# making myself CRAZY!!!



## BiXLL

Hi all, I found this forum hoping maybe somebody has gone through what I am doing to myself and can offer some advice/guidance as to what they ended up doing.

I am about 7 years away from retirement with a possibility of 5 years if everything fell into place just right.  I am trying to figure out where I want to live in retirement.  I now live in the Pittsburgh Pa. area and have no doubt in my mind I want out of here with the cold snowy winters.  We have always been outdoorsy type, with our interests being camping, boating/kayaking, fishing, trail walking and I like golf. (wife wants nothing to do with it) and we enjoy going on cruises.

I thought I had it all figured out.  Western Tenn. has a lot of lakefront property that is very affordable, great tax rates, good medical.  Problem is now I don't think the winter months are going to be warm enough for our liking.  It seems like I am back to square 1 so far as finding a place with the good senior tax rates, good medical facilities and so on.  I have started thinking I need to look maybe southern Florida, Southwest Texas, or maybe even Arizona?

I am sure I have left out vital info for anybody to totally help me with suggestions, but with the likes and interests I have listed I am hoping to maybe start a conversation so I can maybe narrow down my research areas.  Any ideas?


----------



## Falcon

:wave:  Hi BiXLL.  :welcome: to the forum.
 As you can see, I live in So. Calif. and love it, coming from Detroit.  I could recommend that but your other options sound good too.

Let's wait and see what others have to say.


----------



## BiXLL

I always thought of southern Cal. as having too high a cost of living for me.  I have worked hard and saved all my life for this, but unfortunatly I am very much from the working class and money and cost of living will play a major factor for me.


----------



## NancyNGA

Hello BiXLL! :wave:

In Georgia you are not taxed on SS or the first $35,000 of other income, if you are over 62.  The weather is warm (like Florida) in the far south, and cool in the mountains in the north, and anything in between those.  It is humid, but probably not any more so than Tennessee.


----------



## BiXLL

NancyNGA said:


> Hello BiXLL! :wave:
> 
> In Georgia you are not taxed on SS or the first $35,000 of other income, if you are over 62.  The weather is warm (like Florida) in the far south, and cool in the mountains in the north, and anything in between those.  It is humid, but probably not any more so than Tennessee.


Dont you still get snow and freezing temps in winter even in southern Georgia?


----------



## Fern

BiXLL said:


> I always thought of southern Cal. as having too high a cost of living for me.  I have worked hard and saved all my life for this, but unfortunatly I am very much from the working class and money and cost of living will play a major factor for me.


Nothing wrong with being from the working class, they are the salt of a country, in my opinion. You could live "down Under'. layful:


----------



## AZ Jim

BiXLL said:


> Hi all, I found this forum hoping maybe somebody has gone through what I am doing to myself and can offer some advice/guidance as to what they ended up doing.
> 
> I am about 7 years away from retirement with a possibility of 5 years if everything fell into place just right.  I am trying to figure out where I want to live in retirement.  I now live in the Pittsburgh Pa. area and have no doubt in my mind I want out of here with the cold snowy winters.  We have always been outdoorsy type, with our interests being camping, boating/kayaking, fishing, trail walking and I like golf. (wife wants nothing to do with it) and we enjoy going on cruises.
> 
> I thought I had it all figured out.  Western Tenn. has a lot of lakefront property that is very affordable, great tax rates, good medical.  Problem is now I don't think the winter months are going to be warm enough for our liking.  It seems like I am back to square 1 so far as finding a place with the good senior tax rates, good medical facilities and so on.  I have started thinking I need to look maybe southern Florida, Southwest Texas, or maybe even Arizona?
> 
> I am sure I have left out vital info for anybody to totally help me with suggestions, but with the likes and interests I have listed I am hoping to maybe start a conversation so I can maybe narrow down my research areas.  Any ideas?



I spent most of my life in California, but have also had homes in South Dakota, Idaho, Nevada and Arizona.  I now live in Arizona.  I have been here around 8 years now.  Weather is hot in summer but the rest of the year is perfect.  The California expense, including taxes made living there to costly for us, even though I was born there.  So many migrated in from elsewhere it drove prices up on everything.  I looked around before deciding on Arizona and now, this is where I want to be.


----------



## BiXLL

What I dont understand about Arizone is I was checking out listings  at *White Mountain Lake.  In the add it stated snow sking 45 min away?*


----------



## ClassicRockr

Hi There! What I'm wondering about is what I have put in red below. Please explain.



BiXLL said:


> Hi all, I found this forum hoping maybe somebody has gone through what I am doing to myself and can offer some advice/guidance as to what they ended up doing.
> 
> I am about 7 years away from retirement with a possibility of 5 years if everything fell into place just right.  I am trying to figure out where I want to live in retirement.  I now live in the Pittsburgh Pa. area and have no doubt in my mind I want out of here with the cold snowy winters.  We have always been outdoorsy type, with our interests being camping, boating/kayaking, fishing, trail walking and I like golf. (wife wants nothing to do with it) and we enjoy going on cruises.
> 
> I thought I had it all figured out.  Western Tenn. has a lot of lakefront property that is very affordable, great tax rates, good medical.  Problem is now I don't think the winter months are going to be warm enough for our liking.  It seems like I am back to square 1 so far as finding a place with the good senior tax rates, good medical facilities and so on.  I have started thinking I need to look maybe southern Florida, Southwest Texas, or maybe even Arizona?
> 
> I am sure I have left out vital info for anybody to totally help me with suggestions, but with the likes and interests I have listed I am hoping to maybe start a conversation so I can maybe narrow down my research areas.  Any ideas?


----------



## AZ Jim

BiXLL said:


> What I dont understand about Arizone is I was checking out listings  at *White Mountain Lake.  In the add it stated snow sking 45 min away?*



Arizona has mountains, snow, and we have our desert.  Some here have homes in both.  The advantage is obvious, up to the cool mountains in summer, down to the wonderful warm temps the rest of the year. All within a couple of hours.


----------



## BiXLL

AZ Jim said:


> Arizona has mountains, snow, and we have our desert.  Some here have homes in both.  The advantage is obvious, up to the cool mountains in summer, down to the wonderful warm temps the rest of the year. All within a couple of hours.


Are you familiar with the White Mountain Lake area?  Would it be snowless/not freezing in winter?


----------



## AZ Jim

BiXLL said:


> Are you familiar with the White Mountain Lake area?  Would it be snowless/not freezing in winter?


Very familiar with it.  Pinetop, Show Low and dozens of other small towns.  Yes they get winter snow and freezing temps.  Not ALL winter like other places I've lived but when storms come, they do get the snow.  Go to a Arizona site on Google and when you see a town you're interested in make a search on it and it's monthly average temps.


----------



## BiXLL

az jim said:


> very familiar with it.  Pinetop, show low and dozens of other small towns.  Yes they get winter snow and freezing temps.


dang it!!!!


----------



## AZ Jim

BiXLL said:


> dang it!!!!


  Here in the valley we kind a live in A/C in Summer, all homes have central air and heat pumps and cars too of course so in summer we enjoy early mornings and late evenings outside otherwise mostly inside.  I have gone fishing when it was well over 100 f.

Check this out.  We just had some unusual rain but look at how the next ten days look.

http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/l/Surprise+AZ+85374:4:US


----------



## BiXLL

As I understand it though with the low humidity 100 in arizona is not as bad as 100 in Florida?


----------



## AZ Jim

Humidity is very low in summer.  Not at all like the deep south or Florida.  Ovens are also low humidity however.  Look at the link I edited  into my above reply.


----------



## BiXLL

Oh lord!  We are going to have a high of 18 tomorrow!  I soooo need out of here, even though I have been here all my life!


----------



## AZ Jim

BiXLL said:


> Oh lord!  We are going to have a high of 18 tomorrow!  I soooo need out of here, even though I have been here all my life!



I hear ya.  I lived at 8000 feet in Idaho and -30 not counting windchill, same in South Dakota.  No more for this ole guy.


----------



## ClassicRockr

You still haven't explained this (in red) below. Just wondering what you meant.



BiXLL said:


> Hi all, I found this forum hoping maybe somebody has gone through what I am doing to myself and can offer some advice/guidance as to what they ended up doing.
> 
> I am about 7 years away from retirement with a possibility of 5 years if everything fell into place just right.  I am trying to figure out where I want to live in retirement.  I now live in the Pittsburgh Pa. area and have no doubt in my mind I want out of here with the cold snowy winters.  We have always been outdoorsy type, with our interests being camping, boating/kayaking, fishing, trail walking and I like golf. (wife wants nothing to do with it) and we enjoy going on cruises.
> 
> I thought I had it all figured out.  Western Tenn. has a lot of lakefront property that is very affordable, great tax rates, good medical.  Problem is now I don't think the winter months are going to be warm enough for our liking.  It seems like I am back to square 1 so far as finding a place with the good senior tax rates, good medical facilities and so on.  I have started thinking I need to look maybe southern Florida, Southwest Texas, or maybe even Arizona?
> 
> I am sure I have left out vital info for anybody to totally help me with suggestions, but with the likes and interests I have listed I am hoping to maybe start a conversation so I can maybe narrow down my research areas.  Any ideas?


----------



## jujube

I assume his wife doesn't like to play golf.  I can understand that.  I hate golf.


----------



## ClassicRockr

One thing for sure, when you are the "outdoorsy" type, it can be hard to find someplace to retire to and not have some kind of winter to deal with. We use to live in So Calif. and it truly isn't cheap there. Where we lived south of Denver, CO, (Parker) we had no trouble finding "outdoor" stuff to do during the summer. We had a power boat and had a lot of fun with that on a couple of lakes. The area does have a winter that sometimes can get pretty bad, but when a person is fully retired, they don't have to go out into that weather like when working a full-time job.

Actually, we are giving it some serious thought about moving back there when my wife retires.


----------



## AZ Jim

How old are you CR if you don't mind my asking?


----------



## ClassicRockr

Well, I'll answer the way I usually answer this question:

1st: I made my first WesPac Cruise (Navy) to Viet Nam in Dec. 1968. 
2nd: I graduated from high school in May 1968. I was held back a grade in the 3rd grade, so would have graduated in May 1967. 
3rd: I started getting Medicare last year.

So, please figure it from there. Guess, 65..........your right!




AZ Jim said:


> How old are you CR if you don't mind my asking?


----------



## Denise1952

NancyNGA said:


> Hello BiXLL! :wave:
> 
> In Georgia you are not taxed on SS or the first $35,000 of other income, if you are over 62.  The weather is warm (like Florida) in the far south, and cool in the mountains in the north, and anything in between those.  It is humid, but probably not any more so than Tennessee.



I wouldn't even worry about humidity, at least if Georgia is like Alabama (Shoals area).  I lived there 3 years, and fell in love with the area, and the weather.  I thought I'd die of the humidity after hearing a lot of people talk about it, but I guess I just got used to it, or it wasn't that bad to me.  Maybe just my chemistry.  I love the South, and if it wasn't so far from what family I do want to be within driving distance of, I would go back there in a minute

I think I'd go for the places that aren't so advertised, find your own, special place, unless you want to be in the Senior Fast-lane, LOL!! Yeehaw!!  Pappy and a few others here can tell you about Florida  They love it!


----------



## jujube

Have you looked at the Panhandle of Florida?  Whole different kind of Florida up there.  It gets a bit chilly in the winter, but there are also spells of gorgeous weather.  Beaches to die for.  Woods, rivers, bays and bayous. Boating, canoeing, salt and freshwater fishing.  Nightlife or get away from it all.  We have a family house up there in the Point Washington area.


----------



## BiXLL

jujube said:


> Have you looked at the Panhandle of Florida?  Whole different kind of Florida up there.  It gets a bit chilly in the winter, but there are also spells of gorgeous weather.  Beaches to die for.  Woods, rivers, bays and bayous. Boating, canoeing, salt and freshwater fishing.  Nightlife or get away from it all.  We have a family house up there in the Point Washington area.


I will look into that, thanks


----------



## Georgia Lady

I live on the Ga/FL line above Jacksonville Fl.  The weather is good, but sometimes we get rainy spells, but not the miserable type. Winter time only brings about two weeks of night temperatures in the 30's. I only wear a sweater about 2 weeks.  It is only 30 minutes to Fernandina Beach and 45 minutes to St. Simons Island, Ga beach.  Also my house is only 1/2 mile from a River dock.The only thing I dislike sometimes is the lack of shopping here.  I have to drive to Jacksonville or Brunswick for a good selection.  But I am retired and have the time to travel.
We have a Navy base here, so is very good for retired military.
The very best thing is the property tax.  I am over 62, file Homestead Exemption on 4 acres with a 2,000 SF house 8 miles from town and guess what my taxes were?  $18.15 I am telling the truth.


----------



## AZ Jim

Linda, $18.15 a year?


----------



## BiXLL

How about the *Lake Istokpoga  area of Florida.  Looks to have some resonably priced lakefront property.  can anybody tell me anything about the area?  
*


----------



## oakapple

Have you thought about England? As The Beatles sang [in I am The Walrus]' If the sun don't shine you get a tan from standing in the English rain'. No humidity here! Sweet little old cottages. Pubs [millions of them].Plus you are never too far away from civilization[ we are a small island, as Bill Bryson likes to remind us.]


----------



## BiXLL

If I was to go out of US it would be somewhere in the Caribbean, I love it down there.  I am just afraid of living out of country.  As I said, at this point I am looking into the  *Lake Istokpoga  area of Florida.*


----------



## Ameriscot

oakapple said:


> Have you thought about England? As The Beatles sang [in I am The Walrus]' If the sun don't shine you get a tan from standing in the English rain'. No humidity here! Sweet little old cottages. Pubs [millions of them].Plus you are never too far away from civilization[ we are a small island, as Bill Bryson likes to remind us.]



Problem with that is he'd never get a visa (unless a parent was born here).


----------



## Ameriscot

I hate winters but enjoyed the climate of East TN where I lived for 10 years.  For the first 3 years I lived there it didn't snow at all.  Some winters we got one blizzard, then a week later it was in the 50's.  Winters over all were tolerable.  Spring and autumn were perfect. Summers hot.  Ideal for hiking, kayaking, etc.


----------



## oakapple

Of course, I was joking about coming to live in England, but that has thrown up a question, can US nationals come to live here if they have a job to go to? How long could they work and live here for [and vice versa for UK nationals in the US.]For ever?That way you wouldn't need visas.You do hear of people from the UK going to live in Florida, so how does that work?


----------



## Ameriscot

oakapple said:


> Of course, I was joking about coming to live in England, but that has thrown up a question, can US nationals come to live here if they have a job to go to? How long could they work and live here for [and vice versa for UK nationals in the US.]For ever?That way you wouldn't need visas.You do hear of people from the UK going to live in Florida, so how does that work?



A visa is always required.  It is extremely difficult to get a work visa to the UK. The employer must apply for the visa for you. Basically needs to be a shortage occupation and EU citizens get those jobs first.  I think the US is easier to emigrate to.  Of course, it's easy to move to either country if you have tons of money and will be providing jobs or are in the arts.

I think some people from the UK buys homes in Florida but can only live there for 6 months a year. Or they can get a green card if married to a US citizen.


----------



## oakapple

thanks Ameriscot.nthego:


----------



## John C

My home town is in East Tennessee, between Knoxville and Chattanooga,  There are some good retirement benefits in that area, particularly in the Tellico Development Area.  A lot of retirees live there and many of them are from Michigan.  There are Fort Louden and Watts Barr Lakes with great fishing.  Cost of living is low with good tax rates.  Also it's a short drive to the Great Smoky Mountains which is good for vacations and weekend trips.  Gatlinburg is the city to visit within the park and there are cabins at the top of  Mount LeConte.


----------



## Butterfly

jujube said:


> I assume his wife doesn't like to play golf.  I can understand that.  I hate golf.



I agree.  His wife doesn't like golf.


----------



## Butterfly

nwlady said:


> I wouldn't even worry about humidity, at least if Georgia is like Alabama (Shoals area).  I lived there 3 years, and fell in love with the area, and the weather.  I thought I'd die of the humidity after hearing a lot of people talk about it, but I guess I just got used to it, or it wasn't that bad to me.  Maybe just my chemistry.  I love the South, and if it wasn't so far from what family I do want to be within driving distance of, I would go back there in a minute
> 
> I think I'd go for the places that aren't so advertised, find your own, special place, unless you want to be in the Senior Fast-lane, LOL!! Yeehaw!!  Pappy and a few others here can tell you about Florida  They love it!



IMHO, the humidity in Alabama is AWFUL!!  In Huntsville, where we were stationed, the summer was like a steambath.  It was beautiful, and the people were very nice, but the summers were just awful.  I'm from the South, and I love the South, but I don't do well in very high humidity.


----------



## Kathy G in MI

AZ Jim, I love your quote about the tree. How true.


----------



## Grumpy Ol' Man

Butterfly said:


> I agree. His wife doesn't like golf.



I also "hate" golf!! I play at least twice/week and sometimes more.  The anger and hate and digust for the game is totally and completely proportional to the number of quarters I lose to the guys in the group!!!  

My wife doesn't play golf.  (Thank goodness!)  I am an early morning person.  She is the opposite and loves to sleep in.  We have a group of guys who play at the crack of dawn.  We play quickly and can be home by 9:30 or 10 a.m. with 18 holes played.  That's about the time my wife is trying to open her eyes.  Works quite well.  I'm not banging around the house disturbing her "beauty rest".  I'm enjoying the game of golf.  We still have most of the day together.

As for the OP and where to retire....  We live in a fairly high tax area.  And, it's getting worse as more tax breaks are handed to large corporations and the shortfall being made up by taxing the working class.  But, we will retire where we live.  We do have 4 seasons and can have cold temps and snow.  Most years, the cold and snow still will some of us guys play golf 12 months/year.  The main reason we will remain here is family.  Both our daughters are close and 5 of our 8 grandchildren are close.  We were married in this community in 1966 and have never ventured very far away.  (We did leave for about 15 years, but were only about 120 miles down the road.)  We treasure the ability to spend time with kids and grandkids and, especially my wife, would never be content hundreds of miles from them.  Our home is within walking distance of medical facilities if and when we need those as age catches up.  Even though our community has grown by leaps and bounds, over the past few years, we still remain very crime free.  We'll put up with looking out over a small skiff of snow, just to know our friends and family are right around the corner.


----------



## Son_of_Perdition

Move to Florida.  Get you a pair of plaid shorts, floral shirt, black knee high socks, brown leather soled shoes and a fedora.  Pull the shorts up under your rib cage,  at 3:30 PM drive your Cadillac the 2 blocks to the buffet.  Enjoy your retirement.


----------



## Bullie76

It is true, the humidity can be rough at times in Florida. But if you are close to water, you usually get a pretty decent breeze to balance it out. I have a condo on the AL coast and I haven't found it to be unbearable during the summer. August is the worst month. I'm more than likely moving there full time within the next couple of years.

Another community I have seen mentioned as a retirement spot not too far from me is Fairhope, AL. Near Mobile but in a smallish town. Very pretty imo. It was mentioned in the Wall Street Journal a few years back as a top retirement destination. Below is a link for more info. 

http://www.topretirements.com/reviews/Alabama/Fairhope.html


----------



## AZ Jim

Kathy G in MI said:


> AZ Jim, I love your quote about the tree. How true.



Yours is the first notice I have received that anyone noticed that quote.  I think it to be so true too.  Thank you...


----------



## Linda

Just this afternoon my husband met a man who had moved here from PA.  He is 50 so I don't think he is retiring yet.  He moved here for the warm weather.  I love California but I do know the taxes can really be rough on you.


----------



## Skyking

Linda said:


> Just this afternoon my husband met a man who had moved here from PA.  He is 50 so I don't think he is retiring yet.  He moved here for the warm weather.  I love California but I do know the taxes can really be rough on you.



Just a warning, there are a few states, like California, that are flat out broke and the bills are coming due as Californians have not been paying enough to support their liberal spending. So if you think taxes are high now, just wait. It's a beautiful place now but the day is coming when they will be faced with a reality that isn't pretty especially for those on a fixed income.


----------



## Skyking

BiXLL I'm in a similar boat. 5 years and I'm gone. Today, central or northern Florida with a small heated pool is looking good to me. The crazies are on the coast and to be avoided. North and South Carolina are mild weather states with sane government and good weather too.  I've lived and travelled everywhere and everywhere has it's own set of problems. There is no perfect place and if there were, I sure wouldn't tell everyone. In fact I probably wouldn't tell anyone.


----------

