Best Place To Retire Early

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AJ - Albuquerque is too large for me, but I wonder what smaller towns like Bernililo and Edgewood are like?
On average, how many times does it snow there a year?

How hot does it get during the summer and for how long does that last?
Albuquerque isn't really that big, and there are places just on the outskirts that seem farther away than they really are, but I know how you feel. I never wanted to live IN Albuquerque, it's just very convenient, and as much as any city sucks, it's good for my kids. They have opportunities they wouldn't get in small town schools.

That being said, Edgewood is nice. Like 30 minutes from Downtown Albuquerque. Has its own Walmart, but is still a small town and rural. Bernalillo is a **** show. Would NOT want to live there. I lived there for 6 months in 1996. Wouldn't do it again.

Los Lunas is nice, and Belen isn't bad. Bosque Farms is nice too. Las Cruces is awesome, but great riding is not as close.

Winters here are not too bad. Hell, it's 51° and sunny, right now. Some days are really cold, but it rarely lasts more than a week at a time. Summers aren't top bad either. Albuquerque may see 100 a couple times, but Edgewood is 8-10° cooler, due to location. We have very low humidity, so 100° here is NOT comparable to 100° in LA.

Haha...And, we don't have any alligators!

 
Oh great, now you need generators? Montana roads are sumthin' like Ohio's..... flat, straight and terribly boring...... stay the heck outta Montana fer shure.

 
...which is why I always head for Idaho, B.C., Washington... Now THERE are some great places to live!

 
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I'm a year out and really like Idaho but don't want to winter here. Plan on heading to FL for winters and to help with mom and dad and summers in Idaho and the UP of Michigan where I have a cabin and 40 acres. Idaho will probably drop out at some point or maybe FL. Being able to ride year round and continue to enjoy my shooting sports are my personal priorities. And live frugally of course.
Pasco County, just north of Tampa: land of the mobile homes and dirt roads. Taxes are el-cheapo.

Roads around here are wonderfully flat and smooth but awfully boring. Hospitals are top notch and located on every corner.

Can't have everything!!!

 
...which is why I always head for Idaho, B.C., Washington... Now THERE are some great places to live!
I have a couple of friends in the Seattle area. They love it there!

If it didn't rain so much I might like living there as well. It's a great place!

But retirement's gonna be on the beach.....

 
I'm staying home.

My choice if I did move would be around Lake of the Ozarks, MO. But then I would have to buy a boat. :)

A lot of my aunts and uncles and cousins from north MO are moving there to retire and I can't blame them. It's nice.

 
...which is why I always head for Idaho, B.C., Washington... Now THERE are some great places to live!
I have a couple of friends in the Seattle area. They love it there!

If it didn't rain so much I might like living there as well. It's a great place!

But retirement's gonna be on the beach.....
Went to school there and my brother just moved back from living there for 20 years. The land of the passive aggressive and since Microsloth the cost of living has outstripped that of the income of non-tech locals.

 
Ptero's video is pretty accurate...and you can still go hunting rabbits with a .22 when you are eight years old. Now, my arm is getting tired from cranking the generator so I'm signing off.
You have to crank your generators in MT? For what you're generating, we just feed hay in one end and horse manure comes out the other...

 
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22 years ago my wife and I, then in our early 40's, both retired from the U.S. Navy.

We were living in the Metro Washington DC area and knew we couldn't stay there, too many people etc, etc, etc......

Drove around the country in our motor home, with our two kids ages 12 and 8, looking for a place to settle down.

Criteria - Four Season Climate (after 12 years of San Diego and Pearl Harbor we wanted seasons), Smaller town 15,000 + or -, Small College or University in the town (prevents severe inbreeding of the local population and reduces "we've always done it that way itis), no state income tax on military retirement, able to live on Military retirement without working if we so chose (House Prices).

There were many options which we marked on a map and then drove to.

Some you just knew weren't right, others you had to stop and check into further; schools, church, business climate growth etc, etc, etc.....

We settled on three places we really liked:

Coeur d'Alene ID, Ellensberg WA, Spearfish SD.

Went back to all three for a second interview:

Ellensberg had something growing my daughter was severely allergic to.

Coeur d'Alene had a Nazi parade the morning after we arrived and there was a moratorium on development which was pushing Real Estate prices way out of line.

Spearfish, we loved and have been here for 21 1/2 years.

Now, we have Granddaughter in Portland OR and have begun thinking about a move further West, WA or OR. I'm sure we will begin a similar process soon.m Both Washington and Oregon do not tax Military Retirement so that is good. We'll see, I like the weather in Eugene or near there and there are plenty of roads to ride. Bird hunting isn't so good but there are some ducks so that may work for me.

Life is always an adventure! Change is good!

 
I'm a year out and really like Idaho but don't want to winter here. Plan on heading to FL for winters and to help with mom and dad and summers in Idaho and the UP of Michigan where I have a cabin and 40 acres. Idaho will probably drop out at some point or maybe FL. Being able to ride year round and continue to enjoy my shooting sports are my personal priorities. And live frugally of course.
Pasco County, just north of Tampa: land of the mobile homes and dirt roads. Taxes are el-cheapo.

Roads around here are wonderfully flat and smooth but awfully boring. Hospitals are top notch and located on every corner.

Can't have everything!!!
My preference is not all that far from there, starting around inverness and over towards tavares. I know Lake Wier has a motorcycle retirement community which is enticing. Parents and sister are in/near Deerfield Beach so being able to get there in a reasonable time is important. Maybe Sebring to Okeechobee area? I don't think I would do well in the giant cityscape from Miami to Palm.

 
Chicago area...if it's good enough for Marty, it's good enough for me.
Chicago is on my top ten list of last places on earth to retire.
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Bounce,

My wife is from the Southeast Washington, Pullman, and it's a totally different place than the Coastal side of Washington. Mostly an agricultural area and much more conservative even though there is WSU supporting the town with jobs. We go there to see family once or twice a year and it's a quiet little town. Coming from the rat race here in the Denver area it seems like slow motion living. Property is not cheap though with the college and Switzer Engineering providing ample employment. I like it there and the Winters aren't bad. Good motorcycle roads all over.

 
Bounce,
My wife is from the Southeast Washington, Pullman, and it's a totally different place than the Coastal side of Washington. Mostly an agricultural area and much more conservative even though there is WSU supporting the town with jobs. We go there to see family once or twice a year and it's a quiet little town. Coming from the rat race here in the Denver area it seems like slow motion living. Property is not cheap though with the college and Switzer Engineering providing ample employment. I like it there and the Winters aren't bad. Good motorcycle roads all over.
Just a little south of there is Lewiston, Id. Could be on my short list.

 
Chicago... My sister in-law recently retired as a Lieutenant from the Cook County sheriff's department. We've ridden in to see her a few times; she lives in LaGrange. Spousal Unit rode in to visit her sister last fall and it took her over an hour to ride the last six miles. I like the fact that she can walk to over a dozen good restaurants and other shops, but she is going to have to move because of the taxes they exact and the general cost of living. Everytime we've visited she has provided us a detailed briefing on the route to use to avoid problems and how we should not stop in certain areas; it was her business to know such things. Besides, if you can afford the taxes then the cost of ammo alone will put you in the poorhouse.

Still, it has got to offer better riding opportunities and quality of life than the squaller we have here in Montana. For the love of God, do not come here.

 
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