Retirement Spots

[Mr Puddle]

  On 3/28/2020 at 12:30 PM, Effington said:

Hey guys, hope all is well and everybody is staying safe.

I am way aways from retirement, but like to play the game of imagining it, so I can at least do my due diligence in planning (which is the most fun part anyway). I was mulling over potential locations and wanted to draw on the knowledge of the masses here, because I was not finding anywhere that fit the bill perfectly.  I have a short check-list here (in order) but don't have a lot of great ideas of places that fit the bill:

• Warm enough for year-round golf (or close to it)
• Not unbearably hot (wife does not do well in excessive heat)
• Low crime / safe
• Low(ish) cost of living, or at least reasonably affordable homes, property taxes, and golf
• Diverse / not racist
• Reasonably close to a big city to drive in a couple times a month
• A plus would be if they had a local professional soccer team
• English speaking (not opposed to leaving the US).  If there is somewhere else in the world that fits this bill the best, I'm not entirely opposed to moving and learning a new language (although that might be too ambitious for retirement life).

Wife has vetoed Florida and Arizona, your typical retirement hotspots (too hot).  Here were the options I was mulling:

• Southern California: Is there is an area with affordable housing?
• Myrtle Beach: Is it one of those places that are good to visit, not to live?
• Australia
• England (are winters too cold?)

I'm probably not going to have country club money, unless that is the more cost effective option if I'm playing golf very frequently.

Cheers and thanks in advance for your time and thoughts.

Expand  

I live in the UK, and have always found this a difficult question. I am no lover of foreigners, and moving to a country where the native language is foreign wouldn't suit me at all. That kind of restricts things. Parts of Australia are nice, but the taxes on anything enjoyable are very high, and I don't even know if they play golf over there. Parts of the USA are quite nice, such as Florida, but I'm not that keen on the American culture. 

[Vinsk]

  On 3/29/2020 at 11:35 AM, Mr Puddle said:

but I'm not that keen on the American culture. 

Expand  

All 127 of them?😁

[snapfade]

  On 3/29/2020 at 11:35 AM, Mr Puddle said:

I live in the UK, and have always found this a difficult question. I am no lover of foreigners, and moving to a country where the native language is foreign wouldn't suit me at all. That kind of restricts things. Parts of Australia are nice, but the taxes on anything enjoyable are very high, and I don't even know if they play golf over there. Parts of the USA are quite nice, such as Florida, but I'm not that keen on the American culture. 

Expand  

You're better off staying in the sunny UK then. You must really hate jolly old England now if you're no lover of foreigners. I don't know if they play golf in Australia either, I think Greg Norman learned the game in a parking lot. You're seem like a pleasant chap to have around.

 

Edited March 29, 2020 by snapfade

[boogielicious]

  On 3/29/2020 at 11:51 AM, snapfade said:

You're better off staying in the sunny UK then. You must really hate jolly old England now if you're no lover of foreigners. I don't know if they play golf in Australia either, I think Greg Norman learned the game in a parking lot. You're kind of dumb.

 

Expand  

No insults please.

[snapfade]

  On 3/29/2020 at 11:52 AM, boogielicious said:

No insults please.

Expand  

I edited it to reflect my approval approval of his somewhat racist comment about being no lover of foreigners. Seeing how I'm married to a foreigner I took absolutely no offence what so ever to his comment.

[boogielicious]

  On 3/29/2020 at 12:00 PM, snapfade said:

I edited it to reflect my approval approval of his somewhat racist comment about being no lover of foreigners. Seeing how I'm married to a foreigner I took absolutely no offence what so ever to his comment.

Expand  

Thanks. I think we all feel the same way about his posts. No need to sink to his level.

[Vinsk]

  On 3/29/2020 at 12:00 PM, snapfade said:

I edited it to reflect my approval approval of his somewhat racist comment about being no lover of foreigners. Seeing how I'm married to a foreigner I took absolutely no offence what so ever to his comment.

Expand  

Just a quick reminder...he made no mention of races. Yes, it’s not a well received comment. But it wasn’t a racist comment.

[Mr Puddle]

  On 3/29/2020 at 12:31 PM, Vinsk said:

Just a quick reminder...he made no mention of races. Yes, it’s not a well received comment. But it wasn’t a racist comment.

Expand  

Yes different cultures across the pond. I am quite possibly of an older generation, and the majority of golfers I play with don't take well to foreigners. That isn't to say we don't let them on the local course, because we welcome all. That said, I live in a part of the country that can be described a little England. 

[mclaren4life]

I believe bigot is more the correct term. And FYI being older doesn’t make it ok to be a bigot. Always remember at some point your ancestors were the so called foreigners. 

Edited March 29, 2020 by mclaren4life

[snapfade]

  On 3/29/2020 at 12:41 PM, Mr Puddle said:

the majority of golfers I play with don't take well to foreigners.

Expand  

 What does that mean exactly? You're not helping you're case much. 

  On 3/29/2020 at 12:31 PM, Vinsk said:

Just a quick reminder...he made no mention of races. Yes, it’s not a well received comment. But it wasn’t a racist comment.

Expand  

To the OP, I doubt he was talking about people from Blackpool, or Essex. Oh, well everyone is entitled to an opinion, just watch how you word things so they don't get out of hand or taken the wrong way. 

[cooke119]

  On 3/28/2020 at 5:32 PM, Sandy Divot said:

Charleston is brutally hot and humid in the summer, unless you are on the water. It has also gotten very expensive, vs other southern cities, and very crowded. Charleston of 25-30 years ago would have been my choice. Wilmington,NC is a bit like a smaller Charleston, but that area has really grown as well. Wilmington had a bad hurricane several years ago. The flooding was so bad that there was no way in or out of the area for awhile. Your buddy will find out about hurricanes in the Low Country. 

Expand  

Thanks for letting me know. I'll look elsewhere if I ever plan on moving, which is not likely. Born and raise on Long Island, NY and except for the winter months we love it here. 

[Mr Puddle]

  On 3/29/2020 at 12:47 PM, mclaren4life said:

I believe bigot is more the correct term. 

Expand  

Thank You 😄

[xrayvizhen]

I've been thinking about this question a lot. The Garden State is not my idea of paradise...or a garden either, for that matter. But based on the places I've visited, #1 would be South Florida, whether east or west coast I'm not yet sure and #1a would be the Scottsdale, Arizona area. My problem is I have a wife who doesn't play golf so she would need other diversions and has also complained that Florida is "too humid" and Arizona is "too grey and brown". (Sigh!) Also to be considered; South Florida has hurricanes every now and then. Arizona has, I dunno, snakes? Scorpions? Dust Storms? I could see us becoming snowbirds.

The other issue is the grandchildren. They're all relatively close by and in the "cute and adorable" age range therefore we would want to remain close to them so the change of venue will wait until they've reached the "teenage and obnoxious" years.

[snapfade]

  On 3/31/2020 at 12:52 PM, xrayvizhen said:

I've been thinking about this question a lot. The Garden State is not my idea of paradise...or a garden either, for that matter. But based on the places I've visited, #1 would be South Florida, whether east or west coast I'm not yet sure and #1a would be the Scottsdale, Arizona area. My problem is I have a wife who doesn't play golf so she would need other diversions and has also complained that Florida is "too humid" and Arizona is "too grey and brown". (Sigh!) Also to be considered; South Florida has hurricanes every now and then. Arizona has, I dunno, snakes? Scorpions? Dust Storms? I could see us becoming snowbirds.

The other issue is the grandchildren. They're all relatively close by and in the "cute and adorable" age range therefore we would want to remain close to them so the change of venue will wait until they've reached the "teenage and obnoxious" years.

Expand  

The Space Coast is where I live, so what you do is, you move here, buy your wife an annual Disney pass, so she has something to do and can get a bit of a deal when the grandchildren come to visit, they can watch rocket launches too. Problem solved. As far as the humidity goes, well nothing can be done about that, but hey no State tax.

[Coder]

It's really interesting to read people's suggestions.

Just wondering, would any of you consider retiring to Utah?

I'm a Brit, I've never been anywhere close, but the national parks look spectacular and it's very very different from where I live! I presume it's not as populated or as expensive as the coastal areas?

[Double Mocha Man]

  On 3/31/2020 at 2:16 PM, Coder said:

It's really interesting to read people's suggestions.

Just wondering, would any of you consider retiring to Utah?

I'm a Brit, I've never been anywhere close, but the national parks look spectacular and it's very very different from where I live! I presume it's not as populated or as expensive as the coastal areas?

Expand  

Good point. There is golfing, skiing and many places are very scenic. You can Google the average home values in a specific town.

[Mr Puddle]

  On 3/29/2020 at 1:05 PM, snapfade said:

 What does that mean exactly? You're not helping you're case much. 

To the OP, I doubt he was talking about people from Blackpool, or Essex. Oh, well everyone is entitled to an opinion, just watch how you word things so they don't get out of hand or taken the wrong way. 

Expand  

So it's OK for me to dislike a person from Blackpool or Essex, but not OK for me to dislike a person from another country. How very strange !

[Shindig]

I saw Flagstaff (AZ) mentioned, but a related issue hasn't been.  As I understand it, there are some retirees who live most of the year in the greater Phoenix area and head up to Flagstaff for a month or two when the weather isn't to their liking.  

I'd say that's my plan for retirement, but at the moment, my plan is to live year-round in the greater Phoenix area when I get to that point.