I’ve lived in four different states – Illinois, California, Washington and Texas.
I was born in Illinois, raised in Illinois and didn’t move out of the state until I was in my 20’s. My parents were also born in Illinois and have never lived outside the state. For a matter-of-fact, they’ve never lived outside a 50 mile radius of where they live now.
I had visited California a handful of times before moving there for work. While it wasn’t completely foreig to me, it was certainly a new adventure and I had a lot to learn.
Hubby was born in Kansas.
Like me, he grew up in Illinois, then he enlisted in the U.S. Army and they took him to several different locations in the U.S. and to Germany.
When we got married, the Army sent us to Washington where we lived for just over a year, but we did love it there.
We moved back to Illinois after hubby’s discharge, then back to Washington where we lived for another 8 1/2 years before heading back to Illinois and then on to Texas.
Both my parents and hubby’s parents worked and raised their kids, staying in Illinois throughout their work years and retirement years. My grandparents also worked and retired in Illinois and although my paternal grandparents did spend their winters in Arizona to visit their daughter and grandkids there.
Based on how our parents and grandparents handled retirement, moving seems strange. However, hubby and I feel strongly that it’s important to live somewhere that fits who you are as a person and where you enjoy living. Texas has never been that place for us.
According to the “Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies,” approximately 40% of retirees move in retirement. But where are they going?
Smart Asset put together a list of the top 10 states where retirees are moving.
They also put together a list of cities where retirees are moving.
As we look at the possibilities we ask ourselves the same questions.
- Does the city and/or state have the activities we enjoy?
- Is it a good place for families?
- What is the cost of living like?
- Will we have to pay state income tax out of our retirement?
- What are the property taxes like?
- What about sales tax?
- What’s the climate like?
- Do we know anyone who lives there now?
- Does it fit with us politically and religiously?
We don’t know for sure where we’ll land.
Will we stay put where we are? Not likely.
Will we go back to somewhere we have lived before? Possibly.
Will we be making a change to live somewhere new? Possibly.
Eventually we’ll figure it out!
worldofweeks 