Best Places to Retire

I think that is the key to happiness SifuPhil. Everyone should retire where they feel ALIVE, regardless of where that is.
 

I retired at age 64 and moved to Mesa AZ Valley of the Sun. I bought a cute older mobile home (NOT a trailer!) that was completely furnished and had only been used by snowbirds 4 months a year for 20K. The Park rent is still cheaper than rent of an apartment, so I have the freedom of my own 1500 sq ft house, inexpensive upkeep and nice neighbors. I live on just social security and part time income writing and don't regret a thing. I worked the 8 to 4 office thing for 30 years and I am so glad its over.

Also, I laugh when I hear all the experts saying NO ONE can retire without 300k in the bank and yadda yadda....well, I have nothing in the bank and I may live from month to month but I am happy.
 
SallyintheValley said:
... Also, I laugh when I hear all the experts saying NO ONE can retire without 300k in the bank and yadda yadda....well, I have nothing in the bank and I may live from month to month but I am happy.
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I've always been of the opinion that they say that because they want to be your "financial adviser" and have access to something that makes their shenanigans worthwhile ... ;)

I was looking at trai- ... er, mobile homes in Florida on a website a while back. Believe me, these WERE trailers. You could tell, because the asking prices of between $2,500 - $5,000 reflected the sunken plywood floors and mold-decorated walls and ceilings. Some didn't even have working plumbing.

AND ... no money down!

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I have a friend (under fifty but drawing near) who is interested in what they call . . . tiny houses or small homes or something like that. Basically, about two square feet! He swears he can live like that. Not this guy.
 
I think I would have loved Key West much better back when Bogie and Bacall were dealing with Edward G and his bunch. Oh, for the good ol' "daze".
 
I don't mean to sound like a smart-tuchus (even though I am!) but aren't you thinking of Key Largo?

I visited the "African Queen" when I was in Key Largo. I was thrilled to be near the same boat that Bogey had once piloted.

It was only years later that I discovered that it wasn't the same boat.



Another childhood dream shattered.:(
 
We bought a place here in Jijona (Spain) and old Spanish town house and did it up over the years, the wife still works in the UK (he he) so we kept a cottage there and I spend six months here and six months in the UK........ not too sure if we will retire here when the wife finally decides to retire..........but in the meantime I love the slower pace of life.
 
I 'lived the dream' and moved here where I decided I'd end my days when I was 12 years old. One of the very few things I never changed my mind about.
I've built the house I always wanted, just how I wanted it without having to think of anyone else's tastes and just love it. But sadly we have to wake up from dreams.

I'm not physically able to maintain it now as it deserves to be kept. I can't do anything about the yard. I can't even walk far enough to get over the dunes to the beach I've loved all these years.
I'm fairly isolated from health and support care, and an hour and half drive from the nearest relatives, and a health scare recently, and 4 days of surviving on packets of biscuits and Pepsi because I couldn't stand long enough to grab anything else, has shown me how vulnerable I am here now. The nearest neighbour is around 70 yards away and I hardly even know them beyond a wave and smile. (Yeah, I'm somewhat of a loner.)

I left my bucket list move 10 years too late. Circumstances caused the delay so no regret on that count, but we do tend to overlook some very practical considerations when making that dream move. We ain't 18 any more.

So, reality has bitten and I have to move again. About an hour down the coast, still within smell of the sea but to a self-care unit in an aged village complex with the 4 last steps to oblivion built in. Self-care, assisted care, aged hostel and nursing home. If I'm lucky I'll miss the final 3 'bullets'.

I'll be closer to the only relatives within hundreds of miles, closer to health services and they even have a cinema. Jillaroo will still be the same distance away as now too.
Hey, gotta make the most of a bad prospect eh?

Hope you enjoy your retirement move as much as I did though, while it lasted.
 
:what:
Pappy said:
It sure does, Jillaroo. My son wants to retire here soon. I hope he buys a place with a separate parents apartment. :eek:ld:
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Good luck with that Pappy , i moved 1200kms to live in a granny flat in the house with my daughter nearly 5 years ago, the S I L is an arrogant P and i am now living in a villa in holiday park and hate everything about it, thanks to him. Not happy as i need 2 knee reconstructions and my ankle fused but as i will be off my feet for 3 mths i have to keep postoning it as i have a shower in my bath and my doors are too narrow for a wheelchair to get through, so i am buggered. No nice retirement for me. :pfff::what:
 
Pappy said:
It sure does, Jillaroo. My son wants to retire here soon. I hope he buys a place with a separate parents apartment. :eek:ld:
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Pap, did you check out the local real estate prices there? I did a quick Google and it seems that many of the properties are pretty expensive. Of course, I don't know if they're directly on the lake or not, but it was just the general impression I got.

Here's where they show the median sale price of $202k for Lakewood ...

It's none of my business, I know, but I can never resist spewing reality over people's dreams. :chargrined:
 
You people are spoilt! My block of land alone cost $205! You won't find a decent rainproof house you'd invite people to in this little burg for under $300K and the nearer the beach the dearer they get. One in my street was on the market at $900k! Needless to say it didn't sell. It's easily twice the size of mine, and looks like a block of Miami condos.

The average sized housing block of vacant land next door to me is on the market at $285k. We have a Post office, a pub/tavern and one very old take-away/grocery shop which caters to desperate hungry campers. The nearest supermarket is around 10 miles away, the nearest mall is 25, so not much going for it other than the beach. We do have kangaroos which lay about on our driveways to sun themselves but that's just of interest to tourists, not buyers.

Oh yes, and this is the cheapest town on this stretch of coast to buy real estate. I've often been amazed at how cheap real estate is over there compared to here. We must be doin' something wrong somewhere.

I'd wager that those houses right on that lake would be top of the price range though. Beautiful place Pappy.
 
SifuPhil said:
Pap, did you check out the local real estate prices there? I did a quick Google and it seems that many of the properties are pretty expensive. Of course, I don't know if they're directly on the lake or not, but it was just the general impression I got.

Here's where they show the median sale price of $202k for Lakewood ...

It's none of my business, I know, but I can never resist spewing reality over people's dreams. :chargrined:
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oh how well I know, SifuPhil. My son lives in Lakewwod and just sold his home for a tidy some. I probably am pipe dreaming but one can always hope. He has 20 years, retired, in the service and about 15 years with post office dept. he will have nice Benny's coming and plans on retiring soon. He is now 55 years old.

Sure looks nice though, doesn't it. :shark:
 
Diwundrin said:
You people are spoilt! My block of land alone cost $205! You won't find a decent rainproof house you'd invite people to in this little burg for under $300K and the nearer the beach the dearer they get. One in my street was on the market at $900k! Needless to say it didn't sell. It's easily twice the size of mine, and looks like a block of Miami condos.

The average sized housing block of vacant land next door to me is on the market at $285k. We have a Post office, a pub/tavern and one very old take-away/grocery shop which caters to desperate hungry campers. The nearest supermarket is around 10 miles away, the nearest mall is 25, so not much going for it other than the beach. We do have kangaroos which lay about on our driveways to sun themselves but that's just of interest to tourists, not buyers.

Oh yes, and this is the cheapest town on this stretch of coast to buy real estate. I've often been amazed at how cheap real estate is over there compared to here. We must be doin' something wrong somewhere.

I'd wager that those houses right on that lake would be top of the price range though. Beautiful place Pappy.
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Well, a few things ...

1. The Aussie dollar is 92 cents vs. our 100 cents. Not a big difference, but when you mention $300k that works out to be $24k more than we would pay.

2. Here in the States the average senior citizen income is $35,107. A recent study showed that in 48 out of 50 states seniors are having problems meeting their bills, possibly in part because the average Social Security retirement payment is $1,230 a month. With the massive loss of jobs, pensions etc. that we've gone through many are barely able to make ends meet in a one-bedroom apartment on the bad side of town. Only a relative few were smart enough - or lucky enough - to be able to save or have access to other monies. Another prediction is that 44% of Baby Boomers will fall short of their retirement needs.

Your prices DO sound a bit daft, though ... especially for having 'roos in your driveways. :greedy_dollars:

Pappy said:
Sure looks nice though, doesn't it.
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It looks beautiful. I was just watching a PBS documentary last night on Lewis and Clark, and a lot of the scenery looked like your lake. ;)
 
Your prices DO sound a bit daft, though ... especially for having 'roos in your driveways.
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They come free of charge.
They're not as cute as they seem, like deer they look awful sweet but can inflict some damage if they take the mood. The 'old man' of the mob chases the kids off 'his' road and vacant land. The does are okay except if you do something really silly though. They also serve as public transport for ticks.


 
Diwundrin said:
They come free of charge.
They're not as cute as they seem, like deer they look awful sweet but can inflict some damage if they take the mood. The 'old man' of the mob chases the kids off 'his' road and vacant land. The does are okay except if you do something really silly though. They also serve as public transport for ticks.


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I have no doubt that they can be, like most "cute" wild animals, quite dangerous if not outright deadly. I also know that, being a sucker for critters, I'd probably put out bowls of Roo Chow for them ...

roo chow.jpg
 
SifuPhil said:
I have no doubt that they can be, like most "cute" wild animals, quite dangerous if not outright deadly. I also know that, being a sucker for critters, I'd probably put out bowls of Roo Chow for them ...

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:lofl: Seriously???!

Terra, do you feed yours? Ever seen this stuff?? Probably the wildlife parks have it to scam the tourists into feeding their exhibits. Good trick.

I don't think anyone other than campers feed them around here. I was silly enough to throw some bread out for them when I first moved in.
They looked at it, looked at me, and judged us both unworthy of attention.
It lay there for days until the birds ate it. I never did it again as don't want to encourage rats up from the wetlands down the hill.
 
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Pappy said:
This looks pretty darn appealing to me. Ohop Lake, Wash. Guess I'll just have to settle for flat, hot Florida.
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Ohop Lake is beautiful , Pappy ! Even though I used to live in Western Washington, I had never heard of Ohop, so I had to look it up and see just where in Washington that it is.
I used to live near Mt. St. Helens, but not until after it erupted. I lived near the small town of Mossyrock, and out in the foothills, so in about a 10 minute ride, I could be loping my horse up the trail towards the mountain. It is an awesome area to live in, and is about a 2 hour drive from there to the ocean.
You would like Lake Mayfield, and it has a lot of good fishing, if you enjoy that. They have Tiger Muskee planted there, and they grow several feet long. This is a picture of Mayfield Lake. It is cold for swimming, but wonderful for fishing.

The only worrisome thing out there is that they expect Mt. Rainier to erupt anytime. Eatonville has regular drills for people to get out when it erupts, or if there is an earthquake there. Even when I lived there, the state was reinforcing the bridge at Mayfield Lake to try and make it secure if there were a heavy quake there.
But, I guess, anywhere you live is subject to the whims of Mother Nature, so we just pick our place we want to be, and take what comes our way from there.
 

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