I don’t envision us moving. We are in a low cost of living area that we like. We can travel if we want to get away. We enjoy being near our D, SIL and GD - I doubt very much that they will move (they have lived elsewhere, moved back, and work in fields that lend themselves to working from home). S lives a bit more than an hour away, but I expect him to move west in the next few years. We don’t have any interest in following him, but it would be good for visits. H & I don’t mind winters, but we do mind ungodly heat & humidity … living in Florida is definitely not on our radar. I never say never, but I expect that we’ll live out our lives in the Great Lakes state (and we won’t regret it).
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I agree. Ohio certainly isn’t flyover country either IMO. I know more people who have been to OH than CT. Of course that makes sense with where I live, but I think it might also have been true when we lived in FL and VA. Certainly not when we lived in RI.
We spend part of the year at our vacation place and part of the year at our current home. Both are in Massachusetts. H and I moved often before we settled here–we are originally from the midwest and both of us still have family there. I don’t see us moving back. We’ve been here 40 years in November, and other than spending 6 weeks in a warmer spot in the winter, we’re happy to stay here.
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This is exactly how I feel about us and our small corner of the PNW. 
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I moved to San Diego in 1980 to attend college and H moved here in 1983 for grad school. We spent 2 years outside DC from 86-88 then moved back here. Both daughters are in town. D1 and fiance have talked about moving to Colorado which we also love, but we see ourselves staying put. D2 never wants to leave here. We would like to spend winters somewhere in the mountains in the west to ski a couple months A year once retired.
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DH and I just moved from the PNW to Germany a couple of months ago. We will be here for 3-5 years. D is in law school on the east coast. Once she graduates and settles, DH and I will find what will hopefully be our forever home near her. We loved living in the PNW, but I think D will end up in D.C., and we don’t want to be more than half a day’s drive away from her.
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@showmom858 in the early 90s, H was stationed in San Diego with the Navy right after college. He was there for three years. At the time, he wanted to buy a brand new townhouse being built in PB. His father, who always had good advice, counseled against it, saying it would be too difficult to manage the property once the Navy moved him. To this day, H says it’s the only bad advice he ever got from his father. Oh how he wishes he had that property now as its worth now versus what he would have paid is $$$. It would have been a great place for D to live while in college and now that she is working there. And a place H and I could have either moved to later or sold to buy a different place.
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We moved around a ton in our early marriage. In the first 8 years we moved 7 times (all for H’s job). We then lived in OH for 17 years where we raised our D. Moved to the Chicagoland area after she graduated HS, again for H’s job and I hope to never move again ; )
But, never say never because who knows where D will eventually end up and if there will be grand babies. I can see a second home if there are grand babies ; )
I actually loved the 38 years we spent in the DC area. But neither of our kids have/plan to settle there and as we are both from the midwest we have no extended family there. About half of our DC friends have retired and moved away.
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We staked our place out 40 years ago. Not going anywhere.
When I retire in 7-8 years we plan on moving from Monmouth County NJ to Essex County MA or Rockingham County NH. Both places would be cheaper overall (either slightly or significantly) than where we currently live and we want to be an hour or less away from my daughter and her family. If I get tired of the cold (which I doubt because I’m from MN originally) we will rent someone else’s place in FL for a month in January. My priority is to remain close-ish to my daughter. If they move we will follow them, but they plan on staying in New England. I can be very happy there. It is very important to me to be near water.
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I moved quite a bit in my early 20’s as a healthcare traveler and met my husband on an assignment and stayed. My dad said “nobody moves to NJ from Oregon, everyone moves to Oregon from NJ.” I’ve been here going on 18ish years and would have loved to move back to the PNW except it’s so much cheaper to live in south Jersey than Oregon and we have better schools. I’d make 25% less with double the housing cost. Wherever my daughter settles down one day I’ll move to be near her if it’s further than an easy drive.
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I’ve lived in PA 50+ years. Love that it’s a short drive to the places we frequently visit/vacation…NYC, DC, south jersey shore, Chesapeake and a short flight/medium drive to many others (MA, NH, VT). No plans to leave in the near future as my two recent college graduates (2019 and 2021) live/work close by and my youngest is still in college. We recently purchased a condo in Florida….figured it was a good time to start planning for retirement in a no income tax state even though that is probably atleast 6-7+ years in the future. Since I’m not a fan of Florida summer heat and humidity (even though PA summers have plenty of both) and I like having all 4 seasons we are still on the hunt for a lake house in NH as the retirement plan is to divide our time between NH and FL (love being near the water and H’s family is in New England) although plan B would be FL and the Jersey shore if the kids stay in the mid Atlantic region. All my kids are east coasters through and through…no interest in moving west.
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We’re thinking similarly of a northern and southern spot pending seasons. Right now our top preferences are Caribbean (not sure which island yet) and the Great Lakes/St Lawrence River area, though the Canadian Maritimes are also appealing - as is HI for winter. We’re a couple of years away yet from choosing, so still searching in our travels. Like you, we have no desire to move continental west. We just love HI. For us, scuba opportunities are a consideration as much as anything else.
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I am in EU and after 41 yrs here would like to leave but do not have the health to travel/move. S/o still prefers to live here, always has lived here. My youth was in a small expat place. DD is in USA, for her PHD started this month.
I read often at several expatforums and watch youtube videos about moving near/in retirement to other country as older lady.
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momAlazne - I’m on a few expat Facebook groups too. It’s really helpful to see the challenges people face, the positives, the cautionary advice, etc. I have also been in a digital nomad/retire early-travel everywhere group for several months. It really has helped me realize I don’t think I’d want to constantly move around. Would like a stable community of friends, connections. Information on places to consider moving is out there!!
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Eight years ago, when our youngest was entering his junior year of college, we made a big decision to leave the town where our children had grown up (about an hour from H’s extended family), and begin a nomadic life. H had extended times of under and unemployment over the years, but knew if he could move to take the job, he’d have plenty of work.
I was able to find a job that seemed tailor-made for me that allowed me to work from pretty much anywhere. Pre-Covid it was helpful to be close to an airport, since I traveled frequently.
We have moved multiple times since then, and lived in 4 different states. Average "gig’ for H is 18-24 months. He is very well compensated for the field and in high demand, but has to go where the job is.
We have really enjoyed exploring new locations. The moving part can be a PITA, but we’ve gotten pretty efficient at it. We had initially downsized but after the death of my parents, ended up with a lot of their (really nice) stuff.
We are nearing retirement, but not quite there. Hoping we can continue this while it’s still enjoyable.
So far we have moved to New York, North Carolina, Indiana, and Minnesota. I have enjoyed different things about each location.
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We are planning to move from Austin, Texas to…. not sure yet. We are still in the research phase, but we may be looking for a unicorn. Must have low cost of living, be a blue state, liberal, diverse, have jobs for the kids and their spouses, be a small city, good schools, good medical care, good groceries/ restaurants, and be north of the 42 parallel. DH is retiring in February and house will go on the market in March. Got any ideas where we should look??
How about Duluth?
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Eugene, Oregon? Our good friends just retired there. Love it. Low cost of living is a relative thing though.
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