Stereotypes Can Mean Missed Opportunities When It Comes to Finding Best Place to Retire

We researched retirement areas around the country for three years before settling on Scottsdale. It is a wonderful city (when open), with 900-plus restaurants, interesting desert scenery, major-league sports and arts, and friendly retirees, as few people are FROM here in retirement. We knew that the heat would be an issue, as we are golfers, tennis players, hikers and enjoy all sorts of outdoor activities. Can't do much of that after 9 a.m. in the summer, as we learned during many visits!

We had planned to travel and explore new northern attractions in the summer, but can't this year, and we are realizing that the relentnessness of the summer heat -- and the consistency of it, day after day, 105 or so degrees for three or four months -- does not fit our lifestyle in a pandemic, where we are pretty much in place for the summer. I would not recommend falling in love with a sunbelt state during a one-week vacation in February. Visit a place during the season of extreme temperatures and don't kid yourself into thinking that you will always love it. We have run into many people who regret having sold their homes up north, and choose to get small cabins in northern Arizona or in the mountains of Colorado. We will be looking at the Pacific Northwest. All the time people in our community shuffle around -- either buying bigger homes because they're here forever and have kids in the area, or downsizing here and buying something smaller in a less unforgiving climate. Know yourself, your lifestyle, your family situation and your finances before making a leap. And research, research and research some more.

Ed LaFreniere
retirementhumor.net

Well, I read my comments above from six years ago and I must agree -- good thoughts! In Spdes!

Quick catch up for any who don't know. We decided after all our travels and experiences to stay where we are and just travel more for the same good reasons. We found that every time we spent time away, what we really thought was best is our home. Add to that the trouble and cost of getting ready to sell, the purchase of a new place that could never be as good as what we have and discovering that, regardless of downsizing, a sell/buy would not produce enough profit to really make a difference in our lives. Covid-19 has added a new perspective. We are so happy to be going through this difficult time here -- in our home. Obviously, this is note a good answer for everyone, but time to explore and compare is a great thing.

Been a snowbirds for 14 years now because there is no one perfect place. The 6 months of winter in in my small motorhome because I've found there isn't even one perfect place for even 6 months! Lol!!
On another note the one thing here that always disappoints me is that everything is mostly about couples and active retirement communities. My activities are hiking, biking and kayaking and you don't need a community for that. And as an old bachelor without children I sure don't need all the huge houses like most advertised here. I've never lived trying to impress others, and am never impressed by others show of material wealth. Why have a three bedroom house for 1 or 2 people?

Does anyone have input about moving from a house to a condo, carriage home, patio home, townhouse, apartment or back again, lessons they learned? Frankly, I don’t know the difference between some of those categories. Read some great comments here about housing choices, but every time I see a place for sale in a community that interests me, I really want to know why it’s for sale and where they went. The surveys said most retirees want stand alone houses, is that your experience?

Right now I dream about a second floor condo with a wall of windows looking out over a sunny, warm harbor with a two block walk to the beach, but mentally scurry back to my little ranch when viewing the price tag and the eagle-sized nest egg required. Maybe Rich’s idea of stay here and travel more is more reasonable.

I'm looking for information on living in Athens, GA. I know this isn't the right place, but I haven't been able to find a way to search the forums for recent info. Can anyone help?

Also, I do wish there was more information from single people....many of us choose to be without a partner but life and retirement and moving to a new place is vastly different from the experiences of couples.

I've been following this website for 7 years or so and it's one reason I moved to the Beaufort, SC, area. I have since learned this is not my place and am ready to move on.

AND one more thing: I think the admins do a fabulous job, even though there are things I wish I could find that I can't. It has been a wealth of information for me.

Hello Judy Reese,

Here is a great resource on any cities. Good luck with your Athens, GA research.

http://www.city-data.com/city/Athens-Georgia.html

Regards, Danno

Hi Judy
If you go to the Topretirements.com at the bottom of this page, you'll see the drop down menu. There you’ll find State Guides and Retirement Ranger listed there. You will be able you to put in most things you’re looking for in a retirement location.
You may also want to post your question on the Forum under Athens GA You can find it in the drop down menu.

There are also some links listed at the bottom of this page- check out Adult Communities.
Athens is listed under Georgia with several 55+ communities mentioned.

You can also use the search bar to look for any articles in which Athens is mentioned.

Hope this helps!
Flo

Daryl, I live about half of the year in an active-adult 55+ condo development in Florida. It’s been my observation that most condos come up for sale because the owner has died, moved on to assisted living or a nursing home, or they want to move back closer to family in their oldest years. As to wanting to live near the beach, a couple of thoughts come to mind besides the fact, as you stated, that properties on or near the beach are usually more expensive to purchase. Hurricane damage and surge flooding is much worse near the beach than inland a few miles. Even if you’re on the second floor or above, flooding almost always cuts off electricity, making it difficult or impossible to live there, even on higher floors, until all utilities are restored, which can take a long time if electrical systems on the first floor have been severely impacted. And the closer you live to the beach, the more costly flood and hazard insurance is, at least for properties along the Atlantic or Gulf coasts. Our condo in south Palm Beach County is 4-5 miles from the beach, or about a 12-15 minute drive, but our insurance cost is much less than for housing nearer the beach.

Anyone have experience with a big stereotype—a condo at the beach? Was looking at St. James Plantation and Hilton Head Plantation online, no visits yet. Also considering somewhere near Virginia Beach. Realize hurricanes, insurance, traffic might be problems, any suggestions? Anyone find their perfect place beachside?

Thanks, Clyde, your comment snuck in there before my second post! I really appreciate your input, you saved me last time, too, with the HOA research steps you posted that I have since printed and filed away for when I begin vetting properties.

Judy - Being single and also renting instead of buying gives one the opportunity to bounce around the country a little easier. What I know about Athens Georgia: Home of The University of Georgia. The Georgia Bulldogs football. This school is a SEC football powerhouse. One of the best college football programs in the country year after year. The University of Georgia and the football program are a huge part of Athens Georgia. I personally have a very strong passion for college football and I hope we get a COVID-19 clearance to play college football this year. Also from a noise standpoint, the University of Georgia has quite the reputation as a party school.

Thanks, Clyde, thought I’d be safe off the ground floor. Five or more miles away From the beach sounds close enough!

Bubbajog: I do rent and I love it. However, I'm fortunate that my house is owned by caring and responsible landlords. I've had trouble finding those kinds of rentals in other places. And football is meaningless to me...so all those things about Athens you mentioned made me laugh. Glad you have something you enjoy so much.

Moderator Flo: I will try your suggestions. Thank you.

Looking at the title of this article about retirement-living stereotypes and missed opportunities reminds me of when we bought our retirement condo, although we are still snowbirding between Connecticut and south Palm Beach County, FL; we are now official residents of FL. About a year after I retired, I ran across an article in The NY Times (linked below) that caught my eye. It dealt with almost unbelievably low prices on decent condos in south Florida. We had friends who lived in that area, so I decided to look at these low-priced condos. We spent over a year searching and at times staying in the area to see if we liked it, and we did. In 2014 we bought for cash a 2-BR, 2-BA condo with washer and dryer in Kings Point, Delray Beach. It’s now worth in the very low $100’s, three times what we paid for it. It’s in a 55+ active-adult community where the average age is upper 70’s or more, but rapidly changing to include many baby boomers. For us it’s just like any independent apartment living. If we want to mingle with other residents, we can, but we mostly see friends outside our residential community. And in a few years, we’ll likely move there permanently, with an extremely low cost of living that will be more than covered by our Social Security (I waited to take it until I turned 70 last year), although I have an additional IRA we can draw on.. That’s why it’s important, and usually fun, to keep an eye out for types of retirement living/communities and locations you may not be thinking about. Topretirements.com has been very helpful in this regard, with both interesting articles and informative comments from readers. Happy hunting!

http://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/us/at-florida-condos-too-young-to-retire-but-not-to-grab-a-deal.html