Read more of Karen’s thought provoking questions she asks her clients when they are making the sometimes difficult decision to retire.
Weather – How Warm Do you Need to Be?
Stereotypically Florida is the state that retirees flock to, but some find the summer heat difficult. The best weather states based on days of sunshine, average humidity, and the number of days when you need to heat or cool your home in an area are as follows
Health care – Quality & Accessibly are both Considerations
Health Care is a factor that is important to consider. Important is not only the access to quality care, but the likely increased needs that will come along with advancing age.
Proximity to Health Care—If you have a disease that requires frequent monitoring and the nearest specialist located far away, the area may not be ideal.
Research and data produced by The Milken Institute tracks a ranking of best cities for successful aging that includes criteria such as:
- average wait times in emergency rooms
- sufficient access to hospice
- geriatric care
- rehab facilities at hospitals.
The “broken-hip syndrome” is a term used to describe a retired person who must leave their retirement location and return to their former location or to an alternate third location near family. This can be emotionally traumatizing for the retiree, and happens frequently in Florida.
Statistically speaking, most Americans don’t relocate but stay put in retirement, and some simply downsize their homes to a more manageable property. Learn more about downsizing from Karen as she has helped dozens of families with downsizing and has done it herself!
Some 6% of those ages 55 to 59 moved between 2014 and 2015, according to U.S. Census Survey data, and of these movers just 5% relocated to a different region of the country; most remained in the same county. Among 65 to 69 year olds, just 4.5% moved during that year and of them, 10% moved to a different region.
So in summary you can consult lists and gain some valuable insight in to retirement destinations, but at the end of the day, lists and rankings don’t consider what may be most important to you… which may be being close to family and friends.
Recently Karen and her husband completed their Future Retirement Home on beautiful Lake Oconee. Completing the home early has afforded them time with family on weekends and holidays.
To learn more about living on Lake Oconee, check out Karen’s earlier Community Spotlight on Lake Oconee.
