The Retire and Relocate Thread™

[lizard]

There’s been one or more threads with discussion on relocating out of the bay area and out of Kalifornistan.

ScottRNelson wrote about his decision on relocating to Idaho(?). Thanks, Scott.

Many of us BARFers are entering the September of our years. I’ve got 3-8 years until I hang up my spurs. I enjoy living in the bay area but am also tired of it - traffic, cost of living, politics, etc.

I’ve talked to friends and strangers about relocating to a less expensive area of CA or out of state.

A friend bought a house in Newport, OR. He said don’t come here (OR); tweakers and homeless even in Newport.

A friend relocated to a small town near Austin. $500K and his house looks like South Fork.

A friend and a few strangers I’ve met have bought in Meridian, Idaho.

A friend bought a condo in Porto, Portugal. Apparently that’s a thing among Americans now. Great.

I’ve thought of Mexico - searching for undiscovered beach town.

Yesterday, a friend suggested I look at Prescott, AZ.

Anyhoo, do you have plans to relocate outside the BA or CA?

 

[lizard]

Meridian, Idaho - This is what I know. It is very popular. Its about 10-11 hours to get there by car. Close to Boise. Snows in winter but its light dusting on the ground. They don’t like Californians (can’t blame them). Real estate has nearly doubled in 5-6(?) years. Lots of new homes. Politically conservative.

 

[Agent Orange]

Go Bozeman, MT

Personally, I'd go to SLC or Denver.

 

[cheez]

Don't go to Texas unless you like hot. That South Fork mansion will cost you a $1000 power bill to cool in the peak summer months.

I'm looking at Oregon.

 

[Bowling4Bikes]

same except the politics lol. Relatives in Redding, Fresno and Idaho areas are downright scary. In a children of the corn sort of way.

It will depend on how much we've saved for retirement. I have a date in mind (age 55). It's probably going to be a very modest retirement, but if I get any luck maybe we will be able to travel like we want to. Possibly rent out our home and relocate if the financials work. We'll see!

Ideally we'd end up in Santa Cruz, but the housing prices are about the same if not worse there. I love the redwoods but the wife is now nervous about living in the trees due to all the fires.

We like broader Reno area, but I'd insist on property with some sort of water and some trees, which isn't too common there for cheap.

Probably will just stay in the BA.

 

[two wheel tramp]

Oregon sucks. Trust me.

 

[SFMCjohn]

I’m pretty sure I’d love the politics in Portugal.

we’d like to retire in SF … easy access to world-class medical care, geriatric accessible apts, no need to own or drive a car, endless opportunities to socialize, etc.—fixed income housing, if we get lucky in a housing lottery, or our name comes up on one of the senior housing wait lists (that’s the OP “relocate” content).

 

[afm199]

I've lived all over the US and the weather in Oakland is far and away the best year round environment i have found.

I generally love Oakland, with all of its warts.

I've thought about selling and moving, but the fact that I move elsewhere won't necessarily make anything much better or worse. I have Kaiser here, and in many localities, medical care is a real problem. in short, as much as I would love to live in Big Sur ( of fifty years ago,) it's highly likely I ain't moving anywhere.

For you folks thinking of retiring, access to medical care will play a bigger part in your life the older you get.

 

[mlm]

I spent a good part of my life living in small towns. Amazon delivers almost anywhere nowadays but make no mistake

1) Grocery stores will be more limited, especially in regard to fresh produce and premium items
2) Dining out will be hit or miss. If you like Applebees you'll be fine
3) Figure out how far away the nearest metro area is and expect to drive there a fair amount. In addition to 1 & 2, you can include airport, in person shopping, entertainment, automotive service, and medical care.

Honestly, unless you are moving to an area with family/friends or really want that compound in the woods I think you'll get bored very quickly.

As for people "not liking CA" it's more about people moving in with money (and the locals do not).

 

[Blankpage]

I’d consider climate change and not be looking to move anywhere that’s running out of water

 

[xgambit]

There's also Costa Rica (or similar Central American country). It's relatively cheap to live there. I know someone renting a house there for $800 a month.

He's got all the creature comforts and he spends most of his day oogling hot ticas.

 

[SM610]

Hey bay area people, stay where you are. You've ruined a nice place now live with it! All the places you think are better will take years to get rid of all them pesky guns and trucks...



We moved to the foothills. Its a nightmare...

 

[postcholo]

Read something about Americans relocating to Mexico City. Apparently, people in Mexico are pissed off that Americans are coming in without any sensitivity toward the culture, not speaking the language, changing the local culture and trying to buy property in areas largely deserted by Mexicans leaving for the U.S. The Mexicans don't want them there.

Yeah, seriously. pot meet kettle.

 

[ScottRNelson]

Meridian, Idaho - This is what I know. It is very popular. Its about 10-11 hours to get there by car. Close to Boise. Snows in winter but its light dusting on the ground. They don’t like Californians (can’t blame them). Real estate has nearly doubled in 5-6(?) years. Lots of new homes. Politically conservative.

Don't come here!



I bought my new 3-bedroom, 2.5 bath, 3-car garage 2700 sq ft home at the beginning of 2018 for $440K and Zillow says it's now worth $760K. There are houses on my street currently listed above $1M. People warn those coming in that people in Idaho don't like those from California, but I have yet to meet one in person. You'll mostly be welcomed no matter where you moved from, and we have people from all over, although on my street, "elsewhere in Idaho" is number one and California is number two.

The whole state of Idaho is politically conservative, so much so that during the last primary election there was one office to vote for on the Democrat ticket and about 15 on the Republican ticket. But they let you choose which party you want to vote with regardless of how you're registered, so that allowed me, an independent, to vote for the less extreme person in a bunch of races. Just like in California, my vote "doesn't count" in the presidential election because 2/3 of the vote will go to the Republican candidate, just like 2/3 of the vote went to the Democrat candidate in CA.

I would have stayed in Folsom when I stopped working if I could have pulled it off, but the ONLY way I could make retirement work financially was to sell both of my houses. It only took a few months to get the Folsom house sold, but I had to move back to Pleasanton to put in my two years to avoid a huge amount of taxes on that one (would have been $158K more). Plus it took me about two years to get it all ready to sell.

My wife and I looked in four states: CA, NV, UT, and ID. It was important to have decent Dual Sport and Adventure riding nearby, and everywhere that we considered did, but Idaho is way better than any of the other choices for that. Not as great if you stick to only paved roads, at least compared to California.

If you have to live in Arizona, Prescott is a great choice.

I'm just glad that that part of retirement is over with and that I'm somewhere that I like to live.

 

[JesasaurusRex]

I’d consider climate change and not be looking to move anywhere that’s running out of water

so salt lake isn't on your short list?

 

[mercurial]

I have Kaiser here, and in many localities, medical care is a real problem.

Kinda off topic here, but Kaiser sucks and would recommend changing plans whenever you can. Kaiser's entire model is to do whatever is cheapest to make you go away. They will happily let you die to save a buck - one thing that really stuck out in my mind was when my mom went to their ER with chest tightness and the nurses happily let her sit in triage for several hours without giving her an EKG. Chronic conditions, forget about it, they will give you the shittiest care ever and hope you just learn to live with it.

GF is a nurse, she hates Kaiser and moved her parents to Stanford. My parents are also moving to Stanford.

 

[Hooli]

Strongly considering the Midwest. Lisa is from Lansing MI; I've visited that state twice and someplace near a diverse town such as Ann Arbor would be great after my retirement (which I could take as soon as 5 years). Other than that, OR or Washington state. Wouldn't miss CA at all.

 

[mercurial]

There's also Costa Rica (or similar Central American country). It's relatively cheap to live there. I know someone renting a house there for $800 a month.

He's got all the creature comforts and he spends most of his day oogling hot ticas.

Somewhere up in the hills, where it's a bit cooler, would be great - but you better be healthy! I've heard plenty of Americans are flooding into Medellin now (which has the nickname of the city of eternal spring.)

 

[Butch]

Interesting thread. I’m glad I like it here. Moving is a hassle, and Mt Hamilton rd is pretty awesome.

 

[Abacinator]

Mrs Abacinator and I are considering Kauai if retirement is ever on the table. We dig the chill vibe.

I love the Bay Area but I'm running out of patience for all the issues that come with its growing population. Never in a million years would I consider moving to a place like Texas or Idaho.