Before Brett officially retired in 2013, we decided we had a great opportunity to relocate to a warmer, sunnier climate. We wanted to escape the dreary, damp winters and head for someplace with a warmer, sunnier climate. But where should we go?
We started our search by determining the things that would be important to us in a new location and eventually came up with eight criteria we would use to evaluate different places:
- Good year-round weather
- Cost of living
- Schools
- Proximity to the ocean and/or mountains
- Nearby military facilities
- Proximity to Japan,
- Tax benefits for retirees
- A strong, vibrant Asian community
After determining these criteria, we then came up with places that we thought might include those things or at least some of them. Hawaii was added to our list as a joke because we knew we would never be able to live in Hawaii but it sounded fun. The next step was ranking the criteria, figuring out the things that were most important to us. We came up with the order above. Finally, we began researching different locations, taking notes and checking off which areas met which criteria. Some places were eliminated more quickly than others.
We were very, very surprised to discover that Hawaii met eight of our nine criteria. The only problematic one was the state’s high cost of living, but we eventually decided if everything else fit we could somehow figure out how to live within our means there. We talked about changes we could make (i.e. renting versus buying), ready everything we could find about living on a budget, how to shop, etc. and made it work for us. We’ve never regretted our decision to come here.
However, with the cost of living on Kaua’i rising rapidly these days we are thinking about whether it would make more sense to relocate back to the mainland. The cost of housing on Kaua’i is rising to a level that will make it close to unaffordable for us to stay. Most of our children have ended up settling back east on the mainland. Flights to Japan from Honolulu take as long as they did from Portland, and fares are often higher from here to there. Now is the time to consider whether we should leave or stay.
It’s time for us to come up with a new spreadsheet once again, and evaluate our choices. Brett and I sat down together week before last and came up with a new list of what’s important to us. We haven’t ranked this list yet, but think it’s a good basic one that covers our needs and wants at this stage of our lives. In no particular order, these are the eight things we want/need to consider:
- Proximity to family: As we age, and our daughters get closer to having their own families, we would like to live closer to them. Our children would like to have us closer to them as well.
- Cost of living: Will the cost of food, transportation, and everything else in a new location fit into our budget and leave something left over for other things we want to do (i.e. travel)?
- Cost of housing: Is there quality housing in the area that fits within our budget?
- Tax benefits for retirees: Is Social Security taxed? Would Brett’s military retirement be taxed?
- Weather: Is the area prone to big weather events like hurricanes, flooding? After living in Hawaii can we deal with dreary weather once again, or things like snow and other effect of brutal winter weather? Do we want to?
- Proximity to the ocean and mountains: Is it possible to find this combination again?
- Travel & cultural opportunities: Are there things for us to see and explore in the area? Is there a major airport nearby for overseas travel?
- Healthcare availability: Is there a nearby hospital and otherwise good medical availability in the area?
- Nearby military facilities: Is there a military base nearby, mainly for things like ID card renewal and possible commissary/exchange shopping?
While we now have a list, we still need to come up with areas that might work with these criteria. We know that no place needs to be a perfect fit, but it should meet at least half of what’s on our list. Before coming up with a list of locations, we still need to rank the criteria, add others to the list, if necessary, and then begin researching and seeing what might be a good fit.
We already know that Kaua’i is barely going to meet half of these criteria, but it carries something that no place else does: our hearts. No matter how great another location turns out to be, no matter how many criteria it matches, going up against our love for this island will not be an easy task. But, getting started now on a possible move is something that needs to be done, so it’s time once again to create a new spreadsheet so we have time to get it figured out to make the best choice for all the right reasons.
The Occasional Nomads 
Thank you for your posts! Being that I love Kauai (we’ve been several times), we’ve lived in Japan (my husband is a DoD civilian and worked at Atsugi from 2011-2015), AND we have an adopted daughter from Asia (Japan), I’ve been following you for quite some time. It’s so hard to know where to live, isn’t it? In regard to your recent post, any interest in relocating to coastal NC? I know there’s the occasional hurricane, but on the plus side, there is the MCAS Cherry Point military base near New Bern, warmer weather, lower cost of living (at least compared to San Diego, where I live), and you’d be on the same coast/time zone as your daughters…and near the ocean, which is always a plus. Best wishes on your research!
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First, so jealous of you getting to go to Atsugi as civilians! Did you get on base housing or did you live off base? The only civilian job for Brett was as a tech rep for the companies that produced the aircraft, but it would have been just like sea duty again with him gone all the time so he didn’t go for us. Cool too that you’ve adopted from Japan – you’re the second family I know that’s done it. I know there are orphans but there used to be so much red tape over family ties and relations before it could even be considered.
North Carolina is going to go on our list of places to evaluate.
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No answers, other than a big “I relate”, although for mostly different reasons. We had a big chat about something similar a week or so ago, and landed on sticking it out for four more years, but it was a really tough decision. I think it was also useful for us to align on top priorities, which are different than they used to be. We’re hoping that our biggest (joint) income years will be behind us in four years, which will greatly reduce the tax implications of living in CA.
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Median home prices when we left in 2018 was in the $600K range – three years later and it’s now nearly $1M. Unbelievable. HOAs have skyrocketed as well. It would take a miracle for us to find something in our price range now.
Hawaii is a very retiree-friendly state when it comes to taxes. I’d love to live in California again, but taxes (and other prices) there make it unaffordable now as well.
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We live six months in the frozen north and six months in Mexico (where there are mountains and the ocean is only blocks away). We rent a small one bedroom apartment in a Mexican neighborhood and the total cost per month (we rent year round so we can leave our stuff) is about $420.00 a month. That includes rent, internet, cell phone and electricity. The apartment comes furnished and includes gas, water, garbage and a weekly maid. Food, especially fruits, veggies and seafood are extremely cheap and very fresh.
It works for us, mostly because we love the culture and it is easy to get cheap flights to Tijuana (our youngest lives in San Diego). We decided we wanted the best of both worlds, which is to be where it is warm and sunny when it is cold and snowy and to be where it is more temperate when it is hot and humid here. If we had tried to find a place that could meet all of those same needs, we wouldn’t have been able to manage, mostly because it would have been way too expensive 🙂 Splitting and having both places be our home, each for 6 months works for us.
Everything is a trade-off and only the people involved can decide what are the must haves or deal breakers. Good luck figuring it out!
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We are really warming to this idea (no pun intended), of having a summer home and a winter home, possibly in Mexico or else where. I especially like your idea of finding a winter rental that’s affordable enough that it can be rented year round so that we could leave stuff there when we’re back in our summer location.
I think there are going to be more trade-offs this time then there were when we moved over here in 2014. I don’t think any place now is going to fit as many criteria as Hawaii did back then.
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I vote for North Carolina since you like beach and mountains. South Carolina and Georgia also because cheap, on East coast, and it is so easy to fly out of Atlanta. PreCovid, I flew out West and back several times a year. I am not the best air traveler, and even I can manage by myself in Atlanta’s airport. Virginia is not cheap, but it has nice beaches, and a lot of things to do. I love Tennessee and Kentucky and while no ocean, there are lots of rivers, lakes, and hiking. They are also cheap.
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We will be evaluating North Carolina as a possible future residence – it has a lot to offer. I love the Outer Banks, but Brett’s family all come from the western part of the state.
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One thing on your list which is on ours, is the attitude of locals. The CV pandemic and behavior of some areas in denying its existence has told me I would never want to be living around such people who would willingly endanger my health. Good luck on your search. It’s tough when you don’t have unlimited dollars available to allow money not to play a part in decision making.
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There are a couple of states where you couldn’t drag me to live, and not just because of the weather!
We will be on a pretty strict budget for housing, but know there are places where we can buy a very nice house that would fit our needs and leave us plenty of money left over. Our biggest concern is that I could still afford the house is something happened to Brett ahead of me.
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Florida is also experiencing a tremendous increase in housing prices and rents. During the housing collapse, houses were selling for 40,000 to 125,000. I built my home in 2009 for 125,700. living area of 1604 square feet 2,242 total under roof. My house is now valued at 339,000. A house that is around 1,100 sq feet is selling for 195.000. Those prices don’t compare to Hawaii but are very high and climbing. According to Root of Good blog, he lives in North Carolina Prices are still reasonable there. You might check out his blog as he lists all their utility, food etc expenses. I believe they do have a state income tax. A lot of demand for houses as people are moving out of the cities. This may change post covid. Western states are probably the best as they put you half way between Japan and the east coast. Good luck
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That’s incredible how much the value of your house has increased. It’s the same back in Portland – the value of the house we sold has more than doubled. Taxes have more than doubled as well – the house would be unaffordable for us now because of the property taxes.
I have looked at the map of the west and I just don’t know where we would go. Love the Oregon and Washington coasts, but am terrified of earthquakes there are they are overdue for a BIG one. California is too expensive; Arizona, New Mexico, and Nevada (Colorado too actually) all beautiful in their own ways but too dry for us; neither of us is crazy about Idaho, Montana, or Utah.
Thanks for the reminder about Root of Good. I’ve read the blog in the past and maybe it’s time to get back to it.
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I can offer nothing on your choices, but how wonderful is it that you have the freedom to make the choice and can up and move at will. So many people are tied to their home and the ties often become a chain as the years progress.
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We do have the freedom to go anywhere really (well, in the U.S.) but we want to do this right, and make the right choice for our kids, our health, our travel urges, etc.
Of course once we pick an area then we have to make another list of all the things we want in house (or don’t want) and work our way through that.
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My friends who lived all their lives in CT, moved to South Carolina for better weather, proximity to the Ocean, better taxes and better cost of living. To me it is too hot and humid in the summer but, they like it. I have driven between upstate NY to SC twice and it is a nice drive albeit a long one. I love roadtrips and I do not mind it. I flew to Charlotte once from LaGuardia and that was pretty good too. Last year I took my time driving from upstate NY to FL and I think there are very livable places in GA, NC and SC.
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The South’s humidity (same for the mid-Atlantic – the worst humidity we’ve ever encountered was in Maryland) is a big strike against it. It’s worse there than it is here, and you probably know how I feel about it here.
Taxes are going to be the big issue this time, I think, even more than weather. There are states (like here) where we wouldn’t pay taxes on our income except for a tiny sliver. We need to find those states and then see how they fit our criteria.
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Your military healthcare and benefits are a real blessing when deciding where to live, I imagine. These are tough choices as we age, and I always look forward to reading your thoughtful posts. Good luck!
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Having military insurance has turned out to be the biggest reward we received for Brett staying in long enough to retire. Combined with Medicare we have everything covered now, and at no cost. Having good healthcare available near to where we live will be one of the bigger factors in any choice we make. So many specialists have relocated to Kaua’i – we were sort of nervous about it when we moved here, but now we’re very well covered.
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I mentioned this when you posted previously that your daughters wanted you to move near them, but I would rent something near them in the warmer months and then go somewhere warm in the colder months. Snowbirds have been doing this for decades and since you and Brett like the nomadic lifestyle anyway, that would seem to fit. You wouldn’t have to buy anything that way and could control your costs. After living on Kauai though, I would think it would be tough to live anywhere else! But it really is too far from where your daughters are and since it seems they are staying where they are, that would seem to be the best option. However, young people their age sometimes pick up and move, so since you aren’t planning to move for another couple of years, things could change by then.
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In some places it would make more sense to rent, but we hope to move to an area where it makes more sense to buy. We like the idea of having a full-time home somewhere but leaving for a few months for a warmer climate if necessary. We also would like a home so we could possibly do house swaps as well. We’ve got a couple of years to figure everything out though and make the right decision about the right place for us. We may end of staying here – right now we can barely think of leaving.
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That’s understandable. If I lived on Kauai, I’m not sure I could leave either, but if the cost of living there is making it unaffordable, then you may have no choice. Although, maybe things will settle down once COVID is over.
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That’s the biggest reason why we’re not in a hurry to do anything right now – we want to see how things shake out after COVID gets under control.
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Have you thought about the Big Island, I know prices are cheaper there for vacationing. The more I explore there, the more I love it.
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We have looked at the Big Island, but housing prices are only more affordable in certain areas and we’re not sure we want to live in those areas. Also VOG is a big issue for us.
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I suggest New Hampshire: close by military facilities, no income tax, close to Boston, has both Mountains and ocean, very little hurricane risk, one of the lowest housing costs in New England, lots of charming towns and small cities. Portsmouth area is liberal, good farmer’s markets, oozing with historical charm, and just under an hour to Boston, etc.
Flying out of Boston are lots of non-stop flights to Europe including lower-cost carriers such as Norwegian. There is a regular bus running from New Hampshire to Logan. All of this travel advice was pre-Covid.
My grandparents retired to New Hampshire decades ago and would stay in the state until after Christmas and then leave for warmer climates from January – March or sometimes early April. There are really only 3-3.5 bad weather months. This window could be when you travel to the southern hemisphere.
One negative is my rule of thumb that the ocean north of Cape Cod is too cold to swim in. I know plenty of people do, but this is what works for me. Maybe in August…..I lived over a decade in Massachusetts and 5+ years in Maine.
And a question, would lake living be a replacement for the ocean for you? Northern New England has tons of lakes: VT, NH, and ME.
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NH is on the list – it fits many of the criteria. Property taxes seem a little high though.
A lake would be just fine for us wanting living close to the water!
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I’m a bit late to the discussion, but have you considered the Atlanta metro area? I live in a progressive area that is very walkable and becoming more so. I can walk to groceries, pharmacy, retail stores, all kinds of restaurants, a beautiful park with woodland trails, even my insurance agent is just a couple of blocks away. We have a lot of very nice weather. As you probably know, a slight dusting of snow is considered a disaster here! I’m also just a block from rail transit that I use to go to arts/entertainment events and it even goes directly to the airport. (busiest in the USA) It is a quick direct flight to Boston, NYC or Philly. I don’t worry about the horrendous commuter traffic here, because I mostly don’t have to drive very far. Also Georgia has military bases and favorable tax treatment for retirees. Just a short drive to the southern Appalachians and 4 hrs to beaches. There is a huge amount of diversity here. Near by I can shop at international markets that have groceries from all over the world. (Yes, Cook-do sauces or Sakura Mochi KitKats 😉 I’d be happy to provide more info if you’d like.
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Had not considered Atlanta – your neighborhood sounds great. Meets lots of things on our list. I’m not sure though we’re ready for big city living again, but will add it to our list. Love that it has an abundance of international markets, and love hearing about the diversity.
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