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]

#41 through 45. See the picture for scoring and descriptions.

Sample houses:

41 – Siem Reap (Cambodia)
https://www.realestate.com.kh/buy/sv...-villa-127788/

42 – Miami (FL)
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...-60353?view=qv

43 – Farmington (NM)
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...-52730?view=qv

44 – Gulf Shores (AL)
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...-34143?view=qv

45 – St. Augustine (FL)
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...-93394?view=qv

Summary (starting from the bottom)

St. Augustine (FL) seems like a nice community. The housing selections are nice and affordable, and kind of close to the ocean. The winters are very nice and mild, and Florida’s tax-friendly environment would cut a year off of my retirement plan. The summers are a couple of degrees warmer and notably more humid than Denver, being coastal and all. This is not a bad option.

Gulf Shores (AL) – you get a ton of nice house for the money. It would cut 1.5 years off my retirement schedule, and has mild winters. Summers are hot and humid, and in the big picture it’s Alabama. St. Augustine actually has a nicer climate (slightly) in all aspects, but you can get a great house for the money at Gulf Shores. Also, I'm not a beach guy, but Gulf Shores has one of the two prettiest beaches I've ever seen.

Farmington (NM) – Farmington is very interesting. It’s big enough that there are some decent services available, and you get a lot of house for a very low price. It would cut 1.5 years off my retirement plan, so … nice house that’s inexpensive in a nice location that's close to the four corners and the interesting Navajo Nation. However, the climate’s not really better than Denver other than 80 percent less snow. The temperatures are about the same in winter and three degrees warmer in the summer, with a little more humidity. It’s worth considering, in my opinion.

Miami (FL) – Ah, yes. Miami. The average January low is 61 degrees, so winter would only be a memory. The summer is very slightly warmer than Denver with a fair bit more humidity. Housing is surprisingly affordable, taxes are low, and I could have an indoor pool. Being a large metro area, there’d be lots of options for activities and restaurants and stuff. It’s a realistic option.

Siem Reap (Cambodia) – I liked visiting there a couple of years ago, and Cambodia seemed to have its act together. It’s very affordable, and I bet I could have my own domestic staff and private driver. I could buy a season pass to Angkor Wat and really study it. There are no winters, though the summers are very hot and muggy. After looking into it briefly, the tax situation is really weird and I don’t want to go to Cambodian prison, so I think this is just a fun suggestion. (Apparently Cambodia has an income tax but it's not enforced and almost no one pays it. So I'd either pay disproportionately or I'd risk having the Cambodi-feds come after me and making me share a cell with Gary Glitter's bar buddies.)

[flinchfree]

Did Dillon CO or Keystone CO make your list?
The living around Dillon is pretty sweet and the lake isn't big but real pretty....

We almost bought in Keystone but I kept getting Altitude sickness everytime I went out to view a possible home purchase.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by flinchfree

Did Dillon CO or Keystone CO make your list?
The living around Dillon is pretty sweet and the lake isn't big but real pretty....

We almost bought in Keystone but I kept getting Altitude sickness everytime I went out to view a possible home purchase.

I put Frisco on my list, which is not far from those places. I like a lot of the mountain towns, but realistically they're not options. The housing is really expensive and they obviously get a ton of snow, so they don't align with our goals. We're not skiers, so we wouldn't even reap the advantages.

Frisco came in with an 82 rank, by the way. It's a nice town, but not a contender at all.

[Rain Man]

#36 through 40. See the picture for details and scoring. (I really wish I could format tables in the regular text, by the way.)

36 – Hot Springs (AR)
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...-75244?view=qv

37 – Eugene (OR)
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...-15424?view=qv

38 – Tulsa (OK)
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...-53837?view=qv

39 – Orange (CA)
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...-70876?view=qv

40 – Cocoa Beach (FL)
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...-79044?view=qv

Summary (starting from the bottom)

Cocoa Beach (FL) – This is a very interesting house. Check out the pictures in the link and click on the little map. It’s a corner lot with canals on two sides, and I could watch the rockets take off from Cape Canaveral. The house is a combination of really interesting and nice features and really bad and dated features, so it would take some work. But Cocoa Beach is really affordable (pushes retirement up by 1.5 years) and my wife would never see snow again. Hot and humid summers, of course, but we would live on an island. An island! I could actually do this.

Orange (CA) – Taxes and cost of living are unavoidable hurdles in California. This house isn’t fancy (other than the pool, which is pretty fancy), but it’s a nice house in a good location. No snow, tolerable summers, and a good general location make this a contender. But it’s a year longer to retirement to do it, which is a big downside. My wife may like the tradeoff, but I don't.

Tulsa (OK) – Okay, check out this house. It's awesome. It’s 3,800 square feet on 1.4 acres in the middle of the city, and the house is very interesting architecturally. The pool looks like a Hugh Hefner grotto, too. I'd probably have every Instagram model in Tulsa lounging topless at poolside taking selfies. The winter is tolerable with 1/10th of our Denver snow, though the summer is 5 degrees hotter with a little more humidity. It’s a higher-cost house at the extreme upper end of my price band, though, so even though it’s still more affordable than staying in place, it would only cut 6 months off of my retirement schedule. I'm not sure it's a good tradeoff. But that house...

Eugene (OR) – I’m surprised that this falls into the “affordable” side of the ledger, but it does. The climate is really nice, with relatively mild winters and summers, though there is a fair amount of humidity. The only downside is that housing is expensive, so the sample house is nice but relatively small at 1,600 square feet. Eugene is a much stronger contender than I would have expected, though, since it’s got a lot of above-average attributes.

Hot Springs (AR) – You get a lot of house for your money in Hot Springs. The overall price is at the low end of my price band, and check out the outdoor kitchen. When I visited there last year, I found the town and area to be attractive and appealing. The winters are somewhat mild, though the summer looks like it would be notably worse than Denver (higher temp and higher humidity). The low costs make this competitive, but having lived in Arkansas once I would want to screen in all of the outside areas to keep mosquitos from eating me. This may be a long shot despite its attractiveness, because I don't like mosquitos.

[Bearcat]

Orange is nice... went to the town center a time or two and it has a smaller town vibe to it. And sadly the cost doesn't even seem that bad for 2000 sq ft for the area, even though for that particular house to have 5 bedrooms, it doesn't look like a great use of the space.

[KCUnited]

Subscribed. Starting to put a plan in place to relocate in 5 years. Feel we have some overlap with Rain Man's criteria so have really been enjoying these lists, especially the CA and FL locations as they're 1-2 on our short list.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Bearcat

Orange is nice... went to the town center a time or two and it has a smaller town vibe to it. And sadly the cost doesn't even seem that bad for 2000 sq ft for the area, even though for that particular house to have 5 bedrooms, it doesn't look like a great use of the space.

Yeah, I'm not sure how they shoehorned 5 bedrooms into 2,000 square feet, but I wouldn't mind that. I like having different cubbyholes in my house.

I was trying to figure out where this house is relative to downtown Orange, and just noticed that it's actually in Corona. I guess it showed up as being "in the vicinity". Oh, well. It's nice and it's close enough.

For roughly the same price, the big question in southern CA is Fallbrook or this Orange/Corona house. They're the same size. Orange has a nice convenient location and the nice pool, but Fallbrook has the views and the acreage, albeit with a location that's not convenient to stuff. If I was 30 I'd go with Fallbrook, but for a retirement home Orange/Corona may be the way to go.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by KCUnited

Subscribed. Starting to put a plan in place to relocate in 5 years. Feel we have some overlap with Rain Man's criteria so have really been enjoying these lists, especially the CA and FL locations as they're 1-2 on our short list.

Seeing anything particularly tempting so far?

My list is presented in ascending order of scoring, but that doesn't always match my preferences. I'm intrigued by Ketchikan (#55), Cocoa Beach (#40), and maybe Fallbrook (#46) so far. California is really nice, but it's just so darn expensive.

[KCUnited]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Seeing anything particularly tempting so far?

My list is presented in ascending order of scoring, but that doesn't always match my preferences. I'm intrigued by Ketchikan (#55), Cocoa Beach (#40), and maybe Fallbrook (#46) so far. California is really nice, but it's just so darn expensive.

The Fallbrook location really caught my eye as San Diego would be tops on our list if we could swing it comfortably financially. So to see an area north and a little inland can be had within our price range with room for renovations if needed is encouraging.

Palm Springs has always been on our list so it was interesting to see where it came in on your list.

Orange is interesting as we'll. My company is headquartered in LA so I've had a chance to familiarize myself with the surrounding areas and like it quite a bit.

Laguna Niguel is super interesting as I wasn't familiar with that area. Checks a lot of boxes although I could never sell the wife on a townhome.

St. Augustine is intriguing as we traveled along the east coast of FL and found ourselves liking it more than we anticipated.

[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Yeah, I'm not sure how they shoehorned 5 bedrooms into 2,000 square feet, but I wouldn't mind that. I like having different cubbyholes in my house.

I was trying to figure out where this house is relative to downtown Orange, and just noticed that it's actually in Corona. I guess it showed up as being "in the vicinity". Oh, well. It's nice and it's close enough.

For roughly the same price, the big question in southern CA is Fallbrook or this Orange/Corona house. They're the same size. Orange has a nice convenient location and the nice pool, but Fallbrook has the views and the acreage, albeit with a location that's not convenient to stuff. If I was 30 I'd go with Fallbrook, but for a retirement home Orange/Corona may be the way to go.

Interesting, I was thinking the other way around... when I was a bit younger, I liked being close to all of the entertainment options and what not, but as I've gotten a bit older, I'd prefer more space with fewer people, with entertainment options being close enough to be an option for the weekends.

OTOH, I could see not wanting to drive 20+ minutes just to get back into civilization, much less the longer drives to San Diego or the southern LA area. And I guess it would somewhat depend on socializing after retirement, too.

I'd love the open space and quietness, but I have another couple decades to change my mind.

[Misplaced_Chiefs_Fan]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Seeing anything particularly tempting so far?

My list is presented in ascending order of scoring, but that doesn't always match my preferences. I'm intrigued by Ketchikan (#55), Cocoa Beach (#40), and maybe Fallbrook (#46) so far. California is really nice, but it's just so darn expensive.

My brother just bought a house in Gulf Shores, AL. I’m looking at possibly Gulfport, MS. COL and housing makes it very tempting, not to mention proximity to New Orleans. However, since my wife can’t retire until 2027, we’re just looking via Zillow and Relators.com for now.

But. I’m not locked into anything yet, so I’m following the thread with interest.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Misplaced_Chiefs_Fan

My brother just bought a house in Gulf Shores, AL. I’m looking at possibly Gulfport, MS. COL and housing makes it very tempting, not to mention proximity to New Orleans. However, since my wife can’t retire until 2027, we’re just looking via Zillow and Relators.com for now.

But. I’m not locked into anything yet, so I’m following the thread with interest.

I initially had a different house in Gulf Shores as my sample, but it went off the market and the listing was pulled. Holy cow - it was a huge waterfront home with a great indoor swimming pool. I joked with my wife that it didn't matter if it was in Alabama. You'd never leave the house.

[Misplaced_Chiefs_Fan]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I initially had a different house in Gulf Shores as my sample, but it went off the market and the listing was pulled. Holy cow - it was a huge waterfront home with a great indoor swimming pool. I joked with my wife that it didn't matter if it was in Alabama. You'd never leave the house.

You’re assuming I leave the house that much in the DC/Balto metroplex more than I have to.

[DJ's left nut]

Taking low 7 figures with me to the DR would be a solid long-term goal.

The Dominican, in its developed areas, has very good infrastructure and is quite nice. I felt extremely safe the entire time I was there - much more so than in Mexico.

Beautiful scenery, friendly people and cheap beachfront property. I have a foundational understanding of Spanish I could build back up again (I could speak it in my college days; not so much anymore).

But probably avoid Haiti. There there be dragons.

Within the country I'd probably settle into the coastal Carolinas somewhere. Southern North Carolina would be the sweet spot but I could handle South Carolina as well.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Taking low 7 figures with me to the DR would be a solid long-term goal.

The Dominican, in its developed areas, has very good infrastructure and is quite nice. I felt extremely safe the entire time I was there - much more so than in Mexico.

Beautiful scenery, friendly people and cheap beachfront property. I have a foundational understanding of Spanish I could build back up again (I could speak it in my college days; not so much anymore).

But probably avoid Haiti. There there be dragons.

Within the country I'd probably settle into the coastal Carolinas somewhere. Southern North Carolina would be the sweet spot but I could handle South Carolina as well.

Going to some country like that seems like a good financial move, but I'm just not knowledgeable enough to pull the trigger. I'd be wary of investing in real estate but don't want to rent, and I wouldn't want to move my financial assets into some place that may not be stable. (I guess not all of them require that, but it seems like some do.) I wouldn't mind having a villa and servants, but I'll have to do a lot more research to consider that, and I know that my wife is very wary of it to start with.

I think I've got one more international destination coming up on the list, which is one I'd defintiely consider, though.