Monday, September 19, 2011

Time to start thinking about the golden years

I'm normally a procrastinator - you know, never put off to tomorrow what you can put off to the day after tomorrow - but I'm making an exception when it comes to my retirement, and have been giving some thought to where Mrs. Paco and I might ultimately wind up. I've got another six-and-a-half years (minimum) until I can qualify for retirement from the Yankee government, so I've been scouring the country at my leisure. Basic requirements: mild winters, clean air (got to think of Mrs. Paco's asthma), congenial local government, peaceful environment. I had originally thought about southern Arizona; however, after reading Mark Steyn's new book, I'm afraid that it might be annexed, de jure, by Mexico. So, here's what I've come up with, so far:

1) St. George, Utah. Located in the southwest part of the state, the city is at the extreme fringe of the Mojave desert. Arid region, hot summers, mild winters, surrounded by striking red bluffs and not far from Utah's beautiful canyon country (also not far from the north rim of the Grand Canyon).

2) Cave Creek, Arizona. A little warmer than St. George, plenty of saguaro cactus, lovely surroundings. Not sure it's far enough away from Phoenix, though.

3) Sedona, Arizona. Gorgeous red rock country, outstanding views. Perhaps a little artsy-fartsy?

4) Cape Coral or Naples, Florida. Subtropical, on or near the beach, within an hour or two of Miami, so I can nip in for some delicious Cuban cuisine.

5) Somewhere in North Carolina. I was born there, and the call of the homeland is strong.

God willing that I do live long enough to get out of Northern Virginia, and as far away from Washington as I can.

23 comments:

Yojimbo said...

Las Cruces, NM.

Have you thought of that corridor just east of Phoenix-lake, old mining towns. Cheap with mild winters.

All things considered, I'd rather be in Florida.

A rare thought just ensued-Prescott. This would be a keeper.

Anonymous said...

Cave Creek? If Steyn is right, you'll be on the front line.

Sedona? A trifle artsy fartsy turns into freaky wacko jacko after you've lived in a place like that for a couple years.

Florida? Don't you check out fark.com?

There, I've narrowed it down for you, N.C. or Utah.

bruce said...

The desert sounds good to me, healthwise.

Steve at the Pub said...

There is a group able to assist with your decision. They'll effortlessly take all those tough retirement-in-the-sunshine decisions off your hands.

Recently the mailman delivered a flyer from a group called: Pensioners in Acceptable Climates Outreach.

They seemed reputable in a very smooth way, emphasised that you're to send no money up front (they'll bill you later.) Their proposal seemed too good to be true. In fact I haven't been subject to such an enthusiastic spiel since my last visit to a travelling carnival.

Surely you couldn't go wrong entrusting them with your important life decisions?

RebeccaH said...

I'd recommend Albuquerque, NM, if it weren't for the high crime rate.

Florida seems a little asthma-unfriendly to me, all that heavy sea-air, not to mention the bugs and year-round vegetation. Nice place to visit, though.

Paco said...

Steve: Er, for reasons I can't go into, I believe I'll give that organization a miss.

Rebecca: Interestingly, Mrs. Paco never had problems with asthma when we lived in Florida. Bugs, on the other hand, presented a problem. Palmetto bugs are a kind of cockroach Air Force, and mosquitos can be pretty bad.

Isophorone said...

So I guess you have ruled out anywhere in Pennsylvania?

How about San Antonio, Texas? It's warm, inexpensive to live, and the food's good. I'd also recommend Corpus Christi, but there is a bit more of an occasional hurricane threat. Other Texas cities might do, also (though some are more humid than the desert).

JeffS said...

Check this out, Paco! You'll like at least one location.

JeffS said...

And while a bit dated, I simply enjoy pointing this one out to people. Look carefully for a city that you haven't been to, but have heard of.

Paco said...

Isophorone: I really should consider Texas. A (basically) conservative state, with no state income tax.

Jeff: Dude! First on the list is the Raleigh/Cary area! Cary's where I grew up. Must be an omen.

Yojimbo said...

You might consider Prescott. Close to Phoenix, Sedona and the Grand Canyon yet still rural atmosphere. Great events all year with nice people and all the amenities you'd need.

Paco said...

YoJ: You are my expert on all things Arizona. I've heard great things about Prescott (even had a great-uncle who lived there), but doesn't it get pretty cold in the winter?

Yojimbo said...

Pacosan: I think the lows are in the teens for a couple of months. The Weather Channel allows you to resource daily historical figures, by zip code.

mojo said...

Might try Alamogordo, NM - near Holloman AFB, and Lincoln Nat. Forest.

rinardman said...

My older brother and his wife moved from Burke, VA to Raleigh a few years ago. They seem to really like it there, except for the copperhead snake that bit my brother on his hand last year.
I haven't been there yet, but may go down next month with another of my brothers.

BTW, why St. George, UT? I passed thru there back in '93, IIRC, it was a nice, scenic area. Not far from Las Vegas, if you like what it has to offer.

Paco said...

rinardman: You know, I don't even remember where I first heard of St. George. Must have been on one of those "top ten" lists, somewhere.

The Raleigh area is very nice. I usually get down there once a year, and pop over to my favorite book store in Chapel Hill.

Anonymous said...

Paco, you and the misses couldn't go wrong considering the mountains of Western North Carolina...say anywhere west of Asheville. The summers are mild, but the temps do drop in the teens for a month or so during the winter.

Mike G.

Yojimbo said...

siessemunitaSt. George is very nice, but very small and isolated. Your basicaly isolateld out in the middle of nowhere between Vegas and the Provo/Salt Lake area. It is a growing area but still isolated. Might just as well go to Vegas. A better area would be Cedar City which is just up the road and much cheaper. And St. George is a real good stretch of the legs from Vegas.

Prescott is much warmer than NC in the winter.

Col. Milquetoast said...

I thought you had that settled with the little island chateau inside the dormant volcano next to the ICBM and the giant electromagnetic doomsday machine. Did Mrs. Paco object to all the bikini clad assassins and burly henchmen constantly hanging around?

Where's your family? You may not want to move too far from them that it'd be too inconvenient or too expensive to visit.

Anonymous said...

I would move to St. George in a minute. Stayed there on my last trip out West and didn't want to leave.

Of course, I say that about every small town in any Western state...Texas would do, as would a few places in NM...*sigh*

We 'retired' to Jax. I hate cities, I don't like the east coast, I'm capable of honest & total dislike for everything east of the Mississippi, but this one is bearable... If it weren't for my kidlet, I'd hate it more.

Boy on a bike said...

Desert country? Where are you going to keep the sharks with the fricken' laser beams on their heads?

Paco said...

B on a B: Paco Enterprises' biological engineering subsidiary is working on developing a dry-land version. Initial experiments have been promising. The working name for the new specimens is "lawyers".

mojo said...

Land Sharks? WITH FRIGGIN' LASER BEAMS ON THEIR HEADS?

A little flashy, maybe.

Me, I have the Self-sharpening Razorbacks. They're cute, but dangerous - like having little buzz-saws running around.