We lived in Eugene for 18 years before moving to FL to look after family. Couldn't wait to leave the latter. Researched places from Asheville to Portland, ME. Finally settled on the Pioneer Valley in MA. Been here two years and are very pleased with out relocation. The area meets your four requirements. Suggest you look at Western Mass, from Northampton/Amherst to the Berkshires.
It's not for everyone, but there are two spots in Mexico that are great, Lake Chapala, Jalisco state, and the city of Oaxaca, Oaxaca state. There are thousands of U.S. and Canadian retires living around Lake Chapala, mostly in the town of Ajijic, living the good life--on the cheap.
I lived in Oaxaca for a decade, and the running was fantastic (it's a mile high city, and the mountain trails go up from there.) The local running scene is active, and convivial. Good medical and dental is available, for about 25-30% of US rates. I did a root canal, and hernia surgery, -- but I did pay for that stuff out of pocket. There is a lively expat community in Oaxaca. I was drafted to play music with a Thursday night jam session, just out of town, on a expat buddy's ranch. He had a mezcal still a few yards from where we played under the stars. OK, a bit too much fun at times, but pure magic.
The trick is to go and stay for a few weeks, and see what you think.
Moved back to the states when the kids hit high school age. Those spoiled brats demanded a return to Cali, and of course we obliged them.
I’m a poor coach, conservative on letsrun. Trying to think of where to retire. Oh wait I can’t, because I’m poor and a bum. lol I can’t even afford a bud light because of trans 🏳️⚧️
The irony is that we are looking to move ^from^ the Valley. So maybe we don't need to move after all???
A change in mindset may be good enough. Lots of travel and maybe a second house in a location you really like, but wouldn’t necessarily be there all the time.
I'm not sure that the LetsRun Message Board is really the best place to ask this, but here goes:
We will be moving in the next 5 years or so . . . . Three priorities:
1 A town big enough that there are good medical resources in the area. We're healthy, but as folks get older, health issues can arise, so having good hospitals is a plus.
2. Within an hour's drive of a decent-sized airport. We have grandkids across the country, so being able to fly and see them is a priority, and the larger the airport, the better section of flights.
3. Good recreation area. We like to bicycle, run, and cross country ski, so access to a Nordic ski center within an hour's drive would be nice.
4. I don't need to move to designated "running hotbed" as pretty much any decent sized town or city will have a running community, and it's not like I'm training for USATF champs.
I could have written this post. Interested to see the replies.
I think New Hampshire is your best choice as others have said. Both locations below offer local access to Green's Woodlands (one of the best nordic systems in the country) and both have local access to snowmaking (a requirement these days). No state income tax.
- Plymouth has great access to nordic skiing, and snow making at local Holderness. Gateway town to hiking and skiing the White Mountains. Plymouth has great people. The vibe is a little more blue collar, true Northern New England values. Plymouth State College is in town. Not a high level institution, but serves students from NH well and offers some cultural events. Cost of living is relatively low. Rural feel. A little less community oriented for retirees than Hanover.
-Hanover also has amazing access to nordic. New snow making at Oak Hill in town. Huge nordic community and masters group. Dartmouth College is here. Lots of cultural stuff to do. High level collegiate sports in Div 1 XC running and skiing. The largest hospital in Northern New England is headquartered here. The vibe is definitely more highly educated and liberal with many professors and doctors living here. Cost of living is higher, housing expensive. Amazing continuing education ops for seniors, many classes taught by current or former Dartmouth professors. Housing is expensive. Quality of life is excellent IMO.
Access to airports isn't great. Manchester an hour away (similar to Bradley). Top quality bus service to Boston (2.5 hours) on the hour. I guess you need to decide where you want to spend your time in a car.... For these two locations you will have everything you need including skiing out your back door. You will rarely need to get in a car, or very short trips. In many ski towns out west, you need to get in your car to ski every day, which is a show stopper for me. However, when you want to fly from these NH towns, you do need to make a trip.
I'm not sure that the LetsRun Message Board is really the best place to ask this, but here goes:
We will be moving in the next 5 years or so . . . . Three priorities:
1 A town big enough that there are good medical resources in the area. We're healthy, but as folks get older, health issues can arise, so having good hospitals is a plus.
2. Within an hour's drive of a decent-sized airport. We have grandkids across the country, so being able to fly and see them is a priority, and the larger the airport, the better section of flights.
3. Good recreation area. We like to bicycle, run, and cross country ski, so access to a Nordic ski center within an hour's drive would be nice.
4. I don't need to move to designated "running hotbed" as pretty much any decent sized town or city will have a running community, and it's not like I'm training for USATF champs.
Our decision on retirement was to essentially stay in place. Family is here except for my daughter who moved south and that was a major consideration. We moved from our house in the suburbs to a condo in a more urban setting which has close access to public transit- I get less excited about driving downtown year by year. The county library is across the street, three grocery stores and an Irish pub in easy walking distance plus a 500 acre park within a half mile. Easily accessible multi-use trails and bike-friendly parkways. Snow is rare so it's usually a day's drive to XC ski; we just build that into our travel plans. Traffic is terrible, but not so bad when you don't drive much. And we didn't have to rebuild our lives.
We lived in Eugene for 18 years before moving to FL to look after family. Couldn't wait to leave the latter. Researched places from Asheville to Portland, ME. Finally settled on the Pioneer Valley in MA. Been here two years and are very pleased with out relocation. The area meets your four requirements. Suggest you look at Western Mass, from Northampton/Amherst to the Berkshires.
Flagstaff seems like would fit your requirements minus the airport.
We flew into Phoenix and stayed in Flagstaff for spring break. (That time of year, it’s 50/50 whether it will be snowing in Flag and consequently way cheaper hotel prices there than compared to Phoenix or Sedona) The drive between those two places is pretty straightforward and easy Interstate and doesn’t take too long. PHX has a ton of non-stop flights and the drive plus flight from there option is probably a shorter travel day than flying out of a small regional airport and having to connect in a megahub.
There is infinite nature within a 90 minute drive of Flagstaff including two National Parks. We discovered that Petrified Forest NP has some really awesome badlands hiking in spring and fall when weather is mild at that elevation. And it would take a long time to get bored with the trail running and mountain biking just ‘down the hill’ in Sedona. Flagstaff is a regional hub for shopping and medical care and between Falgstaff and Sedona, there are a lot of good ‘everyday’ restaurant options. And if you need next level medical care or something you can find in town, as mentioned the drive into Phoenix is pretty easy.
This post was edited 55 seconds after it was posted.
I didn't say you get there and then go HOME! I said it was an easy day's drive TO the beach. Drive 6 hours to the beach, go get lunch, check into the hotel (I actually prefer hotels to renting houses), and then stay for a week or longer.
So your dream retirement location is one that you want to get away from? Seems odd. Why not just live in an area where you can drive 30 mins, have a nice day at the beach and go home?
What a weird comment.
1) Dude wanted skiing. There's skiing in Tennessee. To be fair though, I am also considering TN, and I don't ski.
2) Just because you want to vacation in other places doesn't mean you don't like the home base. Tennessee is a very good option for many...mild winters, lots to do and close enough to some other things if you want to drive or take a short flight. Maybe I don't want to LIVE at the beach but want to visit it 3 times a year.
3) Even if I WANTED to live at the beach, I would still want some variety and would want to go to the mountains or a very DIFFERENT kind of beach (rocky vs. sandy for example) every once in a while.
Not 7 hours. 6 hours 53 minutes which is really probably closer to 6.5 hours in reality, and the other one is likely 6 hours.
Leave at 6 am, get to the beach by lunch. How is that not an easy day's drive? Maybe you're a child who can't drive a little bit.
Just don’t try to to come or go to the FL panhandle from points north on a Saturday during peak season, which is when the weekly short term vacation rentals change over and the traffic issues can be pretty epic then. I live just across the toll bridge to Destin. Normal time to Whole Foods on the other side of the bridge is 13 minutes. Saturdays during the summer, it can be a 50 minute gridlock slog.
That is good advice. I didn't know that for certain, but I had already assumed as much (as that is the case in so many places that get a rush of people for the weekend). One of the great things about being retired is that you can pick times when not as much of the riff raff is there.
Or maybe just stay at a VRBO for a few weeks each year - and avoid the hassle of owning a 2d place. I do wish that our nearest airport (Bradley) had more direct flights. The other option (Boston) is a bit of a trek to get to, but it offers more options for flying.
Durango housing prices are essentially Boulder level. I'd still choose Durango over Boulder, tho. Much better housing stock at a variety of price levels just down the road in Cortez, Mancos, and Dolores.
No, Durango median sales price is more than $250K less than Boulder. But I do agree that Cortez, Mancos and Dolores are less expensive. The available product is quite limited in those locals.
You're right, I had my search filters too tight. When I set it to any bed/bath and included attached dwellings, the difference became apparent.