Do you plan on moving when you retire? Would you move you another country? Somewhere warmer? Closer to your kids? What are your requirements for a place you’d move to?
One of my biggest dreams is to move away from our current state. I’d love to live on the Oregon Coast, but there area few issues with that. I don’t know where my kids will end up (I keep telling them to pick the same coast lol). Both DH and I still have both of our parents in the Midwest, although mine are in another state. The Oregon Coast is far from airports and most likely good doctors. I told DH of both kids move east that we should move to MA, ME, NH, or VT but he said those are way too cold.
What are your plans or dreams and what criteria did you use?
We really don’t have plans…but one criteria we won’t be using is the location of our two kids.
They currently live 2800 miles apart.
They are like gnats…and there is no guarantee either will stay where they currently are.
We really don’t want to live where one lives year round (but it’s great for a vacation), and the other lives sort of near where we live now so no need to relocate.
My DHs only criteria…he doesn’t plan to move the snowblower.
Do you plan on moving when you retire?
I hope not. I love where we currently live!
However, I could see moving closer to our D if we needed to be in assisted living and required some oversight.
Would you move you another country?
No, but we would like to do a house rental for maybe 6-8 weeks/year in different countries.
Somewhere warmer?
Hard no. I hate the heat.
Closer to your kids?
See my answer to question #1.
What are your requirements for a place you’d move to?
All 4 seasons, walkable to a body of water, walkable to public transportation to a large city, easy access to quality health care, vibrant arts and sports. Where we live currently checks all those boxes.
We did move to the city where D and SIL (and GD) live.
We loved life in the DC suburbs but many of our friends had moved away.
Both from the midwest (new city is in the midwest) and we do feel we are “midwesterners”.
D and family are “settled” here. They love it and have no plans to move (well they recently upsized their house but are now closer to us).
We do not know where S will end up (nor does he). It is possible he will settle here or in another city in this part of the country.
We are OK with the weather here and we like the vibe in general and political bent.
The city has a everything we enjoy/were looking for/require
It was a HUGE priority for us to be close to family. We (and our kids) missed that when we were raising them. It’s a win all around: we get a lot of time with GD, GD is close to us, it makes life easier for D and SIL.
The winters are cold here (and long) but we HATE hot weather and had no interest in moving to the South. We are able to travel so we can break it up with trips. If we lived in a hot climate, we would have to travel to cooler places anyway.
No. I’ve lived on our farm, in a small rural town for 30+ years. Our roots are very deep, and I can’t imagine being able to become part of the fabric of a new community the way I am here. I am surrounded by people who have known me a long time – and whom I know. This is very important to me.
That said, my dream is to be able to go somewhere warm for January and February!
Do you plan on moving when you retire?
Probably not. I used to think we would not stay here forever, but as I started to examine my requirements (see my answer to the last question), I realized most of them were already being met here.
I really like where we are and our current home, which was a bit smaller than I would have preferred during the height of raising our kids, is actually perfectly-sized and situated (single story and close to shops and medical offices) for the two of us to age in. Being near the ocean is very important to me, and I would never be able to afford to buy this house (or anything decent in the same proximity to the ocean) at current prices, regardless of how much money we’d make if we were to sell. I like the idea of leaving the house to my girls as a vacation property for them to enjoy.
Would you move you another country?
I have thought about it, but no. I do plan to explore the world (in month-at-a-time trips) extensively once I’m no longer working.
Somewhere warmer?
At this point, no. I am a four seasons person and thanks to a changing climate, the winters here are really not too much. I can imagine spending longer bouts of time in a warmer climate during the height of winter, though.
Closer to your kids?
I have no idea where my kids might end up, and I’m wary of upending my life to follow either of them somewhere, only to have them head somewhere new. I can imagine renting a place nearby each of them for weeks at a time, but no permanent moves planned.
What are your requirements for a place you’d move to?
Four distinct seasons, but without extensive bouts of extremes in the winter or summer. Decent walkability score. Plenty of cultural and recreational opportunities. Within walking or biking distance of the ocean. Moderate or liberal political climate. I’ve basically just described where we currently live.
I’m another “midwesterner” who has no plans on moving elsewhere. We’ve already retired and for now, we are lucky our kids live within an hour drive from us.
DH and I like our quality of life in suburban Chicago.
Is the weather perfect? No, but when it is bad, we know it doesn’t usually last long. And when it’s beautiful outside, we appreciate it so much! The collective, (isn’t the weather fantastic!!!) feeling can be so uplifting!
Is the cost of living/taxes/etc ideal? No, but we can afford it without much stress.
Is the scenery gorgeous? There are no mountains or oceanfront views, but we enjoy our backyard sanctuary and nearby green spaces.
Since we’ve been retired for awhile and are still in our 50s, we’ve traveled a fair amount. The more we’ve traveled, here and abroad, we have become more aware of the pros and cons of various locations. We find ourselves thinking “this is an amazing place to visit, but I’m not sure we would want to live here all the time”.
For us extended trips to different locations for different experiences has been ideal. We look forward to our trips, have a great time and always feel great when we get home.
And to piggyback on a couple of other posts…I also hate hot, humid weather (dew point higher than 60 is uncomfortable) and walkability is something I value. Yeah, living where it’s flat is a good thing for me.
This is the current discussion at our house. The only reason we came here was for work, and our current location is not financially advantageous for retirement. No grandkids (alas!) to move closer to and the kids are scattered and likely to move. Looking for the unicorn of relatively low prices (so we can travel) in a small city with top notch medical facilities and interesting culture, relatively warm winters and coolish summers.
We have toyed with the idea forever, even to the point of visiting other cities to explore neighborhoods and look at real estate. Nothing yet has convinced us that it is better than where we live in Oregon.
We’d like to be closer to our son, but he’s in SF, so we’re not too far.
We are building a house on the coast, but I’m not sure I could live there full time. It’s rugged and beautiful, but it is missing a lot of things, primarily medical care as you mentioned. On a great day, the weather is idyllic, but it can be abysmal, for long stretches.
As others have said, I think we’ll satiate our wanderlust with stretches in Japan and Europe, and longer camping trips.
I’m not sure. We live in a very beautiful but extremely expensive place. Our house is single story and well-located, with a grocery store, coffee shop, bakery, restaurants, etc., across the street, a walking path along the water just a block away, and top notch medical care a few mins drive. It would be a lovely place to retire and many do (many of my neighbors bought their homes in the 1970s and 80s and are enjoying their paid off mortgages and their Prop 13 CA property taxes)
We are both still hustling pretty hard in our careers here (late 40s). We aren’t strapped for cash but it’s hard to imagine living here without that hustle. Our kids are not anywhere near done or settled, so I think we will stay here for another several years while they are still in school.
But the fantasy of cashing out our equity and living somewhere much less expensive certainly has its charms. We would look at Oregon, Washington, or central coast CA (still expensive but not as expensive as where we are). I like the four seasons, but not sure I can deal with humidity, especially if I get crankier when I’m older!
We’re in the middle of this discussion. I love our house near the river, in the woods, but it’s too big and we need to downsize.
I think we’d like to stay in Maine at least most of the year since our disabled son lives here. We spent the past weekend with friends at their camp north of Ellsworth (not far from Acadia National Park). It’s a beautiful area with lots of rivers and lakes, and not crowded at all. And Ellsworth has all the supplies we would need. The only drawback is how far it is from our camp in the mountains. It’s so hard to decide!
To answer your questions: I’m retired and my H is semi-retired. We are staying in the home we built 22 years ago, because we really love it. We also have a vacation home on an island, which we are also keeping. One D lives 800 miles away (there for a job) and the other 300 miles away (also for job opportunities). Both love to go to our vacation home, so we can always get them to visit us. We usually rent the island home for 4 weeks, which covers our property tax. I thought about retiring or living in the country where my parents were born, but after visiting there and exploring the possibilities, I decided that it would be a big hassle, which I don’t want.
We live in New England, so the winters aren’t wonderful. Before COVID, we’d try to get to a warm climate for a few weeks . H is a workaholic so I sometimes go to warmer places without him. (I’ve done winter yoga retreats to Costa Rica, Panama, and Mexico). I have some really good friends in my town and I don’t have the energy to go someplace and make new friends. Life brings changes so sometimes what you plan doesn’t always work out.
We plan to follow our kids wherever they end up. Right now DD is in SF and DS and we are in SoCal. If she marries her current BF she will settle in SF where his family is and where she would like to live even though I don’t know how they can afford to buy house there. She told me that she and her brother have a plan how we all can live in one location in five years when my DH retires. In any case we will follow our kids even if they decide to move to more business friendly states at some points.
I wonder if I could talk DH into two homes. I really love the Oregon Coast but there isn’t too much civilization there.
I absolutely can’t stand the heat. I don’t really mind winters but DH does. I want to live in a more liberal state. As I get older the idea of a state with death with dignity laws appeals to me.
I think that it will be a long time before our kids settle, but I can’t see either moving back home since neither will even apply to schools in-state. DH thinks we shouldn’t move away from our aging parents, but both of my siblings already moved away to the west coast. My BIL lives a block away from my ILs so I figure that’s covered. lol
I find this kind of experience fascinating. I moved around a lot within CA, lived in NYC for 10 years and have been back in CA for 13. We weren’t close to relatives, and Californians aren’t always the warmest when it comes to neighbors (surface-level pleasantries are common).
Sometimes I dream about what you describe, but I imagine I wouldn’t be all that welcome if I landed, late in my life, in a small, rural community. Would you agree?
It all depends on your attitude. If you come in, understanding that we (any small town) are a community, and you try to fit in and give back, you’ll be welcomed with open arms. And by fit in, I mean knowing that if you pass someone you say hello and smile – and sometimes if you are driving, you wave hello as you pass another car. Knowing that people are generous and open. Offering to lend a hand to a neighbor who needs help. Volunteering at a community organization, or a town board. Being interested in the locals, and what’s going on.
The short answer is no. Our town is not a tourist destination but we like where we live. We have friends here, family near and it’s easy to visit other places if we choose. I look forward to having the time to enjoy our home and place when we retire. It has the facilities we need if there become health issues and places we can move to if our health becomes a limiting factor. I suppose there could always be situations that might entice or require us to move but we are not considering it.
I would love to do all that! Thanks for sharing your perspective—and I’m glad to know I could be included, assuming I show up with friendliness and curiosity.
