Did you move out of state after you retired?

We retired in 2001 and left CA. We went to TX to register our truck and trailer and get drivers licenses, etc. and then traveled the US for 3 1/2 years and spent the winters in Brownsville, TX. We went back to TX after we sold our truck and trailer and bought a house in Victoria. Back then, a 3BR/2Bath brick home on 1/2 acre was $89,000 and very low taxes. It's changed a lot. Do your homework.
 
I did consider moving back to the province I'd lived in previously. But I couldn't face the prospect of getting a new driver's license, car registration and insurance -- not just an address change. For example, different jurisdictions have different regulations for car safety and pollution equipment. What if my car didn't pass?

Plus, there are waiting periods for certain things. In Canada, this meant I'd be in health insurance limbo for a few months. In the US, I don't know.

Things that weren't a big deal in my 50s seemed like too much hassle in my 60s.

So it depends on how much you dread extra errands, paperwork, and waiting periods on top of all the usual hassles of moving.
 

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NorthernLight said:
Things that weren't a big deal in my 50s seemed like too much hassle in my 60s.
So it depends on how much you dread extra errands, paperwork, and waiting periods on top of all the usual hassles of moving.
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Same here... we waited so long to be homeowners and finally found "my dream house." Been here for 18 years now, and retirement or not, I'm staying put! (I just realized that "stay put" doesn't make much sense... why would someone have tacked the word "put" on there??) :giggle:
 
Youngster said:
I'm considering moving from Oregon to Texas. If you've moved to a different state after you retired, was it easier or more difficult than you expected. What issues did you encounter that others might benefit from knowing.
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CallMeKate said:
Same here... we waited so long to be homeowners and finally found "my dream house." Been here for 18 years now, and retirement or not, I'm staying put! (I just realized that "stay put" doesn't make much sense... why would someone have tacked the word "put" on there??) :giggle:
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We planned to retire to Florida. Neither of us likes cold weather. After careful consideration, however; we decided to stay in Maryland where both of us were born. A big consideration was that we heard that healthcare in Florida was not great. This was an important consideration in our senior years. I didn’t want to move away from lifelong friends. My husband has never lived anywhere else. He grew up in the neighborhood where we live now. I’m glad we stayed.
 
We've moved a lot over the years so one last run was a given. Having gone to SE Tenn. for work, we knew we would go back to New England ASAP. As soon as DH came home from work one day, and said, "I cannot do this any more." We called the Realtor and made plans to move north! The heat in TN was killing us! We are SO happy to have cooler weather, way better medical care, better, and cheaper, groceries to choose from and amazing new friends. We downsized to do this and moved ourselves - with the help of a local mover from Maine. (The Realtor had an amazing network of people we needed)

We had saved up and discussed this for years. We made lists and made a trip north in 2015 with a notebook. We met people online and in person, toured a Medical Gym, a supermarket, neighborhoods and took notes. We said, "goodbye" to the kids (already spread out for work) and did this for us! This was the BEST move we've ever made! Do what makes YOU happy!

We have one more move ahead - to a, now local, retirement community -CCRC. Looking forward to it.
 
Youngster said:
I'm considering moving from Oregon to Texas. If you've moved to a different state after you retired, was it easier or more difficult than you expected. What issues did you encounter that others might benefit from knowing.
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We moved from Florida to Utah, to be closer to family. But I had lived in Utah before so I knew what I was getting into. It's worked ok, I don't like the cold, and miss the Gulf but otherwise I'm fine.

I spent much of my youth in Dunedin, Florida. At that time the residents were mostly retired folks who had moved in from up north, the joke was that the shuffle board courts were the highest line item on the City's budget. May have been true. I got to know a lot of retiree transplants. In my experience about 1/3 were really happy they moved and did quite well, about 1/3 had mixed feelings but got along, and about 1/3 hated it and many of those moved back. I think much of the difference was planning and knowing what to expect. Those who were happiest had visited many times before moving and had friends or family in the area. Those most unhappy had for the most part just uprooted and moved without much real knowledge.

Best of luck with your move, or not.
 
Marian said:
We planned to retire to Florida. Neither of us likes cold weather. After careful consideration, however; we decided to stay in Maryland where both of us were born. A big consideration was that we heard that healthcare in Florida was not great. This was an important consideration in our senior years. I didn’t want to move away from lifelong friends. My husband has never lived anywhere else. He grew up in the neighborhood where we live now. I’m glad we stayed.
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I think you made a good decision. We moved from FL to TX in 2006. My experience with my mother's and father's healthcare was subpar. My father actually passed away after receiving an incorrect diagnosis over a Thanksgiving weekend.

My mother received much better healthcare after we moved to TX. I used to take her to appointments, so I saw the difference in the expertise and attention provided by her doctors.

Also, my own doctor in FL told me I would have receive better healthcare in TX, and I haven't been disappointed.
 
I retired in 2020, but we moved to a suburb of Dallas in 2006 with the goal in mind of retiring here. We moved here for quality of life and I worked from home for 14 years.

We are a few steps from a lake where we can walk every day, our Master Bedroom is on the first floor so when we can't make it up the stairs anymore it is no problem. Our current neighbors are mostly Baby Boomers, so we can all grow old together. No intentions of moving.
 
I moved to another state after retiring and spent a year making all the legal changes and arranging the house and learning where to shop. During the second year I thought about socializing and joining a church I visited and a bridge club that was open to the public. Then Covid hit and they both closed down for the duration. Then I had an unexpected health event that left me unable to get around comfortably. So I am fairly isolated in my house. It would be nice if there was a community forum like this where elders in my community could meet each other on-line.
 
I wouldn't mind looking into living California, but I'm essentially trapped. Plus moving as a single person is daunting.

My mother and stepfather moved to Washington state from Ca. My mother's idea, Within months, if not weeks, she hated it and did her usual yelling and screaming. They came back to California and lived in an adult mobile park in Lake County, Ca which shockingly, my mother liked.

With all California's problems, the tax control helps many. Also while I had my rent increased 10% last year, that was the limit they could do. It was too much IMO. Also California has eviction laws. I'm actually afraid to ask for repairs to this place. If the AC goes out, I'd have no choice but right now I have no working dishwasher and I have to put up and tie the blinds in the bedroom myself.

I had mentioned this before but my niece, I believe, in N. Carolina had her rent increased $300.00. She went and bought a townhouse. I admire and envy her insight to do so at her age, late 20's.
 
seadoug said:
I think you made a good decision. We moved from FL to TX in 2006. My experience with my mother's and father's healthcare was subpar. My father actually passed away after receiving an incorrect diagnosis over a Thanksgiving weekend.

My mother received much better healthcare after we moved to TX. I used to take her to appointments, so I saw the difference in the expertise and attention provided by her doctors.

Also, my own doctor in FL told me I would have receive better healthcare in TX, and I haven't been disappointed.
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I’m so sorry to hear about your father. You would think that Florida would be a Mecca for good healthcare seeing that it is full of elderly people. What a shame!
 
Huzz and I are still living here in CA where we worked. I'd love to move to a different part of the state we used to visit; it's much cooler in the summer and a little warmer in the winter there, a beautiful area near the ocean and also is 1 of the only 2 coastal counties in CA that are affordable. Plus it's getting harder and harder for me to breathe the darn hot, smoky, dry (soooo dry) air where we are now. But it'd put us too far away from what little family (nieces and nephews) we've got left. So here we stay.
 
Moved about 6 months after I retired, during the Covid masking and spent the 1st 6 months unable to do anything. Getting ready to move was so difficult because there was nowhere to send anything I didn't want--moved things here and have spent 15 trips to thrift stores as I gradually have downsized even more. Now, after 2.5 years I finally feel like I have a social life.
 
No, still in the same house we raised our children. They've all bought homes nearby so unless something very unexpected occurs we'll stay in this area for the duration.

Some friends moved out of state, couldn't handle the politics in their new area and wound up moving back to CA. There's a lot to consider when moving.
 
We spent several years looking at different areas in the US, and Canada, and came to the conclusion that while we saw many beautiful and interesting places, there were none that were any nicer than where we were already. I think some of the desire to find a new home is just the desire to see new places and meet new people. Having recently sold the home in the Caribbean that we spent the last twenty winters at, we are now free to try new things, and not have a second home to maintain.
 
Its pretty easy for us...had built our dream home in the 80s in Texas on 12 acres of wooded land. We both detest cold weather and hub says the only mistake he made was building it weather wise was we're "north of 1-10"...lol.
 

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