Boomers: Do you want to retire in your present location?

[SheilaT]

35. I probably won't stay here forever.

Every state has its good sides and its bad sides. What any of us find most desirable is highly personal.

Which is why I'm driven crazy by such things as "Best Places to Live". What I find important is very likely to be very different from what someone else finds important.

I think what really matters is that you pay attention. To lots of things.

My husband and I moved to Phoenix, AZ in 1983. It was okay, and at the time we hoped we'd stay there at most a year. Most of his co-workers felt that now that they didn't have to shovel snow off their cars in the winter, life was sweet. Not long after we moved there, an election took place. I can't recall what other offices were up for election, but the Mayor of Phoenix was the main one. And no matter which candidate won, Republican or Democrat, this race was important because it would represent a fundamental change in the power structure that had been running the state since 1948.

As soon as we moved there we registered to vote. We were aware of the upcoming election. We could have voted for our preferred political party, but chose not to, since we felt we didn't know the local issues very well. On election day my husband was out of town on a business trip, and when he called me that evening I told him that Terry Goddard (the Democratic candidate) had won. He said, "I'll let my co-workers know when I see them tomorrow." Those co-workers had lived in Phoenix seven and nine years respectively, and they felt that now that they didn't have to shovel snow off their cars in winter, life was as good as it could possibly be. So when my husband saw his co-workers and told them that Terry Goddard had won the election, they said, "Huh? What? What election?" For them, once they didn't have to shovel snow off their cars in winter nothing else mattered.

So here's my point. You absolutely must think about everything that matters to you in the place you want to live. It's not just climate or cost or a rental or any other one thing. There have been many times here on DU when I've thought, "There's a state you couldn't pay me to live in" and some other DU member gives an eloquent reason why that place is totally wonderful.

There are many places you could not pay me to live in. For you, those places may well be our perfect place to live. Which is why I try very hard to hold back on negative comments about any place.

I sincerely hope you figure out the perfect place for you.