Serious Question for the Older PPBT - Where to Live in Retirement?
 

I live in Northern VA about 50 miles west of DC. I grew up near here, it is still a beautiful place for the most part. But unless money falls out of the sky in the next 5 years or so, I don't think we can afford to live here. So that then begs the question........where?

This has crossed my mind more than once, buying a nice, used, big houseboat on a lake in Tennessee or similar area and live on it full time. Things that appeal to both of of us: We love the water, I've owned boats in the past and enjoyed them. I do all my own maintenance. We can move it, ride around the lake for a change of scenery.

Things that concern us: Good health care within reasonable driving distance, food stores, etc. Bad weather. Slip and shore electric/ water / sewage monthly costs.

Things that would be tough to give up: a garage for my 911, motorcycles, hot rod, place to work in - my hobby.

So has anyone thought about this, done it, experiences even as a vacation setup as opposed to buying an actual lake front home, which btw, is 3 to 4 X more $$$$$

My plan when we moved here (from northern VA) was to make friends with someone who had a boat. Mission accomplished. He has a 34 foot center console…don’t think there’s any real economical way to own a boat.

Boats are great-no property taxes (offsets slip rent and the other things) go where you want within reason.
But what's kept me on dry land about an hour south of you is what you worry about-it a very small space, even on a large boat, and you can't really have any hobbies other than the boat or reading or playing a guitar.

I'm starting to look at other state options too. I live in IL and I would like to find a smaller metro area with lower housing costs. I have a list of wants and also a list of where I have no desire to move. I have no family in the area and both sons, who have families, are east of me - so I'm looking to move closer to them.

What I'm seeing is housing costs have risen over the last 2 years and it is starting to look like a much smaller difference and in some cases about the same. I'm re-thinking my next steps.

Greg, Asphalt, since both of you live in VA, is it a retirement friendly state?

I agree with what's been said about the long term prospects of living on a boat - even a house boat. It's possible if that's you only thing in life, but not if you have wider interests. I've said this before & will say it againl When you retire and time passes, your interests and preferences can & most likely will change over time. Your best prospect is to create a situation that offers the most flexibility. I have three, retired friends who are selling and moving out of CA - one to FL & two to TN. I suspect they want to avoid the costs of living in CA. If you plan to move, it might be a good idea to research places where you can make your money stretch and allow you to enjoy additional pursuits that might change over time.

Well, as much as I know, no taxes on SS, possibly no State taxes on my ( future ) pension. But in this area, very high cost of living, specifically housing / re taxes. Now there are parts of Va west / south of me past the immediate influence of DC politics and money that cost of living is much cheaper, but you have to be careful because some declining small towns have high crime, few amenities.

It's a conundrum for sure. When you find a much cheaper place to live you live with people that don't have the money to live where you are now. If it is ideal, people have already discovered it and are running the prices up.

Good thing you're not from CA and moving east or north. They all hate us. They are generalizing, of course, but the majority of urban CA'ians are jerks. One place for us to go is Vegas. BTDT and it's a dump for the better part. But everyone in Vegas is from somewhere else or their parents are.

Europe

Lol^

I hear the number of Americans choosing to retire overseas is steadily rising. I've thought about it myself.

I understand South Dakota is nice...if you're into ice fishing. Zero income tax & bargain housing.

I've heard the same about the dakotas. Dirt cheap in no where towns with no industry. Safe and red. Can't really go wrong with that.

The asian countries are very cheap. SE Asia, Central and West. Avg annual income is like 750$ a year!

I have friends from nepal, sri lanka, Bangladesh, India, ect. that state i can live like a king(hotel every night and eating out for all meals) for 1,000 usd a month.

One gal was a higher caste(nepal warrior caste). Might visit after i graduate...

I lived in NoVA for 13 yrs., owned two houses there, so I know all about the cost of living in that area. I would think, since you've been there a long time and are well west of the super crazy expensive area, you'd have to be pretty well set up by now and immune from the crazy housing prices, unless you're not now in your forever home. There are some gorgeous areas in VA well outside the northern part. I could see myself living there again, if not for the outsized influence NoVA has over the rest of the state.

And Europe? Man, you have to hate money to move there. There are some more reasonably priced areas than the major cities in the major countries. But you're looking at double the gas costs, way more than double the taxes - sales and income - and volatile energy costs for as far as the eye can see. Not that we don't have our own problems here, but I'd not be moving to Europe unless money were no object. And I've been there a lot.

If you can ignore a lot of bible beaters (ie, there are more churches than gas stations within 10 miles of me) then I'd recommend N Central Florida. Probably just outside of Alachua county in Columbia county (between high springs, bell, ft white, live oak and lake city) with easy access to both I-10 and I-75. Gainesville/UF (UF/Shands medical) in 30 minutes, Jax/St Aug an hour or so, Tallahasse, Orlando, Tampa Daytona in 3 hours. No state income tax, low property taxes (out of Alachua co), plenty of out doors stuff to do (check out our springs and rivers, hour or so to salt water east or west), no snow, and hurricanes are really only a PITA if you dont have a generator. $400k will get you a big house on 20+ acres with deer, turkey, maybe pigs ....

Widely variable. Low r/e taxes, but property tax on vehicles etc. A fair trade if you drive 90's stuff like I do, but if you have RV's or new cars, maybe a wash. NOVA and Richmond/ Charlottesville are expensive property wise, but the more rural parts are cheap by national standards and you get the Blue Ridge and mild winters. Very odd politically with NOVA and C'ville being very blue and the rest crazy red, so weigh that.

With all that said, I intentionally retired here and don't regret it. The growth in my area has been a stressor, but other than that, I don't regret it in the least.

And no Chicago style cold, ever. If we get snow, its gone in 48 hrs.

Feel free to PM if you have specific questions.

You could always rent a storage unit for your toys on the beach somewhere not too far from the dock. Use your boat bicycle to get from hither to yon. It will be like the other boat people, but your on shore beater will be an old 911, or whatever, 928 would be better I guess.


You know, a shark for the guy lives on the water.

Oh yeah, as close to the grand kids as is practical

Virginia has had some good press lately for retirees. NoVA is a different animal, seems like you need to go WAY out from DC to find reasonable housing. We are just south of Norfolk, and west of Virginia Beach. Beach is 25 minutes, OBX is 70 minutes, we can be in Charlottesville and the hills in ~3 hours. Lots to do, Williamsburg is great during the holidays. I grew up in CO and wife is a Texan. Way too hot to go to TX, and CO has been over-run with crazy people. Since we have been here 20+ years (military), I expect with the friends here, and daughters, we will sit tight.

I do like Charlottesville - at least parts. Down near Abingdon the summers are much cooler than the swamp a@@ heat we get. It is nice to have seasons.

My opinion - Oregon and Washington states are both "out" for retirement. Oregon has high property taxes, a state income tax that goes after everything (including capital gains), and an ever-increasing tax load and cost of living. Washington is not far behind...

The problem is that states with lower tax loads aren't exactly near anywhere I'd like to live. I guess I need more research...

Similar question I ask is where is a “sun solution “ for those nasty, gloomy winter months. Not a permanent location, just a few months to take the edge off.

I hear Maui is nice.

Interesting responses.

I want to die in my own house!

I thought about the boat idea when I was single and in my 40's in Seattle. The lack of space stalled me out. I had cars/motorcycles and also pets that I couldn't figure out in that market.

I have buddies here who rent shop space for storage and to work on their cars/bikes. Over time, 3 of them have rented units in a 10 unit industrial development. I think their monthly rent is in the $800/month range.

I live in eastern WA. We are here for the long term. It is way more affordable than the western part of the state and more of a 4 season climate. You do have to like, or at least tolerate, a real winter. Some of the tax laws are changing but it generally impacts folks way above my pay grade.
My shop is heated and once we both retire we'll likely spend a month or so in AZ to get some heat/sun in February/March. Kids/Grandkids are either here or in the Seattle area except for the outlier in Austin.

We bought a house in South Carolina that will become the retirement destination mainly because both our children and within a four hour drive and they are likely to stay on the East Coast.

The farm is too much in terms of the amount of care and feeding the place needs.

We have a lot of friends and family in the area with mountain houses, beach places, etc.

My goal is to do the reverse snow-bird...get out for a few months during the summer and spend time in less humid conditions. I really enjoy the PNW and I particularly like eastern Washington State.

It works for me but being across the country from the kids is a no go for full time living.

We'll see. Nothing changes like the best laid plans!

I want to die on my own bed asleep, it's not a bad way to go

For me I'd like to spend my early retirement years living between Slovenia and Costa Rica with a few long distance overland driving tours in various parts of the world

In anticipation of retirement, we recently moved to Fairhope, AL. Lovely “Southern Living” town on the east shore of Mobile Bay. Bottom line, wife loves it. So far, I hate it.

Choose carefully.

Lol, ^^ why do you hate it?

Too hot and humid for him

I have a list:

-Humidity is so bad I have ferns growing between the shingles on my roof.
-Until I ran a dehumidifier full time in my garage, everything began to grow a layer of mold.
-Rains every day. Water leaks into the crawl space and despite tubes of caulk…it continues.
-Absolutely no good motorcycling. Straight, flat, grid roads for miles in every direction. Did I mention rain, heat, humidity?
-Very quaint downtown inhabited by fancy old ladies with zombied-out gray faced husbands. I don’t want to become one of them.
-We live in a “special” part of town called Montrose. Lots of massive oaks with Spanish moss hanging like you’d see in a Hallmark movie. But small lots, roof and lot covered with tree stuff that falls daily, minimal privacy and insane HOA governance. You pretty much need approval to pull a weed.

So, I’ll reiterate. Proceed with caution. Living here has always been my wife’s dream. So that took priority and I hope for the best as a result. It’s only been a few months so perhaps I’m being hasty.

Chattanooga, TN...awesome weather, cosmopolitan enough for entertainment, great driving...no state income tax...

That's my plan though sadly not able to retire just yet. You can buy a nice house between provence and the luberon areas for the cost of a studio in the SF bay area. 10 min from 3 fantastic "world rated" touristic villages. Cost of living is peanuts, property tax is 1/10th of here (and includes garbage for F's sake), food is better and about 1/2, Gig fiber is $25 a month, hell *everything* is cheaper (we truly are getting fleeced in the US) and if you get a retirement in $ you are doing OK with low monthly expenses and a lot do do nearby. Only thing to sort out is healthcare but we have plans for that.

Wow... nothing on the west coast...

https://realestate.usnews.com/places/rankings/best-places-to-retire

Where did HughR retire?

Central Florida east. St Augustine I think.

Seahawk - your plan is somewhat similar to mine (working on Ours...). We love VA, and overtime the tax bite goes down on retired military pension, so that helps some. I grew up without humidity and absolutely dread JUL-early SEP with the heat and muggy weather. The rest of the year is great, and winter is pretty mild. Trying to get the comptroller to buy off on VA high country for the HOT part of the year, buy or rent will do that. I have a couple of years of work left in the tank, so there is time. Not sure I am interested in owning two properties, with two of everything.

We moved to SW Florida 9 years ago from the St. Louis area. The wife misses some of her friends, but flys up to see them several time a year. And of coarse we still get lots of visitors in the winter.

But the last 3 years have been insane. Housing prices have doubled, and so has insurance. I probably couldn’t afford my current house if I was looking today. Thankfully if your a resident you have the homestead deal and increases are limited.

Plenty to do, but it is hot and humid in the summer.

Hot and humid doesn’t bother me as much as cold.

Lake Wiley, SC is a good spot for retirement, lots of tax advantages for retirees, Part of York County, SC. Very near Charlotte, NC with all its advantages, but out of the hub-bub.