OT - Tell me about where you live

[Demeris]

Originally Posted by bzar

that was surprising to us as well! we keep tabs on the weather over there, and DS mentioned the snow, and we were just cracking up.

it is a college town, but it's big enough to have a Sam's but small enough to be able to get around. Honolulu can be grid-locked during rush hour, so in comparison, Flagstaff is a drop in the bucket with respect to traffic!

Pratima also mentions the traffic between PX and Flagstaff. she currently lives in PX.

It takes longer, but I refuse to take I17 up to Flagstaff. I take state highway 87, through Payson, then jog over Lake Mary Road. It's a beautiful drive and the traffic is much saner.

I've spent enough time in Flag that I don't need to get on the main roads to go anywhere I want. And there are times of the day/week when the traffic is not bad at all.

[red1013]

Originally Posted by Pat58

I hope someone will chime in about New Mexico. I love the part of Connecticut that I live in, but fear that it won't be feasible to stay here after retiring because of our taxes and cost of living. I've been considering a relocation to Santa Fe or around there. I would miss the beaches and living on the coast terribly though.

We lived in Albuquerque for three years in the early 2000's. Moved when our daughter was a toddler because the schools were terrible. The altitude was something that took some getting used to. The summers are terribly hot, but dry. The winters weren't as warm as I'd hoped, but certainly milder than the midwest.

Every year in October Albuquerque hosts the hot air balloon festival, and I loved driving to work seeing all the balloons dot the sky.

Santa Fe is absolutely beautiful, but very expensive (much more than Albuquerque).

[Lannette]

Originally Posted by DawnP

Gams,
You've gotten some great advice so far here. There are lots of "top retirement locations" type articles out by Forbes and US News & World Reports, if you Google them.

I recommend going to this website and reading through threads posted by locals for the areas you are considering moving to.

It's a plethora of local insider info. They will tell you about weather, traffic, property taxes, and so on. They will even tell you the politics of a particular town or neighborhood, the diversity, weather animal hunting is popular.

It's helping DH & I investigate our retirement choices near our daughter - a lot can vary even within a 30 mile radius.

I wish you the best on your retirement search!

I second this website and doing research. I’m in the White Mountains of NH with long, cold winters.

We considered buying a second home in a warmer state but our research left us thinking that there is no place like home. We may eventually buy a high end camper van to explore in but we honestly couldn’t figure a time of year to leave NH for an extended period of time when we wouldn’t be missing something we love.

Maybe start by making a list of what you love about your present area and wouldn’t want to lose. That will greatly narrow things down. Once you have a list of places that are a match from that standpoint use your dislike list to narrow things down further. Then plan to visit your top 3-4 options.

[Pat58]

Jill and Lori - thank you for your feedback on NM.

I'm going to check out the website Dawn posted - thanks!

[Pat58]

Originally Posted by Lannette

I second this website and doing research. I’m in the White Mountains of NH with long, cold winters.

We considered buying a second home in a warmer state but our research left us thinking that there is no place like home. We may eventually buy a high end camper van to explore in but we honestly couldn’t figure a time of year to leave NH for an extended period of time when we wouldn’t be missing something we love. <snip>

That's how I feel too. SECT is really my "princess and the pea" location and I love my neighborhood. My fingers and toes are crossed I can just stay here.

Florida - no way. The two months of humidity we get up here almost kill me. I don't see myself moving anywhere down south for that reason, no matter how retirement friendly, beautiful, or reasonable the cost of living may be.

[upperwside]

I'm in downtown Toronto, Canada. I am in the heart of the city .. So no hunting here. I would have a hard time seeing dead animals. I love living here. I have a large historic home and Toronto is a beautiful and diverse city... Amazing food and culture. I need to live in a city and I don't want to live anyplace else. I've lived in NYC and London, England.. And I'll take Toronto! My neighborhood is very lefty and the university of Toronto is just down the way.. museums .. Art galleries etc. I don't mind Canadian winters, I grew up in N.Y. So not much different in Toronto. Bundle up and get outside.. Winter is beautiful to me.. My dog doesn't love it as much as I do.. So shorter walks in the winter and more rebounding!!! I only have one complaint about Toronto.. The traffic. Public transportation is not great and it's insane that we live downtown and need 2 cars due to my kids conflicting sports schedules.. We cannot use public transportation with their schedule. I also love being on lake Ontario.. I like living near water.

Have a great day!

[BunnyHop]

I live on the Mississippi gulf coast, and though we do have seasons, some tend to last longer than others. Summer lasts too long and is way too hot. Hurricanes are a real worry, but you probably couldn't tell that from the traffic. Currently 84 degrees F on the back deck just now. Was cooler early in the week for a few days, but not any more.

Hunting? I live in town, so probably miss out on seeing the evidence that people hunt, but I'd be kidding myself if I tried to believe it didn't happen.

Lots of areas here that used to be truly rural have become suburbs, so what used to be considered 'in the country' really isn't that any more and there is some culture clash about that.

[laurajhawk]

Originally Posted by Gams

I’m retired now and working toward moving someplace that’s a little more in line with the way I want to live. Northern Wisconsin is beautiful, but I’m sick of the brutal winters and I’m also an animal lover and I’m sick of seeing dead deer hanging in everyone’s yards and sticking out the back of their pick up trucks. I’m also tired of run ins with the bear dog hunters who run their dogs on my property. I’m not trying to criticize anyone here who hunts - I just want to live someplace with less hunting and a milder climate. Anyone here love where they live and don’t have to look at dead animals every day?

I live in Loveland, Colorado, about an hour north of Denver and a few miles south of Fort Collins. We do have snow and cold, but the snow melts and the sun comes out. I grew up in a lake-effect snow belt in northern Indiana, so the sun shining in winter was a revelation to me! The humidity is always low here, which makes most weather more tolerable.

People here hunt, but I live in town and I've never seen carcasses in yards or on cars. If you lived in the mountains, you might, I suppose. Loveland is a small-ish sleepy-ish town but is close to Fort Collins, which is a university town, so that's a good combination for me.

[Terry]

I live in the DFW area of Texas, but I can get to the Oachita National Forest and other awesomeness in Oklahoma and Arkansas in 5 hours. I found this:

https://www.talimenascenicdrive.com/...es/real-estate

Edit: Never mind. I bet they hunt. I forgot about that part.

[Theeearn]

I live in Colorado Springs. There are people who hunt here but mostly in the smaller communities outside of the city. The city is very much about animal rights. The weather here is mostly mild. Last winter was much more harsh with some bitterly cold weeks in January and February. TheY say that colorado gets all the seasons in one day, actually it’s more like summer and winter. It is lovely here and a great place to be if you love to be outdoors. As a matter of fact, I’ve told people about my home workouts and they kind of laugh it off as not being a real workout. I guess you aren’t fit here if you don’t run ultra marathons. ☹️ I will say it is quite expensive and getting worse every year. I am an RN and struggle to keep up with housing prices. I’m not sure about your financial situation but just thought I would let you know.