The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: PRNmeds on January 12, 2015, 12:00:31 AM
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Mustachians,
I am a California resident, but have recently been playing with the idea of moving out of this great state when it comes to retire. My wife and I are 28 years old and are currently nestled in Boulder Creek, CA. Boulder Creek is interesting in that it is very inexpensive compared to the bay area, but requires bicycle commuting to get most places. (Especially work). We are both nurses, and are able to save money rather quickly by being able to earn SF bay area nursing wages. (Highest wages for Nurses in the Country). Here's the quick and dirty:
We take home roughly 150,000 annually after taxes.
Live on about 50,000 a year
Mortgage: 88,000 left to go (goal: pay off in 2015)
2 Cars: paid off
No student loans/credit card debt.
We are flirting with the idea of paying off the Mortgage and then saving up all our cash for several years afterward, selling our home and buying something outright in a different location and then retiring. Our home (condo, 980 sqft) could sell for around 300,000. So my question is this: where would you retire to? We are "California people" but are interested in the Pacific Northwest as well. My wife likes the idea of Seattle, I am interested in Portland. Is this kind of thinking sound? California is so very expensive, is it common to make all your money in a place like California, then move somewhere else? Thoughts? Concerns? Snide Remarks? Thank you, Mustachians.
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My parents moved to a retirement community in Las Vegas and I love it there. When the time comes and we are old enough, that's our loose plan, though we have a while before we age in, and so much could change. DH and I are kind of CA people, too, and the vibe of Vegas feels enough like home that we are comfortable there. COL is much better than CA, no state income tax (though sales tax isn't low), and plenty of access to things that are important to us.
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My wife and I live in Iowa and we are sick of winter and the cold. We are looking at traveling to where ever it's warm. We will start out in an rv and visit state parks and places we haven't seen before. Once an area gets cold we will find a warm place to hang out. Not much of a plan but Arizona is at the top of our list for now.
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I have been pondering this same issue of where to move when I retire. I actually have a spreadsheet of the top few dozen potential locations to compare on taxes, COL, weather, etc. My advice to you is: "be careful--the grass is not always greener!"
In other words, I think when you move somewhere, it sounds pretty exciting at first, but then I think your daily life will likely be more or less the same after a while. To me, Boulder Creek is the exact type of place I would consider moving TO! I've never been, but a quick google search reveals that it is a fairly scenic place with good weather, nice mountains, nearby the ocean, near the Bay Area (I think I might just add Boulder Creek to my spreadsheet, LOL). The one killer would be too-high housing prices ($300k could buy you a really nice house here in a lot of areas of the country, rather than a 1,000-sqft condo....damn CA!). My advice to you is to try to see the good aspects of where you currently are, and to actually travel to the places that you would like to move to. Stay for a week or longer, and then decide if its really worth it. For sure, moving to a place with lower housing prices (and lower taxes!) than CA will allow you to retire earlier.
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I hate this restriction about my life, but family (including extended) is most important to me and my wife. So I hate it that it ties me down, but I wouldn't trade the closeness we have with family for the greener pastures elsewhere (... it's not where you are, but who you're with that really matters).
Where is your family? Is being close to them important? At age 28, I lived far away from my family, but as I got older, an opportunity arose for me to move back. When you are 35, you may have a completely different view point. Most people cannot come close to accurately imagining their future 10 years ahead.
If I assume you have family in the Bay Area, I would consider keeping the condo and renting it out (using a management company). There really is no better place than California (though some small things could bug the hell out of you, like traffic) and it will always be a very desirable place to live.
Then, I would, using your retirement funds, travel. Travel around the world for a year. Then buy a tent and travel the US. I personally like the idea of renting since it keeps your freedom to move around.
Places I'd like to live for a year (and maybe settling down in one of the smaller metro areas): Austin, TX; Savannah, GA; Southport, NC; Asheville, NC; Washington, DC; NYC; Portland, ME; Breckenridge, CO; Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; Vancouver; Canada
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I have a "holy trinity" of retirement havens.
Although I have no particular love of the "big city", my wife does...so we will likely always maintain our home 25 minutes from downtown Vancouver. As large North American cities go, it is probably one of the best. Still, if I never went "downtown" it would be no great loss for me.
We also have a place on the southern tip of the Baja. Our winter escape. Land of fiery peppers and an intoxicating mixture of desert and a warm, blue Sea of Cortez, TEEMING with life. Missing it right now.
And my favourite place in the world - our place in the archipelago of islands within a rough triangle between Vancouver, Victoria, and Seattle. This was probably my biggest reason for moving heaven and earth in order to ER a few months ago at 42. My need to be here MORE OFTEN had almost become a physical need over the years. My wife and I are trying to finalize plans for a future cabin here. My first attempt at a garden and orchard will occur there this Spring. I catch my food from the sea here. Orca families have become familiar to me. I can identify many of them by the shape of their dorsal fins. It's a magical life on these islands.
One common theme that is constant with my post-career places is that they are all within steps of the ocean. In my last year of work I was sent on month long job in the Canadian prairies. I was miserable. It wasn't the job. I eventually realized that it was the lack of ocean. It felt like I was suffocating. I will NEVER live away from the ocean.
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Thank you all for the insight. Boulder Creek is lovely, and we have talked about getting a bigger place. Currently we are in a condo, with fairly steep HOA dues (420 a month, looking at a 5,000 assessment in the near future for maintenance and painting projects). People who have been foreclosed on stopped paying dues, and now we are all pulling their weight. I would like to get into my own home, where I am free to schedule, or do my own maintenance instead of owing someone something each month. We have looked at other places in Boulder Creek down the road, but are staying put for now as our small mortgage is allowing for rapid debt repayment. We should be completely debt free by the end of the year, in which case we want to look at our options. We have always loved Santa Cruz, and the idea of being able to walk to the beach is a dream. If we paid off the condo and saved one income for three years we could essentially just move laterally. I suppose with that same math, we could move anywhere and pay 600,000 in cash.
My wife is crazy about Seattle, but I feel Seattle is so pricey. Portland seems so similar, at a fraction of the cost. We have also talked about Flagstaff AZ, or Santa Cruz CA. We have also talked about spending ALL THE MONEY and moving to Palo Alto, which is close to where we work so we can bicycle (Stanford children's hospital). This wouldn't be conducive to FIRE however, but there are other upsides.
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I am in the Pacific NW.. just South of Portland in the Willamette Valley.
I really like it here.. we live on nearly 6 acres with a great view of the mountains. I really like trees, I hate the heat.. but then I'm much of a fan of the cold/wet either..:)
So in terms of environment the PNW is not bad.. did I say It has trees?..:)
Then again as I have said elsewhere, staying in the USA is not necessarily a hard and fast requirment, I am a Brit who emigrated here.. I can always emigrate somewhere else.
The idea of getting out of the rental business and selling everything (keeping some tools but a lot would have to go) and not owning a house.. it has some appeal.
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I have a "holy trinity" of retirement havens.
Although I have no particular love of the "big city", my wife does...so we will likely always maintain our home 25 minutes from downtown Vancouver. As large North American cities go, it is probably one of the best. Still, if I never went "downtown" it would be no great loss for me.
We also have a place on the southern tip of the Baja. Our winter escape. Land of fiery peppers and an intoxicating mixture of desert and a warm, blue Sea of Cortez, TEEMING with life. Missing it right now.
And my favourite place in the world - our place in the archipelago of islands within a rough triangle between Vancouver, Victoria, and Seattle. This was probably my biggest reason for moving heaven and earth in order to ER a few months ago at 42. My need to be here MORE OFTEN had almost become a physical need over the years. My wife and I are trying to finalize plans for a future cabin here. My first attempt at a garden and orchard will occur there this Spring. I catch my food from the sea here. Orca families have become familiar to me. I can identify many of them by the shape of their dorsal fins. It's a magical life on these islands.
One common theme that is constant with my post-career places is that they are all within steps of the ocean. In my last year of work I was sent on month long job in the Canadian prairies. I was miserable. It wasn't the job. I eventually realized that it was the lack of ocean. It felt like I was suffocating. I will NEVER live away from the ocean.
That was a great description. I loved reading it. It seems you have truly found your place in the world.
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I can't say enough good things about portland.
I have lived in SF, SD, LA, Chicago, New Orleans, and Tokyo, and Portland is by far the best fit for me.
It's big enough to have great food and drink, but small enough for people to be truly nice.
It's very affordable and liveable, and visually stunning.
All it's missing is a Major League Baseball team and more asian food.
Small quibbles.
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If we moved to Portland we could watch all our SF Giants games on MLB TV, we wouldn't be "blacked out". Would be nice.
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I like Tacoma. Smaller than Seattle, cheaper, but with a lot of the benefits. Seattle is only a 45 min bus ride away. We have better mountains than Portland :p
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25 miles or so from Seattle.
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I like Tacoma. Smaller than Seattle, cheaper, but with a lot of the benefits. Seattle is only a 45 min bus ride away. We have better mountains than Portland :p
Before or after they explode?...:)
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Lots of PNW representation here. Cool.
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Was in Flagstaff AZ for three days last year, f-ing awesome place, almost worth not being near the ocean. Down side is they get meters and meters of snow each year. Definitely stay a bit anywhere you might move to, see whats up tourist vs local you know.
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Bellingham is very high on my list in Washington. it's been mentioned already here but I'll put in my vote. If you're thinking about Seattle and Portland you should at least take a quick look there as well.
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I was thinking about Scottsdale Arizona only because Vanguard is there and I kinda want to work for them part-time as my post FIRE gig for a bit. The cost of living there seems stupidly low compared to Silicon Valley, but then most places would.
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I live in Orange County, CA and I knew I did not want to retire here. So I thought about the time in my life where I really loved where I lived and what I was doing. I used to live in the country, on a small 2-acre place, when I was growing up, and my dad built the house by hand (not his real job by any means!!). We raised small animals and had a garden and a grove of trees.
So I started searching for the Holy Grail...a place where I could live near a big city and all of its luxury, culture, and superb medical care, yet in a small town environment and in the country and have animals, a garden, etc. I read that Austin, Texas was a great city and so I ended up buying a place on 5 acres about 20 minutes outside of the city, in a small town that still manages to have almost everything (state park, community theatre, etc...I had a list). So CAtoTX means that is just what I plan to do. Right now it's rented out but I am putting down roots during my annual trips to the area. I have joined volunteer groups and made friends...laying the groundwork for 2019!!
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We will retire in 3 1/2 years, at which time we will sell everything and move to either Belize or Ecuador. Probably both, eventually. We plan to rent, so we'll stay one place as long as we feel like it, and then move on.
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We will retire in 3 1/2 years, at which time we will sell everything and move to either Belize or Ecuador. Probably both, eventually. We plan to rent, so we'll stay one place as long as we feel like it, and then move on.
Cool we are thinking of a more nomadic lifestyle somewhere in South America or Europe. Do you have roots in these places or have yiu travelled there extensively?
Wondering how you decided on this path?
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One more note about portland. There's a lot of truth to that Portlandia joke:
"portland: it's where young people go to retire"
Not at all uncommon for coffee shops to not open until 0800!
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I grew up in CA and then moved to Portland a while ago. Don't underestimate the effect of a lot of cloudy days when you're used to sunshine. If there's a way to test out living there in the winter before committing, I might recommend that. It was a shock (mitigated by exercising outside, but I didn't always have time for that).
That said, I loved living in Portland. It's beautiful (LUSH in comparison to most of CA), and there's great beer and hiking if you can get yourself out to the Columbia River Gorge. I miss it.
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I like Tacoma. Smaller than Seattle, cheaper, but with a lot of the benefits. Seattle is only a 45 min bus ride away. We have better mountains than Portland :p
Before or after they explode?...:)
You mean this little thing?
(http://www.mnn.com/sites/default/files/user-71/mountrainier.jpg)
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My wife is crazy about Seattle, but I feel Seattle is so pricey. Portland seems so similar, at a fraction of the cost. We have also talked about Flagstaff AZ, or Santa Cruz CA. We have also talked about spending ALL THE MONEY and moving to Palo Alto, which is close to where we work so we can bicycle (Stanford children's hospital). This wouldn't be conducive to FIRE however, but there are other upsides.
Seattle is AWESOME :) When first thinking about early retirement, I was leaning towards moving away from the metro a bit to cut down on housing cost when retiring but these days I think we'd both just prefer to work a bit longer in order to stay where we are.
One big thing about Seattle housing is that there are HUGE differences in how much it costs. A friend of mine paid over 2x as much for his fixer upper house in North Seattle than we paid for an amazing new house in South Seattle because that's where the "good schools" are supposed to be. I live 3 minutes from the light rail, a quick walk to the lake or dozens of awesome (and varied) restaurants and other awesome things and all he really has is "good schools".
Bellingham is another good suggestion although I'm not as familiar with it, but the PNW is just awesome in general and well worth considering. I liked CA more than some places I've lived but it pales in comparison to my love for the PNW.
Good luck!
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Don't forget about taxes. My brother retired to Vancouver Washington, just across the state line from Portland. I believe the deal is, he avoids property taxes by owning in Washington state, and avoids sales taxes by shopping in Portland.
Kinda sleazy I think. But it's worth considering whether sales taxes or property taxes will be your bigger expense in retirement and choose accordingly.
Btw my niece just graduated nursing school in Portland, nursing jobs there are hard to come by because of all the nursing school grads who want to stay.
Me, I plan to retire in my nice suburb 40 mins north of san Diego. My property taxes will be limited by my relatively low purchase price of $420k and my large home will accommodate roommates or relatives as needed. Yes I'll pay income tax but my utility bills will be low in this ideal climate.
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Does it snow much in Seattle? I would be interested in traveling there but not living in the winter if it gets cold. I live inIowa currently and plan to get out to a warm climate in the winters when it's cold.
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Some place that's warm year round and has at least one decent golf course. That's where I would retire.
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We will retire in 3 1/2 years, at which time we will sell everything and move to either Belize or Ecuador. Probably both, eventually. We plan to rent, so we'll stay one place as long as we feel like it, and then move on.
Cool we are thinking of a more nomadic lifestyle somewhere in South America or Europe. Do you have roots in these places or have yiu travelled there extensively?
Wondering how you decided on this path?
Sounds like you are sort of on the same path as we are. Belize and Ecuador are kind of our starting points. We're thinking nomad, too, and are looking at southern France, Spain, Portugal, and probably Italy eventually, too.
No roots in any of these places -- except I lived in France for a few years and am bilingual French-English. I do speak enough Spanish to get by, as well, so that's a factor.
We decided on this path because A) American politics and the culture wars are us really down. We just don't want to be here anymore. B) Selling everything and going nomad allows us to retire on less, hence earlier. C) we both like to travel and we feel we haven't seen enough of the world yet.
How about you?
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Lots of PNW representation here. Cool.
And even more a-comin'. I'm moving probably to Portland when I retire early next year. What initially focused me on the area was an article that mentioned that Oregon's climate was the closest in the US to that of Ireland, which suits me. I would like a medium-sized city, big enough to have reasonable amenities and mass transit, and not too far from the coast. I've been considering around Seattle metro as well, but since I'll still be spending, but not having material income, Oregon seemed a better choice with income but no sales tax (please let me know if I'm thinking of this wrong!).
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Don't forget about taxes. My brother retired to Vancouver Washington, just across the state line from Portland. I believe the deal is, he avoids property taxes by owning in Washington state, and avoids sales taxes by shopping in Portland.
Kinda sleazy I think. But it's worth considering whether sales taxes or property taxes will be your bigger expense in retirement and choose accordingly.
I don't think there's ever a way to avoid property taxes. I think you mean income taxes. There's no income tax in Washington.
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My dream retirement lives down the road from OP in Santa Cruz, CA. We will be selling our modest Silicon Valley residence of 20+ years to move to an even more modest house near the ocean. Sometimes I get envious of family members in the midwest and PNW and their lower COL, but I am so attached to the landscape and climate of California I really don't want to move. Also, our friends here share our value of outdoor living - trail running, road and mountain biking and a (mostly) simple lifestyle. DH wants to learn surfing and I would like to try the SUP and kayak.
Of course the reason it is possible for us to retire here is because we stuck with the high income jobs for 20+ years. In my case, like OP's, the bay area paid me substantially more than I could have gotten elsewhere, and we were able to FIRE at 50 and 54 a few years ago. We could have retired sooner if I had found MMM earlier. And yes, I retired younger than any of those family members in other parts of the country.
So my message to the OP is: do you love Boulder Creek? Do you love nursing? Think long and hard before you give up a good thing.
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My preference in retirement is to have an intimate familiarity with a handful of my favourite places, rather than a nomadic, fleeting type relationship with dozens of different places. Maybe the wanderlust will hit me one day, but I certainly don't have that desire right now.
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We live in a nearby town to Boulder Creek too! I've visited the Pacific NW many times and love it but don't think I could deal with that many rainy days each year; you should consider whether that would bother you. If rain is ok, you could also look at Eugene - reminds me of a larger Santa Cruz in many ways, and very bike friendly. It's a couple hours South of Portland.
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Long way off, but my wife and I plan to move back to her hometown of Bangkok, Thailand. Actually by that time I think I would prefer to live in a smaller Thai city as I am sure my priorities would change enough to not live in a city that huge.
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Without the rain we wouldn't have green!
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-KCSA5SOhMU0/U4emf5oCW6I/AAAAAAAABBI/wxqXwDlZi8Y/w732-h549-no/IMG_0909.JPG)
Some of that rain even falls at this white cold stuff..
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-h2oE14pyAp4/U5tehG5QEuI/AAAAAAAAA-o/Eb7sV11vpiM/w412-h549-no/IMG_1164.JPG)
If you love mountains there is no better place than the cascades!
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We live in a nearby town to Boulder Creek too! I've visited the Pacific NW many times and love it but don't think I could deal with that many rainy days each year; you should consider whether that would bother you. If rain is ok, you could also look at Eugene - reminds me of a larger Santa Cruz in many ways, and very bike friendly. It's a couple hours South of Portland.
Some of us PNW'ers thankfully have sunny, dry places we can flee to when the rains get to be too much. But the Summers...the lush green growth, PERFECT temperatures with no humidity...I've been to all corners of North America in the Summer months. Nothing can touch the PNW in Summer...just my not so humble opinion of course. ;)
And of course, some of us cannot be far from the sea.
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I live in Orange County, CA and I knew I did not want to retire here. So I thought about the time in my life where I really loved where I lived and what I was doing. I used to live in the country, on a small 2-acre place, when I was growing up, and my dad built the house by hand (not his real job by any means!!). We raised small animals and had a garden and a grove of trees.
So I started searching for the Holy Grail...a place where I could live near a big city and all of its luxury, culture, and superb medical care, yet in a small town environment and in the country and have animals, a garden, etc. I read that Austin, Texas was a great city and so I ended up buying a place on 5 acres about 20 minutes outside of the city, in a small town that still manages to have almost everything (state park, community theatre, etc...I had a list). So CAtoTX means that is just what I plan to do. Right now it's rented out but I am putting down roots during my annual trips to the area. I have joined volunteer groups and made friends...laying the groundwork for 2019!!
Orange County here too.
I like your ideas. I'd love to have about an acre for fruit trees and a vegtable garden. And a small home 500-800 square feet. With good insulation, just a 1 ton AC would be enough to heat/cool home. Not only would I want solar panels on my roof, but on the walls of the house too. Creating so much energy I'd sell it back.
I like green, and warm weather, so right now I'm looking at Hollywood, FL, Jacksonville FL, and Greenville SC area. So travel would be visiting all the states east of the Mississippi river.
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I'm in Nashville, Tennessee, and I'm learning that a lot of people move here to retire. My husband and I like it fine, its cheap with lots to do. We have agreed that we will either stay here or go somewhere warmer, like Florida, but definitely not somewhere colder. I refuse to deal with a cold climate in old age.
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Does it snow much in Seattle? I would be interested in traveling there but not living in the winter if it gets cold. I live inIowa currently and plan to get out to a warm climate in the winters when it's cold.
It snows rarely in Seattle and when it does the city shuts down and has a party (literally, as in several of the steepest streets in the city are closed and people go sledding on them). Lots of fun. It's one of the reasons I live here. My motto is that I will go visit snow, but not live in it.
That said, be very careful before making the move to the PNW. I've lived here for 20+ years and love it, but it isn't for everyone.
Pros:
- Moderate climate
- You can get outside all year (no slipping and sliding on snow and ice)
- Great casual outdoor-oriented culture
- Community oriented and progressive
- Ocean and tons of beaches
- Gorgeous mountains in all directions
- Most amazing summers ever
- Bookstores, theaters, etc.
Cons:
- Expensive housing
- Awful traffic (best to skip the car)
- Lack of sunshine - long time residents know to stay here in the summer/autumn and go get sunshine in the winter/early spring. I go hiking in the SW, other take trips to eastern WA or head to Mexico/Hawaii, etc.
Portland is similar to Seattle (in many ways it's even more approachable, artsy and progressive), but whenever I go there I miss seeing mountains and can't wait to get home to Seattle. I do love those Oregon beaches and the incredible Ashland Theater Festival.
I've heard that Bellingham can get pretty cold in the winter.
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Portland is similar to Seattle (in many ways it's even more approachable, artsy and progressive), but whenever I go there I miss seeing mountains and can't wait to get home to Seattle. I do love those Oregon beaches and the incredible Ashland Theater Festival.
I've heard that Bellingham can get pretty cold in the winter.
Yeah, I'm a big fan of Portland too but I prefer Seattle. My sister lives in Portland and also plans on moving to Seattle eventually. The views/mountains are better, the seafood is amazing, and the weather is more mild. While both tend to spend the winters in the upper 40s and lower 50s, summer can actually be a bit hot in Portland at times whereas Seattle is essentially heaven on earth during the summer.
Really though, anywhere in the PNW that is west of the cascades is pretty awesome. Even east of the cascades can be fine, just not as green and less temperate weather.
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Without the rain we wouldn't have green!
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-KCSA5SOhMU0/U4emf5oCW6I/AAAAAAAABBI/wxqXwDlZi8Y/w732-h549-no/IMG_0909.JPG)
Some of that rain even falls at this white cold stuff..
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-h2oE14pyAp4/U5tehG5QEuI/AAAAAAAAA-o/Eb7sV11vpiM/w412-h549-no/IMG_1164.JPG)
What is that picture of a little town in the mountain? I looks so charming.
If you love mountains there is no better place than the cascades!
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I'm convinced if it didn't rain here so much portland would have a population of several million....an wouldn't be nearly so great.
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I'm in Nashville, Tennessee, and I'm learning that a lot of people move here to retire. My husband and I like it fine, its cheap with lots to do. We have agreed that we will either stay here or go somewhere warmer, like Florida, but definitely not somewhere colder. I refuse to deal with a cold climate in old age.
lol I refuse to deal with cold climate in young age, too. :P
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I'm in Nashville, Tennessee, and I'm learning that a lot of people move here to retire. My husband and I like it fine, its cheap with lots to do. We have agreed that we will either stay here or go somewhere warmer, like Florida, but definitely not somewhere colder. I refuse to deal with a cold climate in old age.
lol I refuse to deal with cold climate in young age, too. :P
I'm about to get to that point. I just noticed a lot of people had chimed in about places on the west coast, and that is such an expensive place to live, I honestly don't know how people manage that. I'm allergic to mold, though, so the wet cities just aren't for me.
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Meteor - The town is Index, WA, great climbing and kayaking/rafting, with a few meth heads in to spice things up.
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We are looking at a little town outside of Albuquerque, NM....I love New Mexico :)
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My wife and I are both English language teachers, so we are definitely open to the idea of retiring overseas. That said, we're also soon to be parents, so who knows. One plan we've talked about is going overseas once the kid is out of elementary school (when we should be FI), with an eye towards returning for high school. Or not, so long as we're near a decent international school. I've lived in Taiwan and China, but I don't expect us to head there. We've talked about places like Chile, Thailand, Panama, Croatia and Bhutan. Who knows?
In my experience, maintaining "local" status isn't hard, as long as you have someone willing to forward the occasional letter. I was in Taiwan for 5 years and I always had a US driver's license and voted absentee.
And I'm totally with people who aren't interested in the cold. I grew up in Boston, but I've moved to steadily warmer climes and can't imagine going back. I've also come to understand that blue skies are very important to me.
Re: the ocean -- I always thought that was super important to me, and I went to grad school in Honolulu largely for that reason. After the first few months, I spent way more time in the mountains than at the beach. That really surprised me.
Lots of great places out there and I've enjoyed this thread!
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Well, it's still under consideration. EXCEPT the desire to leave north-central Alberta and its virtual 8 months of winter behind us forever once DW retires too.
Last year we spent a couple of weeks exploring the Okanagan and Kootney areas of BC. We could be happy in several communities we visited in either area.
This spring, we'll spend some time expanding our search for our potential retirement community to Vancouver Island and the South Channel Islands. Based on internet research, Nanaimo and Gabriola Island are my current favourites.
For the winter, I suspect that we'll travel to various places in the Sun Belt for 3-4 months to escape the darkness, cold and/or rain. My sisters both have places around Phoenix, so we'd actually have just as much family to visit there in the winter as here at home.
Outside Canada and the US, I'm thinking we might want to try Cabo San Lucas, but I'm not too sure about that as we've not spent any time in that part of Mexico (just PV, Manzanillo and Mayan Riviera). It's on the list for a 2-3 week winter vacation in the next year or two to see if we'll like it enough to consider a seasonal stay.
Al
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I love my town: http://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/best-towns/Durango-Colorado.html
Housing is expensive, but to me, it's worth it.
I own a house with an "Accessory Dwelling Unit". I rent out the main house. I think after I retire in a few years, I will hit the road (mostly in the US, to start with). I will keep the house and ADU. Hopefully I can get a tenant who is handy and could keep an eye on the ADU while I am gone. Or, I could pay a property manager to take care of everything.
Seems like I would have the best of both worlds if I can continue to have my main residence in this awesome town, keep bringing in rental income, but be able to slow travel elsewhere. Looking forward to it.
Who knows, I could even invite fellow mustachians to visit and stay in my ADU when I am out of town. ;-)
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Deltabond, like anyplace else, costs on the west coast are about the details. Yes, California real estate is expensive, but if you're retired and don't have to commute into a city center, you can reduce housing costs.
For instance, I live 45 mins north of San Diego, in a luxurious 20 year old 2350 sf house. It's worth about $500k today (a lot, I know). A modest, 1950s, 1050 sf house clise to San Diego would cost the same. A sl newer house similar to mine could be had about 30-45 mins north of me for about $300k. Climate is mild so utilities are low. Property taxes are lower than many states and pegged to your purchase price, not subsequent inflation.
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I love all four seasons and am retiring to Montreal. If I need a break once in a while I will go to the south of France or San Francisco, where my brother lives. Not interested in a nomadic lifestyle but I like nice long vacations in interesting places.
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We live in a nearby town to Boulder Creek too! I've visited the Pacific NW many times and love it but don't think I could deal with that many rainy days each year; you should consider whether that would bother you. If rain is ok, you could also look at Eugene - reminds me of a larger Santa Cruz in many ways, and very bike friendly. It's a couple hours South of Portland.
They also have the desert up there:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakima,_Washington
Dunno much else about the city other than they have a bike rack corporation.
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Although I love to travel, I agree with those that like a good home base close to family and friends. At this point, I can't imagine permanently leaving my home city for other pastures, but I can see some mid-term travel (3-6 months) creeping into my lifestyle during FIRE. I'd like to try some long term hikes in Spain, South America, Asia.
I'm kind of a people person and haven't travelled solo much. I can see myself travelling solo while FIREd (mostly because everyone else will be stuck working, not that I like the solo travel) and meeting some interesting people. Also, being a people person means I want to stay retired close to "my people". Kind of restricting, but I think I'd feel quite aimless being permanently away from friends and family.
And all of this talk of the Pacific NW sounds very enticing. I've only been to Whistler/Vancouver/Victoria/Alaska. I like what I saw, but haven't spent much time there. Sounds like summer in the PNW would be a good escape from the crappy summers in South Florida...too much heat, rain, humidity (although perfect beach weather).
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Once we ER, we hope to stay in the same place, and really take advantage of our location in the middle of 5 National parks to hike, fish, mountain bike, ski, camp, soak in the surrounding hot springs, and maybe learn to golf? - apparently the course here is AMAZING, with lots of others within an hours drive. We do get lots of snow, but it tends to be very sunny here as opposed to being socked in and grey all winter. Once the kids are grown, and we approach a more traditional retirement age, we will likely head for the Okanagan valley (Vernon/Armstrong area.)
I am the opposite of lots of the previous posters - when I lived on Vancouver Island, all I wanted/needed were the mountains! DH and I both agree that we love having 4 individual seasons. Snow is lots of fun when you have the time to play in it!
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I love my town: http://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/best-towns/Durango-Colorado.html
Housing is expensive, but to me, it's worth it.
I own a house with an "Accessory Dwelling Unit". I rent out the main house. I think after I retire in a few years, I will hit the road (mostly in the US, to start with). I will keep the house and ADU. Hopefully I can get a tenant who is handy and could keep an eye on the ADU while I am gone. Or, I could pay a property manager to take care of everything.
Seems like I would have the best of both worlds if I can continue to have my main residence in this awesome town, keep bringing in rental income, but be able to slow travel elsewhere. Looking forward to it.
Who knows, I could even invite fellow mustachians to visit and stay in my ADU when I am out of town. ;-)
I visited Durango in September last year mainly to ride the D&SNGRR. It was awesome. I also loved the town. Unfortunately, my other half hates the outdoors :( and was not too keen on Durango but loves living nearer to bigger cities such as Denver (and Boulder as well).
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If you love mountains there is no better place than the cascades!
[/quote]
Cascades = Awesome - Yes
Mountains = No better place - Not so much ;)
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This spring, we'll spend some time expanding our search for our potential retirement community to Vancouver Island and the South Channel Islands. Based on internet research, Nanaimo and Gabriola Island are my current favourites.
Gabriola is really nice and quiet, very rural, with a friendly and artistic vibe like most other Gulf Islands, but that most places in mainland Vancouver Island do not have. We visited most accessible islands and for a number of reasons, we opted for Gabriola and purchased a small acreage last year. We are planning to build a "tiny" home for us, and another for visiting kids and friends. Our plan is to live on the island during the warm months of the year -although even the bad months are very liveable. I was there for New Year's and couldn't believe how green and tropical it felt (mind you, I work in Yellowknife...). The winters are generally very mild, so mild that my daughter and her fiance are now living aboard their sailboat permanently. My daughter has even been scuba diving every weekend this winter. The rest of the year, our plan is to spend 3-5 months in a warm place: Southwest USA, Spain, Mexico, Thailand, etc.
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I love my town: http://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/best-towns/Durango-Colorado.html
Housing is expensive, but to me, it's worth it.
I own a house with an "Accessory Dwelling Unit". I rent out the main house. I think after I retire in a few years, I will hit the road (mostly in the US, to start with). I will keep the house and ADU. Hopefully I can get a tenant who is handy and could keep an eye on the ADU while I am gone. Or, I could pay a property manager to take care of everything.
Seems like I would have the best of both worlds if I can continue to have my main residence in this awesome town, keep bringing in rental income, but be able to slow travel elsewhere. Looking forward to it.
Who knows, I could even invite fellow mustachians to visit and stay in my ADU when I am out of town. ;-)
I visited Durango in September last year mainly to ride the D&SNGRR. It was awesome. I also loved the town. Unfortunately, my other half hates the outdoors :( and was not too keen on Durango but loves living nearer to bigger cities such as Denver (and Boulder as well).
Glad you liked our little town and the beautiful train ride! Sorry it wasn't your OH's cup of tea. :(
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The town is Index, WA, great climbing and kayaking/rafting, with a few meth heads in to spice things up.
Love your photos Zoltani! Is that you climbing? The Cascades (and Washington state) was the first place I went right after I quit my job. Last day at work was a Friday - was in Washington (Trout Lake area) for climbing, hiking, fun stuff by Monday! That was my version of "easing" into the retirement life :-)! Spent about a month there and fell in love - especially the Cascades and coastal areas - until the rains came.
I took the photo of index while on a climb of the Upper Town Wall. The photo in the snow gully is of my wife the approach to liberty bell near washington pass.
Where does your retirement take you these days?
If you love mountains there is no better place than the cascades!
Cascades = Awesome - Yes
Mountains = No better place - Not so much ;)
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OK, I concede that WY is pretty fucking special. The tetons and wind river ranges are absolutely spectacular.
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Somewhere with mountains and seasons. As a native Floridian I'll leave it to those of you dreaming of someplace warm right now.
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My dream retirement lives down the road from OP in Santa Cruz, CA. We will be selling our modest Silicon Valley residence of 20+ years to move to an even more modest house near the ocean. Sometimes I get envious of family members in the midwest and PNW and their lower COL, but I am so attached to the landscape and climate of California I really don't want to move. Also, our friends here share our value of outdoor living - trail running, road and mountain biking and a (mostly) simple lifestyle. DH wants to learn surfing and I would like to try the SUP and kayak.
Of course the reason it is possible for us to retire here is because we stuck with the high income jobs for 20+ years. In my case, like OP's, the bay area paid me substantially more than I could have gotten elsewhere, and we were able to FIRE at 50 and 54 a few years ago. We could have retired sooner if I had found MMM earlier. And yes, I retired younger than any of those family members in other parts of the country.
So my message to the OP is: do you love Boulder Creek? Do you love nursing? Think long and hard before you give up a good thing.
Good things to stop and reevaluate. I've always told myself, "when you aren't sure what to do next in life, don't make any changes". Why mess with a good thing? My wife and I have been working opposite nursing shifts (her on days, with my on nights). I recently just took a day shift position in another department of the hospital. This will allow us to spend 2 more hours a day together as we travel to work. Additionally, I won't have to sleep through 2/3rds of a day off together because I worked the night before. We are also looking into retiring in Santa Cruz, or possibly Scotts Valley.
Perhaps we could meet up for a beer some time.
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Hey PRN, glad to see another Santa Cruz area person here. I haven't been there much lately because we have an ailing cat. But when I get back there would be happy to meet up for that beer.
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I'm Santa Cruz County too, and know at least one other on here from this area as well.
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Our plan was always to retire to the St. Petersburg Beach, FL area... we love it down there, but the grandkids got here before we got out and we can't imagine moving away from them. So I guess we are stuck here until they are all teenagers and don't want to spend time with us.
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For some reason I find myself worrying more and more about the affordability of healthcare in the US.
It turns out that my Wife and I would be eligible for free HC in the UK, although it would take 5 years for my Wife to gain permanent residency if we moved back there, but she would get free HC from the day we both arrived.
Now I'm not too keen on living back in the UK (the weather is generally crap). It used to be that if you were a UK citizen you could also get free HC in the EU as a reciprocal arrangement with the uK. Sadly from my reading on the subject it looks like that is not universally true.
My other concern (apart from never having enough money) is that if the ACA subsidies go away we might find a mass exodus to retiree friendly countries such as Panama. Honduras etc.
If we then get that mass exodus, then these places will not likely to remain as affordable.
Anyone have thoughts on this?
Frank
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Not far from Orange County, we live in Long Beach, CA. House fully paid for but need to leave to children as one son disabled and needs stable long-term housing situation. That said, if I were in a position to move I'd head to New Mexico. I know all the negatives, it's a poor state, etc, but it's the place in the US I feel most at home. I love the Corrales area, but also love Las Cruces, and also Taos, although I couldn't handle the cold. I spend a lot of time in the PNW in my youth and always thought of moving there. Then about 12 years ago (I was 44), we went to Portland on a job interview and then stayed in the area for about 8 days. Fell in love with the people, the greenness, the city itself (and the beer wasn't bad :) However, at the end of the vacation I realized I couldn't stay as I feel depression creeping up me very quickly due to the lack of sun (this was in April). I never believed in Seasonal Affective Disorder when I was young, but as I've aged it's become a real issue for me. Even here in Southern California beach areas I feel it to a lesser degree. Traditionally it is gloomy here through June and then the sun comes out in early July. I always notice my mood improves within days of the bright sun. May not be an issue for you younger folks, but as you age the cold and dreariness might get to you in ways you can't foresee.