Best Place To Retire Early

[scubatech]

I was up there on my FJR last August, did Rattlesnake Grade......fun ride.

 

[yanktar]

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!

Good decision tree! I'm ALWAYS allergic to nazis! I would think most Americans would be since we fought a war against them.

I LOVE visiting Chicago and would have enjoyed living there when we were younger--our son goes to school there and LOVES it, too! But winters are vicious and my wife, who DID live there, hates the place and her favorite spot is the plane outta there. These days, snow means work and no more.

For us, Florida will simply be the place we declare as residence and live mostly in the Bahamas. Get rid of the NJ barn, er, house, and rent, not buy, a small place in FL.

 

[rushes]

Oldest stepson just got the A-Ok and they will be moving from Laredo, TX to Billings, MT.

Praise God!

We might could have a RV rental site up there at some point.

I guess I should google Billings, Mt.

Hell would be better than Laredo, TX....

 

[Pterodactyl]

Billings is the largest city in Montana. I've spent some time there and don't have a strong opinion either way about the place; it's a city JSNS. As for riding, it is within reasonable riding distance for weekend trips to the Black Hills, Bighorn Mtns and the Beartooth Pass, Chief Joseph and Yellowstone.

 

[hppants]

The climate question is really a tough call. In order to get a winter that is reasonable, I have to concede to some 90+ degree summer. I can handle that (I've done it for 50 years), but the duration of that is concerning to me. When I tell you guys how hot it gets down here, I don't think you really appreciate it. The humidity is unbearably oppressive and it NEVER breaks. For example, in Austin, Tx during the height of the summer, it might get to 100 degrees during the afternoon. But an hour after the sun sets, the temperature drops 20 degrees and the dry breeze is tolerable. You can sit on the patio, have a beer, and enjoy it. Where I live, between mid May and early October, this is impossible. At midnight, it might be 80 degrees, but with 75% humidity, it's like sitting in a sauna. Same thing in the mornings - In Austin, you can hit the road on the bike at day break and it will be nice until about 10:30. At home, forget it. It's stupid from the crack of dawn.

The other part of duration is the overall length of the sauna. I spent the last summer studying (almost daily) the weather in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas. Where as Lafayette, LA got into "sauna mode" about May 15th through October 1st (4 1/2 months), Hot Springs only had about 3 months of it. And within those 3 months, they had 3 cool fronts that actually made it through the area, each leaving them with 2 days of relief to break up the summer.

And so far, IIRC, Hot Springs Village has had ZERO measureable snow.

 

[Big Sky]

Pants, my wife and I studied the "Ideal Climate" issue and found Payson, AZ, to fit almost perfectly, all other retirement issues aside. It sits up on the Mogollon Rim at about 4,900 feet, gets a couple two-three snows a winter which melt off in a day ot two, has a few 100+ days but mostly tolerable summer heat ... DRY heat. A nice in-between.