Affordable / Mustashian places to retire with WARM weather

[Kansaslover5]

I'm about 6 years from retirement right now. I just turned 38 recently. I am healthy, active and doing well financially. I am trying to figure out where I want to live in 6 years. I want cheap housing (low property taxes preferred).

I want an area that has things to do and a decent population but not crazy traffic. I like to run and do things outdoors. I also want the ability to maybe doing some property management on the side just to keep busy and made extra cash. Any suggestions out there? I'm not a fan of Florida so much. Thanks.

[Malaysia41]

Malaysia -everyone speaks English and it is easy to live cheaply.

[former player]

Remember that temperature is about altitude as well as latitude, so mountains in a hot area can end up being warm (still rules out Florida).

Avoiding big cities in favour of smaller towns makes it easier to live a mustachian life.

Cheap housing may mean that hands-off property management is not going to be a big money-spinner, but handyman skills would still be in demand.

[deborah]

What do you mean by warm? Warm with 4 seasons (no snow in winter)? Warm tropical (warm and dry half the year, and warm and wet the other half)? Many people love 2 season tropical weather, many others don't. How warm is warm - when does it become hot or cool (I'm not being ridiculous, every so often I read about European heat waves and wonder why they call it a heat wave)?

[TheNorwegianGuy]

Maybe you can use this cost of living ranking: http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/rankings_by_country.jsp
You can also compare your hometown with the prices of another destination.

In my case, I am considering to move to Portugal with time, where there prices are generally 60% lower than where I live now. I can buy an appartment there for the amount I have to have at home to even get a loan for an appartment. (15%). But I also see that all other countries would be better for my economy too :p

[Kansaslover5]

By "warm" I generally mean somewhere the summer temps are in the 90s and winter temps don't go much lower than 40 -- with little or no snow.

Ideally I want to live somewhere I wouldn't have to own a car. A place where I could walk, run or bike ride outdoors pretty much year around.

[boarder42]

costa rica

[112ontoyou]

Warm weather?  We found a great little place on the Big Island of Hawaii.  There is a section of coastline about 20 minutes from the town of Hilo called the Puna District.  There are rural property developments, some in parcels of 1 - 3 acres.  The property values are reasonable, with vacant land opportunities for custom builds.  We found numerous kit home packages available from local developers further reducing the cost of the property for DIY (or partial DIY).

You can get free mulch from the county greens recycling area to place on your land to grow your own food.  We purchased a home within very close proximity to the Pacific Ocean, but there isn't a beach access, which reduces tourists as well as our property value.  The nearest town, Hilo, is primarily residents instead of tourists, so local items purchased in town are reasonably priced.  The weather is warm year round,  Many of the homes are on septic and rainwater catchment so monthly expenses are low. 

Of course, milk and bread are very expensive, but there are plenty of other reasonably priced foods.  The area is extremely conducive to mustastachanism.  Electricity and gasoline are very expensive, but with all the sunshine and having two acres, we're considering an electric car and solar panels.  My husband has been researching wind power due to the regularity of the strong trade winds.  We don't want to spend much on our alternative electric so of course we'll fully research the grants available at the time of our move in about five years.

[Joggernot]

Look at the Gulf Coast of Texas.  Rockport, Aransas Pass are good cities.  Rockport allows you to drive golf carts on specific roads (cheap transportation).  The whole town is about 8 miles end to end.  There are birding paths, bike/jogging paths, etc. for you to use.  Many parks, state parks, city parks, beaches, fishing, etc. to occupy your time.

[shotgunwilly]

The greatest state ever, Texas!

[iris lily]

Look at the Gulf Coast of Texas.  Rockport, Aransas Pass are good cities.  Rockport allows you to drive golf carts on specific roads (cheap transportation).  The whole town is about 8 miles end to end.  There are birding paths, bike/jogging paths, etc. for you to use.  Many parks, state parks, city parks, beaches, fishing, etc. to occupy your time.

Agreed, my mother rented a winter place there 18 years ago and it was VERY laid back, but it has since been built up.

Consider Las Cruces, New Mexico & nearby. It's laid back, low tax because people there (other than gubmnt and University employees) can't afford much. Via Google Earth I checked out the place where I lived 34 years ago and it still looks exactly the same with empty, undeveloped lots across from the duplex complex where I lived. The city is expanding out on the edges, but the old downtown area hasn't changed a lot.

 There will be snow dustings but not an entire winter of it. Mountains are very close. Lots of outdoor hiking and activity.

[RunHappy]

I like Tennessee as a place to retire.  That was my first choice on my list.  Texas seems good on paper and I currently live in Dallas, but the thing that bothers me about Dallas is they have severe water problems.  They are always under a drought and water restrictions are always in place.  It is a good place to live cheaply, but I don't see it as a good place long term. 

With that said, I will always prefer being in the mountains :)

[iris lily]

I like Tennessee as a place to retire.  That was my first choice on my list.  Texas seems good on paper and I currently live in Dallas, but the thing that bothers me about Dallas is they have severe water problems.  They are always under a drought and water restrictions are always in place.  It is a good place to live cheaply, but I don't see it as a good place long term. 

With that said, I will always prefer being in the mountains :)

If I had to choose, blindly, between Texas, New Mexico, or Tennessee, I'd go to Tennessee. I like lush greenery rather than dry brownery. I would NEVER buy a permanent home in the dry, dusty part of the country because the green is too important to me. But I'd spend winters in Rockport/Port Aransas and elsewhere in Browsn Land, just not year round. I need to be able to grow stuff.

That's why I think Tennessee would be beautiful. The water thing is important to me.

[zolotiyeruki]

If I had to choose, blindly, between Texas, New Mexico, or Tennessee, I'd go to Tennessee. I like lush greenery rather than dry brownery. I would NEVER buy a permanent home in the dry, dusty part of the country because the green is too important to me. But I'd spend winters in Rockport/Port Aransas and elsewhere in Browsn Land, just not year round. I need to be able to grow stuff.

That's why I think Tennessee would be beautiful. The water thing is important to me.

For what it's worth, not all of Texas is an eternal Dust Bowl.  I used to live in the Houston suburbs, and it's quite green there (so is pretty much the entire gulf coast).  Summers rarely topped 100 degrees, but were in the 90's from April through September with plenty of humidity.  That was about the only thing I didn't like about living there.

[Spork]

I like Tennessee as a place to retire.  That was my first choice on my list.  Texas seems good on paper and I currently live in Dallas, but the thing that bothers me about Dallas is they have severe water problems.  They are always under a drought and water restrictions are always in place.  It is a good place to live cheaply, but I don't see it as a good place long term. 

With that said, I will always prefer being in the mountains :)

If I had to choose, blindly, between Texas, New Mexico, or Tennessee, I'd go to Tennessee. I like lush greenery rather than dry brownery. I would NEVER buy a permanent home in the dry, dusty part of the country because the green is too important to me. But I'd spend winters in Rockport/Port Aransas and elsewhere in Browsn Land, just not year round. I need to be able to grow stuff.

That's why I think Tennessee would be beautiful. The water thing is important to me.

I get the point of what you're saying.  This is a nitpick.  But: Texas it big.  Really big.  It isn't all brown and full of water problems.  (I've lived in Dallas.  You're point there is very valid.)

[Dee18]

One thing to keep in mind if you are considering the southeast is the air quality problem.  A key reason I will be leaving the low cost southeast is that the routine poor air quality has begun to affect my health so that it is limiting my outdoor activities.  You can easily see this at:  airnow.gov with the tab current AQI.   Be aware that continually being in the "yellow" zone can affect an otherwise healthy person, especially (in my experience) when cycling. 

[DrJohn]

SE Texas is very green indeed and away from Houston it can be quite pretty.  In my experience, the North Eastern Part of Texas was very nice with lakes and forests, but occasionally unwelcoming.  We had a couple of un-hospitable comments on a trip up there (in Jasper in particular) and we are a WASP family, but with a foreign accent.  But, that said, we met some really nice people also- e.g. in Nacogdoches.  Tyler was a good place to visit also on the one time I went there on business.

Beware the coastal areas- even in the North East of Houston we had problems with hurricanes (power out for up to two weeks in summer a couple of times in a 10 year period)- but big chunks of the coast suffered extreme damage- and especially beach houses- which can also be expensive to buy, maintain and insure due to the climate.

Due to the size of the state you can get away from it all- with cheap land BUT it is easy to find yourself a long way from the airport if you want to fly places and fares from some of the "small town" airports can be very high.

Also no state income taxes- reflected in higher property taxes.

[dcheesi]

What is it about Florida that you don't like? Heat, humidity, storms? Or something cultural?

[iamadummy]

Nevada.  Cheaper taxes too

[Scandium]

One thing to keep in mind if you are considering the southeast is the air quality problem.  A key reason I will be leaving the low cost southeast is that the routine poor air quality has begun to affect my health so that it is limiting my outdoor activities.  You can easily see this at:  airnow.gov with the tab current AQI.   Be aware that continually being in the "yellow" zone can affect an otherwise healthy person, especially (in my experience) when cycling.

Wow, that's very interesting. Hadn't thought of that. Thanks! Further strengthen my belief that I'd want to retire in New England:) I can handle some snow.
Other problem with the warm places is that they're in the south. I'm no raging liberal, but atheist and progressive enough that I'm not sure I would do that well in the god-pushing/tea party/NRA belt.. (i.e. anywhere south of the mason-dixon)

[Dicey]

Here's an unexpected one: Palm Springs, CA.

Yup. It's kind of out of favor because Palm Desert is "newer" or whatever, so prices are fairly low right now. The weather is awesome most of the year and then brutal for three months. You either get used to it or you travel during the summer. Towering mountains all around offer variety and a break from the heat. You can grow citrus in pots and have fresh fruit nearly year-round. There's a reason movie stars and former presidents live there, but there is also a surprising amount of affordable housing available for ordinary joes, too.

CA property taxes are surprisingly low (1.25% of purchase price). Parts of PS are very walkable. There is interesting architecture/history and lots of cultural things to do.

A quick Zillow search in the up to 200k range netted 30 listings. Mostly condos, but a few houses. There are other areas nearby which are less expensive, but far less walkable.

[fmzip]

Check out this:

http://www.findyourspot.com/

and this:

http://taxfoundation.org/blog/real-value-100-each-state

and this:

http://www.retirementliving.com/taxes-by-state


California?? Not too mustachian but I'd pick that for the weather but not for the cost of living and taxes and traffic

[minimustache1985]

By "warm" I generally mean somewhere the summer temps are in the 90s and winter temps don't go much lower than 40 -- with little or no snow.

Ideally I want to live somewhere I wouldn't have to own a car. A place where I could walk, run or bike ride outdoors pretty much year around.

As long as you don't like to gamble, Vegas area is great.  No state income tax, pretty low property tax (MUCH lower than Texas), loads of free/cheap entertainment off the strip, no snow except in the surrounding mountains, and plenty of outdoors- Red Rock national park, Lake Mead, Mt Charleston, plus lots of hiking/biking routes outside of those spots that meetup groups can help you find the first couple times.  Not sure about not owning a car at all, but there are certainly areas where you wouldn't need it often.

[Joggernot]

By "warm" I generally mean somewhere the summer temps are in the 90s and winter temps don't go much lower than 40 -- with little or no snow.

Ideally I want to live somewhere I wouldn't have to own a car. A place where I could walk, run or bike ride outdoors pretty much year around.

I'm in Rockport.  I use an electric golf cart to go around town. With a full charge I can go from one end of town to the other end and back home.   I do own a car to get to Corpus Christi (35-45 miles) now and then or to Aransas Pass (12 miles) for Lowes.  Rockport meets your temperatures and still has LCOL with houses from $50k up into the $2M+ range.  There are many streets to ride a bicycle on, and the adventurous can go to several small towns nearby.  All roads, except some Farm to Market (FM) roads have good shoulders to ride on.

There are taxi's but they charge from the moment they start your way to pick you up.  There are senior buses that will take you places for a lot less.  No public transit.

[YK-Phil]

I didn't read in your post whether you are planning retirement in the USA or elsewhere. But in any case, if I were your age, I would not want to spend the rest of my life in one place (with the exception of perhaps maintaining a permanent pied-a-terre where family/home is), and tie your money in real estate in foreign lands. I've been debating that for quite some time and almost bought a place in Spain last year, but after I saw how cheap rental apartments and villas can be found there, I instead chose to rent for longer period of times (3-4 months) in one place, then go back "home" for a while to visit family and friends, then rinse and repeat in another country as desired. My winter options are SE Asia (Thailand, Malaysia, etc.), Southern Europe (mainly Southern France, Spain and Italy where I have tons of relatives), the US Southwest, and parts of South America (Ecuador, Argentina, etc.). Basically anywhere but Canada in winter. My summer retreat will be somewhere on Vancouver Island, where winters are mild and summers are gorgeous. I am in the process of acquiring 5 acres of land on one of the Gulf islands, and build a 400 sq. ft off-the-grid house. As I am 56 and my wife is 39, we can see ourselves going back and forth once a year, until I can no longer travel (perhaps 20 more years), then we will stay on Canadian soil because it is likely where most of my kids will be, except for one daughter who is the wandering type and who now lives on a sailboat, getting ready for a long journey that will lead her wherever the wind blows.

[southern granny]

We always wanted to move to the gulf coast of florida, around the st Petersburg area.  We have vacationed there a lot of times and planned to move there in our late 40's.  But the grandkids got here before we got out and now we can't bear to move away and leave them.  Maybe they will all turn into obnoxious teenagers and then we will go.  But if we were going anywhere that is where we would go.  It gets hot there in the summer, but no hotter than it does here in the KY ohio river valley. 

[Beric01]

I'm currently looking seriously at Malaysia. Incredibly low cost of living, and even a full residency program (MM2H). Only issue is it requires 10K RMB proven monthly income ($3K US), and I don't plan to have that much when I retire, nor do I think Vanguard index funds will count as monthly income to the Malaysian government. But as I plan to retire in almost 10 years, the program may be discontinued by then, so I may be looking too far ahead.

[theonethatgotaway]

Charleston or austin

[flashpacker]

I recently moved to Vegas and LOVE it.  It took 2 months to fully acclimatize to the weather e.g., my skin and eyes were dry for a start but now they've completely adjusted. It's not very walkable is the main downside.  It's very well located for travel, from both a flights and road trips perspective.

[wutra]

I'd recommend looking into Athens, GA / Charleston, SC / Savannah, GA.

[chasesfish]

Cheap and warm is always a challenge, I've been looking at this for same thing for a while.  Just how rural are you okay with?

The panhandle of Florida between Cedar Key and Tyndall AFB is very affordable and meets what you're looking for in climate, but most of the communities there are 4,000 people or less and very rural.

I also second the comment about the BIg Island - 150,000 people and the place is so big it takes six hours to drive all the way around it,so housing isn't awful


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[Helios]

I'll take a minute to plug New Orleans.

New Orleans was founded in 1718, and much of the city developed before cars were an option.  Neighborhoods are dense, walkable, and bikeable; there are tons of bike lanes, and a lot of folks bike around.  Or take the streetcar.  More of my friends have cars than don't have cars, but you definitely don't need a car if you don't want one.

For those who like "culture," New Orleans has many amenities befitting an older city: a beautiful zoo, a nice aquarium, etc.  The city is popular with artists, and there is a good local art scene.  It always has been: Edgar Degas lived here for a while, his mother was from New Orleans.  For art fans, there is the New Orleans Museum of Art and the Ogden Museum, among others, and countless art galleries.  For music fans, jazz was invented in New Orleans, and there are many jazz clubs and places to go listen to brass bands.  For history fans, there is the Civil War Museum and the National World War II Museum, among countless actual sites of historical significance.  Granulated sugar was invented in New Orleans (you're welcome, world).

For those who like sports, New Orleans has an NFL football team and an NBA basketball team.  It annually hosts a PGA golf tour event (currently called the "Zurich Classic" after the Zurich insurance company).  The Fair Grounds is a beautiful horse track in the middle of the city which annually hosts the Louisiana Derby.  New Orleans also annually hosts the Sugar Bowl (a top tier college bowl game), and commonly hosts Super Bowls, Final Fours, and other major sporting events.

The food in New Orleans is world class.  As good as anywhere, and much better than most places.

And then there are the festivals.  Most folks have heard of Mardi Gras, the culmination of carnival season, but there are more festivals in New Orleans than you could attend.  It's a great town.