Recommend a scenic place for my parents to retire to, and why.

[Trikat]

NC has a HUGE amount of elderly people who moved here just to retire. It also has quite a bit of places that are rated really high for the best places to retire.
I guess since it isn't busting with huge cities and stuff, more like rural places where crime is low. Well in Cary, NC crime is really low. Anyways Cary, NC was recently top 5 as the best places to live from some CNN website I believe.
NC really only has hurricanes as the worst possible event and sometimes a bit of snow/ice. Kinda good here.
And for the person who suggested TX, well that place is probably too hot for retiring.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Originally posted by: Drakkon
scott made a great recommedation in Chino Valley, AZ. Also see Prescott, AZ and Prescott VAlley. All really nice places to live. Close to Sedona and the grand canyon and a LOT of really other neat hiking, site seeing, and so many other things. Its kinda in the moutains but not so close as to where it snows all the time in the winter and remains realtively wild in the summer. My dad spends summers up there and its really cheap to live there. There are a lot of houses selling there in decent spots still for the $170-$250 range.

Is there a Chinatown near Prescott or Chino Valley? I don't think Sedona has one, and the closest other city would probably be Flagstaff, but that seems to far away

Originally posted by: BoomerD
How about Hawaii? The big island has nice winters, great scenery, and relatively affordable home prices, unlike Maui or O'ahu. You can get a nice 3 bdrm home for $400K-$500k on the Kona (dry) side, or $300-$400 on the Hilo (wet) side.
Not a bad place to retire. Decent hospitals as they age, only real draw-back is the high cost of living.

If they localized their expenses, like got local food and stuff and drove fuel-efficient cars, would the cost of living not be as high?

What about tropical storms? They're not the type that enjoys incliment weather and scary looking clouds like I do. I don't want them to get washed away

 

[MageXX9]

Here's another vote for North Carolina.

I would suggest:

-Greensboro
-Cary
-Hickory

In that order. Cary's going to be pretty hot in the summer. Hickory's not as bad, and you can find amazing homes since the furniture industry skipped town, and it's close to Charlotte. But Greensboro probably has the best average of everything.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Oooo, Ooooo.....

Does anyone know about the seafood in NC? Is the lobster there cheap, like Maine? My parents LOVE fresh seafood

 

[MX2]

Oregon

 

[BoomerD]

Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny

Originally posted by: Drakkon
scott made a great recommedation in Chino Valley, AZ. Also see Prescott, AZ and Prescott VAlley. All really nice places to live. Close to Sedona and the grand canyon and a LOT of really other neat hiking, site seeing, and so many other things. Its kinda in the moutains but not so close as to where it snows all the time in the winter and remains realtively wild in the summer. My dad spends summers up there and its really cheap to live there. There are a lot of houses selling there in decent spots still for the $170-$250 range.

Is there a Chinatown near Prescott or Chino Valley? I don't think Sedona has one, and the closest other city would probably be Flagstaff, but that seems to far away

Originally posted by: BoomerD
How about Hawaii? The big island has nice winters, great scenery, and relatively affordable home prices, unlike Maui or O'ahu. You can get a nice 3 bdrm home for $400K-$500k on the Kona (dry) side, or $300-$400 on the Hilo (wet) side.
Not a bad place to retire. Decent hospitals as they age, only real draw-back is the high cost of living.

If they localized their expenses, like got local food and stuff and drove fuel-efficient cars, would the cost of living not be as high?

What about tropical storms? They're not the type that enjoys incliment weather and scary looking clouds like I do. I don't want them to get washed away

Obviously, Hawaii does get occasional nasty weather, but almost every place does once in a while. Depending on where you live there, it could be bad, or it could just be heavy rain. The island is still standing, as are thousands of houses, so I imagine they rarely get "washed away"...
Yes, you can buy locally grown fruits and veggies from a variety of places, including flea markets and roadside stands. We do that every trip, both to save a bit over grocery stores, as well as to have locally grown. Some things you can't get away from, including perhaps the highest electrical rates in the country, $6/gal. milk, etc. Everything comes in by ship, and that adds a LOT to shipping costs.
I keep trying to figure out how to move there myself. I LOVE it there, but the costs are a bit tough to deal with for me right now.

 

[MageXX9]

Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny
Oooo, Ooooo.....

Does anyone know about the seafood in NC? Is the lobster there cheap, like Maine? My parents LOVE fresh seafood

You can find GREAT food of any kind in North Carolina. Talk to the locals.

 

[WildHorse]

Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny

< words cut >

Is there a Chinatown near Prescott or Chino Valley? (

< words cut >

Don't know about Chinese, but there are Tibetans in Chino Valley, AZ, plus low housing costs.

 

[lokiju]

Hiawassee, GA

 

[AcidicFury]

I put in a vote for NC. Chapel Hill is gorgeous- a lot of diversity and good scenery- plus, you can do quite well on that amount of money. Its amazing here.

 

[JS80]

Las Vegas

 

[fierydemise]

Seattle, WA

Mild Weather
Light snow every couple years (if that)
Very scenic, Cascade and Olympic Mountains, Lake Washington
One of the largest asian populations in the US

 

[Drakkon]

Originally posted by: scott

Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny

< words cut >

Is there a Chinatown near Prescott or Chino Valley? (

< words cut >

Don't know about Chinese, but there are Tibetans in Chino Valley, AZ, plus low housing costs.

There are a lot of asian influences all around the area as Flagstaff is where the railroad went through back when the asian labor was used and thus its close enough that many have stayed over the decades since. I haven't been to any of the shops/restaurants in Prescott (I dont really enjoy chinese food all that much ), but i know they are there.

 

[Savarak]

http://www.gocomics.com/foxtrot/2006/07/31/

 

[ICAREFORYOUU]

Arizona is very nature-y. It also has many enviroments: city, town, and desert. Also has Chinese food.

There's also Palm Springs, CA. Many retired folks live there. Has warm weather, many attractions: ie. tram to the mountain. Can get cold.. but it depends on the area you live in. It can possibly snow.. but in the mountains though. Just make sure that they live in the city.

But I personally like AZ. It best fits my personality and character.

SF is also cool. But SF seems more ideal to youngsters like in the 20s, 30s. It's a place to have a blast. You'll never get bored there.

Hope this helps!

 

[Soccerman06]

Didnt realize Ohio winters were that bad. Maybe Im just use to ****** weather in up in northern MN. Id suggest somewhere in Oregon, nice coastal climate and close to SF/Seattle (few hour drive). There may be mountains, but nothin more than a few bumps and you get the Giant Red Oaks in the southern areas to.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Is Arizona lush and green? I don't think that my parents would like desert-ish surroundings, including mesas and stuff that you would find in places like Arches National Park or Canyonlands.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Originally posted by: Soccerman06
Didnt realize Ohio winters were that bad. Maybe Im just use to ****** weather in up in northern MN. Id suggest somewhere in Oregon, nice coastal climate and close to SF/Seattle (few hour drive). There may be mountains, but nothin more than a few bumps and you get the Giant Red Oaks in the southern areas to.

I personally don't think Ohio winters are that bad, especially compared to Colorado mountain blizzards. My parents just have a very low tolerance for cold and they're not very good drivers to begin with (can't get a feel for cars), so they hate driving in snow since they feel like they're going to spin out all the time.

Then there's me. Heat absolutely kills me and I LOVE the cold. I also have a very good feel for my car so I don't have a problem keeping up with the 4x4s.

I'll keep Oregon in mind

 

[atybimf]

Lake Ozark, MO

Missouri winters can occasionally be bad but otherwise it's very nice.

I've also heard Oregon is nice.

 

[JS80]

Las Vegas, NV

 

[ni4ni]

Originally posted by: DevilsAdvocate
Hot Springs, AR

I second that.

Bat Masterson, Cy Young, Carrie Nation, John F. Kennedy, Billy Sunday, President Herbert Hoover, Helen Keller, Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey, Al Capone, Wyatt Earp, and even Frank and Jesse James vacationed there.

Al Capone is rumored to have permanent rights to room 443 at the Arlington Hotel there. To this day, you can not reserve and stay in that room!

 

[Falloutboy]

Flagstaff arizona is a good spot mild summers (only gets to high 80s and low humidity and winers are very mild 50s usueally ocationaly snow at night but it melts fast

 

[Mill]

Atlanta, Charlotte, Birmingham, Nashville, Pigeon Forge/Knoxville, Chatanooga, Boise... certain parts of Portland or Seattle.

 

[doze]

Austin, TX is nice. They could get a decent place up in the hills with their budget. Summers are hot during the day but pretty nice at night.

 

[bennylong]

Originally posted by: ni4ni

Originally posted by: DevilsAdvocate
Hot Springs, AR

I second that.

Bat Masterson, Cy Young, Carrie Nation, John F. Kennedy, Billy Sunday, President Herbert Hoover, Helen Keller, Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey, Al Capone, Wyatt Earp, and even Frank and Jesse James vacationed there.

Al Capone is rumored to have permanent rights to room 443 at the Arlington Hotel there. To this day, you can not reserve and stay in that room!

Bat Materson? That's quite a long time ago. Wyatt Earp also lived in Dodge, KS, but I don't think anyone wants to live there now