Places to retire

[.455_Hunter]

I've seen a few people now suggest Nebraska as a place to retire and I would like to say this about that: The weather sucks, the property taxes are high and the economy there is tanking. Commerce is drying up like you wouldn't believe and shows no signs of ever recovering either. Source: I lived there the first 18 years of my life and we go back regularly to visit families. It's always sad how many more ma and pa shops have shuttered and nothing has replaced them. I always thought I might consider moving back in retirement but I don't see that happening now.

What area of NE? I know that many more remote ag-only areas are suffering from population loss due the fact that one family can farm many more acres than previous generations due to increased technology and efficiencies.

[Martinjmpr]

Commerce is drying up like you wouldn't believe and shows no signs of ever recovering either. Source: I lived there the first 18 years of my life and we go back regularly to visit families.

That's pretty much a description of 90% of the Midwest/plains states right there. Wife and I do a lot of camping all over the West and those trips require us to drive through quite a few small towns. With very few exceptions most of them are dead or dying.

When I drive through some of these small towns in Eastern CO, Eastern NM, Kansas, Texas, Nebraska, SD, WY, etc, I'm not surprised by the boarded-up main streets and vacant businesses. I'm more surprised by the few that are still struggling to survive as if the next recovery is "right around the corner" and they just have to hang on until it does.

Meanwhile the high school kids are just counting the days until they can put that city limits sign in their rear-view mirror and nobody new is moving in. I can't decided if their stubbornness should be admired or pitied.

It's always sad how many more ma and pa shops have shuttered and nothing has replaced them.

Oh, something's replaced them all right:

Wal Mart and Dollar General.

Though of course, those towns that get the WM or DG are the lucky ones. The towns too small for even a DG are basically out of luck.

[BushMasterBoy]

I have been looking at places like this. Big enough to grow whatever you want, oranges, apples, etc. Close enough to the ocean to use my Boston Whaler. Inland enough, hurricanes won't flood. So many high tech jobs with Spacex, Terran Orbital, etc. and still some reasonable home prices.

https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...6_M53826-78495

[Martinjmpr]

Continuing my thought from above … that's really the double-edged sword of a retirement community, isn't it?

Go to a place that's thriving economically and it's likely to also be (a) crowded and (b) expensive.

Go to a place that is uncrowded and cheap and it's likely to be economically stagnant.

It's kind of like the weather: Do you prefer bitter cold winters and pleasant summers, or mild winters and blistering hot summers?

I've often thought that it makes more sense to be a "sunbird" than a "snowbird." i.e. live someplace warm and then travel Northward in the Summer months when everything is open and accessible, vs. live in a cold climate and travel in Winter when much of the country is still closed down.

But there's no "perfect" place, you just have to pick your poison and hope you made the right choice.

[encorehunter]

I have been looking at places like this. Big enough to grow whatever you want, oranges, apples, etc. Close enough to the ocean to use my Boston Whaler. Inland enough, hurricanes won't flood. So many high tech jobs with Spacex, Terran Orbital, etc. and still some reasonable home prices.

https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...6_M53826-78495

I don't like the looks of those stairs. I had a knee replaced already. I'm looking for single level basic house. I'm not overly concerned about a booming economy. My wife brought up going to British Columbia for moose hunting and deer hunting. Being near an ocean has me wanting to go camping and sea fishing.

[battlemidget]

I have been looking at places like this. Big enough to grow whatever you want, oranges, apples, etc. Close enough to the ocean to use my Boston Whaler. Inland enough, hurricanes won't flood. So many high tech jobs with Spacex, Terran Orbital, etc. and still some reasonable home prices.

https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...6_M53826-78495

I spend time in Melbourne. Cocoa is thought of as a rough neighborhood with high crime. Cocoa Beach is nice.

[Martinjmpr]

WRT housing prices, one thing you can do on realtor.com (and probably on other platforms as well) is "build" your desired house (for example, 3br/2ba, 1750 - 2750 sq ft, 2+ car garage, single story, lot size 1+ acre for under $350,000) and then use the "map" tool to show listings that match all of that. You can then scroll around the country and see what your "sample" house would cost in various areas.

Obviously, housing price is just ONE of MANY considerations, but it can be a good way to focus your search.

After all, if you can't even afford to live in a specific place, it doesn't really help that it has a low crime rate or good schools.

[Jer]

What area of NE? I know that many more remote ag-only areas are suffering from population loss due the fact that one family can farm many more acres than previous generations due to increased technology and efficiencies.

I did 18 years in the Panhandle before ex-filling here. My wife did the same 18 in the same town and then relocated to Lincoln for a couple of years.

Summary: both sides of the state suck for different reasons and property tax is equally high in both.

(if you're still reading, I put together a short list of the things I hate about that state off the top of my head: Tornados, Ice storms, Soccer ball size hail, Bugs, 10-15 degrees hotter in the summer months and 10-15 degrees colder in the winter months than here, Way more wind, more snow, No commerce or future, Shit hospitals and healthcare. On top of all of that if you pick a small town thinking you'll escape the liberal cesspool and traffic all you will get is a bunch of room-temperature IQ having people who will assume they know everything about you, talk about you nonstop and never truly accept you for being an outsider. Pass.)

[Jer]

Continuing my thought from above … that's really the double-edged sword of a retirement community, isn't it?

Go to a place that's thriving economically and it's likely to also be (a) crowded and (b) expensive.

Go to a place that is uncrowded and cheap and it's likely to be economically stagnant.

It's kind of like the weather: Do you prefer bitter cold winters and pleasant summers, or mild winters and blistering hot summers?

I've often thought that it makes more sense to be a "sunbird" than a "snowbird." i.e. live someplace warm and then travel Northward in the Summer months when everything is open and accessible, vs. live in a cold climate and travel in Winter when much of the country is still closed down.

But there's no "perfect" place, you just have to pick your poison and hope you made the right choice.

That's the beauty of Nebraska: Bitter cold in the winter with tons of snow and blistering hot in the summer w/tornados and hail to cool you off. You can have the best of both worlds!

[BushMasterBoy]

I don't like the looks of those stairs. I had a knee replaced already. I'm looking for single level basic house. I'm not overly concerned about a booming economy. My wife brought up going to British Columbia for moose hunting and deer hunting. Being near an ocean has me wanting to go camping and sea fishing.

This one just sold with 5 offers. On the the Indian River Lagoon. 4 car garage in back. And certain parts of Cocoa are million dollar homes with private boat docks. Cocoa Beach sucks when there is a space launch, traffic is horrendous. And crime is bad in Cocoa Beach, too.( it is drugs)

https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...2_M55059-14218

Prices have gone through the roof~ I remember seeing this one for way less!

https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...6_M64110-56912