[aigel]

I will stay in CA. Possibly right where I am at in the East Bay Area. Every time I go visit possible retirement places, I find them lacking. My main concern is diversity. Mainly ethnicity, religion, socioeconomics, healthcare and age.

Ethinicity: I am an immigrant and I can't stand living somewhere where my origin is a subject, immediately after I open my mouth. People may just be curious but there often is also the "you aren't from around here, are you" aspect. I also need diversity so I can be with others that have an immigration background. Yes, this includes food options at restaurants.

Religion: Many cool places in the country are very religious. "What church do you go to" will be a question, and saying "none" or even "catholic" may make it hard for you to find new friends.

Socioeconomic: Some places that are out there have a steep gradient of wealth. The out of towners come for the weather, mountains, ocean etc., drive up the prices but the locals are all not that well off. You may have to live in a gated community to avoid getting cleaned out on a regular basis by the meth heads that live only a few miles down the road. At a minimum you'll feel like foreign object as soon as you leave your neighborhood or the fancy down town built with out of towner's money.

Healthcare: Some places can be surprisingly good, such as cities in the South, but moving out to the boonies may make getting decent treatment challenging. Leave alone emergency treatment. Here in my location, if you call 911 for a medical emergency it is about 3-5 minutes for the EMT to pull up.

Age: Typical retirement locations often attract loads of geezers. The last thing you want when you are old is surround yourself with a bunch of old people. It will age you in no time and will be super boring. It would be a nightmare for me to live on a golf course or lake and play golf or go fishing with a bunch of other geezers for the last 20 years of my life. I would like to live in a neighborhood with people that work, people with young kids etc.

IMHO many people move away for retirement from CA because they can cash in on a house and are looking for lower taxes. My goal is to just have enough dough to stay. Plus, if you stay in an area full of business opportunity, you can always make some money on the side. That also helps you age more gracefully IMHO.

G