What about the NY Capitol Region

[Flatearth6]

We are not quite yet ready to retire but are getting close. The last 6 years we have visited the Albany/Troy area and have really loved the people we have met as well as the beautiful countryside. We have stayed in a fabulous B&B on Washington Park downtown and it is so charming. Considering its close to New England and NYC, has train and plane access as well as a number of college campuses we are seriously thinking of moving there to retire. We have friends and family all over the US, Europe and New Zealand so just have to pick somewhere to suit ourselves.

Our game plan is to visit again and purchase housing we like then, spend time fixing it up and vacationing there to get to know people and the area before we actually take the final retirement plunge. Any comments and/or suggestions??

[Drumlin]

That IS a gorgeous area. I would move to upstate New York in a minute if my family were closer. The ony comment I have is..why don't you just rent a little place up there rather than buying something and pouring money into it? You might want to consider renting a little place, go up there whenever, and then if you like it go ahead and build something. Lots are still relatively cheap. You could build a little place that's just your spec. Changing a house costs time and money.

[Flatearth6]

Hey, thanks for the reply. I suppose we could rent but it is our intention to spend some vacation time over the next few years investigating several possible cities and shopping for the perfect space. We're hoping for downtown loft space and the ultimate deal would be an urban shell that we could "do up" and use as vacation home. When we do retire we could move there or sell both places and buy something new to enjoy before we go to the "home". Having worked in construction - I would never build a new place. I would prefer to recycle an old one - much more character and a LOT less work usually.

We definitely want the northeast and I found a great site for some retirement comparisons at: http://www.retirementliving.com/RLtaxes.html
New York seems much more retirement friendly than we expected and the Capitol Region has so much to offer!