Moving Nationally or Internationally

[BIG_DADDY]

If you were going to move would you consider an international move ever? If you were going to pick another spot in the good old USA where would you like to be? For me I could see Austin in my not too distant future. If our country goes hard left I would have to look at the options at that time but I am going to start the process next year. I would love to look at Panama. I have seen several clients and friends move over the years. The most popular places have been Costa Rica, Philippines, Equador and Brazil but I know a lot of Brazilians. i can't forget Monaco for those with a lot of cash.

[Rain Man]

#16 through 20. See the picture for details and scores.

Sample houses

16 – Boulder City (NV)
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...-70817?view=qv

17 – My house (CO)
It’s my house. I love my house.

18 – Cheyenne (WY)
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...-24817?view=qv

19 – Fort Collins (CO)
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...-89361?view=qv

20 – Flagstaff (AZ)
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...-56200?view=qv

Summary (in ascending order)

Flagstaff (AZ) – I’m a little surprised the Flagstaff scored this well. It’s an intriguing place to me, but on paper it has some drawbacks, most notably that it gets a couple feet more snow each winter compared to Denver and has slightly colder winters. But on the plus side, the summers are quite a bit cooler and the humidity is in the same zone as Denver, which is quite tolerable. It’s more affordable, cutting a year off my retirement horizon, and the housing choices are reasonable and affordable, though not really spectacular in style according to my tastes. It’s a decent-sized city that will have a lot of services and amenities. I guess the bottom line is that it scores well by being affordable, non-humid, and with decent housing and services.

Fort Collins (CO) – This is a place where the cool kids tend to live in Colorado. It’s a highly competent city with a big college, so what’s not to like? It’s a couple of degrees cooler in both the winter and the summer, and gets 20 percent less snow than Denver with similar humidity. The housing market is decent if not inspired. (Note that I had to pick a house with a basement for my sample, which isn’t ideal for an elderly tottering Rain Man.)

Cheyenne (WY) – Okay, there’s a pattern here. It’s another place that has snow but low humidity, with a so-so housing market but more affordability in a decent-sized city. The scoring algorithm seems to like these places in the #16 to #20 slots. Cheyenne is slightly colder in the winter with roughly the same snow as Denver, but summers are several degrees cooler, which is nice. I had to pick another house with a basement, which lowers the housing grade. Flagstaff, Fort Collins, and Cheyenne are all variations on a theme here.

My house (CO) – One nice feature of the model is that I can put my own house in and give it a score. Out of 87 choices it places 17th, which means that I’m in a good situation. As noted, the snow is getting to be a bit much, and it’s got a lot of stairs that won’t be compatible with old age, but on the positive side I would have no Realtor or moving costs, no remodeling to fit my tastes since that’s already done, and it’s got an apartment that provides about 10 percent of my required income. As long as I can do stairs, there’s a strong argument to age in place, and realistically that's the most likely bet for us.

Boulder City (NV) – I know nothing about this place other than seeing it on a “good places to retire” list. It seems to be a satellite city of Las Vegas, about 30 minutes from the Strip. It’s Nevada, so it’s got a very mild winter, though those 103 degree days in July would get old. It’s very affordable due to Nevada’s tax structure, and the housing quality is decent if not spectacular, pretty much like the other three cities in this group. I could go hang out at Boulder Dam, too, and visit the Grand Canyon frequently, and it's not far from cool stuff in California. This is not a place I would expect to rank high, but it has some notable advantages, and summer heat is really the only notable disadvantage. I'd consider it.

[lewdog]

Flagstaff is pretty ****ing awesome. I hate snow but I’d consider living there.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by lewdog

Flagstaff is pretty ****ing awesome. I hate snow but I’d consider living there.

I have a positive impression of it, but I've only passed through it once. I stopped and had lunch and went to a laundromat on a road trip. There were college kids in the laundromat, which was a good sign since college towns tend to have disproportionate cool stuff to do.

[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I have a positive impression of it, but I've only passed through it once. I think I stopped and had lunch and went to a laundromat on a road trip. There were college kids in the laundromat, which was a good sign since college towns tend to have disproportionate cool stuff to do.

Yeah, several good places for a beer, some great restaurants.... easy access to Mormon Lake, the Grand Canyon... I don't personally care for Sedona, but it's close.

It can absolutely get dumped on by snow though... they had a 2-3 day total of 3-4 feet in February last year. That's a bit of an outlier, but getting a foot of snow in one storm isn't.


The house in Cheyenne is pretty cool. I've heard that's the new cool place to go if Denver/Colorado Springs/etc. are too crowded for you.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Bearcat

Yeah, several good places for a beer, some great restaurants.... easy access to Mormon Lake, the Grand Canyon... I don't personally care for Sedona, but it's close.

It can absolutely get dumped on by snow though... they had a 2-3 day total of 3-4 feet in February last year. That's a bit of an outlier, but getting a foot of snow in one storm isn't.


The house in Cheyenne is pretty cool. I've heard that's the new cool place to go if Denver/Colorado Springs/etc. are too crowded for you.

I like Cheyenne in concept, but I'm surprised that it's not more affordable given the tax structure there. I figured it would rival Nevada in that regard, but it's not even close. I'll have to dig in and see what the difference is.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Otter

Sweden or Greenland

I hear that Greenland has great walrus restaurants.

[Bearcat]

Didn't realize Vegas is at 2000', given their summer heat.

[KS Smitty]

Right now: Temp 92.8, heat index 107.6, wind 4 mph SE, humidity 61%. Location 7 miles east of Manhattan KS. This is nothing unusual for end of July.

Lower humidity would be a major factor in my personal ideal location.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Bearcat

Didn't realize Vegas is at 2000', given their summer heat.

I ran a race there a few years ago, and after the race a couple of guys from sea level were talking about the altitude. They were saying, "It's two thousand feet here! You can really feel the altitude." I thought it was kind of cute.

[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by KS Smitty

Right now: Temp 92.8, heat index 107.6, wind 4 mph SE, humidity 61%. Location 7 miles east of Manhattan KS. This is nothing unusual for end of July.

Lower humidity would be a major factor in my personal ideal location.

I absolutely love it... and now it kills me going back to KC. Even when it's relatively pleasant out, the high humidity ruins it now.

[lewdog]

Originally Posted by Bearcat

I absolutely love it... and now it kills me going back to KC. Even when it's relatively pleasant out, the high humidity ruins it now.

It’s true. Can’t explain it until you feel the difference.

[Perineum Ripper]

https://hallhall.com/property-for-sa...91Y00001wIy27/




Found another one, little cheaper.

[Rain Man]

As we move up the list, I think you'll see that I feel similarly about humidity as you all do.

[FlintHillsChiefs]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I ran a race there a few years ago, and after the race a couple of guys from sea level were talking about the altitude. They were saying, "It's two thousand feet here! You can really feel the altitude." I thought it was kind of cute.

Heh.

I live in Phoenix but my parents live in a place at 6700 feet sea level and my sister lives in CO Springs which is around the same.

You notice that, but you're not really going to feel the difference between 500 ft sea level and 2000 feet sea level.

[Rain Man]

#11 through 15. See the picture for scores.

Sample houses:

11 – Bullhead City (AZ)
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...-27610?view=qv

12 – Santa Fe (NM)
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...-08353?view=qv

13 – Bisbee (AZ)
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...-37731?view=qv

14 – St. George (UT)
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...-55314?view=qv

15 – Las Vegas (NM)
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...-44299?view=qv

Summary (in ascending order)

15 - Las Vegas (NM) – Okay, first note that this is New Mexico, not Nevada. I was curious about it because it’s on I-25 and is a decent-sized town outside Santa Fe. I thought maybe it would be an affordable option and you could then drive to Santa Fe for restaurants and stuff. I’ve driven through it a million times but have never stopped, but it’s got a little college in town and I thought it seemed promising. It’s notably higher in elevation than Denver, so the winters and the summers are both 3 to 4 degrees colder. It gets only about half the snow of Denver, though, so all in all it’s at least even on climate and maybe a bit better. As I expected, it’s very affordable, cutting 1.5 years off my retirement schedule. However, the housing market is challenging. There are a bunch of really cool two-story homes, but the one-story home market is tough. (Trigger alert: the sample house is full of dead animals and was clearly owned by a divorced man who had no design tastes.)

14 – St. George (UT). I’ve been in this town once and had a very positive impression. I think it’s a big retirement place and I remember lots of spas and stuff for those of us who like a good massage. They definitely have winter here, but it’s ten degrees warmer than Denver with almost no snow. Summers are really rough, though, being 12 degrees warmer. It’s a little more affordable than Denver, cutting a year off my retirement schedule, and the house selection is pretty good. (I cheated a little and picked a sample house with a basement because I wanted the pool if it’s going to be hot.) It’s also a large enough community to have services. The big risk here is the political/religious climate. I don’t know how much the Mormons control this area, and I’ve heard that you don’t want to be a non-Mormon in Mormon country.

13 – Bisbee (AZ). I’ve never heard of this place, but I kept seeing it on “best places to retire” lists and it looks interesting. It’s really close to the Mexican border, but it’s at a 5,500 foot elevation, which has great implications for climate that far south. It has basically the same summer as Denver but with less humidity, and the winters are far more tolerable – 15 degrees warmer with just a touch of snow to keep it interesting. It’s a small town that’s remote so you’d have a big tradeoff on services and probably healthcare, which may be a deal killer for a retirement home. The housing market is not great due to its small size. The sample house is really interesting since it includes an airplane hangar and runway, but we know what that means when you’re 10 miles from the border. Druglords will eventually hold you hostage after they take over your house. I’m intrigued, and pictures of the place look really pretty, but I’m a bit skeptical about the remoteness.

12 – Santa Fe (NM). I’ve spent a lot of time in Santa Fe over the years, and I really like that place. It’s like no other city in America. I figured it would be too expensive, but am surprised that it’s actually slightly more affordable for me than Denver. The weather is a slight but definite win – similar winter temperatures with half the snow of Denver, and summers that are three degrees cooler. The city is big enough to have good stuff to do, and it has a good housing selection if you like pueblo style (which I do). This is an incredibly strong contender. If my wife and I decide to relocate after retirement, I’m sure this will be a top contender even it still means dealing with some snow.

11 – Bullhead City (AZ). I’ll start by saying that I freakin’ love that house. The curb appeal, the pool, the views … that’s a heckuva house even if I have no idea what Picture #24 is. I showed my wife and her reaction was that she freaking loves that house. It looks like what Tatooine would look like if it was upscale. Setting that aside, Bullhead City is hellish in the summer. It’s literally hell. 111 degree average high, and low humidity can’t fix that. The winters are pretty ideal, though, and it’s very affordable, cutting 1.5 years from my retirement schedule. Clearly, the answer here is that you buy an RV for that special slot in the garage, and in July and August you go drive around in some place that’s not hellish and live a great life on the road. It would eat into the affordability, but it’s a scenario that I would find quite appealing. My wife has a bias against RV travel even though she’s never tried it, so it would be a hard trick to pull off, but that house and that pool and those views might be the only way I could do it. I think it’s a long shot, but I would throw it into the mix.