I'm considering retiring in a LCOLA and although I started out looking at many states, I've narrowed it down to Tampa Florida or Spokane Washington.
Spokane has many advantages for me. Midwest housing prices, with good rents. IT jobs available if I want to work once in a while, though not as plentiful as Seattle of course, and traffic not near as bad as Seattle area. Plus no income tax, and I can keep my existing Puget sound area rentals and refinance to tap equity whenever I want more than just the rental income, etc.
So although I'm still open to other options, I've started to really feel like Spokane is where it's going to be at for me. Having found out a colleague I used to work with is moving out there soon too, I'm stoked, because I will have a friend or two there (another friend of mine is thinking of retiring there too).
So I'm curious, where are your relocating to and what are your reasons for picking that place?
For me it is:
-Proximity to existing real estate rental assets.
-No need to learn new state laws for my rentals.
-No state income tax.
-Cheap housing, with jobs available, second biggest city in Washington.
-Good rental prices for me as a landlord.
-Low traffic congestion.
-My kind of entertainment (hiking, fishing, camping) readily available short drives away.
-Four seasons.
