Where to retire?

[azgreg]

So, I'm a little over six years away from my target retirement date. Me and SWMBO have been talking about where to retire. We've discussed teh following options:
1 - Staying in Vegas - Not a fan of this option. I don't much like it here.
2 - Moving back to our house in Phoenix. My oldest sone is renting it now with a friend of his and he's expressed interest in buying it.
3 - Tucson. We have a lot of relatives in Tucson and I like it there.
4 - Wickenburg. Not far from family in Phoenix with nice rolling terrain and a straight shot down the 60 to arguably the best senior citizen medical facilities in the country.
5 - Sonoita. We have relatives near there (Sierra Vista) and it's pretty country side with plenty of wineries (wifes idea).
6 - Become an expat. I like the travel idea and there's plenty of places to move to where it's fairly cheap to live. However, it would be to far from family.
7 - Move to another state. Not much of a fan about this idea. See family comment above.
8 - Build an ADU on our Phoenix property.
9 - Build on our property in Northern Arizona which sits between Show Low and Concho. Gets pretty cold up there and I'm sitting about 1,000' over the water table. A well will cost North of $30K by itself.

The Arizona options have the drawback in that I'm really getting tired of the summer heat. We can alleviate that by traveling all summer. We would like to visit all the national parks in the US.

Decisions decisions..............

[bornontheblue]

Here is a nice place near Harvey North Dakota

[azgreg]

On 1/8/2025 at 10:53 AM, bornontheblue said:

Here is a nice place near Harvey North Dakota

What's all the white shit?

 

[bornontheblue]

On 1/8/2025 at 11:55 AM, azgreg said:

What's all the white shit?

 

Congratulations on being so close. 

One day I will get there. 

 

 

[happycamper]

Out of what you have listed I'd probably pick Tuscon. Maybe look at Santa Fe if you're tired of summer heat, and it's not a horrible drive from all your family. Flagstaff has always seemed nice but the COL is super high from what I can tell. 

[Chile_Ute]

If I had to live in AZ I’d go Flagstaff area in the summer and Tucson in the winter. 
 

I do like the Payson and White Mountains areas too.

[ZonaPoke]

On 1/8/2025 at 11:34 AM, azgreg said:

So, I'm a little over six years away from my target retirement date. Me and SWMBO have been talking about where to retire. We've discussed teh following options:
1 - Staying in Vegas - Not a fan of this option. I don't much like it here.
2 - Moving back to our house in Phoenix. My oldest sone is renting it now with a friend of his and he's expressed interest in buying it.
3 - Tucson. We have a lot of relatives in Tucson and I like it there.
4 - Wickenburg. Not far from family in Phoenix with nice rolling terrain and a straight shot down the 60 to arguably the best senior citizen medical facilities in the country.
5 - Sonoita. We have relatives near there (Sierra Vista) and it's pretty country side with plenty of wineries (wifes idea).
6 - Become an expat. I like the travel idea and there's plenty of places to move to where it's fairly cheap to live. However, it would be to far from family.
7 - Move to another state. Not much of a fan about this idea. See family comment above.
8 - Build an ADU on our Phoenix property.
9 - Build on our property in Northern Arizona which sits between Show Low and Concho. Gets pretty cold up there and I'm sitting about 1,000' over the water table. A well will cost North of $30K by itself.

The Arizona options have the drawback in that I'm really getting tired of the summer heat. We can alleviate that by traveling all summer. We would like to visit all the national parks in the US.

Decisions decisions..............

My parents are about as close as you are. As us kids have gotten older and spread out across the country, they've changed their priorities to make sure they're somewhere easy to get to. Just something to keep in mind as where the family is currently might change

If I had to be in AZ and only have one place, Cottonwood is pretty tempting. Otherwise, PHX/Tucson with a cabin in Munds Park would be a pretty sweet set-up.

Wickenburg is nice, but to save time getting to your Dr appointment you can just boondock off the road around Lake Pleasant, LOL

[InnZoneU]

That's funny, I thought Tucson was probably the ugliest POS town I have ever been to.  Flew into interview with KGUN and they wanted me to come back the next morning to sign the contract.  I was at the airport about 2 hours after our interview and back in Vegas by the next morning.  Couldn't get out fast enough.

[azgreg]

On 1/8/2025 at 11:30 AM, InnZoneU said:

That's funny, I thought Tucson was probably the ugliest POS town I have ever been to.  Flew into interview with KGUN and they wanted me to come back the next morning to sign the contract.  I was at the airport about 2 hours after our interview and back in Vegas by the next morning.  Couldn't get out fast enough.

You were in the wrong part of town. The North East side is beautiful.

 

[azgreg]

On 1/8/2025 at 11:14 AM, Chile_Ute said:

If I had to live in AZ I’d go Flagstaff area in the summer and Tucson in the winter. 
 

I do like the Payson and White Mountains areas too.

We have no desire to own two houses. The Flagstaff area is very expensive. I like the Payson are but for some reason my wife dislikes it.

 

[InnZoneU]

On 1/8/2025 at 11:33 AM, azgreg said:

You were in the wrong part of town. The North East side is beautiful.

 

I think I was mostly in DT area. Not sure. Stayed at Hotel Congress, they had some sweet 13" TVs.  This was like 15-20 years ago, so I'm sure it's improved a bit.

[StealthLobo]

I vote expat, but I'm biased. I believe living in another country helped me grow as a person immensely.

However, I don't have kids. And contact with family via video calls every few weeks is enough for my personal situation. I can see how it could be really difficult though for many others.

[The San Diegan]

On 1/8/2025 at 10:34 AM, azgreg said:

So, I'm a little over six years away from my target retirement date. Me and SWMBO have been talking about where to retire. We've discussed teh following options:
1 - Staying in Vegas - Not a fan of this option. I don't much like it here.
2 - Moving back to our house in Phoenix. My oldest sone is renting it now with a friend of his and he's expressed interest in buying it.
3 - Tucson. We have a lot of relatives in Tucson and I like it there.
4 - Wickenburg. Not far from family in Phoenix with nice rolling terrain and a straight shot down the 60 to arguably the best senior citizen medical facilities in the country.
5 - Sonoita. We have relatives near there (Sierra Vista) and it's pretty country side with plenty of wineries (wifes idea).
6 - Become an expat. I like the travel idea and there's plenty of places to move to where it's fairly cheap to live. However, it would be to far from family.
7 - Move to another state. Not much of a fan about this idea. See family comment above.
8 - Build an ADU on our Phoenix property.
9 - Build on our property in Northern Arizona which sits between Show Low and Concho. Gets pretty cold up there and I'm sitting about 1,000' over the water table. A well will cost North of $30K by itself.

The Arizona options have the drawback in that I'm really getting tired of the summer heat. We can alleviate that by traveling all summer. We would like to visit all the national parks in the US.

Decisions decisions..............

It seems like you're already leaning pretty heavily towards AZ and have a plan to avoid the summer heat. If that ends up being the direction you head, then I cast my vote for Sonoita. Just a beautiful area (at least when I was familiar with Sierra Vista in the early-mid '90s), and a manageable drive to great destinations (e.g., Silver City). That being said, is it as beautiful as northmen AZ? An equally attractive option IMO.

Re: #5, I remember on my first business trip to Asia in '95 thinking how I could retire in Vietnam with $60-$100K and no one would ever see me again. 

 

[azgreg]

On 1/8/2025 at 12:40 PM, The San Diegan said:

It seems like you're already leaning pretty heavily towards AZ and have a plan to avoid the summer heat. If that ends up being the direction you head, then I cast my vote for Sonoita. Just a beautiful area (at least when I was familiar with Sierra Vista in the early-mid '90s), and a manageable drive to great destinations (e.g., Silver City). That being said, is it as beautiful as northmen AZ? An equally attractive option IMO.

Re: #5, I remember on my first business trip to Asia in '95 thinking how I could retire in Vietnam with $60-$100K and no one would ever see me again. 

 

Northern Arizona is gorgeous but prohibitively expensive for us. Phoenix/Tucson are the leaders in the clubhouse right now. My only real concern for that is water. Not sure what the water situation will be here in a decade.

 

[tailingpermit]

10) The Village's, Florida. 
 

Choose your loofah wisely. 

[Billings]

I think the expat route is getting harder for retirees.    Unless you are looking at a Costa Rica type place

 

When I retired it was:

1.  Could afford a nice living with $$ to travel.

2. major airport to go visits family, friends, and travel.  My family is so scattered.

3.   Climate I enjoyed as in not too hot or too cold bit a little of both.  

[The San Diegan]

On 1/8/2025 at 1:36 PM, tailingpermit said:

10) The Village's, Florida. 
 

Choose your loofah wisely. 

I had a great uncle who lived there. Turns out perverts come in both wrinkly, and extra wrinkly, varieties.

[The San Diegan]

On 1/8/2025 at 1:42 PM, Billings said:

I think the expat route is getting harder for retirees.    Unless you are looking at a Costa Rica type place

 

When I retired it was:

1.  Could afford a nice living with $$ to travel.

2. major airport to go visits family, friends, and travel.  My family is so scattered.

3.   Climate I enjoyed as in not too hot or too cold bit a little of both.  

Portugal is the new Costa Rica.

[USUrobert]

Mexico City's pretty incredible and just a 3 hr flight from Phoenix. Lots of other nice options in Mexico if you're not a city person

[tailingpermit]

On 1/8/2025 at 6:06 PM, The San Diegan said:

I had a great uncle who lived there. Turns out perverts come in both wrinkly, and extra wrinkly, varieties.

I have a friend who owns a window company and only services the Villages, wild stories.