Where Should I Retire...?

[Larry T. Spider 1,747]

Neg away but I always say LA is Houston by the beach/mountains. 

[RPM 26,353]

1 hour ago, Larry T. Spider said:

Neg away but I always say LA is Houston by the beach/mountains. 

Houston is any major NE city that just happens to be in Texas.

[mdmost 43,046]

10 hours ago, Larry T. Spider said:

Neg away but I always say LA is Houston by the beach/mountains. 

Well if you're already someone who is used to a place like Houston but you like the beach and/or mountains, that's not bad at all. You are that much closer to something awesome. 

[Mother mopar 3,324]

affordability as in the property taxes. 

Property Taxes....wut. I lived there 6.5 years, and I paid more property taxes there than any place I lived during my 40+ laps around the sun.

Not to mention, the Cal Vet benefits aren't that great compared to other states... Texas and Florida, strickly from a property tax perspective, it's not even close.

[Larry T. Spider 1,747]

1 hour ago, mdmost said:

Well if you're already someone who is used to a place like Houston but you like the beach and/or mountains, that's not bad at all. You are that much closer to something awesome. 

I actually don’t mind Houston other than the weather. Plenty to do and the food scene is great. It’s more than I don’t get the appeal of LA outside of the physical location and great weather that comes with it. 

[Incredulity 11,683]

47 minutes ago, Mother mopar said:

Property Taxes....wut. I lived there 6.5 years, and I paid more property taxes there than any place I lived during my 40+ laps around the sun.

Not to mention, the Cal Vet benefits aren't that great compared to other states... Texas and Florida, strickly from a property tax perspective, it's not even close.

There is literally nothing about SoCal that is affordable.  That post is beyond bizarre.

Weather is great, lifestyle can be sublime(with the right $$$).   Affordability?  absolutely not and getting worse by the year. 

[conVINCEd 21,469]

I go to LA several times per year.  I love it for about a week, then I’m ready to go home.  The cost of housing is pretty fucking high in the parts of town that make LA fun.  No desire whatsoever to live in the burbs and pull up google maps to find out it’s gonna take me 1.5 hrs to get to a restaurant in West Hollywood, and I currently can’t afford a house in West Hollywood.  So we’ll be happy to spend some time out there every year in the SIL’s west LA guest house, enjoy all that LA has to offer, and go home to wherever that may be.  Right now that’s N. Dallas, and wherever we decide to eventually leave Texas, it would be my strong preference to keep the real estate investment at its current level or at least somewhere in the same ballpark
 

Charleston checks a lot of boxes for us right now.  We can get a comparable house to what we currently have 10 minutes from downtown and one of the best food scenes in the country.  The beaches are 15-20 minutes in the other direction, except on weekends when the traffic can be a bit of a clusterfuck going to the beaches on Fri. night/Sat morning and back towards town on Sunday night, especially in the summer.   Outdoor recreation options are plentiful.  There are downsides.  Charleston is a lot like Austin politically (blue dot in a red state), but statewide is maybe as shitty as Texas.  If you get 20 minutes outside of town it’s a more polite version of Deliverance.  Having lived in DFW for most of my life, I take for granted the ability to get a direct flight to damn near anywhere.  Lots of connections through Atlanta or Charlotte depending on your choice of airline.   There are a few daily direct flights to Dallas,  and that would be a frequent destination, so that helps ease the pain a little.

[TheAuditor 1,040]

Any hot sports opinions on Flagstaff?  Seems interesting on paper,  but maybe too small.  

[Updawg 2,286]

I like flagstaff a lot. Biggest problem I see is that it is pretty isolated so if you want anything from a bigger city it’s a trek (phoenix Or Albuquerque)

[StassneyHorn 6,637]

Property tax rates in OC and San Diego are definitely lower than Texas, it's just the entry level is higher. Doesn't make much sense to me to retire somewhere and buy unless you want to leave it to kids afterwards to divide up/ or still want to host on the holidays. Selling your home and then putting proceeds in a HYSA or cd ladder to make rent each month in the new locale sounds better.

[Carl Spackler 3,504]

4 hours ago, TheAuditor said:

Any hot sports opinions on Flagstaff?  Seems interesting on paper,  but maybe too small.  

Gets as much snow annually as Buffalo.  

But it melts a lot faster . . .

[Firemans4Horn 18,121]

4 hours ago, TheAuditor said:

Any hot sports opinions on Flagstaff?  Seems interesting on paper,  but maybe too small.  

I think it would be a great place for a second home. Not sure if I could live there full time. Healthcare/food scene seem pretty limited. 

[Texzilla588 769]

Before you move someplace to retire that you saw in a movie or some article said was a great place, try it before you buy it.

If youve never lived in a desert like Tucson, go there and get a short term rental for a couple months. Go to Spain and rent for a few months and travel around. Talk to expats living it.

I’ve drug my wife all over the country for my job for 40 years. She’s getting to choose the next place which is to be close to granddaughters in Oklahoma. As much time as we’ve spent there we’re looking at a variety of options to try. Partly for livin’partly to see how much our kids will use us as a babysitting service.

Before you move someplace to retire that you saw in a movie or some article said was a great place, try it before you buy it.

If youve never lived in a desert like Tucson, go there and get a short term rental for a couple months. Go to Spain and rent for a few months and travel around. Talk to expats living it.

I’ve drug my wife all over the country for my job for 40 years. She’s getting to choose the next place which is to be close to granddaughters in Oklahoma. As much time as we’ve spent there we’re looking at a variety of options to try. Partly for livin’partly to see how much our kids will use us as a babysitting service.

[Grimas 671]

20 minutes ago, Texzilla588 said:

Before you move someplace to retire that you saw in a movie or some article said was a great place, try it before you buy it.

If youve never lived in a desert like Tucson, go there and get a short term rental for a couple months. Go to Spain and rent for a few months and travel around. Talk to expats living it.

I’ve drug my wife all over the country for my job for 40 years. She’s getting to choose the next place which is to be close to granddaughters in Oklahoma. As much time as we’ve spent there we’re looking at a variety of options to try. Partly for livin’partly to see how much our kids will use us as a babysitting service.

Before you move someplace to retire that you saw in a movie or some article said was a great place, try it before you buy it.

If youve never lived in a desert like Tucson, go there and get a short term rental for a couple months. Go to Spain and rent for a few months and travel around. Talk to expats living it.

I’ve drug my wife all over the country for my job for 40 years. She’s getting to choose the next place which is to be close to granddaughters in Oklahoma. As much time as we’ve spent there we’re looking at a variety of options to try. Partly for livin’partly to see how much our kids will use us as a babysitting service.

You can say that again!

[JGrayDBU 344]

To the OP, can you compare Northwest Arkansas to Texarkana Arkansas?:

 

I am strongly considering Texarkana Arkansas for similar reasons:

a. affordable taxes - property tax rate is one of the lowest in the country and state income taxes are 0, unique to Texarkana, my guess is they want to compete with the 0 state taxes on the Texas side. 

b. small town part of medium sized area - metro area of 200k+

c. quick air commute to DFW, and even drive to DFW if desired- 5 -6 hours

d. affordable real estate

e. at least three seasons. 

I am guessing compared to a big city the restaurant scene is 0 in Texarkana, but you certainly cannot have everything.  

Would you say Arkansas has a winter?  I lived in Sherman TX one year and we had enough winter to have snow.  That is enough winter for me. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Larry T. Spider 1,747]

On 8/10/2024 at 7:56 PM, JGrayDBU said:

To the OP, can you compare Northwest Arkansas to Texarkana Arkansas?:

 

I am strongly considering Texarkana Arkansas for similar reasons:

a. affordable taxes - property tax rate is one of the lowest in the country and state income taxes are 0, unique to Texarkana, my guess is they want to compete with the 0 state taxes on the Texas side. 

b. small town part of medium sized area - metro area of 200k+

c. quick air commute to DFW, and even drive to DFW if desired- 5 -6 hours

d. affordable real estate

e. at least three seasons. 

I am guessing compared to a big city the restaurant scene is 0 in Texarkana, but you certainly cannot have everything.  

Would you say Arkansas has a winter?  I lived in Sherman TX one year and we had enough winter to have snow.  That is enough winter for me. 

 

 

 

 

 

I haven’t spent much time in Texarkana but drive through it a lot because of work. The drive to Dallas is less than 3 hours. 5-6 will get you to Austin.

[baboso 6,057]

I think 'stanco is a Texarkansan.

[Texzilla588 769]

To the OP, can you compare Northwest Arkansas to Texarkana Arkansas?:
 
I am strongly considering Texarkana Arkansas for similar reasons:
a. affordable taxes - property tax rate is one of the lowest in the country and state income taxes are 0, unique to Texarkana, my guess is they want to compete with the 0 state taxes on the Texas side. 
b. small town part of medium sized area - metro area of 200k+
c. quick air commute to DFW, and even drive to DFW if desired- 5 -6 hours
d. affordable real estate
e. at least three seasons. 
I am guessing compared to a big city the restaurant scene is 0 in Texarkana, but you certainly cannot have everything.  
Would you say Arkansas has a winter?  I lived in Sherman TX one year and we had enough winter to have snow.  That is enough winter for me. 
 
 
 
 
 

If Guys Big Orange is still going in downtown your cuisine question is complete in the chili dog category.

My experience in towns like this these days there are lots of small independent joints and mini chains that pop up, and often a social membership at the country club provides a great place to eat good food and socialize. We’ve done this in several places like Madison, MS and even here when we moved to Mansfield.

[Aqua Buddha 14,608]

On 8/9/2024 at 10:54 AM, conVINCEd said:

I go to LA several times per year.  I love it for about a week, then I’m ready to go home.  The cost of housing is pretty fucking high in the parts of town that make LA fun.  No desire whatsoever to live in the burbs and pull up google maps to find out it’s gonna take me 1.5 hrs to get to a restaurant in West Hollywood, and I currently can’t afford a house in West Hollywood.  So we’ll be happy to spend some time out there every year in the SIL’s west LA guest house, enjoy all that LA has to offer, and go home to wherever that may be.  Right now that’s N. Dallas, and wherever we decide to eventually leave Texas, it would be my strong preference to keep the real estate investment at its current level or at least somewhere in the same ballpark
 

Charleston checks a lot of boxes for us right now.  We can get a comparable house to what we currently have 10 minutes from downtown and one of the best food scenes in the country.  The beaches are 15-20 minutes in the other direction, except on weekends when the traffic can be a bit of a clusterfuck going to the beaches on Fri. night/Sat morning and back towards town on Sunday night, especially in the summer.   Outdoor recreation options are plentiful.  There are downsides.  Charleston is a lot like Austin politically (blue dot in a red state), but statewide is maybe as shitty as Texas.  If you get 20 minutes outside of town it’s a more polite version of Deliverance.  Having lived in DFW for most of my life, I take for granted the ability to get a direct flight to damn near anywhere.  Lots of connections through Atlanta or Charlotte depending on your choice of airline.   There are a few daily direct flights to Dallas,  and that would be a frequent destination, so that helps ease the pain a little.

Charleston was in the mix but the weather and politics are awful.  To your point, Charleston itself is fine as is the strand between there and Savannah but you get 20 miles inland and it's the DEEP South and sometimes that southieness creeps into the cities.  

Good food, beaches, golf, etc., though.  Also just 3 hours or sometime the Asheville.

[South Austin 52,600]

31 minutes ago, Aqua Buddha said:

Charleston was in the mix but the weather and politics are awful.  To your point, Charleston itself is fine as is the strand between there and Savannah but you get 20 miles inland and it's the DEEP South and sometimes that southieness creeps into the cities.  

Good food, beaches, golf, etc., though.  Also just 3 hours or sometime the Asheville.

My wife and I visited Charleston and Asheville for the first time this summer.  We loved both.

But Charleston's weather was not the best.  Sure, they don't get cold winters, but we were there in early June and already the humidity was shitty.  Plus, hurricanes.  And as you note, South Carolina is firmly red/MAGA (not getting all Cloak Room-ish, but just stating an objective fact if politics are important to your possible retirement destination).

Asheville moved up the retirement fantasy list.  Its population is only about 95,000, which isn't too small for us, and it felt a little like what Austin was 35 years ago, though with some signs of gentrification here and there.  It's a huge foodie and brewery scene, I don't think the winters would be too bad, and it's not so fucking hot for so fucking long like Texas.  And Asheville is firmly blue, with NC as a state looking more purple.  I don't know how the health care system is up there, which is a big factor.  And, it's not the most convenient places for air travel -- yes, there's an airport close by, but the flight schedule didn't seem super, and for the most part it's smaller aircraft connecting to Charlotte or another nearby hub.  Other than that, it checks a lot of boxes.

But as I've said on this and other threads, there's a good chance we're stuck in Austin for another 15 or more years (I turn 50 later this year), and maybe for the rest of our lives.  I can still dream, though.

[VABuckeye 2,472]

On 8/9/2024 at 10:50 PM, Texzilla588 said:

Before you move someplace to retire that you saw in a movie or some article said was a great place, try it before you buy it.

If youve never lived in a desert like Tucson, go there and get a short term rental for a couple months. Go to Spain and rent for a few months and travel around. Talk to expats living it.

I’ve drug my wife all over the country for my job for 40 years. She’s getting to choose the next place which is to be close to granddaughters in Oklahoma. As much time as we’ve spent there we’re looking at a variety of options to try. Partly for livin’partly to see how much our kids will use us as a babysitting service.

Before you move someplace to retire that you saw in a movie or some article said was a great place, try it before you buy it.

If youve never lived in a desert like Tucson, go there and get a short term rental for a couple months. Go to Spain and rent for a few months and travel around. Talk to expats living it.

I’ve drug my wife all over the country for my job for 40 years. She’s getting to choose the next place which is to be close to granddaughters in Oklahoma. As much time as we’ve spent there we’re looking at a variety of options to try. Partly for livin’partly to see how much our kids will use us as a babysitting service.

We've spent time in Malaga and plan to do 1 or 2 extended visits before we pull the trigger.  Portugal also has me intrigued but the Spanish laws for moving there are friendly and my wife is fluent.  You give good advice.

Edited August 12 by VABuckeye

[Carl Spackler 3,504]

On 8/8/2024 at 7:35 PM, Larry T. Spider said:

Neg away but I always say LA is Houston by the beach/mountains. 

Curious to know your reasoning.  I've lived in both places, and don't see the similarities aside from the fact that they're both big cities.    

[Larry T. Spider 1,747]

6 hours ago, Carl Spackler said:

Curious to know your reasoning.  I've lived in both places, and don't see the similarities aside from the fact that they're both big cities.    

If you have lived there, I’m sure that you have picked up on a million differences that a visitor wouldn’t. I haven’t lived in either. 

My take is that they are both big, spread out, car dependent cities with a lot of traffic. However both are diverse and have the great food scene that goes with it. You could say the same about several other big southern cities, but maybe without the same great food. My main point is that LAs appeal is largely related to the physical location and other than that it’s not very different than other big, spread out cities. 

[Hornius Emeritus 12,487]

On 8/8/2024 at 9:35 PM, Larry T. Spider said:

Neg away but I always say LA is Houston by the beach/mountains. 

And an air conditioner and dehumidifier.

[GreenspointTexas 9,664]

Asheville has very similar weather to Houston. Pass

[South Austin 52,600]

28 minutes ago, GreenspointTexas said:

Asheville has very similar weather to Houston. Pass

My mid-80s high, lower humidity August weekend says wtf.  You'll likely never get a weekend like that in Houston until October.  And I missed the part where the Western North Carolina mountains frequently get hit with hurricanes.

Edited August 13 by South Austin

[MonkeyDoughnut 10,356]

30 minutes ago, GreenspointTexas said:

Asheville has very similar weather to Houston. Pass

I don't know about weather, but they have imported the violent crime issues for a small town that it is.

[txduck87 990]

Asheville has very similar weather to Houston. Pass

No it does not.

[Don Johnson 4,755]

1 hour ago, GreenspointTexas said:

Asheville has very similar weather to Houston. Pass

The high temp today is 79.  The highest on the 14 day forecast is 84.  Houston is 95/101.

At 9:38am CDT on Tuesday 8/13/24 it feels like 79 in Asheville.  It already feels like 103 in Houston.

Edited August 13 by Don Johnson

[Firemans4Horn 18,121]

3 hours ago, GreenspointTexas said:

Asheville has very similar weather to Houston. Pass

[Carl Spackler 3,504]

13 hours ago, Larry T. Spider said:

My take is that they are both big, spread out, car dependent cities with a lot of traffic. However both are diverse and have the great food scene that goes with it.  

I agree with all this.  There are certainly some similarities, esp. the sprawl, traffic, and car dependency.  

But LA is quite a bit more expensive in my experience, has better weather, and offers more outdoor recreation opportunities.  Although both are certainly sprawling, LA seems more densely populated.  The two cities also have different vibes -- LA is more laid back, Houston is more industrial.    

[msbesq 387]

My wife says that we can live anywhere in the world as long as we're within 15 minutes of our young grandson. He lives in Fulshear with his mother and father. We live in Katy. I'm stuck:(.

[Texzilla588 769]

Don’t look at the present. How old is your grandkid? Believe me, young ones love Grammy and Pops. By the time they hit 13 or so they might not care about seeing g you.

[msbesq 387]

5 minutes ago, Texzilla588 said:

Don’t look at the present. How old is your grandkid? Believe me, young ones love Grammy and Pops. By the time they hit 13 or so they might not care about seeing g you.

He's 5 and started Kindergarten yesterday. We have a long ways to go.

[SydneyCarton 48,169]

7 minutes ago, msbesq said:

He's 5 and started Kindergarten yesterday. We have a long ways to go.

lol. I'm about turn 45 and my kid is about to get into the first grade. Clearly we started late.

I'm just going to nudge him like a motherfucker to attend college out of state, since my wife is adamant we'll be following to live somewhere a few hours of where he's going to school. So I'd just LOVE for him to pick somewhere in the research triangle, or increasingly the pacific northwest if I can get them on board with cold and wet. I'd also accept University of Michigan or somewhere there regionally. 

[Aqua Buddha 14,608]

30 minutes ago, Texzilla588 said:

Don’t look at the present. How old is your grandkid? Believe me, young ones love Grammy and Pops. By the time they hit 13 or so they might not care about seeing g you.

We have some good friends a little older than us.  They moved here to be close to her grandkids.  They then became teenagers and didn't care.

Friends are now moving to Spain.

[South Austin 52,600]

23 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

So I'd just LOVE for him to pick somewhere in the research triangle, or increasingly the pacific northwest if I can get them on board with cold and wet.

My daughter starts at University of Oregon in the Fall.  My son, who's in 8th grade and still has a ways to go, is open to going out of state, and I'm going to push North Carolina State.  He's a smart kid, works hard, and gets straight A's so far, but it's really tough to get the numbers for UNC or Duke, and at least by the published rankings (for whatever those are worth), N.C. State has moved up pretty significantly since I went there in 1992-1994 for my first two years of college.  That could provide an anchor for us to possibly move to North Carolina, and it's probably more likely than the Pacific Northwest, and it's not a given that my daughter will even settle there after she graduates, though I'm pretty sure she's not coming back to Texas or anywhere close.

Again, probably a long shot, but why not put some wheels in motion? 

Also, it's funny, but until my dad got a job in Texas after he retired from the Marines, I thought he and mom would settle in North Carolina, and I'd stay somewhere in the state, probably the Raleigh/Durham area.  But then, I followed them to Texas, transferred to UT, loved Austin and, until a few years ago, the state of Texas, and believed I'd die here.  Now, 30 years after moving here, if I didn't have so many ties keeping me in Austin, I think I'd move back to North Carolina in a heartbeat.

[tx 3 putt 77,413]

2 hours ago, msbesq said:

My wife says that we can live anywhere in the world as long as we're within 15 minutes of our young grandson. He lives in Fulshear with his mother and father. We live in Katy. I'm stuck:(.

move to San Antonio. So much better than katy

[Texzilla588 769]

lol. I'm about turn 45 and my kid is about to get into the first grade. Clearly we started late.

I'm just going to nudge him like a motherfucker to attend college out of state, since my wife is adamant we'll be following to live somewhere a few hours of where he's going to school. So I'd just LOVE for him to pick somewhere in the research triangle, or increasingly the pacific northwest if I can get them on board with cold and wet. I'd also accept University of Michigan or somewhere there regionally. 

All of yall worry so much about fucking college. Push enlistment. Air Force. Even better submarines. Then you can live anywhere since they might be in Syria or Poland or Antarctica.

[Helobious 9,464]

1 hour ago, tx 3 putt said:

move to San Antonio. So much better than katy

I’ve lived in SA for years now, ya no aguanto. Moving back to the valley when I get the chance. 

[Mo Horn 8,854]

12 minutes ago, Helobious said:

I’ve lived in SA for years now, ya no aguanto. Moving back to the valley when I get the chance. 

That explains a lot

[tx 3 putt 77,413]

57 minutes ago, Helobious said:

I’ve lived in SA for years now, ya no aguanto. Moving back to the valley when I get the chance. 

which part of the valley ?

[DaysOff 7,973]

I’ve lived in SA for years now, ya no aguanto. Moving back to the valley when I get the chance. 

Jesus Cristo

[Helobious 9,464]

35 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

which part of the valley ?

Harlingen. McAllen/Edinburg/Mission is too expensive & growing already. East/lower valley has a ton of growth potential 

[Sandman 3,412]

7 hours ago, SydneyCarton said:

my wife is adamant we'll be following to live somewhere a few hours of where he's going to school

I see this more and more frequently but I just can't get behind this mindset. I understand that the gist is that she wants to be nearby when the grandkids eventually arrive. But how long is she gonna wait? My coworker has a son that just graduated from the USAFA and she was talking about following him to his next duty station. Her husband put the brakes on that.

I have 2 grandkids, they're great. But if my children said they were moving away for a job opportunity, I'm not gonna uproot my life and chase you around. I'll be happy to come visit a few times a year. 

[DixonHur 11,367]

On 8/9/2024 at 9:18 AM, Updawg said:

I like flagstaff a lot. Biggest problem I see is that it is pretty isolated so if you want anything from a bigger city it’s a trek (phoenix Or Albuquerque)

It's closer to Vegas than Albuquerque and almost as close to Vegas as it is to Phoenix.

I was just in Flagstaff last week, and the problem I saw was the cost of housing.  Other than that it's amazing.

[SydneyCarton 48,169]

12 hours ago, Texzilla588 said:

All of yall worry so much about fucking college. Push enlistment. Air Force. Even better submarines. Then you can live anywhere since they might be in Syria or Poland or Antarctica.

You think a woman, who had an only child later in life and wants to move to be closer to him for years 18-23 to eel out as much time as possible, is going to be eager to push enlistment in n the military? Yeah, no. 

7 hours ago, Sandman said:

I see this more and more frequently but I just can't get behind this mindset. I understand that the gist is that she wants to be nearby when the grandkids eventually arrive. But how long is she gonna wait? My coworker has a son that just graduated from the USAFA and she was talking about following him to his next duty station. Her husband put the brakes on that.

I have 2 grandkids, they're great. But if my children said they were moving away for a job opportunity, I'm not gonna uproot my life and chase you around. I'll be happy to come visit a few times a year. 

See above. I’ll tell you for sure that fighting this battle isn’t going to be done when he’s I. First grade. Also, you’re forgetting that I want to use this wedge to gtfo of Texas. 

[Aqua Buddha 14,608]

12 hours ago, Sandman said:

I see this more and more frequently but I just can't get behind this mindset. I understand that the gist is that she wants to be nearby when the grandkids eventually arrive. But how long is she gonna wait? My coworker has a son that just graduated from the USAFA and she was talking about following him to his next duty station. Her husband put the brakes on that.

I have 2 grandkids, they're great. But if my children said they were moving away for a job opportunity, I'm not gonna uproot my life and chase you around. I'll be happy to come visit a few times a year. 

The problem with that is if you really want to be a part of your grandkids lives, you should move and follow them.  We've all seen the olds who drop anchor in some rural outpost and then wonders why their adult kids/grandkids won't make the schlep out there on a monthly basis.  It's not fair to the adult kids and starts to grate on people fast.

My mother's church actually had a seminar or something called "how to talk to your adult kids."  Fascinated, I asked what they said.  Basically, the speaker told them that their kids (people our age) are MUCH busier than they were at that same age for a whole list of reasons and if they want to see the grandkids more, they need to be more flexible.

[Dbeasy 15,091]

19 hours ago, South Austin said:

My daughter starts at University of Oregon in the Fall.  My son, who's in 8th grade and still has a ways to go, is open to going out of state, and I'm going to push North Carolina State.  He's a smart kid, works hard, and gets straight A's so far, but it's really tough to get the numbers for UNC or Duke, and at least by the published rankings (for whatever those are worth), N.C. State has moved up pretty significantly since I went there in 1992-1994 for my first two years of college.  That could provide an anchor for us to possibly move to North Carolina, and it's probably more likely than the Pacific Northwest, and it's not a given that my daughter will even settle there after she graduates, though I'm pretty sure she's not coming back to Texas or anywhere close.

Again, probably a long shot, but why not put some wheels in motion? 

Also, it's funny, but until my dad got a job in Texas after he retired from the Marines, I thought he and mom would settle in North Carolina, and I'd stay somewhere in the state, probably the Raleigh/Durham area.  But then, I followed them to Texas, transferred to UT, loved Austin and, until a few years ago, the state of Texas, and believed I'd die here.  Now, 30 years after moving here, if I didn't have so many ties keeping me in Austin, I think I'd move back to North Carolina in a heartbeat.

I worked in RTP for awhile and I love that area. Pretty countryside, smart people, nice weather, close driving to many different cool places. I’d definitely retire there if we weren’t tied to family in Austin. 

[Sandman 3,412]

3 hours ago, Aqua Buddha said:

We've all seen the olds who drop anchor in some rural outpost and then wonders why their adult kids/grandkids won't make the schlep out there on a monthly basis.  It's not fair to the adult kids and starts to grate on people fast.

I think there's a big difference between "I have retired to BFE, 1500 miles away and I expect you to bring my grandkids to me, monthly" and "I have lived in my current location for 40 years, raised my kids there and my now-adult kids want to GTFO".