older people have a harder time keeping themselves cooler than warmer without resorting to man made climate control. i’d think farther north (in the northern hemisphere) would be better.
The problems of a colder climate aren’t solved by staying indoors. There’s the sidewalk which needs to be shoveled, roof eaves need to be cleared of ice build-ups. And a person still has to get out at least once a week for the grocery basics.
I love the time I spend in Mexico every winter. But after a week or two my husband is ready to go home. This works well for us because then he can tend to the house while I bask in the sun. Heh. It’s not as cruel as it sounds - he’s one of those guys who lives to work.
I think a larger problem is culture. I’ve made friends where I go - ex-pats, annual visitors and locals but after a month or so I start to miss my milieu. And my kitties.
A lot of couples I know have solved this problem by being snowbirds. They have an RV in a trailer park somewhere or a small condo and travel back and forth between them. That seems like it would have unique logistical problems but nothing insurmountable.
Better yet, I know of at least one local high school class who all visit their winter spot together where some of them live. Instant community.
Too bad it isn’t a guarantee that the person you marry will stay the same person all your lives. When we got married he was the one who was always saying things like, “Let’s sell all our stuff and go to Australia.” Little did I know that by the time we reached retirement he’d have turned into a homebody.
Yes, warm is good. All three months of it.
After watching my parents being snowbirds and my mom having to deal with two households, I think I’ll pick a place and stay there when I retire, with the occasional jaunt to somewhere else for a week or two. Having two places and going to each for half a year just sounds too expensive and too much trouble.
Seems to me that $10,000 in property tax requires one heck of a property. Yes, the property tax can be worse than the income tax. But big deal, it’s only money.
I say if you grew up in the north, stay there. I’m quite willing to pay a little more so that I can live in the climate that I find agreeable, in the culture that I’m comfortable with, and be near my family. To throw all of that away in the name of saving a few bucks is silly. What that means is that you’re willing to sell your happiness.
but different things make different people happy.
that’s the thing about this thread: so many people saying THIS is what’s important, when “this” is their priority.
figure out what makes YOU happy and do that. people have different priorities!!
climate, jobs, taxes, population, it’s a smorgasbord out there. don’t MAKE me start singing the theme song to Green Acres. :mad:
You must not be liberal enough…around here 10K is property tax on a 300K home, and the liberal tax and spenders try to raise it every year. I’m outta here b/c of taxes and not climate. It’s not “only money.” It’s food.
On the climate front, though, I think it’s easier for geezers to stay cool where it’s hot than stay warm where it’s cold. An old body does not tolerate cold well, from the elderly I’ve talked to.
Several of my friends from that area retired to Albuquerque. MUCH less expensive. Of course, it isn’t San Francisco - they give up the big city and the ocean. But apparently no mugginess.
Whitney, there are a ton of websites that talk about places to retire - and its a constant feature in AARP magazine and Money magazine.
You want to look for a number of things.
Taxes are pretty huge
Playing into that is Cost of Living - California isn’t a big retirement state because its expensive.
Most people like warm over cold - shoveling snow at 80 is not easy (and paying someone to do it adds to the cost of living).
A lot of people need access to good infrastructure - you want decent medical care nearby when you are 80. You want an airport within an hour or so so your grandkids can visit.
Then it comes down to what you like. Do you like the middle of nowhere (northern Alabama was mentioned upthread) or do you want to be in a big city (Phoenix or Las Vegas).
It’s awfully easy to say “It’s only money” when it’s not your money. And, as has been mentioned above, different people have different priorities. For example, is someone has grandchildren in four states, it might be way more important to them that they have money to travel and see them than that they live in a particular place. And lots of people aren’t wedded to a particular place, in any case: they moved around before they retired, or whatever.
It’s fine if you don’t want to move. But to feel like other people that do must be selling off their happiness is pretty patronizing. Who are you to know what will make them happy?
Yeah, $10k a year for someone who is 65 yo adds up to an enormous sum by the time they reach 85.
We have toyed with the idea of moving back to Berlin at some point, and might still do that for a variety of reasons. Only a slight chance of that happening…family/health reasons.
Then again, having lived in California, and now Las Vegas, there is something to be said with sunshine almost every day, never having to worry about snow and sleet and ice, and pretty much sit outside year round (OK, so it does get a bit nippy here in January). I can’t remember the last time I had to wear anything heavier than a light jacket - and even that is a rarity. Do you have any idea how nice it is to simply leave the house, wearing what you are wearing in the house, and not have to add/remove any clothing to go shopping or for a walk, pretty much year round?
Sure it is hot…and dry…and we are enjoying this rare day today of scattered showers…but all in all, I will take the eternal sunshine and warmth every day over gray, freezing weather for months at a time! Winter sucks in northern climates and even summers with high humidity and mosquitoes and poison ivy…no thanks. Been there, done that.
My snowbirding plan doesn’t involve two different households; at this point I plan to just lease or rent for a couple months of the year, and maintain my permanent residence in Canada. I think just taking a month or two months out of winter would be enough to make a HUGE difference - leave after Christmas, and come back in March? That would do the trick.
Yes - it’s wonderful! I love it!
Oh - no, no I don’t. 