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Your Ideal Retirement Locale

post #1 of 57
1/2/10 at 5:14pm
Thread Starter 
After spending the holidays in Myrtle Beach, SC (where my wife's parents retired, and two sisters and a bunch of aunts & uncles also live), I was reminded that she wants us to retire there eventually. I guess I'll go along w/ it just to make her happy, but it's a far cry from what I used to envision in my single days.

I always had this image of myself living in a seaside cottage in New England somewhere. Equipped of course w/ a huge fireplace before which I would put my feet up and read my beloved horror novels (works of King & Lovecraft taking on an especially eerie ring, given the setting), w/ a view of the sea so dark it was almost black crashing on the rocks visible from the leaded glass window. Dog of moderately large size & indeterminate breed curled up beside the overstuffed wing chair's legs.

I know, "It's so fucking cold in New England though". But I don't mind cold as much as heat. I can bundle up and stoke a fire and be just fine, thanks. And I like the idea of having snow once in awhile. In SC, it's hot as balls in the summer, which I can't stand. And it NEVER snows. I'd miss that. Besides, I don't golf. One of the great ironies of my life.

So I thought it might be amusing to see what my fellow Chewers have in mind for themselves when they take down the sign & call it a day for the last time. Anyone care to share?
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post #2 of 57
1/2/10 at 5:19pm
Thinking Europe. Maybe Northern Spain or somewhere in the Low Countries.
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post #3 of 57
1/2/10 at 5:21pm
I always thought I'd like to retire to a warmer locale, but after moving to Alabama, FUCK THAT. Just as you said, Iggy, I have no problem getting warm if its cold weather, but you can't do shit about the heat. I really prefer 4 seasons in my year. You do miss snow. I'd probably prefer to retire to a nice piece of land back in Kentucky.
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post #4 of 57
1/2/10 at 5:24pm
Atlantis, The Bahamas.
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post #5 of 57
1/2/10 at 5:24pm
Those who prefer four seasons but don't like the extreme should eye the US's Pacific Northwest (Portland, OR, frex). Summers and winters are distinct but usually avoid the searing and bone-splitting extremes of other parts of the country. Plus it's just beautiful there.
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post #6 of 57
1/2/10 at 5:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aranion View Post
Those who prefer four seasons but don't like the extreme should eye the US's Pacific Northwest (Portland, OR, frex). Summers and winters are distinct but usually avoid the searing and bone-splitting extremes of other parts of the country. Plus it's just beautiful there.
It really depends on which region of the Pacific Northwest you are talking about. The rural areas around the Cascades freeze during the winter and get up to 120f--my hometown was the hottest place on Earth at some point in the mid 1990s--in the summer.

My ideal location would be Bath, England or Dublin, Ireland, depending on how worn out I happened to be.
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post #7 of 57
1/2/10 at 5:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by IggytheBorg View Post
After spending the holidays in Myrtle Beach, SC (where my wife's parents retired, and two sisters and a bunch of aunts & uncles also live), I was reminded that she wants us to retire there eventually. I guess I'll go along w/ it just to make her happy, but it's a far cry from what I used to envision in my single days.

I always had this image of myself living in a seaside cottage in New England somewhere. Equipped of course w/ a huge fireplace before which I would put my feet up and read my beloved horror novels (works of King & Lovecraft taking on an especially eerie ring, given the setting), w/ a view of the sea so dark it was almost black crashing on the rocks visible from the leaded glass window. Dog of moderately large size & indeterminate breed curled up beside the overstuffed wing chair's legs.

I know, "It's so fucking cold in New England though". But I don't mind cold as much as heat. I can bundle up and stoke a fire and be just fine, thanks. And I like the idea of having snow once in awhile. In SC, it's hot as balls in the summer, which I can't stand. And it NEVER snows. I'd miss that. Besides, I don't golf. One of the great ironies of my life.

So I thought it might be amusing to see what my fellow Chewers have in mind for themselves when they take down the sign & call it a day for the last time. Anyone care to share?
Do both. New England is your summer home, South Carolina your winter home.
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post #8 of 57
1/2/10 at 6:28pm
Northern New Hampshire.
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post #9 of 57
1/2/10 at 6:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chavez View Post
Thinking Europe. Maybe Northern Spain or somewhere in the Low Countries.
..."The Low Countries"?
Take it you're meaning Holland/Belgium; and whilst you can get plenty of medicinal 'substances' (though, possibly not so easily in the near future), the climate itself is cack.

Actually, this is just a ruse to get all you bastards to stay away, 'cause I KNOW when I got it good!!
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post #10 of 57
1/2/10 at 6:41pm
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post #11 of 57
1/2/10 at 7:23pm
Phil, you wanna be 'Soylent-Brown'?
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post #12 of 57
1/2/10 at 7:28pm
Just keeping my expectations realistic.
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post #13 of 57
1/2/10 at 7:30pm
Was hopin' for Heston, but seems a bit unpossible, now...thanks for the heads-up!!
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post #14 of 57
1/2/10 at 7:37pm
Moon Base Alpha? Come on, I should retire in another 35 years. It could happen.

For the US, I might second the vote for Oregon. I grew up in Seattle and it is just a bit too yuck in the winter and it is getting crowded. Oregon still gives you the mountains and ocean and some very pretty areas in between. The politics of the state get a bit odd at times.

Beyond that, I would be good living abroad assuming I can keep in touch with family. Maybe have a place in New Zealand or the southern part of Ireland.
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post #15 of 57
1/2/10 at 7:39pm
Ideally: Somewhere on the California coast.

Realistically: Encino, CA

Worst case scenario: Florida panhandle.
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post #16 of 57
1/2/10 at 7:44pm
Key West.
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post #17 of 57
1/2/10 at 7:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Dickson View Post
Key West.
[crosses arms/opens arms]...SAFE!!...[/crosses arms/opens arms]
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post #18 of 57
1/2/10 at 7:53pm
Right here in NYC. Of course, it would help if I was wealthy. If I win the lottery before I retire, I can be one of those rich old bitches living out those cold NYC winters (22 degrees! Holla!) in one of the residence apartments at the Plaza Hotel.
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post #19 of 57
1/2/10 at 7:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by LisaNY View Post
Right here in NYC. Of course, it would help if I was wealthy.
You ain't kiddin:

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post #20 of 57
1/2/10 at 7:58pm
Yeah, I know - I'll take NYC however I can get it. It's all I've ever wanted since I was 12 years old, to live here. And five years ago, when I left it for six months, it was the biggest mistake of my life, and I came running back. So yup, rich or poor, it's The Big Apple for me!

(Unless my niece and nephew from Pennsylvania put me in a raisin ranch near them - then I guess Pennsylvania! So I'd better suck up to my niece and nephew from Brooklyn then!)
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post #21 of 57
1/2/10 at 8:04pm
Maui.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nick Nunziata View Post
Atlantis, The Bahamas.
We've been planning on going there on vacation. Nice to see a recommendation for it.
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post #22 of 57
1/2/10 at 8:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Graham View Post
..."The Low Countries"?
Take it you're meaning Holland/Belgium; and whilst you can get plenty of medicinal 'substances' (though, possibly not so easily in the near future), the climate itself is cack.
Well, possibly Luxembourg.

I'd gotten the impression the climate was 6 mos of nice, 6 mos of gawdawful. I can handle the Upper Midwest of the US, I can handle a few months of shitty rain.

Quote:
Actually, this is just a ruse to get all you bastards to stay away, 'cause I KNOW when I got it good!!
I thought as much.
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post #23 of 57
1/2/10 at 8:56pm
I'm pretty much where I'd like to be when I retire - deep in the heart of Jersey. If anything, my dream is to get the biggest and most luxurious RV and explore the US with my wife until we both cack out.
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post #24 of 57
1/2/10 at 9:01pm
Well, people already come to my home town to retire, so if I were to retire tomorrow, I'd probably want to move

I'd either want to live in that hotel that looks like a giant sail boat in Dubai (it has gold water faucets. Yes, I deserve it), or move to Pella Greece where Alexander The Great was born.
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post #25 of 57
1/2/10 at 9:46pm
I can think of a number of places where I'd like to retire. Since I'm not particularly hard over on any one, I'll be happy to plunk my saggy ass down wherever my wife wants.

Having said that, here are my choices:

#1: Lake Tahoe. It's a great 4-season destination. By the time I'm ready retire, bands I like will be playing the casinos.

#2: Downtown Washington, D.C. Hell, we probably won't wait to retire for this one. We'll move there the day after the youngest kid graduates from high school.

#3: Chiang Mai, Thailand. Great chow, friendly people, ridiculously low prices, beautiful scenery. If only we spoke Thai.
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post #26 of 57
1/2/10 at 11:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Dickson View Post
Key West.
My mom did that and after 2 1/2 years, moved because it was so boring. I only visited her once during that time because a week is all you need to experience the place.
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post #27 of 57
1/2/10 at 11:07pm
I dunno. Somewhere warm. When you're living in a state like Shitigan, almost any place looks pretty attractive as a retirement plan.
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post #28 of 57
1/3/10 at 1:13am
Got my piece of land picked out in the Okanagan in the interior of British Columbia. Gonna build a nice little stack wood house that's off grid and write horribly racist manifestos.
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post #29 of 57
1/3/10 at 1:19am
If they could get Sean Connery and his weather machine to turn Loch Ness into a tropical paradise, it would be there.
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post #30 of 57
1/3/10 at 11:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ray Abed View Post
I dunno. Somewhere warm. When you're living in a state like Shitigan, almost any place looks pretty attractive as a retirement plan.
Hey, the West Coast is nice if a little touristy during the spring/summer.
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post #31 of 57
1/3/10 at 12:29pm
Oh, I forgot San Diego. San Diego would be nice.
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post #32 of 57
1/3/10 at 8:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chavez View Post
Hey, the West Coast is nice if a little touristy during the spring/summer.
Yeah, Arizona has been at the top of my list for awhile now. Fuck retirement, I want to move there in the next 2-3 years.
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post #33 of 57
1/3/10 at 8:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ray Abed View Post
Yeah, Arizona has been at the top of my list for awhile now. Fuck retirement, I want to move there in the next 2-3 years.
I mean Michigan's West Coast - Traverse City, etc.
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post #34 of 57
1/3/10 at 9:10pm
I'd love to move to Toronto permanently, but I don't think it would be best for retirement. I love basketball, and want access to live games fairly easily, and I really want four seasons so probably somewhere in central Texas. Fairly cheap cost of living, lack of swamp ass for 9 months out of the year, San Antonio and Austin within an hour, Houston in about two, and decent proximity to my family.

I would also probably take Chicago, if I don't even up with kids or a shitty 401.
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post #35 of 57
1/3/10 at 9:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chavez View Post
I mean Michigan's West Coast - Traverse City, etc.
Nah, it's a city I'd visit on the weekend, but not to make a home. It's the cold and snow that I really can't stand. And the lake-effect snow in Traverse City is pretty bad.
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post #36 of 57
1/3/10 at 10:25pm
I left out Taormina, Sicily. One of the most breathtakingly beautiful places on Earth.
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post #37 of 57
1/3/10 at 10:43pm
Vegas. It'll end badly.
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post #38 of 57
1/4/10 at 2:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by FrankCobretti View Post
Oh, I forgot San Diego. San Diego would be nice.
Indeed.
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post #39 of 57
1/4/10 at 2:50am
Lemme throw New Zealand into the ring as well for me.
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post #40 of 57
1/4/10 at 2:53am
I was thinking over my previous answers a few minutes ago (I said Pella Greece and that sail boat hotel in Dubai), and I was forced to admit to myself those may be a little 'pie in the sky', as it were..

And so I've gone back to the drawing board, and have returned with an answer that I think is absolutely perfect (execpt for a few areas)


I firmly believe that this is one of the best places in the United States of America, and one of the nicest places on Earth I've yet been:

New Port RI


Now, I'm sure after 5 minutes the class issues would drive a former socialist like me nuts. Living amongst the obscene monuments* installed by the super rich of the 19th might get on my nerves after a while


But it's a really wonderful town, and hopefully I'd be rich enough at that point to put up my own giant mansion

Anyone else have an opinion on New Port or RI in general? As an East Coaster who finds palm trees kind of unsettling, it's basically beach side paradise on earth.


*(even if they're kind of awesome. Has anyone here been to the Breakers? My god, Dubai/King Kong ain't got shit on Rhode Island)
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post #41 of 57
1/4/10 at 2:56am
Amsterdam. My retirement is me smoking until I die with some Dutch Horn to keep me occupied. Glorious.
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post #42 of 57
2/10/11 at 1:15pm

I, too, would like to retire in Toronto; Not GTA, mind you, but downtown. I doubt I will be able to afford it though.

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post #43 of 57
2/10/11 at 2:20pm

Nice little thread. No idea where I'd like to go, but Europe in general would be pretty cool if only to take time to explore around (including North Africa) and not have to cram everything into 10-14 days on a single trip.

 

Or if you're going to go with the island lifestyle, the Maldives looks to be an incredible place to do it. It's about 600 miles from Sri Lanka, and about 1500 or so from Madagascar. Out in ocean all by yourself, and with views like this, it could be a really cool way to live out your life. Especially on one of those huts literally out in the water...

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post #44 of 57
2/10/11 at 3:23pm

Have to say after my little holiday of late, I could very happily retire in Thailand. Open a small bar and kick back.

 

...tomorrow if I was able.

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post #45 of 57
2/10/11 at 5:25pm

Queenstown, New Zealand. I could start a new life as a cabinet maker and enjoy the mountains and ocean.

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post #46 of 57
2/10/11 at 6:12pm

I was born in Deep South Texas, and I'll be staying in Deep South Texas.

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post #47 of 57
2/10/11 at 6:45pm

directions_background.jpg

 

A beautiful old hotel right on the pier and boardwalk in the heart of the funky old beach suburb of Pacific Beach in San Diego. Very very close to the delicious Kona's cafe and the wonderful coffee shop called Pacific Beach. An easy six block walk to Pennywise Used Books, with a great crime fiction selection(It is where I built a lot of my Westlake collection.)

 

http://www.crystalpier.com/

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post #48 of 57
2/10/11 at 7:39pm

Victoria, BC maybe.

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post #49 of 57
2/11/11 at 4:34am

The wife wants to retire to the Ranch (I say ranch because its a farm full of horses)  currently owned by her parents in South Wales.  I want to retire to Antigua where we had our honeymoon because it's damn near the most perfect place I have ever been.

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post #50 of 57
2/11/11 at 10:22pm

Retirement? Anyone here in their late thirties and under can only hope that word still has meaning in 20 years.

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