Dec

28

Retirement Planning - Where to Live

Posted by cameron

December 28, 2006 |

In a previous post I discussed a high level guide for deciding where to retire. It’s purpose was to narrow the search down to an area probably a few counties in size. You can read the major issues here. They are: proximity to your children, the weather, affordability, environment and medical amenities. Following is the process I am following to determine some of the livability issues such as; crime rate, will I like living there and what is the weather really like:

1. Take a vacation and tour the region. Find out if you love it? If the answer is “yes” then go to step 2.

2. If you love it then you really need to find out about it. Step 2 is setting up your PC to compare it with your current place of residence. Comparing with something you know is the only way to get a good feel for it. Following are the three things I did.

a. Set up a Google weather feed to display both your current location and your retirement location side-by-side. Google and Yahoo both provide that kind of feed. By looking at it everyday for a year or two you will get a very good feel for the weather compared to where you live now, and you will have it for all 4 seasons, day and night. You can’t get that on vacation or by reading a book. It’s the next best thing to living there.

b. City comparisons are available on the Internet that cover relative cost of living, house prices, crime rates etc. The best I have found is here.

c. Register on-line with a local real estate agent or two and monitor house prices. They will e-mail updates on a regular basis.

3. If you still love the look of this place then you need to go live like the locals. Spend time in a Bed & Breakfast. The purpose is to walk the streets and live with the locals. Check out amenities such as hospitals, health clubs etc.; check out whatever you plan to do with your time. Do this in more than one town until you find what you are looking for. You can’t rush this.

4. Last but not least, move there by renting for a few months. Make certain you will be happy before selling the old family home.


Happy hunting!


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