Best retirement locations in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico... or someplace similar
Dec 16th, 2008, 07:04 AM
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Best retirement locations in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico... or someplace similar
We're getting close to retirement age and have started considering whether to eventually move from where we've lived for several decades (in Maryland) to a western state. States we've traveled to over the years and really like include Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico, and they seem like a good starting point.
Our preferred criteria include access to scenic areas for hiking, a reasonably-lively town center (restaurants, entertainment, shopping), and perhaps a nearby college or university. Towns such as Boulder, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs, Flagstaff, and Santa Fe seem to fit the bill.
We had thought to go out to that part of the country for a week or two in the Spring and drive around to check out various places.
Anyone have any recommendations?
Our preferred criteria include access to scenic areas for hiking, a reasonably-lively town center (restaurants, entertainment, shopping), and perhaps a nearby college or university. Towns such as Boulder, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs, Flagstaff, and Santa Fe seem to fit the bill.
We had thought to go out to that part of the country for a week or two in the Spring and drive around to check out various places.
Anyone have any recommendations?
Dec 16th, 2008, 07:21 AM
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Almost 30 years ago, we made the same pilgrimage. You might want to add some other features to your list.
Distance to nearest airport. Medical services.
Library services.
Religious aspects. The latter is included because some religions dominate town social life. And you might want to avoid being excluded.
Taxation.
Schools.
Other "quality of life" aspects.
We favored a certain state when we began our quest. However, we found the people we met to be boastful, exclusive, racist, and snobbish.
Be careful.
Distance to nearest airport. Medical services.
Library services.
Religious aspects. The latter is included because some religions dominate town social life. And you might want to avoid being excluded.
Taxation.
Schools.
Other "quality of life" aspects.
We favored a certain state when we began our quest. However, we found the people we met to be boastful, exclusive, racist, and snobbish.
Be careful.
Dec 16th, 2008, 07:22 AM
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I love Boulder, but property is expensive. Fort Collins is fine and cheaper than Boulder. Santa Fe would also be a good choice. You left out places in Arizona, but we lived in Tucson for four years and it certainly meets all your requirements and housing there is especially affordable right now.
Dec 16th, 2008, 07:34 AM
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USNR - Yes; you're right about proximity to a decent airport and the availability of a good hospital. Taxes just about anywhere will probably be better than what we pay in Maryland! Good schools are no longer an issue for us (though we do like the idea of a university that offers classes for seniors). BTW; which state are you describing at the end of your post?
Historytraveler - I mentioned Flagstaff, Arizona. Tucson is a great place (we were there in the winter, and the weather was perfect!), but I'm wondering if we would grow weary of the summer heat.
Historytraveler - I mentioned Flagstaff, Arizona. Tucson is a great place (we were there in the winter, and the weather was perfect!), but I'm wondering if we would grow weary of the summer heat.
Dec 16th, 2008, 07:57 AM
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Yes you will grow tired of the summer heat. We usually headed up to Colorado for most of the summer.
There is almost always a bit of give and take when considering location. Tucson has great weather nine months out of the year. The rest of the places you mentioned will have typical winter weather for four months out of the year. If you don't mind some cold and snow, then you'll be fine.
I would absolutely plan on visiting any of the places you are considering.
There is almost always a bit of give and take when considering location. Tucson has great weather nine months out of the year. The rest of the places you mentioned will have typical winter weather for four months out of the year. If you don't mind some cold and snow, then you'll be fine.
I would absolutely plan on visiting any of the places you are considering.
Dec 16th, 2008, 08:02 AM
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Las Cruces NM is a college town and doesn't have the extremes in hot and cold that some of your other choices listed have. Real estate is also far cheaper than most of your other choices.
http://the-best-place-to-retire.com/
http://the-best-place-to-retire.com/
Dec 16th, 2008, 08:35 AM
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Another area in Colorado to consider is Durango. Were it me, I'd actually be looking for a home in the mountains or valleys surrounding Durango but close enough for the city's amenities.
My personal preference is to be away from large cities such as Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins, etc. Durango is just about the right size for me. It also is in some of the most seriously gorgeous country on earth.
My personal preference is to be away from large cities such as Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins, etc. Durango is just about the right size for me. It also is in some of the most seriously gorgeous country on earth.
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Dec 16th, 2008, 08:51 AM
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There is a town in Arizona called Prescott. I've heard that since I saw it last, it has experienced the retiree rush. It's negative is that it is about 1 hour from Phoenix. But it is quite close to Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon (FAB AREAS). And it isn't cheap as when I was looking at it, years ago- but it is killer location, IMHO.
I absolutely love, love Prescott. It's got it all- and especially that great weather and yet 1/2 way up the elevation of the mountain range it has very specific pluses, as it doesn't get the Tuscon and desert type heat half as much.
But the killer to me, is that it has trees and looks like someone dropped a piece of Michigan into the SW. And Goldwater Lake.
Much better access to hot weather places and variety for the pricing than CO is Prescott, IMHO. But CO is beautiful and majestic, and right now has lots of foreclosures that could be great buys.
Difficult driving and cold/harsh weather changes are very real issues
in CO.
I absolutely love, love Prescott. It's got it all- and especially that great weather and yet 1/2 way up the elevation of the mountain range it has very specific pluses, as it doesn't get the Tuscon and desert type heat half as much.
But the killer to me, is that it has trees and looks like someone dropped a piece of Michigan into the SW. And Goldwater Lake.
Much better access to hot weather places and variety for the pricing than CO is Prescott, IMHO. But CO is beautiful and majestic, and right now has lots of foreclosures that could be great buys.
Difficult driving and cold/harsh weather changes are very real issues
in CO.
Dec 16th, 2008, 08:56 AM
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USNR is absolutely correct.
Take a careful, analytical look at taxes. And be very careful about your healthcare options. That's one reason why I crossed Hawaii off my map- dreadful acces to healthcare.
Also, you should rent in a place for a year before ever buying property. You really won't have any idea of what you really miss and what you don't need until you've been in a place for at least a year.
Personally, I wouldn't retire in any of the places you mention in your original post.
Take a careful, analytical look at taxes. And be very careful about your healthcare options. That's one reason why I crossed Hawaii off my map- dreadful acces to healthcare.
Also, you should rent in a place for a year before ever buying property. You really won't have any idea of what you really miss and what you don't need until you've been in a place for at least a year.
Personally, I wouldn't retire in any of the places you mention in your original post.
Dec 16th, 2008, 09:05 AM
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Re Prescott - it seems to be "the place" for retired Californians. For me, it's too far from a big city. It's way more than an hour from Phoenix -- closer to 2 hours, and about 1:15+ to Sedona. Parts of Prescott are beautiful -- the trees, the hills, therefore the views. But it is also growing in not-so-great ways, for example, TWO Wal-Marts -- one on each end of town. The people I know who live there (and are retired) absolutely love it, it's just not for me.
Dec 16th, 2008, 09:13 AM
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Hi Balto,
We retired from the Denver area to Grand Junction CO 12 years ago, and overall, we like it.
It is approximately 4,500 feet altitude and has a modified four-season climate. Summers are quite warm, in the mid-upper 90s. Winters have a little snow and temps usually in the 30s and 40s. We had an usual cold snap over the weekend with highs in the 20s and lows in the teens and we had a couple inches of very dry snow. We have shovelled half a dozen times or so in the 12 years we have lived here.
Our downtown is great-shops and restaurants and a nice ambience. There is a college in town, with a highly respected theatre arts and music department, as well as a symphony orchestra, so there are plenty of cultural events.
To the east are the high Rockies and to the west is the Colorado National Monument, so lots of hiking and bicycling all over the area.
We have an airport and are on the California Zephyr Amtrak route and Interstate 70. Property taxes and home prices are relatively low. My house would sell right now for about $225,000 and prop taxes are around $850-900 per year.
The downsides--some people don't like the heat(although it's a dry heat, ha, ha)and the area is quite conservative.
Just a bit of a look at our town.
We retired from the Denver area to Grand Junction CO 12 years ago, and overall, we like it.
It is approximately 4,500 feet altitude and has a modified four-season climate. Summers are quite warm, in the mid-upper 90s. Winters have a little snow and temps usually in the 30s and 40s. We had an usual cold snap over the weekend with highs in the 20s and lows in the teens and we had a couple inches of very dry snow. We have shovelled half a dozen times or so in the 12 years we have lived here.
Our downtown is great-shops and restaurants and a nice ambience. There is a college in town, with a highly respected theatre arts and music department, as well as a symphony orchestra, so there are plenty of cultural events.
To the east are the high Rockies and to the west is the Colorado National Monument, so lots of hiking and bicycling all over the area.
We have an airport and are on the California Zephyr Amtrak route and Interstate 70. Property taxes and home prices are relatively low. My house would sell right now for about $225,000 and prop taxes are around $850-900 per year.
The downsides--some people don't like the heat(although it's a dry heat, ha, ha)and the area is quite conservative.
Just a bit of a look at our town.
Dec 16th, 2008, 09:38 AM
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Here's another tip. Once you zero in on a few towns, subscribe to the local newspaper for six months. You learn a lot that way, both good and bad.
Visit the towns for a few days each. Just hang out. Find a bench and sit. People-watch. Strike up conversations. We avoided Tezas that way.
Whatever you do, do NOT buy any property -- and don't be a sucker for "distressed" property. It's "distressed" for a reason.
Visit the towns for a few days each. Just hang out. Find a bench and sit. People-watch. Strike up conversations. We avoided Tezas that way.
Whatever you do, do NOT buy any property -- and don't be a sucker for "distressed" property. It's "distressed" for a reason.
Dec 16th, 2008, 09:48 AM
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Excuse me. I forgot to recommend that you and your spouse take time to look within yourselves -- what are your life expectations?
We have friends who moved from Connecticut to Maine to Arizona to Florida and on to Colorado in retirement, forever seeking "the perfect place."
We suspect it will forever be a mirage. Individual problems often are very portable.
And the husband and wife are on different emotional wave lengths, neither happy, neither content, neither investing in their retirement communities. So sad. So unnecessary. And the clock ticks on.
We have friends who moved from Connecticut to Maine to Arizona to Florida and on to Colorado in retirement, forever seeking "the perfect place."
We suspect it will forever be a mirage. Individual problems often are very portable.
And the husband and wife are on different emotional wave lengths, neither happy, neither content, neither investing in their retirement communities. So sad. So unnecessary. And the clock ticks on.
Dec 16th, 2008, 10:16 AM
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I've lived in the Denver area my entire life and love all that Colorado offers. That being said I would spend a winter here renting before making a big move. It has been frigid cold here for the past several days and it is very limiting for outdoor activities. The ice and snow can be dangerous and also may limit your mobility as you get older. I love to hike but that will not happen again until late spring and the snow starts to melt. Retirement is still quite a bit away for us, but we are already thinking about spending the winter months in a warmer location where we can enjoy the outdoors.
Dec 16th, 2008, 04:36 PM
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USNR made some fabulous points. Especially considering what you bring with you and the attitutde towards outreaching when you get there.
Some of us want to make our own adventures and to follow a few others in theirs, and some other long married couples and individuals both want few adventures or surprises. Others want lots to be outside of themselves and "there"- so that they can drop into or out of the "prime retired state" completely at will.
It's essentially important how much you both want to put into the adventures and possible changes, or want to remain the same. LOL!
And yes, it is so true that some places are much, much more receptive to "outsiders" or different thinking or speeds of activity or movement, than others.
Rent absolutely- and this isn't for retirement either- but for any big location move.
I didn't know Prescott was the place to retire for Californians! I hardly know any Californians. All the Illinois people who I knew that retired West always went to Az or NM and not that part at all. I just happened to find it on a long drive and loved it.
And also thought the people we meet there were smart, frisky, and moved/talked faster. LOL! And it had that luscious 1000 hues of green, like MI does.
Some of us want to make our own adventures and to follow a few others in theirs, and some other long married couples and individuals both want few adventures or surprises. Others want lots to be outside of themselves and "there"- so that they can drop into or out of the "prime retired state" completely at will.
It's essentially important how much you both want to put into the adventures and possible changes, or want to remain the same. LOL!
And yes, it is so true that some places are much, much more receptive to "outsiders" or different thinking or speeds of activity or movement, than others.
Rent absolutely- and this isn't for retirement either- but for any big location move.
I didn't know Prescott was the place to retire for Californians! I hardly know any Californians. All the Illinois people who I knew that retired West always went to Az or NM and not that part at all. I just happened to find it on a long drive and loved it.
And also thought the people we meet there were smart, frisky, and moved/talked faster. LOL! And it had that luscious 1000 hues of green, like MI does.
Dec 16th, 2008, 05:06 PM
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I moved from suburbs of NYC to Albuquerque in 2001, seeking much of the same as you.
I really like living there - lots of sunshine, reasonable [very] real estate, good health care, airport, university, arts etc.
Santa Fe is nice, but very expensive and it isn't called "The city different" for no reason. It is very "out there" and can be"snobby, aloof" and hard to break into life there.
Las Cruces is nice, but airport would be either El Paso [not sure about size] or ABQ [3+- hours away].
Silver City was named as a good retirement location in NM by a number of publications [aarp; buisness week, fortune or some similar magazine that rate best places to retire. It is a bit further north and west than Las Cruces.
I moved from ABQ to just outside of Durango in 2005. Durango is a great town, not cheap. It has a college, arts, music, mountains, skiing, drop dead scenery, good restaurants, good health care. It is 3 hours from ABQ [airport]. The residents are friendly, eco aware and it is a great place to live.
Grand Junction is also a great place. It is bigger than Durango and the altitude is lower so it has milder winters but hotter summers.
Flagstaff gets snow and sometimes lots of it. It is also pretty cold in winter.
Tucson is hot- good for winter - horrible in summer.
Feel free to email me if I can help.
It isn'tan easy decision. You need to come out here and visit a number of places and more than once. You need to see it during summer and winter for sure. Spring too - it is very windy here in spring and can get dusty and trigger allergies you didn't know you had [espeically since foliage here is different].
Fall, the BEST time of year here - just for the sheer fun of seeing the magic of the southwest.
Deb
I really like living there - lots of sunshine, reasonable [very] real estate, good health care, airport, university, arts etc.
Santa Fe is nice, but very expensive and it isn't called "The city different" for no reason. It is very "out there" and can be"snobby, aloof" and hard to break into life there.
Las Cruces is nice, but airport would be either El Paso [not sure about size] or ABQ [3+- hours away].
Silver City was named as a good retirement location in NM by a number of publications [aarp; buisness week, fortune or some similar magazine that rate best places to retire. It is a bit further north and west than Las Cruces.
I moved from ABQ to just outside of Durango in 2005. Durango is a great town, not cheap. It has a college, arts, music, mountains, skiing, drop dead scenery, good restaurants, good health care. It is 3 hours from ABQ [airport]. The residents are friendly, eco aware and it is a great place to live.
Grand Junction is also a great place. It is bigger than Durango and the altitude is lower so it has milder winters but hotter summers.
Flagstaff gets snow and sometimes lots of it. It is also pretty cold in winter.
Tucson is hot- good for winter - horrible in summer.
Feel free to email me if I can help.
It isn'tan easy decision. You need to come out here and visit a number of places and more than once. You need to see it during summer and winter for sure. Spring too - it is very windy here in spring and can get dusty and trigger allergies you didn't know you had [espeically since foliage here is different].
Fall, the BEST time of year here - just for the sheer fun of seeing the magic of the southwest.
Deb
Dec 16th, 2008, 07:47 PM
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St. George, Utah. Pretty little place. Wide streets. Clean. Hmmm. See my comments above re religious aspects. Also consider your politics. Check the area's demographics. Go to your library and get a copy of the Statistical Abstract of the U. S. Census. Get a subscription of the town newspaper.
Dec 16th, 2008, 08:12 PM
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In terms of expenses both Washington State & Wyoming have no state tax. Watch carefully tho Wash state has big property tax when you sell.
Washington on the coast like Sequim (banana belt gets more sunshine than most NW) lots of outdoors stuff ..but 2 hours to BIG city Seattle airport & healthcare..there is a smaller hosp in Port Angeles.
I grew up PNW and I want to go home. When I was young was a sunseeker now old and am an iceberg seeker.
My Dad moved from Washington to Cody WY. He has lots of acres and animals few people but summer is over 100 and winter right now is "0". He has good rural healthcare but Billings is nearest BIG city hosp, airport 2 hour drive.
I live in CA (big taxes but real estate bargains can be had)...now as that is where my DH & I work..his dream is to live aboard a sailboat & cast off teh lines..I get seasick and would like a nice farm in Sonoma or Sequim.
Washington on the coast like Sequim (banana belt gets more sunshine than most NW) lots of outdoors stuff ..but 2 hours to BIG city Seattle airport & healthcare..there is a smaller hosp in Port Angeles.
I grew up PNW and I want to go home. When I was young was a sunseeker now old and am an iceberg seeker.
My Dad moved from Washington to Cody WY. He has lots of acres and animals few people but summer is over 100 and winter right now is "0". He has good rural healthcare but Billings is nearest BIG city hosp, airport 2 hour drive.
I live in CA (big taxes but real estate bargains can be had)...now as that is where my DH & I work..his dream is to live aboard a sailboat & cast off teh lines..I get seasick and would like a nice farm in Sonoma or Sequim.
