Hi, we are in our forty's and looking for a nice place to retire within the next 10 yrs. where the weather is good and cost of living is reasonable! Where would you go. Tired of the cold weather in the northeast!

Go to Barnes and Noble and pick up Rand McNally's Retirement Places Rated (broken down by climate, culture, health care, etc). Or read thru the archives here. This question has been discussed several times.

I would like to retire to the land of lengthy cocktail hour; a land where there's no need for heating or air conditioning, and I eat what I catch and grow. Of course the way my investments are going I'll be a Wal- Mart greeter. Welcome, wal-martians!

The heck with good weather and cost of living, I want to live where there's plenty to do and a lot of interesting people! I like the island Manhattan! I wouldn't last a week in one of those Florida communities, where there's nothing to do all day but paint your toenails and lay golf.

Nowadays with indoor heating and AC, the significance of climate is overrated, IMHO. Limiting yourself to places with weather that's continually nice, or never too hot or too cold, really limits your options and eliminates some great places.

We'd pick some place in the mountains, where we could ski any day we wanted.

I'm with Abram. Retired@ 57 to beautifull Northwest Montana. Ski all winter, hike Glacier Park and play tennis all summer with a few trips in between.
Life is good!!!

This place does not exist with the exception of one's ultimate retirement destination.

DH and I are starting to consider potential retirement places. When the kid is off to college (in about 5 years) we plan on leaving Austin. Our current preference is the Pacfic Northwest. What he plan to do is visit each potential area for the next few years as our vacation. Next summer the plan is WA. - Bellingham, Bremerton, Olympia, Wenatchee, Vancouver...

John - Montana is SO beautiful. How about the snow? You spend much time in the winter shoveling or with the snow blower? One place that has caught my eye is Couer d'Alene Idaho.

Ted - looked on Amazon.com for that Rand McNally book and they don't list it. (The only one they have is for retiring in Fla). Google doesn't show anything either. You sure on the authors?

Alooohaaaa, We had been planning on staying/retiring in Calif, but with the current "situation" we may retire someplace where it's cheaper...like Kauai.

We feel just like you do about the weather & cost of living in the NE. We are seriously considering Phoenix, AZ. Visited in July (hottest time @115) and we will be going back in November to see how it is in the fall. We plan to retire in about 2-3 years. We love Las Vegas but have ruled it out due to the poor health care system, among other things.

My plan is to make Texas my official state of residence (no state income taxes, donchaknow) and then get a cozy little cottage or condo on one of Mexico's many, MANY great beaches. Hammocks and margaritas -- that's the life for me!!

Have fun!
Mark
www.tiogringo.com

I want one of those huge RV's and a PO Box. I wanna live here and there, and everywhere for the first 5 years or so after travelling everywhere a place should have jumped out. Currently first choice is Neskowin Oregon, mountains to the left ocean to the right. The idea of tsunami warnings bother me a little tho.

Arkansas Nurse, You said it My parents & aunt do this exact thing....My aunt is a nurse and takes 3 month positions working in different areas of the country. My parents after a few years now keep returning to Vancouver/Victoria, Cody, Wyoming, and British Columbia and Canadian Rockies.

AUSTIN
The answer to your question is no. The mountains recv. ample snow but here in the valley we get very little; course it's all relative. I'm comparing to Maine and Minnesotta where I lived previously.
Been to all 50 states and chose this area to retire.

There is a great publication that comes out several times a year. I am not sure of the name. It is something like Places to Retire. Go to a bookstore with a good magazine section . It is an excellent and informative magazine.

I'd be interested in learning more from the folks who mentioned living from a P.O. Box (things like how does your vehicle get inspected/registered each year, health insurance, mail pick-up, etc., etc.) Does anyone know of a website similar to Fodor's that deals with these things?
Thanks!

Retirement Places Rated: All You Need to Plan Your Retirement
by Richard Boyer, David Savageau, Rick Boyer; Rand McNally & Company; (August, 1987)

Retirement Places Rated
by David Savageau; John Wiley & Sons; (03 May, 1999)

Retirement Places Rated: All You Need to Know to Plan Your Retirement or Select Your Second Home
by David Savageau; Hungry Minds, Inc; (November, 1990)

Try these on Amazon.

There's this one too:

Places Rated Retirement Guide: Finding the Best Places in America for Retirement Living
by Richard Boyer, David Savageau, Rick Boyer; Rand McNally & Company; (December, 1983)


The one published in 1999, in the previous post, seems to be the most recent. There are probably lots of other books on retiring and places to retire, if you do a search on Google.

See also:

http://www.wheretoretire.com/

http://money.cnn.com/best/bpretire/

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...glance&s=books

http://houseandhome.msn.com/move/bes...toretire0.aspx

http://homebuying.about.com/cs/bestretire/index.htm



These are just a few sites I found on Google.

sshhhhh!!!!!

It's a secret! Otherwise all those that go before me could turn it into a tourist trap age home!!!!

ssshhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!