Seriously, where is the best place to retire?

[Bodyman]

Alaska, ...

I hadn't thought about that one.

Hmmmm, ...

[oscars]

There are some obvious considerations that haven?t been mentioned. You really need to consider the availability and quality of medical care in any of your future destinations. You surely will need the potential of care as you age. A serious negative about Huntsville is it?s location in tornado alley.

[Bodyman]

Yea, the negatives haven't really been talked about, though medical care was mentioned (helicopter rides are pricey).

Every area has negatives - I think it is just whether the positives outweigh them. Even though I have grown up with Illinois dirt under my nails (and if I go too far from the sweet corn I will have to come back in late August). It just seems like the stink from the city has finally become overpowering and whole place is racing to find the bottom of the pond - there are lots of people leaving here now as all the city folk (what my son calls 'citiots') flee to the burbs. The negatives really are outweighing the positives and the wonderful place that this used to be.

Open space (that I can afford) is going to be more on the remote side, but then I think that is more what I am looking for right now. Probably keep a small place back here at least until things shake out one way or the other.

[Allen]

As men many of us like to visualize a huge home with a sprawling landscape where we can go out our back door and shoot or pee off the back porch.

Most places like that are hard to find now and of course costly, plus we can't control what isn't ours. That nice woods or meadow that we like to gaze at today may be one of thousands of subdivisions tomorrow.

We have to consider what the wife wants too as in many cases they outlive us.

As oscars indicated, you need to consider health care services too, not just the distance but their level of competency. Then, there is fire and police protection. I have seen many nice expensive homes burn to the ground due to their location, hidden from view.

Every state has + and - features, it's all what you can afford and what weather conditions you can tolerate. If Alaska is too cold then there are places like West Virginia where land values can be found lower. As far as tornado alley areas go, no place is immune to them.

Again, if I were you I would start traveling and looking. That can be as enjoyable as finding the right place. From what you said about your wife, RV travel may not be suitable but short travels within your own state (in your car) may open up idea's.

[Bodyman]

Responses in blue

As men many of us like to visualize a huge home with a sprawling landscape where we can go out our back door and shoot or pee off the back porch. Exactly! (Well, I have always done the peeing part, ... )

Most places like that are hard to find now and of course costly, plus we can't control what isn't ours. That nice woods or meadow that we like to gaze at today may be one of thousands of subdivisions tomorrow. Seen it happen here, ...

We have to consider what the wife wants too as in many cases they outlive us. She would rather travel than get that condo near the beach, so the small house that is setup for getting old (somewhere) is on the table too - might be our current or not be.

As oscars indicated, you need to consider health care services too, not just the distance but their level of competency. That is a difficult part of the equation as we have cared for our elderly here already. Then, there is fire and police protection. I have seen many nice expensive homes burn to the ground due to their location, hidden from view. I'm very well versed in fire protection issues as Trustee and our town transitions from un-hydranted volunteer to hydranted full time career FF/medics - short version is that without a hydrant nearby, you are kind of on your own no matter where you live. Police is another thing and the area will dictate - it will stop us from considering some places but it will be a place that people actually like the police for sure.

Every state has + and - features, it's all what you can afford and what weather conditions you can tolerate. If Alaska is too cold then there are places like West Virginia where land values can be found lower. As far as tornado alley areas go, no place is immune to them. At any given time of year Northern Illinois pretty much gets the worst (and best) of everyone's weather in the country; other than hurricanes, you name it we get it - we even get the odd earthquake now and again, and we get tornados, too.

Again, if I were you I would start traveling and looking. That can be as enjoyable as finding the right place. From what you said about your wife, RV travel may not be suitable but short travels within your own state (in your car) may open up idea's. Motels get old quickly but are a welcome change from tenting it. I did setup the old Surburban with a Duramax so I can travel a bit - nicest rig I've ever owned and it can go places that an RV cannot. I'm not in a rush so a bit of a grand tour might be the best first step here. Heck, even driving to Alaska is not out of the question with it.

I know this is going take some time and thought and there is no magic wand I can wave, but you guys are making me think on the lists in my head already which is what I wanted - so, thanks!

[Bodyman]

I never thought that shooting off the back porch was a dream that might be common.

The huge house is not on my list though - just a small cabin. I'd rather have the space outside.

Now a big garage, that might be on the short list, ...

[Vern Humphrey]

In 1969 I bought 160 acres south of Mountain View, Arkansas, with a creek running through it and a very nice fishing/swimming hole. In 1999 I built a nice Victorian farm house on the property, put in pasture, a pond and a stable.

You can get land and homes fairly reasonable here. We have good medical care -- a local hospital affiliated with two large hospitals in larger towns nearby. Arkansas is a Constitutional Carry state, and no one blinks to see a gun on your belt.

Search for "Land in Mountain View, AR."

[barretcreek]

One thing you better get through your head is 'do as the Romans do'. Go vacation in a few places winter and summer and see if the local habits suit you. Realtor was showing a house in a somewhat more isolated community when the wife asked 'what's that?'. 'That' was a euro mount 6x6 elk on the end of a barn. 'Do people hunt here? Do they own guns?' Yup, this is the Rockies. They went elsewhere.
You might want to check voter registration trends in the last couple of election cycles. Conservatives build nice, safe well run communities lefties move to after they foul their nest and need a fresh one to destroy. Which has been going on here for the decades I've resided. Even the old time Dems are complaining about the Kommiefornia Krazies and their wackjob ideas. Lefties tried to pass an 'empty house tax'. Here's the choice: if you own a house which is not your primary residence for voting and tax purposes, either rent it out to a deserving local socialist drug addict ski bum mountain biker when you are not here or pay Xthousand dollars to the 'affordable housing' fund. To build 3br/2bath sfr for people who don't want the stress of earning the kind of money it takes to buy a house here.
Closed on a house 1 April 2020. Probably gone up 20%, maybe more.

Nice place Vern.

[Mark in Ottawa]

This may be a surprise but several years ago when I was on a Caribbean cruise we took a train / bus excursion along the Panama Canal. Our guide told us that a lot of Americans were now retiring in Panama. He said that it was far les expensive to live there than in the USA and that the medical care was excellent and cheap. We never made it into Panama City itself but were in a town across the bay and could see the skyline. The guide told us that there was a lot of new apartment construction going on and that the almost complete tower that we could see was 103 stories tall so that there was going to be a fairly good selection of living accommodation.

[Johnny P]

A place where you have no close neighbors, but no more than 30 minutes from a large city with excellent health care facilities.