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

SnakeCharmer said:
Tell us who you've been in the last 20 years.
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Short version. Started in hot rodding. Stll have my first car, a 59 VW with a not so original engine.

Got a Bronco II as my wife had one in high school, and someone how got lost in the world of off road.

My wife wanted a motorcycle, and I thought it was a cool idea. I then got pretty serious into riding all the time. I did 26,000 miles in about 2 years. Half that time was spent at sea. I would ride all over, including going to the lake to camp and then wake board with my friends at the time.

I realized that my street riding was getting reckless, so I tried getting on the track. Totally gave up street riding and became track only. This is where I met my former pro road racing friend who became a mountain biker (the fastest one I personally know, close to Tinker). Around this time I started becoming Fat Josh after I got out of the military.

Decided to do a bucket list marathon as "Fat Josh". I lost some weight in the training, but not a huge amount.

Realizing I needed to drop weight to get fast on the motorcycle, I started taking the running seriously, though never wanting to run a marathon again...until I did. But we'll skip all the 5k's and 10k's and serious weight loss and move on to my mom saying "Hey, I volunteer at this triathlon every year as a camping trip, want to go and maybe try it?" Sure. That lead to eventually deciding I had to do an Ironman before I turned 40.

But in between my first tri and becoming an Iron distance finisher, taking my tri's pretty seriously, I also fell in love with ultra running.

And now I take my XC racing pretty seriously, but...I am looking forward to taking racing less seriously and traveling more to ride. And, not just to MTB, but also running, tri, a road riding.

But I also have a strong interest in becoming a pilot. If I ever go after that, who knows what will happen. And, I never imagined myself running, tri, getting a pro license, most of what I do now. I never imagined myself hating driving!

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Sidewalk said:
Short version. Started in hot rodding. Stll have my first car, a 59 VW with a not so original engine.

Got a Bronco II as my wife had one in high school, and someone how got lost in the world of off road.

My wife wanted a motorcycle, and I thought it was a cool idea. I then got pretty serious into riding all the time. I did 26,000 miles in about 2 years. Half that time was spent at sea. I would ride all over, including going to the lake to camp and then wake board with my friends at the time.

I realized that my street riding was getting reckless, so I tried getting on the track. Totally gave up street riding and became track only. This is where I met my former pro road racing friend who became a mountain biker (the fastest one I personally know, close to Tinker). Around this time I started becoming Fat Josh after I got out of the military.

Decided to do a bucket list marathon as "Fat Josh". I lost some weight in the training, but not a huge amount.

Realizing I needed to drop weight to get fast on the motorcycle, I started taking the running seriously, though never wanting to run a marathon again...until I did. But we'll skip all the 5k's and 10k's and serious weight loss and move on to my mom saying "Hey, I volunteer at this triathlon every year as a camping trip, want to go and maybe try it?" Sure. That lead to eventually deciding I had to do an Ironman before I turned 40.

But in between my first tri and becoming an Iron distance finisher, taking my tri's pretty seriously, I also fell in love with ultra running.

And now I take my XC racing pretty seriously, but...I am looking forward to taking racing less seriously and traveling more to ride. And, not just to MTB, but also running, tri, a road riding.

But I also have a strong interest in becoming a pilot. If I ever go after that, who knows what will happen. And, I never imagined myself running, tri, getting a pro license, most of what I do now. I never imagined myself hating driving!


Didn't get here in time to save everyone.
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Sidewalk said:
But in between my first tri and becoming an Iron distance finisher, taking my tri's pretty seriously, I also fell in love with ultra running.
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Here's another one for you, then: https://www.eaglepointresort.com/calendar/tushars-ultra

Looks like fun!! There's a Strava dude I follow, who is actually on this site, who did the bike race, and then the marathon linked above. I think he's older than I am, too.
 
We have our lot already bought and paid for in Prescott so by 2023, we should be there full time. My wife actually likes her job, gets paid very well and is too young to shut it down yet. I was originally set on going to Bend but in the last 10 years, it's been Californianized in every manner and since I don't drink beer, it lost it's appeal. The riding there gets old fast as well. It's no Oakridge or Hood River. I wanted to look elsewhere in Oregon but the Mrs didn't want to deal with the rain up there. I thought about Fruita/Grand Junction but when you get right down to it, I really prefer to ride in the forest as much as possible so we went to check out Prescott. Tons of riding, mellow pace with easy access to Sedona, Flagstaff and Phoenix for riding. Phoenix might be 90 miles away but when you factor in traffic, it's still "closer" than Norco is to the beach :gag: I despise traffic more than almost anything. Did I mention I paid $2.19 for gas in Prescott just (2) weeks ago?

You name it out west and I've probably been there to ski/snowboard in my younger days, I've been there to ride my bike or have/friends family that have live there. Every place has their drawbacks to go along with the positives. Prescott's biggest negative might be healthcare if you need a specialist. Luckily, my in-laws have 40 acres in Durango with (2) houses on it so we can stay there whenever we want, for as long as we want....otherwise we would have probably built in Durango as well and still might in the end.
 
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mtbMike said:
I was originally set on going to Bend but in the last 10 years, it's been Californianized in every manner and since I don't drink beer, it lost it's appeal. The riding there gets old fast as well. It's no Oakridge or Hood River. I wanted to look elsewhere in Oregon but the Mrs didn't want to deal with the rain up there.
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^^Agree with you on Bend (except the beer part). Hood River for the summer but no Oregon winters. I have a reconnaissance trip to NC planned in a couple weeks; Greg has already visited and gives it a thumbs up. My turn to check it out -
Sedona will work in a pinch :)
 
H2oChick said:
^^Agree with you on Bend (except the beer part). Hood River for the summer but no Oregon winters. I have a reconnaissance trip to NC planned in a couple weeks; Greg has already visited and gives it a thumbs up. My turn to check it out -
Sedona will work in a pinch :)
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I love to *ride* in Sedona at the present time but not sure I want to be riding all that chunk on a daily basis when I get old(er). Traffic is also bad in Sedona on weekends and during holidays or special events, it's a flippin' nightmare. We were there in October when they had an a show of some sort at the Los Abrigados resort and it took us 45 minutes to go about 8 miles. I'd have to live on the west side and ride there 95% of the time to keep my sanity.

I've been to North Carolina (3) times but it was always just driving through or flying into Charlotte to access Tennessee for a NECKCAR race at Bristol. It might be the greenest state I've ever been to and that includes most of Hawaii. It's definitely beautiful and on our drive to Bristol, we purposely took back roads through the small towns and stopped in several "general stores" like there used to be when I grew up. I love that they still exist and the people are just so polite & friendly in the South for the most part. I would have entertained the idea of looking in Asheville but the area has zero appeal for my wife so we didn't bother.
 
Ideally, we would head back to East Coast Canada for retirement (actually before if the opportunity comes up). My parents have a nice piece of property, which I would like to go back to eventually. Or head to one of the larger towns out there like Halifax or Fredericton. A traffic jam out there is 50 cars and 10 extra minutes. My wife has family in Nicaragua as well, so we toyed with the idea of getting property down there....
 
Just found this thread and didn’t read all 4 pages so forgive me if I’m repeating too much stuff. I’ve either been to or have friends or family that lives in many of the hotbeds including Bend, Durango, Prescott, Boise and a few others.

Durango was our original choice but decided that since the FIL lives there and we can go any time for as long as we want, we’d look elsewhere. Bend was next up but after 3 trips up there, I actually got bored of the riding which is all the same for the most part IMO. I also despise the yuppie, foodie, hipster Californification of the area. Boise was briefly considered but not enough trees for me and crazy hot in the Summer. If single, I still would have chosen somewhere in Oregon but my wife wasn’t enamored with 55” of rain in Grants Pass for the year we visited. Then I went to Prescott.

Prescott isn’t perfect but the amount and variety of trails for a rider of advancing age is crazy and they just had 85 more miles approved. It needs more chunk but Sedona is a day trip and Flagstaff is a close weekend trip I’ll make multiple times a year. Easy access to PHX airport and MTB riding which is actually great. The drive to SoCal isn’t terrible if you drive at the right time. Lake Powell and Durango are within driving distance as well. Most importantly, its at 5000’ which keeps the weather reasonable. Average high of 89 in July, 11” of snow and 23” of mostly monsoonal rain. What’s not to love? Oh, and a VERY active social MTB scene with a weekly Wednesday ladies ride, Thursday night men’s ride and 8-80 Sunday ride.
 
mtbMike said:
Just found this thread and didn’t read all 4 pages so forgive me if I’m repeating too much stuff. I’ve either been to or have friends or family that lives in many of the hotbeds including Bend, Durango, Prescott, Boise and a few others.

Durango was our original choice but decided that since the FIL lives there and we can go any time for as long as we want, we’d look elsewhere. Bend was next up but after 3 trips up there, I actually got bored of the riding which is all the same for the most part IMO. I also despise the yuppie, foodie, hipster Californification of the area. Boise was briefly considered but not enough trees for me and crazy hot in the Summer. If single, I still would have chosen somewhere in Oregon but my wife wasn’t enamored with 55” of rain in Grants Pass for the year we visited. Then I went to Prescott.

Prescott isn’t perfect but the amount and variety of trails for a rider of advancing age is crazy and they just had 85 more miles approved. It needs more chunk but Sedona is a day trip and Flagstaff is a close weekend trip I’ll make multiple times a year. Easy access to PHX airport and MTB riding which is actually great. The drive to SoCal isn’t terrible if you drive at the right time. Lake Powell and Durango are within driving distance as well. Most importantly, its at 5000’ which keeps the weather reasonable. Average high of 89 in July, 11” of snow and 23” of mostly monsoonal rain. What’s not to love? Oh, and a VERY active social MTB scene with a weekly Wednesday ladies ride, Thursday night men’s ride and 8-80 Sunday ride.
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Lake Powell? Why did you include Lake Powell?
 
SnakeCharmer said:
Lake Powell? Why did you include Lake Powell?
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We houseboat there every other year....and I'll probably buy a boat again when we move to Prescott. Just mentioning that you have reasonable access to Lake Powell for recreation. One of the few negatives on Prescott is there is no major lake or river nearby that lends itself to easy recreational opportunities. Of course the Grand Canyon is just a couple hours away but it's not like you can just drop in anywhere you want and easily get out....unless you have access to a chopper.
 
mtbMike said:
We houseboat there every other year....and I'll probably buy a boat again when we move to Prescott. Just mentioning that you have reasonable access to Lake Powell for recreation. One of the few negatives on Prescott is there is no major lake or river nearby that lends itself to easy recreational opportunities. Of course the Grand Canyon is just a couple hours away but it's not like you can just drop in anywhere you want and easily get out....unless you have access to a chopper.
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Ah, I see. For a moment there, I was thinking that you had some top secret trail system hidden away there that you were holding out on. ;)

I could do some open country riding at Lake Mead (if it was legal to do). There are goat trails everywhere there.
 
mike said:
You do have a plan, though. A flexible one that accounts for the unforeseen.

Some like every detail worked out to the nth degree. They take vacations and bring a daytimer to stay on schedule. I can't bear to live that way, and my better half is probably even less a plan-aheader. Some never quite relish the now; some can barely break out of it. Power to you for keeping options open while raising a child.


Sorry for the non-geographic diversion... Back to discussing our first-world conundrum :)
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Wow, this is refreshing to read. I’m the same, can’t seem to plan anything, letting life unfold as it’s meant to.
Here’s to flying by the seat of our pants gentleman :D
 
mtbMike said:
Just found this thread and didn’t read all 4 pages so forgive me if I’m repeating too much stuff. I’ve either been to or have friends or family that lives in many of the hotbeds including Bend, Durango, Prescott, Boise and a few others.

Durango was our original choice but decided that since the FIL lives there and we can go any time for as long as we want, we’d look elsewhere. Bend was next up but after 3 trips up there, I actually got bored of the riding which is all the same for the most part IMO. I also despise the yuppie, foodie, hipster Californification of the area. Boise was briefly considered but not enough trees for me and crazy hot in the Summer. If single, I still would have chosen somewhere in Oregon but my wife wasn’t enamored with 55” of rain in Grants Pass for the year we visited. Then I went to Prescott.

Prescott isn’t perfect but the amount and variety of trails for a rider of advancing age is crazy and they just had 85 more miles approved. It needs more chunk but Sedona is a day trip and Flagstaff is a close weekend trip I’ll make multiple times a year. Easy access to PHX airport and MTB riding which is actually great. The drive to SoCal isn’t terrible if you drive at the right time. Lake Powell and Durango are within driving distance as well. Most importantly, its at 5000’ which keeps the weather reasonable. Average high of 89 in July, 11” of snow and 23” of mostly monsoonal rain. What’s not to love? Oh, and a VERY active social MTB scene with a weekly Wednesday ladies ride, Thursday night men’s ride and 8-80 Sunday ride.
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Do they have any issues with water supply? I'm reluctant to live anywhere in the southwestern US due to drought/water rights. I think it's just going to get worse. Should probably move to Grand Rapids.
 
Cyclotourist said:
Do they have any issues with water supply? I'm reluctant to live anywhere in the southwestern US due to drought/water rights. I think it's just going to get worse. Should probably move to Grand Rapids.
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Well, in the area we bought, it was a private 600+ acre ranch in the 1800's and they have their own water source/aquifer so we're on "private water" for the time being. It's crazy cheap compared to what I pay here in Oceanside.

As far as the rest of the area, there are definitely "the earth is flat" kind of deniers but officially, they are fine from everything I've looked into. Here is a link to Prescott Valley's official website https://www.pvaz.net/240/Water-Resources and they claim at the current water usage levels, there is enough water in the aquifer to last HUNDREDS of years. I figure I'm good if it lasts 20-25 at the most so my concerns are almost non-existent. :D
 
We bought a home in Nor Cal, Grass Valley for retirement a few yrs ago, we love it up there. Lately tho we’ve been looking into CA ‘s central or northern coast. Atascadero would be nice, or Cayucos area, we both want ocean or a clean lake, mountians AND to stay fairly close to our kiddos. On the other hand we’ve talked about WA state where most of my family lives, but we’d want to be in Eastern WA. Soooo.....only time will tell where we end up. :Barefoot: Life is unpredictable, so being flexible is key:)
 
mountaingirl sara said:
We bought a home in Nor Cal, Grass Valley for retirement a few yrs ago, we love it up there. Lately tho we’ve been looking into CA ‘s central or northern coast. Atascadero would be nice, or Cayucos area, we both want ocean or a clean lake, mountians AND to stay fairly close to our kiddos. On the other hand we’ve talked about WA state where most of my family lives, but we’d want to be in Eastern WA. Soooo.....only time will tell where we end up. :Barefoot: Life is unpredictable, so being flexible is key:)
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There is absolutely no way I would stay in California for retirement. There are many beautiful places I *could* live if they were in another state and I don't want to get political but this state is run by absolute clueless individuals. It gets worse every time I turn around. I just drove through Washington and aside from the traffic nightmare in Seattle, it was beautiful. I have friends that live in La Center, 30 miles north of Vancouver, WA. They bought a 3BR cabin right on a river or lake and the pictures they are always posting are fantastic. They have no state income tax and can drive 45 minutes into Portland for big purchases and no state sales tax. Not a bad deal.
 
mtbMike said:
There is absolutely no way I would stay in California for retirement. There are many beautiful places I *could* live if they were in another state and I don't want to get political but this state is run by absolute clueless individuals. It gets worse every time I turn around. I just drove through Washington and aside from the traffic nightmare in Seattle, it was beautiful. I have friends that live in La Center, 30 miles north of Vancouver, WA. They bought a 3BR cabin right on a river or lake and the pictures they are always posting are fantastic. They have no state income tax and can drive 45 minutes into Portland for big purchases and no state sales tax. Not a bad deal.
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I know what you’re saying about CA, although it is my birthplace and I love it. WA / OR are fantastic options, my hub and I just need more sunshine than rain. I have family in Seattle, Bellingham and Lopez Is , so beautiful, but too much rain IMO.
 
mtbMike said:
There is absolutely no way I would stay in California for retirement. There are many beautiful places I *could* live if they were in another state and I don't want to get political but this state is run by absolute clueless individuals. It gets worse every time I turn around. I just drove through Washington and aside from the traffic nightmare in Seattle, it was beautiful. I have friends that live in La Center, 30 miles north of Vancouver, WA. They bought a 3BR cabin right on a river or lake and the pictures they are always posting are fantastic. They have no state income tax and can drive 45 minutes into Portland for big purchases and no state sales tax. Not a bad deal.
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Cathy and I are back to looking at Idaho for the same exact reasons you stated about California. We have an imtb-member @j-chap who is one helluva mountain biker that moved to Boise a few years ago I stay in contact with on STRAVA who loves Idaho. He keeps promising to log in and do an Idaho report... I bug him ever once in a while hoping...:(
 
Cyclotourist said:
I'm reluctant to live anywhere
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David, I'm borrowing this snippet you wrote, because it's exactly what I was thinking. :geek:

To each her own, but I can't see making a monumental investment in any one (or two, or three) locale. Too many aspects beyond my control, too boring, none optimal year round, too many other places to experience, too much prop management and overhead. I've lived in and visited some of the most desirable places in the US. I wouldn't root down in any of them. Plunder and move on; visit later if it's really good. Dump all my dough into it? No effing way.



 
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Mikie said:
Cathy and I are back to looking at Idaho for the same exact reasons you stated about California. We have an imtb-member @j-chap who is one helluva mountain biker that moved to Boise a few years ago I stay in contact with on STRAVA who loves Idaho. He keeps promising to log in and do an Idaho report... I bug him ever once in a while hoping...:(
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My son went to Boise State so I was up there twice a year for 4 years. The 1st time we flew in, I was stunned to see nothing but brown hills. No green. No mountains. My previous Idaho experience had been in Sun Valley which is all green, all mountains. There is green along the river running thru town and they have multiple, huge green parks along the river. The town of Boise is great for a "big" city. The riding is supposed to be great there but I need the green and if I was to consider Idaho, I'd go north to Coeur d/Alene or Sandpoint...and have easy access into Interior BC for more epicness.
 
mike said:
David, I'm borrowing this snippet you wrote, because it's exactly what I was thinking. :geek:

To each her own, but I can't see making a monumental investment in any one (or two, or three) locale. Too many aspects beyond my control, too boring, none optimal year round, too many other places to experience, too much prop management and overhead. I've lived in and visited some of the most desirable places in the US. I wouldn't root down in any of them. Plunder and move on; visit later if it's really good. Dump all my dough into it? No effing way.
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I hear you brothah but I'm looking for anyplace but California to have "some" kind of point of residence.
I could live in a Travel Trailer and be okay, but I want a bit more to have a place to store snow mobile for winter and possibly a boat for summer. Cathy and I have often thought of two land parcels to have a seasonal float.
 
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