Where do You Want to Retire... and Why?

I'm contemplating the same question and cities like Durango enter in as well as the thought of Montana for a couple of seasons and AZ or CA for a couple of seasons. Still weighing options. Central coast of CA is also great...assuming one can afford to retire in CA.

 

I was thinking the Lebec/Frazier Park area would be pretty cool to retire to..... I've heard there are trails right out the door, short distance to good stuff, a little further to great stuff, and there's some huge bike stoke in the town

 

Los Osos is cheap and on the bay. I looked at properties over there when I was on vacation in Pismo.

 

I like central CA and am seriously considering it, eventually. Have to upgrade the wetsuit kit though. No more trunks and a vest. Brrrr....

 

I've heard there's a real cool cat that lives there too...

 

Cool we will have some help building the "secret trail"...

 

Durango is awesome and although it does snow, it's usually not too much to deal with, and lately, it's been raining in January - something that NEVER used to happen. The winter mt biking is not good however. The clay is treacherous. Gotta head to Utah, but that's hit and miss too in winter. Sonoma and St. George are a better bet in winter. The clay-mud around St. George and Hurricane is HORRIFIC after a snow or rain however.

I understand SoCal is pretty good in winter. Could explain why I have seen or heard about the following heroes riding here in winter: Steve Peat, Brendan Fairclough, all 3 Athertons, Sam Hill, Marc Beaumont, Bryn Atkinson, Jill Kintner, Melissa Buell, Danny Macaskill, Mick Hannah, Tyler and Cam McCaul, Brett Tippie, and about 1000 others... Oh, that A-a-ron guy too. Plus Lopes, Schley, Rey and Beerten who live here now.

 

Lots of good suggestions here but my first pick has to be a place that you can ride from the house. Need a trailheads in a few miles from the house. The only big city that meets that criteria is Valley of the Sun area. greater Phoenix area. But we are talking retirement so no need to live in a place for the work.

Although the central coast is nice, mountain biking opportunities are few and far between. The exception is if you are hooked up with the local ranchers.

The best communities for biking from house I have found are; Sedona, Flagstaff and Prescott. Lake Tahoe works for the summer time as does many high altitude Colorado towns. But north central Arizona has the year round riding. There are a few morning during winter that Sedona has black ice on the slickrock but that melts off fast. I like visiting Utah...not sure I want to live there.

Dean

 

It is a Theocracy, and if you are not a member, it gets a little, how shall we say....uncomfortable. This from my non-LDS brother who has been living in the Beehive State (off and on) for the past 6 years. Park City is probably the most "diverse" town in the state, but the impact of the collective is still palpable.

 

My wife went to high school in small town UT, next to an awesome zone that has been featured twice in Bike magazine. No way would I retire there---you need a community of friends, and seemingly more so in retirement. I would always be an outsider.

 

My wife and I will be prioritizing a location once our kids get settled. But one thing's for sure... it won't be California. Far too expensive - and just getting more so with every "temporary" tax increase that becomes permanent. And if you know anything about finance, our state pension time bomb makes Illinois look like chump change.

 

I'll be your friend...

And now there are dumazz's are out gathering signatures in attempt to secede California from the United States, just heard this morning on KNX News they are actually moving forward with gathering signatures.

 

We are not buying into the classic MO where you purposely quit making good money and live in one house forever.

I know what retirement is like...I tried it for a year. It's boring as F! I have fun doing my vocation, so why would I quit altogether? There's only so much climbing, riding and snow that you can do. Rest days are for making dough. Retirement is a lonely world. Everybody is at work when you want a partner, and the only time they have off is when every other MF also has time off.

And one place? All year long??? Bo-Ring! There is no one place awesome enough to be awesome all year long, and especially forever. "Year-round" is a euphemism for "not particularly awesome at any particular time; a compromise."

Count me out of this whole retirement theory. It's not for me or my old lady. My "retirement" started decades ago when I realized that if I waited for some ripe age to pursue big dreams, the dreams would not be big. Semi-retirement is where it's at for me, always has been.

No, that won't work if you have kids. Which is why...

 

^^^Ha hah! Ever bit of that^^^
When I talk retirement, I'm talking about leaving the normal 8 to 5 grind. @mike, you have been blessed in many ways. I think you freelance, right?
My dream now is to get out of corporate cuz I hate it. Get back to doing something on my own. Live my life on my schedule, not theirs.
I'm willing to give up a lot of things to really enjoy the rest of my life.
For the most part, I have always been in biz for myself and I want back in.

 

In the normal rhythm of things, kids are adults by the time their parents retire, so not so much a factor. Of course, most "retired" parents want to be near grandkids, if that's in the formula.

But that said, I do get your sentiment that there is little attraction to finding one place to anchor down, hang out with other retirees and pass time until death. At least not for those of us who are posting here (thus, addicted to mt. biking).

 

I will most likely work til the day I croak. Owning my business will allow that. Cut back as I get older and enjoy more free time. For now it's burn the candle at both ends. Probably will stay where I am at unless the neighborhood goes to S.

 

I love the idea of "Semi-retirement". My short term plan is to figure out a way to take another day off every week.
I'm hoping that by the time I turn 50 (Sept. 2018) I can start taking Wednesday off. If that happens, I wouldn't be working for more than two days in a row .

I ride with a bunch of older guys, and I don't think they regret retiring.
Some ride every day, but some ride less than ever before.
I wouldn't retire early just to ride more....

 

@Mikie, yes, I've been job free for a couple of years now and mostly have been. You know the drill – get on staff when you need to, or when an uncommonly good op arises, but get out before ADD sets in too hard. I know you have loads of entrepreneurial spirit which will continue to serve you well as you navigate forward. Stoked to hear about your trajectory Leave us a flat spot; we'll do the same

@herzalot, it's not lost on me that most people trend toward normality. Huge props to everyone on the family plan I reckon we do need some grown-ups around...

@HBkites, it sounds like you have it wired. Bravo, man – your blood pressure must be thanking you


Working remotely is a godsend to me. The whole shaving, dressing reasonably and driving to a compound ritual takes way too much time and effort which nobody pays me for. Telecommuting's not an option for most people; if I really wanted to "advance" in my field I would have to kiss ass daily like the others. Rather be a happy peasant who goes big in the outdoors. Some people can do it all. I'm not that gifted, so I have to cheat.

 

Hope / wish to have a ocean area residence and mountain oriented... said wish.

Pretty sure Preskitt (Prescott) is on the map seeing as we own a place there.

Beach not sure we are in HB today, but love the central coast.

We also really like Costa Rica too, but not sure if that is realistic.

 

My experience was the exact opposite. I had almost 2 yrs off before my current job. Not retirement per se, and not intentional, but I now consider to be 2 yrs of retirement taken in advance. Not boring at all. In fact, I was busier than I ever have been before or after because I could do all the things that I can't do with a full time job. A lot of that was bike related (road trips). But I also built some trails and did a ton of maintenance, learned to home brew and got a lot of other personal projects done. Sure by the end I had used up all my friends' vacation and was doing stuff on my own a lot but I have no problem with that. Hopefully I will have the chance to do this again sometime ...

 

I can imagine that between staff positions, ev. But when your time is your own to begin with, and you enjoy what you do (and it sustains your time away from an office), losing that is...a loss. Plus, you have to admit...time in between jobs is time spent job hunting, not being retired.

Everyone figures out her own formula

 

You mean the "State of Jefferson" painted on all the barns in northern California isn't just a couple wackjobs?

 

Sounds like IMTB needs to buy a large parcel of land and create an MTB compound. We all seem to be "close" in age and ready to go part time or no time.
I'm with Mikie, can't wait to cut the purse strings of the job (not career) and enjoy my hobbies while I'm healthy. 50-60 hours a week for another couple of years is the plan BUT I've been know to be impulsive.
Future jobs: dog sitter/walker, bike guide, professional aggrivator (almost a pro)

 

I've always thought about Portland, Oregon as the place I'd like to retire. Nice and green, slow placed days, river, fishing, and of course biking. I hear lots of people moving up there as well as Seattle these days so we'll see how, "chill" it is when I retire in 24 years. I can't wait!!!

 

Ah retirement.. figure I'd like to work part time so I have a reason to get up in the morning. Where? I think OC is unrealistic given housing costs. My plan is to take long weekends to areas I might like and see what could work. Texas? Arizona?

Just today I had our Portland location ask if I was interested in moving. Hhmmmm... Probably check it out, but in reality I don't care much for sustained rain and cold weather. But could be a fun change.

The one thing that can keep me here in OC is the small circle of friends I have. Even though I don't see them as often as I like, they do mean a lot to me.

This is of course if I'm fortunate enough to make it 10 more years....

 

Where the grass is greener.

Anywhere outside California where it's less crowded, less restrictive and where an 1100 sq ft fixer-upper is not $525,000 in a bad neighborhood.

 

Has anyone visited Show Low, Arizona?
It’s in their White Mountains. They have a 50 mile mountain bike race called the Tour of the White Mountains I’m thinking I am going to do. Naturally I would love some company!
https://www.facebook.com/TourOfTheWhiteMountains/

Show Low looks to be a mountain town of around 10,000 plus.
Show Low is a city in Navajo County, Arizona, United States. It lies on the Mogollon Rim in east central Arizona, at an elevation of 6,345 feet. The city was established in 1870 and incorporated in 1953.

 

Really cool old town and area. I haven't spent much time in the town, but spent many days on the Mogollon Rim and White Mountains. A really special area, but I don't think of it as a place for a core MTBer (I probably am lacking lots of info...). The course follows parts of Los Burros trail, which we rode last year. Super fun and gorgeous, but not the MTB spice we want. FWIW!

I'd love to ride the course, still. They say it has some radness to it. Probably a great event for those into that sorta stuff.

 

Agreed,
It is however 2 hrs 13 minutes from Flagstaff and 2 hours 45 mins from Sedona and provides a lot more affordable housing.

 

This could be a fun road trip for the IMTB "race crew".