Best places in the US to retire to... by state.

[Yellowtail]

40 minutes ago, Berkshire said:

What does that have to do with anything?  Florida Man is a well-known internet meme, richly earned after years of headlines with "Florida Man" doing all manners of stupid sht.  Look it up.  It's sort of like the slang "going postal"...but I don't suppose you know what that means either. 

 

That's what I thought.

[Mansell]

If I had pretty big money it would be Santa Barbara. Beautiful cool summer evenings where a jacket is comfortable. Civilized place with nice relaxed people. Plenty to do on the ocean, kayaking, sailing, etc. It cannot be built up anymore with the mountains behind, limit on height of buildings, and cannot expand because of small towns north and south. Airport for convenience. And I can go camping in Big Sur in a couple of hours.

[Jeffr2]

1 hour ago, andy said:

Spent part of every summer there as a kid (it was my parents #1 go to spot), and visited a couple of times since then.  Totally agree.  I mean California is full of great spots "if I had pretty big money".  If I had a spare 3 million dollars I'd buy a beachfront place in Laguna Beach and live out my days, though that would cover a basic place there with little change left...

 

I think most on this board like me have budget considerations and/or are trying to retire early, which is going to rule out any liveable part of California.  I hear Modesto is still cheap, true retirement bliss there ????

Agreed!  But not sure 3MM would get you a beachfront place in Laguna. 

 

Remember that restaurant on the cliff just to the north of the main beach?  Las Brisas?  I loved that place.

 

I use to live near Modesto.  And in Stockton and a few other miserable places around there.  NO thanks! LOL LOL

[Yellowtail]

Won't all that beachfront be underwater in a few years?

 

 

[Jeffr2]

9 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

Won't all that beachfront be underwater in a few years?

 

 

they've been saying that since I first moved there in 1967!!!! LOL

[GinBoy2]

1 hour ago, andy said:

Stockton I hear is already unattainable to mere mortals.  It's now another bedroom community for San Jose/East bay .

 

But don't despair...there is always Los Banos or Corcoran for your retirement dreams ????

Hmmm, spent a lot of my life in the SF South Bay,and watched that commute over the Altamont get worse and worse as folks unable to afford anything in San Jose/Fremont/Sunnyvale moved to Tracy/Stockton/Modesto.

 

I can only imagine what it's like now.

 

Unless Los Banos has changed from when I knew it. Great place if you want to live in the middle of nothing with searing heat!

 

I'm a Californian native from Kern County, and there are places I would love to live back  in California.

 

San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, anywhere on the Sonoma Coast. 

 

But the reality is, you need deep pockets, and if like me you have been a global gypsy, you won't have that house you bought back in the 1970/80's and in that case the costs just become prohibitive 

[EVENKEEL]

4 hours ago, Jeffr2 said:

Agreed!  But not sure 3MM would get you a beachfront place in Laguna. 

 

Remember that restaurant on the cliff just to the north of the main beach?  Las Brisas?  I loved that place.

 

I use to live near Modesto.  And in Stockton and a few other miserable places around there.  NO thanks! LOL LOL

I grew up in Oakdale "Cowboy Capital of the World" Lived in Lodi, like Lodi.

[GinBoy2]

4 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

I grew up in Oakdale "Cowboy Capital of the World" Lived in Lodi, like Lodi.

I like Lodi too.

 

Haven't been there for years though, so  whether or not my memories of the place match the reality of today, who knows

[parallaxtech]

On 6/11/2021 at 4:12 AM, Ventenio said:

Boca is nice.   Miami is whatever.   Orlando is ridiculous.   Most of America is cold, so a Floridian climate is attractive...

 

THEN i see a headline, "Crazy guy attacks family with poisonous pizza..."   and I think....

 

Don't let it be.....................................but, 90% of the time....................Florida.

 

it's a fact.  lol

 

I lived in Boca for eighteen years in a house I owned outright on the intercoastal.  It was nice most of the time, but I was almost killed twice, once in Deerfield and then in Pompano.  I never went anywhere without a pistol and pepper spray.  My family moved to La Jolla and eventually settled in Lake Arrowhead.  I travelled around the world looking for a place I could live in peace and ended up in Thailand.  If you offered me a million dollars per year to live anywhere in the US, I wouldn't take it.

[Scouse123]

Guys,

 

I have never been, know nothing but based on all what tiny bit I read today, I am moving to.......New Hampshire! Now where is it?

 

It seems the worst reputations for healthcare and climate but cost of living being cheap tend to be in the Southern States?

 

Am I wrong>?

 

 

 

[wwest5829]

Sold my 18.4 acres in Western Kentucky and retired to Thailand in 2011. I figured on a sustainable retirement budget of $2400. USD a month ($1320.00 of that currently in Social Security - that is after the Medicare premium is deducted … earned Medicare is not useable outside US territory). I just could not see a working middle class comfortable retirement on that amount in the US so I joined millions of other Americans facing the same reality.

[skatewash]

On 6/2/2021 at 8:23 AM, Ventenio said:

I remember a state saying.......You have 24-hours to shovel your snow.

 

If not, pay the fine!!!!   not sure how much.  maybe it was 48-hours, but it was still a little crazy.   "hey, did it stop snowing?  Yes, OK, start the timer....we don't want to pay a fine!!!"  I like shoveling, but I don't like my neighbors on the phone calling the FBI because I didn't shovel in 24 hours.  lol

You do NOT want to be visited by the FBI Snow Shoveling Taskforce, let me tell you.

[The Theory]

Laguna Beach, CA

(Las Brisas Restaurant)

 

[Scott]

A post violating Fair Use Policy has been removed.

 

[EVENKEEL]

On 6/12/2021 at 2:43 AM, GinBoy2 said:

I like Lodi too.

 

Haven't been there for years though, so  whether or not my memories of the place match the reality of today, who knows

Stockton shenanigans is creeping into Lodi, gang crime, shootings. Looking forward to going back after almost 2 yrs in LOS. 

[prism]

9 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

Stockton shenanigans is creeping into Lodi, gang crime, shootings. Looking forward to going back after almost 2 yrs in LOS. 

My folks are from Modesto, too bad about Lodi, used to be a friendly and affordable town. That area wouldn't be my first pick to retire in though. I grew up in San Diego, I'd like to live there and there's lots to do for retirees but I've been priced out. Some Californians are cashing out and retiring to Lake Tahoe, the Nevada side for the lower taxes. 

[moontang]

19 hours ago, Scouse123 said:

Guys,

 

I have never been, know nothing but based on all what tiny bit I read today, I am moving to.......New Hampshire! Now where is it?

 

It seems the worst reputations for healthcare and climate but cost of living being cheap tend to be in the Southern States?

 

Am I wrong>?

 

 

 

Many have excellent healthcare in Texas.  Parts of Virginia are as wealthy as it gets, other parts are pretty poor.  GDP of Virginia is more than LOS with an 1/8th the population. 

[Scouse123]

2 hours ago, moontang said:

Many have excellent healthcare in Texas.  Parts of Virginia are as wealthy as it gets, other parts are pretty poor.  GDP of Virginia is more than LOS with an 1/8th the population. 

 

Yeah, I am reading it and Virginia and West Virginia are said to be South Atlantic states whereas the very poor areas seem to be in East South Atlantic states as in Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi.

 

These are what you regard as the deep South?

 

Are these people the ones described as Rednecks by the North?

[moontang]

1 hour ago, andy said:

Look into Rosarito (Baja).  Stayed in an AirBnb last time I was there, it was a house owned by a retired public school teacher in CA, I think he said he worked in the Fresno area.  Obviously priced out of CA in retirement, he had a nice house with a sea view and rented out a spare bedroom on Airbnb.  Said he had some sort of pass that facilitated a quick border crossing when he needed to go into San Diego.

 

LOL, I was only kidding about Modesto. 

Wasn't Modesto the setting for American Graffiti? A friend has a 500 acre farm in Hollister, and he used to poke fun at Modesto.  Stockton wasn't even considered part of civilization. 

[moontang]

2 minutes ago, Scouse123 said:

 

Yeah, I am reading it and Virginia and West Virginia are said to be South Atlantic states whereas the very poor areas seem to be in East South Atlantic states as in Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi.

 

These are what you regard as the deep South?

 

Are these people the ones described as Rednecks by the North?n

You have rednecks as far north as Pennsylvania.  There were actually Confederate regiments from PA, and you even have some NYC commuters living in PA.  Arlington Cemetery was built on land confiscated from the Lee family.  John Wilkes Booth was from Maryland, and there are lots of rednecks there, too.  Never seen more Trump gear than my new home in Wyoming.. he got about 87%+  of the vote here in Campbell County.  A lot of it has to do with the 500 billion tons of recoverable coal in the area. 

[Yellowtail]

38 minutes ago, moontang said:

You have rednecks as far north as Pennsylvania.  There were actually Confederate regiments from PA, and you even have some NYC commuters living in PA.  Arlington Cemetery was built on land confiscated from the Lee family.  John Wilkes Booth was from Maryland, and there are lots of rednecks there, too.  Never seen more Trump gear than my new home in Wyoming.. he got about 87%+  of the vote here in Campbell County.  A lot of it has to do with the 500 billion tons of recoverable coal in the area. 

 

Yeah, it has nothing to do with location. Any non-leftist is considered a red-neck anymore. 

 

It is amusing all the leftist fleeing to red-states after they ruin the states they're in....

[EVENKEEL]

1 hour ago, moontang said:

Wasn't Modesto the setting for American Graffiti? A friend has a 500 acre farm in Hollister, and he used to poke fun at Modesto.  Stockton wasn't even considered part of civilization. 

McHenry Blvd. was the cruising street in the 70's. Stockton has been a cesspool for at least 60 yrs.

[GinBoy2]

9 hours ago, prism said:

<snip>

 

Some Californians are cashing out and retiring to Lake Tahoe, the Nevada side for the lower taxes. 

That's a phenomenon very obvious in these parts.

 

Cashing out their house in CA, then making cash offers here which is driving prices up, and the locals ain't happy.

 

Thing is is kinda makes sense. You sell a little 1200 sq ft tract home for $600K and translate that into a 5000 sq ft home with acres of land.

 

Now I'm a little conflicted about this. 

 

We own rental apartments, which as the out of towners buy up the single family homes, drives the locals into rentals, and as supply/demand dictates, prices rise

[prism]

3 hours ago, EVENKEEL said:

McHenry Blvd. was the cruising street in the 70's. Stockton has been a cesspool for at least 60 yrs.

I used to go to the Graffiti nights on McHenry back around then. Huge amount of hotrods, classic and modified cars cruising with thousands of spectators. It was awesome until the crowds got too rowdy and Modesto eventually outlawed cruising. 

Oops, sorry about going off topic here. 

[Yellowtail]

34 minutes ago, GinBoy2 said:

That's a phenomenon very obvious in these parts.

 

Cashing out their house in CA, then making cash offers here which is driving prices up, and the locals ain't happy.

 

Thing is is kinda makes sense. You sell a little 1200 sq ft tract home for $600K and translate that into a 5000 sq ft home with acres of land.

 

Now I'm a little conflicted about this. 

 

We own rental apartments, which as the out of towners buy up the single family homes, drives the locals into rentals, and as supply/demand dictates, prices rise

 

I think the interest rate has quite a lot to do with prices as well.