There is no one answer.

A beach side house in San Diego or Malibu is heaven for some, but a tad expensive, and I would get really tired of that in a week.

First figure out what is most important to you. Close to relatives or kids? Oceans or lakes or mountains and skiing or what hobby you want to do.

What is the budget to accomplish it? Can you live with that weather?

One of my friends has two houses. For summer living he is in the mountains of New Mexico and loves the cool weather, but he hats snow. So he has a winter house in Oklahoma City to be close to his family and long time friends. He also has 12 motorcycles, 2 boats, and 5 cars, and surprise he is single.

That is exactly the calculus we used...one house

The house in SC is in Aiken, where I finished HS and my parents lived for decades. My sister has the house they lived in and it is great in terms of location. I also knew the house we bought well: Amazingly neat place in the perfect part of Aiken.

But, Air You Can Wear means we'll take a few months every year and chase dry air:)

I have known a few folks that lived on boats, North Island and DC. Any boat you can live on that sits on the water is 10 times more work than a house and depreciates like Bit Coin.

My son just left Tacoma after living there for 2 years. Housing is stupid expensive ( I couldn't live there on my income). Gas, food, sales tax is high too. A big homeless problem, there are squatters everywhere & anywhere. (Homeless reside in the rest stops on the interstate). My son complained about homeless having fires and when he called to police, was told they are warming fires and legal - do not call again abut fires.

One thing I would add, moving to a place you have never lived before, and you are retired, don’t think you’re going to make friends easily. At least that is what I have discovered. My wife got a job opportunity in Lincoln, Nebraska, and I decided to retire so we moved up there. Nice town, friendly people but tough to make true friendships. Everyone already has their own group of friends.

That sounds agreeable. :)

Pretty much everyone where I retired is from somewhere else and that puts everyone in the same boat. Many around here have two homes, one where they can escape the heat and humidity of summer (cowards) and one here for the mild winters. That to me would be very difficult (not to mention above my pay grade). Have to have two sets of doctors, two churches, two sets of friends, etc, etc. just about the time you get involved in something it’s time to pull up stakes…see ya next time. I know a lot of folks that do that and it’s definitely not for me.

Agree with the friendship thing, sorta. We've made some casual and even semi close friendships by being involved in the horse world here; but yeah, absent a bonding activity its tough.

My parents are retired and live in NOVA (right next to Wolf Trap if anyone knows the area). Kids and I go back a couple of times a year, and it has changed so much since I graduated HS there in '92. They have had a house there since 1986 and only moved once in 2000, so the real estate piece has worked out in their favor. My dad was military and my mom an elementary school principal so they like the area and have not started talking about leaving it.

Chris is spot on with regards to CO. I moved here in 2001 and the worst thing (besides Boulder) that has happened to this state was legalizing pot. Don't get me wrong, I grew up seeing Jerry and the Grateful Dead in the late 80's and 90's and have caught Phish/Dead shows religiously since 93 or so, by no means am I anti weed, but it just brought the wrong type of people. Outside the Front Range CO is still a great place, but I am actually looking for land in Wyoming.

I really like parts of NC and SC and depending on what I do with land in the mountains of WY I may look down around there as well. One have more child left in HS so being able to move around in approaching quickly.

Was out riding my bike 'round the 'hood the other day and a guy said 'Hi' to me, but then told me he mistook me for someone else.
So the next day I see him and say "I'm still not the guy you thought I was yesterday." Just to start a conversation. He's remodeling his house. BIG time. Increasing the sq footage by 2x's. His neighbor is a contractor. Said he looked around at moving somewhere else but couldn't find anything decent that was close to his kids (they're local now) so decided to add on a big family room and main suite upstairs. He says they decided to stay put.
We've pretty much decided that too since our house is paid for. It's big enough I don't get in my wife's way, she has her sewing stuff in a couple of rooms, I have a desk in the living room and a nice sized workbench in the garage. Our son is close by down in San Diego and should have a pool in by the end of next year. We'll be visiting a lot more often when that's done I'm sure.
Our daughter is now located in Virginia and learning all about heat and humidity, but is glad to be back in the US of A. Being in Japan was fun while it lasted but the kids needed schooling in America.

Avoid New Jersey....

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Garden State, should they update that?

Reverse snowbird, you should maybe be looking at Idaho or Montana for summer digs. High altitude, probably no good for helicoptering, but I am fairly certain there are no fixed wing aircraft with a part known as "the Jesus nut."

I was talking to a Vietnam Era helicopter guy on a few occasions at the office, and figured it was the Army version of sea stories, but I checked out the stuff he told me, reinforcing my initial impression as a helicopter passenger

Rot - my wife agrees with you - she constantly says why would we move away from all of our friends, neighbors, doctors, vets, etc... So I think we will end up doing summer trips to MT and freeloading on family for cool weather.

Seahawk - I dated a law student that crew up in Aiken, their farm had a name, and it was huge. Met her at a wedding there and had a blast. It is beautiful there, so I get that.

Plotting Classic Retrofit AC install this winter so next summer I can drive my car more frequently in more comfort.

Man... take a budget backpack trip to europe, just to see for yourself. France, northern spain, northern italy... cost of living can be low and quality of life is amazing. You need to see it to believe it.

The problem to keep in mind is that so much of the world changes in 10-15 years. Places full of great people can change so quickly.

Find a place full of people that are your natural cohort, make friends.

10 - 12 years ago when my wife and I retired and moved, her now 100 year old mom told her, “make friends with people younger than you.” Starting to see why!

My plan started about 10 years ago when I became a Scuba Instructor, retired now and recently divorced, BELIZE is in my future. Fixed exchanged rate at 2x your $1, cheap living, lots of activities.......so I'll be a beach bum and work at a scuba shop when I want.

Reach out to Glen (GH85Carrera) he has an excellent set-up.

Best.

True. A boat house or an apartment would be living hell for me - I need space, but some people can live in a cardboard box if it is near something they want to be near.

We moved to western Ohio. It's not exactly centrally located, but our choice of excellent health care providers is half an hour away. OTOH we have to drive 45 minutes to find a decent food store. :( The airport we take to Europe is an hour away.

Living here is relatively cheap. We have a 6000 sq ft 3 story house, a 40x60 barn, and a 44x24 garage on 5 acres and property taxes are about $5k a year. Water is expensive, but electricity is 9 cents per kwh and gas is cheap. We have a construction guy who does our remodeling. He built the 44x24 brick faced garage for $55k.

SH - Glen has chimed in - he is a Griffith 4 condenser guy. Great set up, and he is knowledgeable - but has some natural bias. It has worked for him, but I want a simplified system that takes the compressor off the engine. Planning on Classic Retro and updated alternator, likely will order in OCT for a winter installation.

With this Writer's strike and soon (today) Actor's strike it could be awhile before film gets back to work. It really has me thinking of hanging up my spurs early and getting while the getting's good.

We've looked at Arizona where the kids are but the heat may be a bit much. And with the Californians fleeing there the home prices are getting up there near Cal levels.

I've started looking at Utah and other states in the west. Have family in Wyoming but every picture my Cousin posts seems to have snow in it. My Wife grew up in a small city in Germany so she's a city gal who likes her shopping and other amenities. I'm leaning towards a small house or condo in the city and a cabin or vacation home in the mountains as a getaway.

Still a lot to figure out and retirement creeps up fast, decisions need to be made.

Places in the US that are cheap to buy are that way for a reason.
Healthcare and proximity to civilization are a must. Seclusion is unhealthy in the long run.
Don't overlook parts of Europe.