So, IF you were going to move~~~~~~~~~~

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mbrudnic
Posts: 4497
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 7:57 am

Re: So, IF you were going to move~~~~~~~~~~

Post by mbrudnic »

I recently went through that:
  • Near family
  • safe area - I can take walks, walk to my car at night comfortably
  • Close to a bustling area. I am not a rural girl.
  • Good Public transportation (that is not checked off on my current place. Hard to find in Ohio) But I am close to interstates, airports, etc.
nbeaver
Posts: 128
Joined: Mon Aug 31, 2015 1:49 pm

Re: So, IF you were going to move~~~~~~~~~~

Post by nbeaver »

The only one thing that matters hugely to me is:
close to family (which is why we're not likely to ever move)

That one outweighs all the others, but some other things that I think are nice are these:
low cost of living
good health care
a gardening spot
a good library
4 distinct seasons (I actually want to experience all four)

However, all of the others combined wouldn't outweigh the first one. We are blessed to be within 15-20 minutes of each of our grown children, our only (so-far) grandchild, our parents (who are still living) and most of our siblings.
ohjodi
Posts: 1444
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 3:57 pm

Re: So, IF you were going to move~~~~~~~~~~

Post by ohjodi »

My dream would be to live in London, with my sister and her little family. For 39 of my 49 years, I've lived in Chicago, a medium-sized central Illinois city, and Pittsburgh. The other ten in a small town (12k pop) So I do understand the pros and cons of living big city/small town.

I'm now living permanently in that small town in central Illinois, and although kind of boring, it's good enough for me.

My two sisters and their families are here. We all help each other out. Traveling to see family is much more difficult when you get older. Plus taking time off work, the expense, etc.

We have a good hospital, and I live between four larger cities with great healthcare options. (Shout out to St. Francis Hospital in Peoria for literally saving my life 13 years ago)

There's not much shopping, but it's enough. Having limited options actually saves money because I can't do much "shopping as entertainment" LOL Walmart, Aldi, IGA, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Big R, Gordmans.......we just lost our Kroger, so I'm sad about that :-( The larger cities near me have anything else you could want, and online shopping is a godsend.

There are several churches, and most are very involved with the community, and have several fun events throughout the year. I am not religious, but I do appreciate how sometimes churches can enhance a community.

We have THREE colleges. One community college (which has expanded its offerings to health care programs), one private 2-4 year, and one Christian 4 year.) I've lost count of the many universities and colleges within a one-hour drive from here.

I can get over 20 television stations with a good indoor antenna.

We have a nice library, with a lot of kids programs.

It's quiet. Crime is very, very low.

Property taxes are very high, as they are in Illinois, overall (there has been a large exodus of Illinoisans to Tennessee, LOL) I rent, and the landlord pays her taxes with my rent...........the property taxes on my 2-bed semi-detached with no garage is $1800/yr.

A good-paying full-time job is hard to come by. There are two prisons and a couple of factories. We have many nursing homes, assisted living homes, and developmentally disabled homes. I think we are expanding on that, because as the baby boomers get older, more homes will be needed.

You really need a car. There is one taxi that might show up. There is one bus that runs a few hours each weekday, and takes an hour to get across town, where driving takes five minutes. I don't know why they bother. You can reserve a shuttle bus to take you to out-of-town doctors appointments, $10. (Note that this might be covered by Medicare or other health insurance).

Some specialist doctors come here from the larger cities one or two days per week, because we don't have those doctors here. For me, it's my orthopedic, and ear-nose-throat. While this seems inconvenient, they never used to do this and you had to drive 30-60 minutes to the other cities.

Family and healthcare are the most important things, as everyone else here has said.

When considering places to live, include the benefits of cities within an hour's drive.

edited to ad: I'm also 2.5-3 hours from Chicago and St. Louis, with Amtrak to both. It's really nice to have HUGE cities close enough to day-trip to, so that's a bonus when looking for a place to live.
ohjodi
kat
Posts: 89
Joined: Wed Jan 06, 2016 4:38 pm

Re: So, IF you were going to move~~~~~~~~~~

Post by kat »

lol! hi, kinda in the same position; we are thinking about another move also....only been in FL 2 yrs. ok, here's what I did and found: moved from cold/dreary, non-friendly to retirees WV, to sunny, retiree friendly, warm FL, and to be near childhood girlfriend. here's what I found: FL real estate and sales taxes are high due to no state income tax, yes weather is warm and most days are sunny - this summer was more humid/hotter than last, my car/home insurance is twice as high as NC was, there are tons of restaurants (therefore gained weight), lots to do, places to go/see, etc.

So when you figure where you want to move, do your "due diligence" and research thoroughly. how state treats retirees, how much real estate/car/home insurances will be, income taxes, medical, entertainment, traffic, and weather.

be sure before you make that move. we lost money on sale in WV, move was disaster (moving company damaged lots of our antiques), move was not cost effective in any way. think it over seriously, sleep on it, visit the place, check it out firsthand, and then decide. lots of factors...moving is a hassle and very stressful, we've never made money on any of our moves! good luck
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