We had hoped for Arkansas. But, we have lived in south central Florida for 12 years now and plan to stay, due to grandkids here. I am retired, but husband hopes to keep working for awhile. We don't miss the snow and cold in our home state of Illinois. We have humidity and hurricanes, though. Lots of interesting places in our country!
I am so spoiled with a high expectation for my dream forever home. I want the best of all worlds --small town ambiance, rural connections, and big city amenities. Oh, and I don't want to leave CA. 'From the mountains, from the deserts, to the sea' (anyone remember news anchor Jerry Dumphy?), I have lots of options but I will have to do some serious negotiating and additional savings mojo to get what I want. This kind of Fantasy ain't cheap. LOL/sigh...
We would love to retire somewhere like the Villages in Florida, but they're too expensive and Florida is too hot.
We aren't golfers but love the idea of the golf cart community with grocers, shopping, Drs, dentists, movies all nearby and a community center where you can play games, swim, etc.
Anyone know of these in a more temperate climate? Fishing nearby would be a huge plus!
You might want to check out our community, On Top Of The World in Ocala, Florida. We have about all that you are looking for. We're here almost two years and love it here.....
We retired a couple of years ago. We sold our house in Winnetka, Il and purchased a smaller home near downtown Fort Lauderdale. We love being near the beach and a short distance to restaurants and shops. When it gets really hot in the summer we escape to Chicago to spend time with our adult children
I'd love to retire in Tennessee. We've vacationed in Tennessee and loved the Smokey Mountains, no state income tax and low costs for housing compared to Maryland.
With 4 years until my husbandf retires , we are planning now of where to live. Currently we live in NE PA which is a tax friendly state for retirees however we are looking for less hustle and bustle. I was considering NC but read it isn't tax friendly. So now we are considering southern VA. We ant 4 seasons but a more less snow than here. It is such a major decsion and there is so much to research.
House is paid for. Looking to retire in about 7 months. Would like to work part time at an Apple store. Do not want to stay in Illinois, however, as taxes are killing me. Looking for place with international airport, excellent healthcare, education opportunities, arts, education, recreation, friendly town, walkable, that I can afford. Can be overseas. In the meantime, I'll stay put and work on that Apple job while I decompress from this one.
I would suggest looking into southern Europe - Southern Spain, Portugal, etc. All these places have great healthcase, transportation, and are very affordable. They can be hot in the summer but we plan to go here for winters (can't stand winters anymore) and you can get great apartment deals on Airbnb like place renting more than a month.
Sadly, we still have another 7-8 years to retire and hoping we're in good health to be able to travel and enjoy.
Best of luck to all of you!
P.S. we visited Spain in Feb, going back in two days - food rocks and cheap.