past 25 years.
Note some of the best places to live are near colleges/universities. My sister and her older H live in Grinnell IA - they have a lot of free activities. A lot of retired professors stay in the community. Their property taxes are not terrific (compared to us in Alabama) but most importantly their children/grandchildren live pretty close and they have a lot of community ties (sister retired from being a public school librarian).
Many are VERY motivated to live near grandchildren. We have some families that find work so their children can grow up with their cousins and the childrenās grandparents near.
Our current home, which we built 25 years ago, is the only home DDs have known with us.
It is weighing all things outā¦
We are being quite deliberate to make new friends here in our new retirement location. Our county is one fastest growing counties in the US, so there are lots of transplants moving in. Lots of activities for older adults. Everybody else is also looking for friends, or so it seems. I just hope this area can handle the growth.
We are cultivating some new friends which we are making by playing an online game with them. They live up the hill from us and we have shared several meals together. Itās fun making retiree friends.
For Mr., his friends have to share the same passion for his scientific field or at least be interested in hearing him discuss it. That limits the potential circles significantly. 
It is very interesting to us to be meeting new people who mainly share an interest in an online game we and they play. It turns out we know quite a few folks in common, have all worked and retired, have kids of similar ages, and more. Two are attorneys and the others are in different fields.
Another article in the āfinancial makeoverā series from my local paper:
Interesting article. āKiefferās pension strengthens her retirement outlook, although she would probably not run out of money without it, Skienaās projections showed.ā - Hmmmā¦ not all details were included in the article, but with a $2500 mortgage I was thinking she was darned fortunate to have that pension.
@busdriver11
Thatās interesting that you suggested calling the listing agent to buy the homeā¦ I just recently moved from NJ to FL and we are so glad we called the listing agent as well. She even added money the table to make sure the deal went through (5 digits!).
We should have moved a long time ago. We just love FL more than we could ever imagine. Itās so beautiful and serene. We live on the water and itās simply paradise. The wildlife is incredible. We have dolphins, manatees, sting rays, flamingos, tons of fish, etc. all in our backyard. Itās crazy and we had no idea we have all this. We donāt miss NJ one bit.
Yup - the pension covers a good chunk of her mortgage. I wonder if the woman in the article is also getting a retirement health insurance with that pension?
Well, at least you finally moved, @newjersey17! Better late than never. It sounds like you are enjoying it immensely. That sounds fantastic. And with it being colder than crapola right now in NJ, and taxes getting hiked on high income state dwellers, I think thereās even less to miss about NJ. Your backyard sounds amazing! 
Wow, no manatees in our backyard. Sounds awesome! I find cold harder to adjust to the older I get. Thank goodness they make warm layers that are thinner and stretchy so you can still move while layered.
I e been living in SE fl for years. Please message me where you are Itās fun to welcome people to this area
FL is sounding very nice right now. Iām in the middle of moving and itās the wind chill is a balmy -12. I have to be out in 2 weeks and these temps are supposed to be here at least another week. Sigh 
We are going to Grand Cayman in a week. Iām usually fine with cold weather (wanting to move north, not south), but it has really been cold in NJ, so Iām looking forward to the trip. I always look forward to going there with family, relaxing, etc., but this time is the first time Iām looking forward to warmer weather.
Iām glad yāall enjoy FL. My parents did, my sister does, I just donāt. Thatās what makes horse races.
@IxnayBob, we love grand cayman also. We visited Turks and Caicos recently, and we are going back in February. We own a timeshare in GC, but we waited to long to get it in February, so a friendās dad offered us his place in Turks. Itās pretty spectacular there too. But GC is just our relaxing happy place.
Going to Jamaica in a week. Traveling with D1 and her partner. Going to aa all inclusive that includes scuba diving as they are divers. It was -10 here last night. Suppose to be a high of 0 by the weekend. The warmth will be much needed.
Retirement is looming very soon. We think we have enough saved. Our financial advisorās models have indicated we can live on the amount we would like for 20 or 25 years. But I just donāt know if we should stay and go to Florida or Arizona for 2 or 3 months in the winter or move there. We have no mortgage and do not want one.
@IxnayBob Are you still flirting with the idea of residing in the Caymans more permanently?
@doschicos, no, GC is off the table, at least for the foreseeable future. DW will probably work for another 5 years at least (Drat!). GC wonāt accept pit bulls, and ours was given up 3 times (has expensive vet needs) and I wonāt let it happen a 4th time).
But, GC is a great place to decompress and eat well-cooked food. It has become our default ādamn itās cold and I want to get awayā place.