So. If you were post-kids, pre-retirement, unattached to your current locale, financially comfortable if not quite financially independent, and had few things pulling you to any one location, where would you move for the years of later career and early retirement?
Pluses: Decent weather with three or four distinct seasons, moderate cost of living, homes with a little land for big dogs and privacy, low crime rate, some kind of vibrant cultural center within weekend distance. A business and industry base likely to provide work for an independent/contract/partner writer-graphics-web-publishing-video generalist. A national baseball team nearby.
Minuses: Most of the South (just cuz), or Texas (a good fit in many ways but… just can’t), long stretches of crappy weather year round (especially heat+humidity), lack of good medical institutions, major metropolitan areas (unless they have decent embedded suburbs), an overwhelming tilt to the right. Most of the northeast is probably out unless it has better weather and career prospects than I’ve found so far.
Who Cares: Schools, outdoor sports and activities, specific industries, ethnic ratios.
I might think of more conditions as the thread progresses, but that’s a good start. Places that have come up in idle spins of the web include Albuquerque, which seems to be good in most places if something of a high-crime shithole in others; Costa Rica, for all above reasons and long before fleeing Trumpistan, and the upper Midwest in the band below Chicago, Cincinnati and so forth. San Diego area has always attracted me as well.
Specific thoughts and good tools for searching appreciated.
North Carolina fits except for Major League baseball (they have lots of minor league teams). It isn’t the Deep South (although I like that too myself) and they have liberal areas like Asheville and Raleigh/Durham. Other areas are the general Charlottesville, VA area and parts of Colorado (you will need to be at lower elevation if you don’t want to freeze your ass off). You also might like some underappreciated areas like Fayetteville, AR all the way up to southern Missouri. It is a university town that isn’t the Deep South either and the cost of living and land are really cheap. There is even a world-class art museum built by the Waltons. The Ozarks hold a whole lot of hidden wealth and treasures.
I plan to move to Costa Rica myself in a few years but that takes lots of planning even though it is very friendly overall to American ex-Pats.
I am a cliché as we moved to a 55 and older community just outside of Sarasota. The Gulf Coast seems to attract more Midwesterners than the Atlantic Coast. It may be just my New York City area background but these are nice people.
I had been laid off back in July and was not successful finding work. We took a vacation in early January to see about the employment situation down here and if we could find affordable housing.
The Wife found a job almost immediately and I am in salary negotiations with a couple of firms. If all goes well we can continue to make Connecticut level salaries with a much lower cost of living. We are closing on a place next week.
Just to fill out the picture, I lived in Northern California (Sacramento) for most of my life and now six years in CT. The problem with returning to CA is that I can’t think of an area that meets all my preferences - most places are expensive cities, cheap boonies or nice enough suburbs full of, well, state workers. Weather is okay; I don’t mind a few hot months as long as it’s dry.
CT has been something of a disappointment, not the least in the weather. I was prepared for cold. I am cold right now; we have a couple of feet of snow from last week. But I was not prepared for the hot, humid summers - I don’t think we’ve had ten days in the last year that weren’t cold, snowy, rainy… or South’ren hot and steamy, and it doesn’t cool off overnight. We haven’t eaten on the deck in two years, mostly because weather won’t permit in comfort.
CT has also been a black hole for me professionally - despite 30 years of very broad and deep experience, I don’t fit any niche here and I’m tired of hand-carving each small business relationship. (“Oh… you do THAT?” - after they’ve hired some amateur to fuck things up at twice my rates.)
So - looking for a place to make a reasonable living for the next 10-15 years that’s pleasant if not exciting and has room for a slightly grumpy liberal with big dogs. Lucky to have a lot of freedom in choosing the next spot.
I really, really love Oregon. Distinct seasons, easy to reach climate zones (mountain, beach, forest, high desert), wine country. A blue state, which may matter to you, with some very urban areas, and large areas that are very rural. Fairly low cost of living, at least away from Portland. No sales tax.
I think there are a number of us Oregonians on the Board, should you wish more particulars about any part of the state or the experience of being here.
I seem to be in the extreme minority, but I think San Diego, and SoCal in general, are major shitholes. I was there for over 18 years and prefer my New Jersey digs + a million (for lots of reasons that probably aren’t very interesting for this thread; the only thing I hate here are the damn soupy summers, especially this past one).
Northern California = lots of job opportunities in some sectors, but expensive as Manhattan in a lot of areas. I particularly love the weather in San Francisco, but probably couldn’t afford a cardboard refrigerator box to live in
I hear a lot of good things about Asheville/Charlotte: a few friends’ uber-liberal NYC ex-pat parental units haved moved there both pre- and post-retirement and have a lot of good things to say. However, summers are mis-er-able and personally I wouldn’t live anywhere below the Mason-Dixon line.
Salt Lake City has a pretty good economy, some surprisingly liberal pockets, the summers are hot but dry, and there is spectacular year-round recreation and lots of dog people. Winter has become a crapshoot (as it has pretty much become throughout the U.S… Lots of snow and cold this winter, almost nada last). However, outside of SLC/Ogden areas, the demographic is overwhelmingly Mormon and all that comes with that. I grew up there and regret that my adult lesbonian, liberal self couldn’t hack staying in Utah
Colorado is lovely, but as noted can be very expensive. And some areas are extremely conservative. I have family in Tucson – economy is okay, relatively lots to do if you like desert-y things but hotter than fuckin’ Hell much of the year.
I love Toronto and Montreal, but then again we have weather issues and probably a lot of citizenship-making-a-living issues.
Nobody up on the southwest? I think Arizona’s out just on political grounds, but NM seems to have some good aspects. (I was surprised to find its lowest altitude is 2,800 feet… I thought it went down to sea level!)
The northwest is a little wet and gloomy for me - I have family in Seattle, eastern WA and BC, and friends in OR and BC. So I know the area a little. I’d lean that way but right now I’m cold and SAD and Vitamin D-ficient, so sunnier climes are attractive.
Sounds like Denver would be a good fit for you. Right now they’re in a bit of a housing boom and have been since pot legalization but you can still get a nice home for 400K in most of the suburbs. I’d personally look up in the Arvada, Golden, Wheat Ridge area depending on how close you want to be to baseball the next North West ring out from them is nice too. The further out you are the more property you can get 1 acre places are about all you’ll find in those three burbs although there is an occasional larger property. The next ring out in Broomfield you can still get 20 acre farms.
In general they’ve got a very diverse economy with everything from Mining and oil and gas to biomedical and technology firms. They’ve certainly got the 4 season thing, sometimes even in the same day. To be fair I’m not sure the Rockies are really a professional baseball team but I had season tickets 20 rows behind home for 3K per seat and got to watch a lot of good team beat up on them.
Somewhere around Kansas City would probably suit you. Kansas City is a very livable and affordable metro, even the traffic is not too bad. Missouri is a bit red-neck and Kansas a bit red-state. Winters are short and not all that severe, but it’s hot off-and-on in summer.
I would suggest living near the Great Lakes. The downside is lake effect snow in the winter, but the lakes usually keep the winters a bit warmer than where I am in Mpls/St. Paul, and they also have a slight cooling effect in summer.
Another option to consider is costal northern California or Oregon, as the coast keeps temps pretty moderate. There are jobs in the Santa Rosa area.
I agree with this. Four distinct seasons, not too hot or cold (It was 80 the other day), a diverse and healty ecomomy, all four major pro sports, and a lot of civic pride - great schools, parks and bike paths everywhere, good libraries and heath care is awesome. It is getting expensive, though. But if you’re used tp CA and CT, it shou;dn’t be a shock.
Anyone look up the climate of Connecticut? It looks like it is in the top third of states or higher (being next to the Atlantic Ocean it doesn’t have the temperature extremes of the interior states and it doesn’t have the high summer heat of the Southern states…). I think the OP is so used to the great California climate that most other states would be unacceptable.
as soon as I can I’m heading to Laughlin nv … its laid back … cheap and has just enough of the local casino atmosphere but they have other things to do and its the same climate as where I am currently …
