Talkback: Where did you retire?

MY wife and I are recently retired in Ames, Iowa, a town we selected after some pre-retirement research. The community is doing well, even during this recession,[primarily due to the persence of Iowa State University, whose students form half the 50,000 population. Unemployment is 4.5% — the seventh lowest rate in the U.S. It’s water quality recently tested out as the best in the state. The parks are good, including a recently opened ten acre dog park. A multimillion dollar water park is due to open next Spring. The city bus routes are extensive —ridership up 25,000 this year (buses have bike racks). There is an extensive retail and resturant establishment, including two Farmers’ Markets. A new larger librabry is in the works. High school seniors conistently have above national average SAT scores. The city frequently is mentioned in various surveys as a good place to live, most recently in AARP magazine. There are many senior discounts and opportinuties to volunteer. All this and more makes for a high quality of life, as long as you are hardy enough to survive the Great Plains extremes of weather.

I retired outside of bend a couple years ago and all seemed well, now I can verify the town’s slogan,”Poverty with a view”. The crime rate is going up and up, unemployment is in the high double digits( I need to supplement). What once was a nice choice is now disaster-a very bad choice. I want to check out Sequim, Washington.

As a third generation Floridian, but having lived out of the state for most of my life due to my dad’s and my military life, I was looking forward to retiring in Florida. I bought a home walking distance to the Gulf of Mexico south of Clearwater before I retired, and watched the value go thru the roof in the early 2000s. I took advantage of an incentive to retire at age 55, and being stationed in Ohio at the time, was able to live off a decent pension.
But then, I actually moved to Florida. My house there was occupied by renters, so I rented a place on the water. Sounds great, but rents had shot up too, so I had to go back to work to make ends meet. Working in Florida was awful! The car bakes in the sun all day in the parking lot, then you fight thru stop and go traffic surrounded by smoke belching pickups driven by Mad-Max escapees, or land yachts piloted by cataract challenged retirees. Pay was 40% less than in Ohio for the same work too. This was not what I had pictured.
So after giving it a year, I sold off the Florida property just as prices started down, and moved back to Ohio. I only went back to work after I got an offer I couldn’t refuse. I’ve planted grapevines on 5 acres I bought near Caesars Creek Lake and plan to build there someday. And I still can go to Florida for vacation, which to me, is the ONLY reason to go there. My Florida of front porch swings, looking out at the massive live oaks along a dusty lane, while lazily sipping an iced tea, are gone.

We are getting ready to retire in the next year. Our problem is making the decission of where to go. I have always loved Fla., and my husband likes it there too!! We have a son in Fla, and 3-grandchildren. We also have a daughter who lives in Texas (FortWorth),soon to be 3grandchildren. We live in Northern Va., where we have a son and four grandchildren. We cannot stay in Farifax County because it is too expensive. So we need to go somewhere else. I want to be by ny daughter, and she needs us, but my husband sts he would never see anyone cause it is too far. If we stay somehwere on the East coast we can drive to everyplace, except Texas. We want to be near our grandchildren as much as possible. How have other’s made the decission of where to retire, without ending up in divorce?? Thanks for your input!!

I moved to Guadalajara, Mexico 16 yrs ago. basically, retired now. weather is perfect, people and food are great, cost of living is about 30% less than the USA. beach is 4.5 hours. lots of things to do. Lake Chapala is 1 hour away, where about 40,000 retired Americans and Canadians live. I love it!!!

Bought a new home in New Bern, NC in ‘08, and planning to retire there in 2010. New Bern is a beautiful pleasant Historic river town, that continues to head in a positive direction. Contrary to most other places, this town has continued to grow and thrive throughout these tough economic times.
Home prices have remained stable, with new construction starting to pick up.
If you have water recreation interests, check out New Bern.

Moved 15 miles to rural area and condo instead of single family. i enjoy the home and neighbors, but can’t get used to rural living. Particularly small town stores and culture. It feels as though I moved from a blue state to a red state instead of 15 miles.

I retired and stayed in Lewistown, PA where I can play golf, hunt, and fish at a resonable cost plus I can go see those nittany lions anytime! My wife still works, but even when she retires we do not plan to move out of the area. We like the different seasons in a moderate climate.

After being raised and living in northern montana for 54 years, I am semi retired living in Lake Havasua City Arizona for the cold winter and spring months.The winter climate is great with a big lake nearby to play in.

I am weary of hearing about Bend, Oregon. I call it “Bend, Over”. Every other Yuppie in S. Calif. is
yakking about moving there. Years
ago, driving down from Boise, I couldn’t get through Bend Fast enough.

My wife and I moved to Cape Coral, Florida four months from Southern New Hampshire. We had vacationed to Sanibel Island, now only fifteen minutes away, and wanted to move nearby. Our 3/2/2 house here was half the price of a home up north and includes a pool. I am retired and my wife works in the health care sector.
We love it here.

Retired last year at 61 following 22 years in the military and 21 years with a large corporation. My wife retired after a career of raising children and as a computer programmer. We live in Brunswick, Maine during the summer then when the weather cools we travel throughout the south in a small camping trailer. Brunswick is a small college town situated on a beautiful river and a short drive to the picturesque coast. We also spend time at a small lake side camp in western Maine we purchased a few years ago. When we escape the cold in our RV we generally stay on the back roads visiting many fascinating towns, historical sites and national parks. We hunker down in the southwest for a few months than follow the summer weather as it moves north to return home. We love the coast of Maine and we love living the RV lifestyle…..for us, it’s the best of both worlds

In a double wide in SE NC. Love it! No politics, BS an government running our lives. Readying for the next revolution.

I have set-up retirement I am now retiring in Claveria Philippines where 74% of the people live on 4 dollars a day and 6 months of summer in the Mid-west United States starting about tax time March 20 of each year.

I find living on an Island refreshing and beautiful. It is cheap to fly there and live 6 to 8 months a year since the average income is so low. My input into their economy will be very helpful and a new house there is only about 50 thousand dollars american.

David and Rosie

Let me guess. Most of these people are either retired teachers or worked for a government entity of some type. These are the only people recieving generous pensions and all of their healthcare in retirement now. I was planning on retiring on the great lakes in Michigan at 62 until government deregulation destroyed my 401K. Now I am looking forward to working longer than I wanted and trying to replenish my 401K, pay for healthcare, and replace my social security income that will no longer exist because of a system that is destined to be bankrupt. I had almost a million dollar net worth at 50 last year. Do I sound angry, you bet I am. I might end up in New Zealand. At least they have a free market economy and no capital gains taxes. In 10 years the U.S will be imploding because of social benefits that are impossible to support in their present form even before adding a govenment run healthcare system. The only condolence I have is that I was fortunate to live during the best time in our countries short history. My chidren will not be so lucky.

Evie of Secret City, Secret State, USA is obviously talking about Afton, Wyoming…

After living and working in the NYC area all our lives, we moved to Greenville, SC two years ago. We love it here. Greenville is a dynamic and picturesque little city with great restaurants, arts, etc. We live 15 mins. from the heart of town but only 5 mins. from Furman University which provides us with the stimulation of living in a college town. Great outdoor activities in the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mts. are only minutes away. Cost of living is great.

We originally came to Florida for our son and his business. We bought a nice home and now can’t wait to stay in it 12 months out of the year. Even though FL has a sales tax, we aren’t buying much at out age. Fresh vegetables, plenty of things to do in addition to the beaches and gold, mean the living is easy and good. When it gets too hot, we stay in a/c comfort. Love warm winters and able to be outdoors 12 months of the year. No snow to give me a heart attack from plowing. I’ll leave that to my kids up north. If I want winter, I’ll go see them.

Well after much searching and hand wringing- we ended up in Bend Oregon. It has good health care, and outdoor activities for skiing, biking, kayaking, canoeing, hiking, basically everything. Nice restaurants and a river runs thru it! Throw in a couple of dozen golf courses and a mild four seasons.

I too have come to discover the great city of Medellin, Colombia’s second city, as a great place to live in retirement. Agree the weather is great but it is the warm and friendly people that truly make Colombia a great destination for retirement. To discover the transformation of Medellin, Colombia visit http://www.medellintraveler.com T

We have a small cabin in a resort in Northern Wisconsin. There are quite a few other condo/cabins in the same resort. An interesting trend has developed with many people from Texas and other southern “hot summer” states now spending their summers here in northern Wisconsin. While its been a cooler than normal summer, there has been only a few days warmer than 80 with little or no humidity. I’m guessing a trend is developing. They all say they love it here.

I’m not telling because I don’t want everyone else to move here and spoil it. All I’m saying is it’s in the lower 48, has beautiful 4-season weather, is in the mountains, and has low population density, low crime, and a low cost of living. I have a beautiful home, room for my horses and dogs, and spectacular scenery. My husband and I are loving life here and want to keep our slice of Heaven a big secret so we can keep it Heavenly. (And no, I’m not making a veiled reference to the “Heavenly” ski resort being nearby!)

I retired 15 yrs ago at age 39 while my husband retired 4 yrs ago when he was 53. We stayed in Wisconsin since we still love winters at this time in our lives. When winter gets a little long, though, we head to AZ for a few weeks although this yr we’re visting San Diego for the first time.

Retired on 2007 after 30+ years in healthcare. Decided to stay in the Pittsburgh area. Currently enjoy good health, fishing, hunting, Penguins and Steelers! The winters can get a little cold, but we have decided that 2 months annual winter vacation in the south(post super bowl) is preferrable to moving away from friends and family. The economy, housing and general living expenses here are GREAT–see no real reason to move just now.

I retired 3 years ago. Lost my pension and my 401K in the stock market. I live in a cardboard box under an overpass. Its great. I can take my home anywhere, just fold it up and I go.

My wife and I moved from the western suburbs of Philadelphia and settled north of Pheonix, AZ. This was our hope for 20 years. In 2006 we made the move and are as happy as we hoped we would be.

My husband and I have planned to retire in southern France near the Mediterranee, where the food is great,people friendly.
Being a French citizen, @ age 60, I’ll be able to aply for my retirement there, and my husband and I will be covered medically by the French social security, wich is much better than medicare, especilally with what’s happening now in the USA.
Nathalie lam

Will “officially” retire in December 2009 … we’ve been retired with an income from a small business we sold since 2004. We bought a sailboat and are living 6 months a year in the Caribbean (currently in Panama) and 6 months a year at our mortgage free 2 bedroom lake home in east central Illinois. We have the advantage of two lifestyles – we get to see our family and friends at the lake. Plus we love the sailing lifestyle, cruising in our own “home” and our stuff and interacting with other cultures. Most of all, my husband had one “rule” when he retired … whatever we did must mean he could wear his shorts all year long. Perfect!

Amelia Island FL. Specifically Fernandina Beach.
We both retired after 26 and 29 years in the telecom industry. Still have our primary home in Atlanta but there is nothing like Amelia Island.
It is the last island to escape the high density development on the FL East coast.
Fishing, golfing, hiking in the state park, volunteer work or nothing at all, it’s all here.

I grew up in the South but when I retired 13 years ago we moved to Rapid City, South Dakota. I could no longer take the heat and humidity down south. Glad we moved. While the rest of the country is in the throes of a recession my retirement check has gone a long ways up here. No income tax and the latest unemployment rate was 4.9%. IThe winters are not nearly as bad as I expected when we first moved here and there’s all sorts of outdoor activities available.

Our carrers in MPLS area were 36 and 38 years long. We did not want to ever see any snow again or cold weather for 9 months of the year. Retired to St George Utah in 2005. Low density population, very moral citizens, lowe crime, housing modest, property taxes 1/3 of where came from. A little hot for 3 months of the years, so you stay inside in theafternoons if it is 110 F.
No traffic on Sundays, got everything we need, plus superb Red Mtns scenery
and Zion Park all nearby.

If you are looking for a great community to retire to, don’t make a decision until you check out Sun City Texas in Georgetown, TX – 28 miles north of Austin. http://www.sctxca.org and suncitytexas.com And check out Eugene, Oregon as a place to have a summer home since it does get hot in Texas in the summer.

My wife and I retired this summer. She was a high school math teacher and I worked in Information Technology for 30 years. We are both in our 50’s and we picked up and moved from outside Philadelphia, Pa to the desert of Arizona. There’s nothing like golf in the desert!

I have purchase a house in Ellijay Ga. on the Coosawatee River for retirement. After 25 years in Florida dreading Hurricanes and an escalating cost of living with Insurance and Taxes the cost of living makes it very affordable. Now kayaking, canoing, hiking fills the day. Should of done this 10 years ago……..Good bye Florida……

My wife and I decided to fulfill a long-term dream and move to her home town of Medellin, Colombia. That may sound strange to some but you must realize that Medellin and Colombia are no longer the horror story of 15 years ago. This town is filled with cultural opportunities, is very livable, and includes some of the friendliest people I have met. In addition, it has one of the best climates in the world.

We sold our home in Alaska in late 2006 at the peak, retired, and paid cash for a fruit and grape farm in western NY wine country with $ to spare. It’s very beautiful here and the cost of living 65% of Alaska. Our retirement benefits makes livng costs easily. We have a gracious home and we’re living our dream of having a farm, vineyard, and winery.

We are both retiring in December of 2009. My wife from teaching and myself from steel sales. We sold our condo in suburban Detroit and moved 70 miles noRth to a small house on Lake Huron. We will spend our summers there, We also have a home in Vero beach Florida which we will use in the winter months

We semi-retired from the DC area and chose to go to a smaller metropolis, Portland Oregon. While the scenery is beautiful and the weather is not bad, the unemployment rate (2nd to MI) and the cost of living expenses were much higher than expected. This was true despite careful research.

Retired at age 64 after working in DC for 10 years and living in N. Virginia. Loved our home but hated the growing density. We moved to Port Ludlow, WA. Great views of snow caped mountains, the quiet marina and shipping lanes. Fresh salmon, great WA wines, no state income taxes, active adult community, hiking, kayaking and from our over 55 community we feel safe and free to travel the world. My wife was right again, I should have retired earlier!

After 30+ years at a major corporation, I have decided to leave the industry. I purchased a home in northern Michigan. And for what I could not have afforded a vacant lot for in California I have a view of Lake Superior, small town pace, and a place I will be able to call home. A lot of work is required to make it comfortable, but not working provides a precious commodity: Time.

Perhaps it is not a tropical paradise of dreams, but it is close enough. Between rent savings, no mortgage, no commute expenses, and lower tax brackets I should be able to make ends meet for a long time. Being ready to live economically is much more appealing than trying to retrain in an uncertain job market.

Home is where we make it. And when large corporations move people around endlessly, there are few roots left for many people.

After 30 years in the Colorado Rockies, I didn’t want to see another flake of snow ever, and moved to Arizona when I retired last year at 63. I absolutely love the lifestyle, the cost of living where I am, and it was the best decision I could have made at this time of my life.

My wife and I volentarily at age 41. We moved from Minneapolis MN to Mazatlan Mexico. We love living her. We are ccross the street from the beach and can walk to about 100 bars and restaurants. The winters bring many snowbirds and tourists. The summers are full of national tourists and the year round ex pats.

We find the weather perfect, the cost of living great, the life style wonderful and the medical care satisfactory. Walking, sunshine, friendly people, good food and cold beer does it for us.

We left California and retired to Chile after a long search. Beautiful & affordable with household help and healthcare!

I authored “I Dont’t Know Where I Want to Be-But It Isn’t Here!” about how to find a good retirement choice. http://www.goodwriter.info

After 30 years as a police officer with a smaller city in the heart of Los Angeles, I retired with a very good pension (PERS) to Bailey, Colorado. One hours drive west of Denver at 9100 feet and in an alpine heaven. For east-coasters…move to the next post…you wouldn’t be interested.

What I saved by losing my union dues ($150/mo) and gasoline commuting costs ($700/mo) has left me with more disposable income than I’ve had in many many years. I bought a newly constructed home on over an acre of Aspen and Ponderosa Pine covered land for $300K. The views are to die for. The people are very very friendly. The traffic is not an issue. Stress is at a minimum. Retirement is GOOD.

When my position was eliminated at age 62, I retired. We decided to stay put. We liked the town (next door to top town Papillion, NE) and we had grandchildren nearby. Don’t much care for the weather, but like the economy. I have two part-time jobs and am active in Kiwanis. With the recession, we are glad we did not invest in a new home as ours is paid for.

After we sold my company, I stayed on for a couple of years and then we retired to a beach house in Orange Beach, AL. While there are a lot of new rental condo’s on the beach, it’s still a small town with very few full time residents. We just bought a cabin in Gatlinburg, TN to have a place to go when the summer heat and humidity get too bad, and to get a little rental income as well.

In 2006, I told my law partners I was leaving the firm, which was located in Southern California. My wife and I sold our home in April 2007 and moved to Southern Colorado. We love it here. I continue a limited law practice (Social Security Disability), working only a few days per month.

We live outside a town of 900 people, by a small lake, with the Spanish Peaks watching over us (13,500ft and 12,500ft). It’s the first time in my life, that I have a sense of community (grew up in the San Fernando Valley, CA).

The people here are wonderful.

We’ve found paradise.

A recent job loss in NY Metro area pushed me into semi retirement. My wife and I haven’t decided on a retirement location yet. However, we will most likely stay in our home on the south shore of LI for the next several years. Eastern Long Island during the summer has been our dream place for many years. If we do move out of the area we will most likely spend a couple of summer months here renting at locations close to our favorite beaches and LI’s North Fork.

I sold my software company to Microsoft july 2006 and my wife and I moved to Santa Fe, NM in January. It was the best decission we have ever made.

We moved to Tampa, FL from Manassas, VA four years ago and fully retired about two years ago. We chose Tampa because of grandchildren, but have found the community in which we live, Tampa Palms, to be the best kept secret in Florida. We just moved in July to our “Dream House”. It is located in a gated-community and overlooks the second hole (Pond and Green) of the Tampa Palms Country Club. After enjoying the arts and museums of Washington DC and the scenery of Virginia for the better part of thirty-five years, Tampa has proven to be filled with more attractions than we could have ever hoped for.