Retirement/relocation destination?

Not as much as you’d think when most houses that close have deeded lake access no matter which side of the street they’re on.

 

When my daughter first moved to France eight years ago, housing prices that weren't in Paris were notably lower than in the States on the East Coast. Alas, that is long gone, and housing prices in Bordeaux, where she lives, are right up there with Boston's (one of the most expensive US places). This is true for a lot of the EU countries that are reasonably prosperous, Italy, Spain, Germany, the Scandinavian countries, etc. It's triple true for Great Britain.

 

Bellingham?

 

Awesome take. Just don't do the Chevy Chase-Funny Farm thing.

 

My move is made easier in that I'm an only child with no children. We got my mom a condo just down the street from us on the island, so for her, it's a great adventure. I have a couple of close friends, who are also only children with no kids of their own, and they are actively planning on getting out, too.

 

You sound just like my brother who moved to Costa Rica when he retired. He could not wait to leave California, for many of the same reasons you mentioned. And I sometimes feel the same. But I'm not as well off as my brother, so whatever moves I make will need to be economically sound. And I'll need to be sure it's what I want to do, given that I've got a paid-off place to live already, in a coveted area of California. In other words, I've got to be really sure I want to give it up, or else, have some good, special reason for doing so. I really can't just go moving around on a lark, much as I might want to, and wish I could, sometimes.

I've given some thought to Idaho because, like you, I have some family there -- a niece and her family live on 10 acres in Spirit Lake, and some cousins who I've been close to through the years who went to the Boise/Star area -- but frankly, prices there have gone way up in the past few years, in concert with the exodus of Californians to there. And even though it is my kind of place, naturalistically and scenic-wise, the state has become so red and seemingly exteme-leaning to me as to have become a bit frightening in my eyes. I don't know how comfortable I'd feel with all the guns, and openness regarding them, etc. My closest cousin, who moved his family there a couple years ago, even said that, while they've generally liked living there since they moved, things got significantly more comfortable for them once they finally got Idaho plates for their cars. I'm not totally sure what he meant by that, but it didn't sit right with me.

So, yeah, you can tell I've thought about this kind of stuff a lot.

 

The people relocating from California, Oregon, Ohio, etc. to East Tennessee are not exactly the best and brightest. Our home grown young best and brightest are fleeing only to be replaced by the dregs and misfits of their former states.

 

So a dumbass family member is ready to cash out his San Dimas (cue the Bill & Ted reference) family home and move to Roanoke of all places. Just the other day he blew up the family thread with the news he and his wife’s offer on a 3,000 foot, 25-year old house was excepted. He flew out this weekend to see it, documenting every aspect of his trip at full-throttle gloat.
Within 18 hours he made another announcement: never mind. Seems he and his 70 year old wife didn’t realize a 3-story home comes complete with - wait for it - a ton of stairs. I did warn you he is a dumbass.
Anyway, what’s so great about Roanoke?

 

Roanoke is a decent smaller city. Its healthcare is good enough. Downtown area is pretty cool.
If you're thinking of SW Va, pick Roanoke over Blacksburg if you can. Better hospitals and greater choice of specialists in proximity.

 

No problem.