TN
NC
GA

Would like to live somewhere I could potentially golf year round but still has some semblance of seasons. Also need to be at least 3 hours from the ocean and ideally I’d like to live in or near a mid sized to large college town. Within 90 minutes of a major airport would be pretty important as well. I’ve never spent any time out west so the list is subject to change but I am not a guy who likes long periods of 90 degree plus heat so the desert will not be for me. Ideally I’d like to spend at least a month in the summer back here in WI. Not sure I’ll be able to afford to keep a home here for 6 months and another in the south.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

It was 90-94 almost every day in July and August down by me. But the high temps year round are at 3:30-4pm, so the mornings are glorious and I learned to spend the afternoon working in the house with the AC running. Lows are 25-35.

But if you go west of Winston-Salem, it gets cooler in the foothills in the summer with the corresponding snow in the winter. Unfortunately, you are also a longer drive from Pinehurst area golfing.

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"When people want their version of the truth, they go find it, no matter how baseless their beliefs." -- Ken Rosenthal

Yes I would golf early like I do now. My mom lives outside Charlotte and when my dad was alive just outside Augusta Ga on the SC side. No doubt it can get hot and sticky for stretches but I’d venture to guess that would be more bearable than the winters up here.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

is Florida no longer a viable option for retirement? what's changed?

Probably Florida. Tampa area so I can be near a City.
I hear Texas is nice.
Southern California, but who can afford to live there?

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@audioidkid

Too many Florida man stories. I’m really not crazy about living in an area prone to hurricanes to be honest. I’ve always been of the thought that owning a winter home was nuts but as I get older the the thought Of spending 4-8 weeks somewhere warm and missing out on peak winter has gained appeal. At one point is 1-2 weeks but that would almost seem like a tease.

The ability to play golf at least 10 months of the year is my primary driver. I'm not the biggest fan of the desert but I have some friends in AZ so that's a factor. I'm getting closer to the realization that I may be able to pull off a winter home. I really do like the summers here.

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My ass would have been planted in Key Largo a long time ago if it wasn't for hurricanes. Insurance for an older house not on concrete stilts is in the thousands. Also the mosquitos that drift in the wind from the everglades are basically swarms.

4-8 weeks is not enough to escape the winter. I think more like 4 months may work better.

Anyone have opinions on Arkansas or Louisiana?

8 weeks is two months.. most years if I could disappear from mid January to mid March I’d be good.. I like winter to a point. It sometime between bid January and mid February I’m done with it. Usually my mid March the weather starts improving, I see some greening in my pastures and my spirits lift. April 1st would probs g be safer

My problem always has been if I’m going to be some where warm jr better be warm. My Florida and fluke coast experiences in that time frame have been moderately warm vs shorts and t-shirt . Arizona managed it pretty good in march but I’m not a desert creature. I’d love to go sit in Antigua or somewhere else in the southern Caribbean for 12 weeks but that’s not going to happen.

I hear Arkansas has hitching mountain bike trails and you can buy huge steaks to grill. I didn’t mind the Little Rock Rea when I drove through but I outside of that I wasn’t super enthused by the state traveling through. If I was going to move to the Deep South I’d probably pick Louisiana over Mississippi or Alabama although I do enjoy my visit to Magnolia brewing company a few years ago.

Father in law winters down near Miami. I think it would b nice to live there in some regards but the hurricane stuff he has dealt with is no good. Last time we visited during March it was dropping into the 40’s and not getting above 60 during day. Better than winter in Illinois but seemed damn cold.

I’m sorry but Florida during the season (Winter) is awful. Yes the weather is great. But it’s crowded - really bad traffic, waits at restaurants, no parking at beaches, no openings at decent golf courses. No thanks.

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“Mr. Trump is unfit for our nation’s highest office.”- JD Vance
“My god, what an !diot.”- JD Vance tweet on Trump
“I’m a ‘Never Trump’ guy”- JD Vance

The UP? I mean, it has a lot of natural beauty, but every town outside of Marquette seems mired in permanent economic ruin and unadulterated despair.

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Plus if you have a heart attack or stroke, you are pretty much gonna die unless your lot has enough space to land a rescue helicopter.

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"When people want their version of the truth, they go find it, no matter how baseless their beliefs." -- Ken Rosenthal

Not really. If I’m staking my claim on proximity to the Great Lakes, I’m kind of limited.

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Maine is awesome, particularly Portland, if that's where your "friend" is relocating. The dining and brewing scene there is absolutely unbelievable given the relatively small size of the town. It's also got great colonial architecture in the "Old Port" area, and beautiful beaches lie within a few minutes' drive. And then, of course, there are also breathtaking natural areas like Acadia National Park, though that's a bit of a drive away.

The only drawback about the Portland area is that it is a mecca for affluent New Yorkers and Bostonians, so they have driven the cost of living up quite a bit.

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Agreed, my ex father in law lived up there and I was a bit in shock by how backwoods it really is. He was in Iron River which was one of the bigger towns up there and I couldn't believe my
eyes. Couldn't figure out what people do up there for a living. No doubt beautiful but yikes.... I couldn't wait to leave. My visit up there is a much longer story than I care to share but I
had to spend quite a bit of time up there after he died, cleaning out his place ( he was living in filth in a half built house ) and had to sell some acreage up there that he owned.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

If I'm only moving for a couple of months a year, I'm going somewhere different each time and seeing the world. My parents started taking three week trips in their mid 60s. I like that concept. Tire yourself out so you appreciate going back home and then head out again when you are recharged. So much to see and do out there for life to be wasted in Arizona and Florida.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

That was always my dad’s approach dolphin. Never wanted to go back to the same place twice and in some ways he has continued this but he has taken to going to a resort in the Caribbean now each year about this time of year starting in his late 60s. But he probably still travels 4 months out of the year so a couple weeks is no big deal.

Every place, outside of Hawaii, has weather that is pretty bad for 2-3 months out of the year.

When you retire, find a way to have the ability to "leave" for those 2-3 months wherever you choose to live.

That's why it's funny how many people on here want to leave Illinois for all sorts of valid reasons but don't think they'll be reasons to leave whatever new place they go to.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

very true, but you'll live like a king on a $28k a year fixed income.

plenty of fishing, biking and hiking to stay fit. the cold is very cold and massive snow dumps, but you wouldn't be working and wouldn't have to deal with the snow in terms of commuting and outdoor work.

I'd love to take some vacations that just blow my mind.

I remember flying into Cairo without any reservations or formalized plans. I sat in the airport in the chaos for about an hour just trying to figure out what to do, as soldiers walked around with bayonets at the ready and petty thieves tried to befriend me. I figured it out. Found a place. Hopped trains and cars to get far south and even booked my own felucca captain to bring me back north. Hang your ass over the side of boat when you have to drop a deuce. Eat food that would never pass a us inspection. It was exotic as could be.

It's easier to drop in though when you are young and obviously have no money. There's no profit in fucking with you and there's always a chance you are with the US army or CIA.

I don't know if I could have that kind of experience anymore even if I tried.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

There ain't much to see, human-built and culture-wise. The most worth it trip I ever took was going to St. Louis and seeing the full solar eclipse in 2017. The crickets were "wait..wut?" and the dogs howled. Once the eclipse is full, you can look right at it, sans the glasses. It's in the neighborhood of the first time you had a naked girl in your bed. Let me repeat so there's no misunderstanding. Neighborhood.

that would not mirror lara logan's experience in egypt.

My Dad did an Africa trip back in the early 70s. I think it was while he was in business grad school and it involved an internship but no sure. It was pre kids but lost marriage and post his Vietnam experience Before my time so foggy. He’s military and school connections have afforded
Him some interesting experiences. He was with a group in Iran a few years back and I can’t remember if he visited N. Korea or if that was just my brother and joking about what was next.

Sounds like you should have paid more attention when your dad told stories.

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“Mr. Trump is unfit for our nation’s highest office.”- JD Vance
“My god, what an !diot.”- JD Vance tweet on Trump
“I’m a ‘Never Trump’ guy”- JD Vance

Ohio - I gone and done it. Don’t regret it a bit. The only two bad things (besides a few overzealous rednecky types) are:

1) They don’t know what good pizza is, and
2) You can’t buy any 40-proof or higher alcohol in yer local grocery or gas station, unless they have a designated “state store” as part of it.

Ohio gives you a lot of variation depending on which geographical part you are in, and all of the amenities that surround.

My other two of the top 3:

Wisconsin (if I needed to stay close to Chicago)
Inland North Carolina

As far as places that others have mentioned, especially those that may base their thought on “romantic” illusions as to how they would enjoy those places, I have spent a lot of practical (read: non-vacation) time in other areas of the country, and that told me all I needed to know as to why I could not settle down there.

Houston is awful. (two weeks working there at the end of July, where the daily high was never below 100, and humid as hell; suburbia sprawling out of control, and too close to the Gulf).

Alaska is gorgeous, but that fucked-up daylight in the summer and darkness in winter will drive you insane; cost of living.

Washington State (gorgeous but expensive as shit these days)

Florida (enough said above, plus the desirable metro areas are growing out if control)

Arizona (see Florida, plus rattlesnakes)

UP is Wisconsin to me, and gorgeous, but spend some real time up there in the dead of winter. Mmm hmmmm...northern MN same way.

Mainland Michigan can fuck right off as a whole for MANY reasons. Nuke it from orbit.

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Not a mult.

The problem with my dad is he kind of drops very small details and then says it’s not that interesting of a story and moves on. Doesn’t matter if it’s a childhood story or a Vietnam or something from when he was working overseas latter in his career. Usually he will mention the place and drop a small anecdote about the experience.

But yes... I probably should of listened more to my parents. I’ll let him know when I see him
Next.

New Orleans is easily my favorite place to visit, but as described by RR...no chance I'd ever live there and I'd put Houston in that for the same reason. I do like Texas, though. I may move there simply because there's a lot of work opportunity there.

The Carson City / Reno point is a good one. It was under consideration there, but I lost my employment ticket there earlier this year.

Right now, New Smyrna Beach or the Tamp area of FL are the leading contenders. I'd love to consider the Charleston, SC area as well, but all this depends on how much the new world of remote working settles.

All I know is I'm done with winter in the midwest and I'm done with IL. 18 months and it's time to make some kind of move happen.

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this is probably the most enjoyable thread on these forums in years.