Since "retiring" isn't exactly accurate, where to age affordably?

[FINFAN]

Lots going on in my families life these days that has DH and I assessing our future which is suddenly much closer than we thought (you know,think young,be young? Bite's you in the keister eventally) Anyway, we know we cannot afford to stay in our current home as the taxes alone will consume us but it is also a 2 story and health issues that run in my family say "lose the stairs soon". However, not sure what will be in our kids futures, economy, jobs etc and we currently have room for them if they need it, but who knows where they will end up? We decided to start gathering info on areas that have a lower cost of living than here, but that are not too limiting location wise either...odds are we will still have to be working in at least retail or something to make ends meet so dodging winter would be nice ( I do NOT wish to be 70 and scraping off a car daily )
We are really only familiar with Florida, Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana. Can folks who live in other areas offer their thoughts on how they plan to handle "aging affordably" or locations they are considering? We have thought about AZ, GA, TX and Kansas City areas...CA is not affordable tho that is where DD will more than likely end up for her career, but would make AZ a front runner for location somewhat close to her. DS will probably live with us forever... but the kid like warm weather so....anyway, just in the thinking stages, we are nearing 50, and would like to start narrowing possibilities down. FL is to hot for DH year round, and I am guessing we won't be able to afford keeping the A/C on the level of "positively arctic" that he likes...plus what's the point of living where it is hot if he keeps it cold anyway? I know, that is an issue for AZ.......see my dilemma? How about the Carolinas? We do like to have water...having Lake Michigan to see everytime we head into the city, the ocean in Fl...we did miss that when we visited GA ...again, looks like AZ has another strike....HELP!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Have you ever moved anywhere? We moved to TX and then back again. DH has decided that he wants to retire here in MO. It is afforable and yes you do have some winter however it is pretty minor. He grew up here and wants to stay here.

We just bought this story and a half house in 08 which is great but as soon as my 7th grader graduates, this house is going on the market.

We are going to get a ranch house. Since this is house #4, we are pretty clear with what we want.

And you don't have to scrape cars off if you put them in the garage, for the most part.

Now I would probably like to be more south of St. Louis, like near Branson almost to Arkansas just for the beauty of it, plenty of lakes to go boating & fishing. But that might not happen. As it stands now, we are near the beginning of the Ozarks and I can live with that.

If I had my choice, I would not retire here. TX is great but too expensive and not much to do in the way of outdoor stuff compared to MO.

AZ is expensive. DH's dad lives there.

Carolina's would be cool. DH's uncle/cousins like there and love it. I have never been there though.

 

[Pinkpony]

Lots going on in my families life these days that has DH and I assessing our future which is suddenly much closer than we thought (you know,think young,be young? Bite's you in the keister eventally) Anyway, we know we cannot afford to stay in our current home as the taxes alone will consume us but it is also a 2 story and health issues that run in my family say "lose the stairs soon". However, not sure what will be in our kids futures, economy, jobs etc and we currently have room for them if they need it, but who knows where they will end up? We decided to start gathering info on areas that have a lower cost of living than here, but that are not too limiting location wise either...odds are we will still have to be working in at least retail or something to make ends meet so dodging winter would be nice ( I do NOT wish to be 70 and scraping off a car daily )
We are really only familiar with Florida, Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana. Can folks who live in other areas offer their thoughts on how they plan to handle "aging affordably" or locations they are considering? We have thought about AZ, GA, TX and Kansas City areas...CA is not affordable tho that is where DD will more than likely end up for her career, but would make AZ a front runner for location somewhat close to her. DS will probably live with us forever... but the kid like warm weather so....anyway, just in the thinking stages, we are nearing 50, and would like to start narrowing possibilities down. FL is to hot for DH year round, and I am guessing we won't be able to afford keeping the A/C on the level of "positively arctic" that he likes...plus what's the point of living where it is hot if he keeps it cold anyway? I know, that is an issue for AZ.......see my dilemma? How about the Carolinas? We do like to have water...having Lake Michigan to see everytime we head into the city, the ocean in Fl...we did miss that when we visited GA ...again, looks like AZ has another strike....HELP!

We co-own with my sister a vacation home on Grand Lake in northeast Oklahoma. That's where we plan to retire eventually. We raised our boys going to that lake every summer, so it already feels like home. It's beautiful, affordable, close enough to a couple of cities if you need city life, close to Branson, and far enough north where there's no alligators in the lake. The fall foilage is absolutely breath-taking there too.

Good luck deciding!!

 

[NotUrsula]

Don't overlook the southern "A" states: Arkansas and Alabama, and also parts of Tennessee and perhaps Kentucky. The area around Mobile, AL has plenty of water nearby, but is not beach country, which makes it a lot more affordable. (The same holds true of certain coastal areas in Georgia and the Carolinas.)

I think you will want to stay within 30 minutes of a city that is at least mid-sized (around 200K or larger) so that you will have decent access to part-time employment. Small towns do tend to be cheaper than cities, but employment is usually very scarce there; it's going to be much harder to find a job that doesn't have a punishing commute.

Honestly, Louisiana isn't bad, either. I know it has a reputation as a banana republic, which is sometimes well-deserved, but as long as you don't need good schools it isn't a bad place to live. It's an especially good choice for anyone who enjoys hunting and fishing.

 

[clarabelle]

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bpretire/2009/

IF you have any questions about GA -I can help

 

[Imzadi]

Some place down south, but not too far, so you won't be paying exorbitant heating or air conditioning fees.

 

[HeatherC]

My parents just bought a place in Bluffton, SC called Sun City. It is a 55 plus community of something like a couple thousand homes. It is right outside Hilton Head Island so they will be close to the beaches and have a milder winter than they do in NJ.

 

[mamajoan]

Finfan.. great minds think alike...as dh and I are doing the same kind of thinking.. It will be 15 years before he retires... Our kids are old enough that everyone should be out of the house next year.... so we hope. LOL

We lived in California and liked it very much. If we could afford to go back I think that would be our #1 choice. Housing prices have decreased but not quite as much as I would like to pay for what should be our last home purchase. We like the high desert, and the Bay Area/Central coast.

Taxes in Illinois are horrid... I love our home, and in 2005 it was a great deal compared to home prices/value in CA.
but the taxes --geez louise..

I am not a big fan of southeastern US...just due to the climate.

We would love to retire in Hawaii.. on the windward side of Oahu... but that is just not cost effective for us either... and I think I would miss all of the grandkids too much. We lived in Hawaii back in the '80's and loved it.

 

[Micca]

We lived in KC many years ago and liked it a lot. DD and her DH live there now and they are quite happy there. Prices are pretty reasonable for a medium-large city.

DW and I wouldn't want to retire there because the winters are too extreme for our tastes(though certainly not to the level of some parts of the U.S.)

Good luck with your choice.

 

[golfgal]

The St. Louis area is very inexpensive and still has 4 seasons, sort of, but the winters there are very mild. You get an occasional dusting of snow and that is about it. You have lakes and the Mississippi for water-not the same as the ocean or Lake Michigan but you still have that option.

I agree that the most bang for your buck is going to be in the south, Alabama, Texas, etc. especially if you don't settle right in a major metropolitan area.

My plan for retirement is to go somewhere where our kids will want to vacation .

 

[FINFAN]

thanks everyone, sounds like we are on the right rack as all the places mentioned have positives I honestly do not know what to think of Illinois, Chicago is a great city, we really love it, but realistically financially we will not be able to take advantage of what it has to offer if we stay here. I know medical is great here as well which is (ad I should have mentioned) in the top 5 requirements for our location. I see so many post from all over the place here, and I read so many things you guys love about where you live so I am intrigued. No we have not moved out of state before, Florida is like our second home as I have been going there forever and 1/2 my family lives there. I always figured that was going to be where we would grow old at, but not so sure...I know it would feel the closest emotionally to home, but sometimes starting fresh somewhere, that DH and I can experience together at the same time can have a lot of value too. At least it is fun and interesting to research this...please feel free to add on , I appreciate all the points of view!

 

[barkley]

we did this 3 years ago so i'll offer up a few suggestions-

if you have specific health care issues (or something that hints to a predisposition to certain ailments in later years) check out the health care available in a given area.

with younger kids check out the schools and the availability of in state colleges/universities (lower cost of living states can be so by virtue of higher in state tuition rates).

look to those expenses you will have throughout your lives (not up for elimination no matter where you live) and compare costs-auto/home insurance vary greatly state to state let alone within particular states, utilities (we pay much lower rates now which is good since we live in a region with much colder winters), food (produce is much higher vs. where we used to live)...

learn about the property tax structure for a given area and if it has the potential to drasticly increase (we were spoiled in california's system cuz our home was purchased before property values rose).

if you want family to be able to visit, or you like to travel-and you won't be moving to an area convenient by car consider looking to an area that is at least somewhat convenient to a major airport.