Best place for a second/retirement home
I'm just trying to stay afloat in Maplewood, but I have friends in their 60's who bought a nice, reasonable condo in Ithaca, NY. They like it so much they are selling their place in Queens now. They say there are a number of older people there so they have made friends, and they like the college town vibe. Next they think they may want another warmer place to go to in the winter.
One thing to be careful of is if you have long term care insurance. Most companies will not insure you if you move out of the U.S. -- including P.R. and the Virgin Islands (I had asked this early on in my research of where to retire to). And I can assume regular health insurance will not cover you if you move out of the country -- especially after reading all the threads here about not being insured if you travel out of state.
As wonderful and romantic as many of these places sound/are, you've really got to think of your health and the "what ifs" when planning a retirement home. Good luck!
We have a place in the Poconos. Small, all one level, with an active community,both young and old. Oh, and the taxes are next to nothing.
Join us in the Central Hudson Valley. It's the only rural place where people have my accent! Gorgeous scenery. Lots of artistic people. Lots of farm to table restaurants which will blow your mind. Cheap real estate. Easy access to the NYC area: it sometimes takes us less than two hours, as we rarely hit much traffic. We made the same time when we lived in Maplewood.
Who wants to be a housewife inn two houses? My idea of a vacation is a nice hotel, where everything is done for me==and nice restaurants where someone else does the cooking and washes the dishes.
lizziecat said:
Who wants to be a housewife inn two houses? My idea of a vacation is a nice hotel, where everything is done for me==and nice restaurants where someone else does the cooking and washes the dishes.
Ok then possibly a rental (or owning) in Nicaragua is for you- we found a heavenly place a few miles from Panama border on pacific side, top of a hill with a walkway to a private crescent beach you can even surf at...infinity pool, 4 bedrooms, and with a second small studio place in rear of property that the caretaker lives in. For a mere $10 a day, he cleans and cooks all day for you...We went with 2 women and 4 men, and the women did not get stuck cleaning and cooking! Plus, arranged for him to buy us groceries, before we arrived. Heavenly. It ranks among my favorite places/trips. Needless to say, charging so little, we thought nothing of tipping him 200 for the week stay. Worth. Every. Penny.
In general, almost anyplace south of the border, many second homes can have 1 full time person on staff to watch, clean and obviously if can cook, best. Reasonable cost. Need to run the numbers how many weeks rental to cover your costs, but pretty sure it can be done for breakeven at very least. When you rent, becomes automatic time you travel someplace else to visit. Even better if rental covers costs including your time away!
My parents retired to Gold Canyon, AZ (east of Phoenix) and they love it. They are in a 55+ gated community with access to a pool, clubhouse, numerous activities and plentyof sunshine. With natural desert landscaping, they can leave the property for months at a time. They do travel in the summer when the temperatures soar.
cats said:
The Berkshires
That was at the top of my list of places to consider -- that was, until the first snow in Maplewood and I said to myself "what, are you kidding???????" LOL!
Portland, Maine is lovely, and I would like some company up here. It's on the water, and so the snow was not much more than Maplewood. Beautiful architecture and waterfront. Affordable waterfront neighborhoods with houses or condos.
lisat said:
Portland, Maine is lovely, and I would like some company up here. It's on the water, and so the snow was not much more than Maplewood. Beautiful architecture and waterfront. Affordable waterfront neighborhoods with houses or condos.
Lisat I'd join you in a heartbeat if I could sell my NJ house!
I have been watching this house with interest as its a great location for NJ, lake front and well priced- given its a three season house i would go to warmth in the winter months
http://www2.gsmls.com/publicsite/propsearch.do?method=moredetails&sysid=3227785
new207040 said:
I have been watching this house with interest as its a great location for NJ, lake front and well priced- given its a three season house i would go to warmth in the winter months
http://www2.gsmls.com/publicsite/propsearch.do?method=moredetails&sysid=3227785
The link brings you to the search page. Darn!
Based on the recent travels of our neighbors, I'm thinking the Denver/Boulder area might be just about perfect! Breweries, bookstores, and biking; hiking and, ummm, "herb"; walkable communities and a commitment to sustainability. And a reasonable cost of living. The only downside: no beach. The upside: no hurricanes.
mumstheword said:
new207040 said:The link brings you to the search page. Darn!
I have been watching this house with interest as its a great location for NJ, lake front and well priced- given its a three season house i would go to warmth in the winter months
http://www2.gsmls.com/publicsite/propsearch.do?method=moredetails&sysid=3227785
Ditto. Can you post the MLS number or some other info that will allow us to run out and buy this house behind your back? 
kthnry said:
mumstheword said:Ditto. Can you post the MLS number or some other info that will allow us to run out and buy this house behind your back?
new207040 said:The link brings you to the search page. Darn!
I have been watching this house with interest as its a great location for NJ, lake front and well priced- given its a three season house i would go to warmth in the winter months
http://www2.gsmls.com/publicsite/propsearch.do?method=moredetails&sysid=3227785
its MLS # 3227785
DYING to buy it - waiting for my house to sell - hopefully an offer is coming in soon
LAKEFRONT - ESTLING LAKE-RELAXATION & UNCOMPLICATED VACATIONING IN THE HEART OF MORRIS COUNTY--ESTLING IS A 3 SEASON PRIVATE GATED LAKE COMMUNITY ON 300 SCENIC WOODED ACRES W/80 ACRE LAKE
@New - that looks amazing. I love the setting on the lake with a screened in porch. Why are owners required to vacate the property over the winter?
http://www.coldwellbankermoves.com/property/details/4803778/MLS-3227785/00-Estling-Lake-RdCamp-37-Denville-NJ-07834.aspx
That looks fabulous. Nine months there and go somewhere warm for the winter.
looking at Old North End in St Petersburg Florida. very cool old charming neighborhood close to down town and right on the bay. great housing stock. much lower taxes. looking to buy something that needs work and rent it until we are ready to retire. then fix it
Regarding Estling Lake, it seems to be one of the more restrictive lake communities in the area. Presumably it shuts down in winter to preserve the second-home nature of the community and possibly also do away with the ned for the entity that owns it to have to pay high snow-clearing bills. And precludes use of that home as a base for families with school-age children attending public schools. Many of the lake communities in Morris and Passaic Counties have become year-round (some always were), and some people perceive that to have reduced their socioeconomic level. I don’t know if that is valid now or ever was. I lived in Rock Ridge Lake, another Denville lake community, in the 1970s, and it was largely year-round even then, with a range of house styles and sizes, from very solid almost Maplewoodian to basic lake-community fake log cabins with propane heat. Rock Ridge is a beautiful man-made lake, as most of them are. Highland Lakes in Passaic (or maybe Sussex) County is another former mostly summer resort community that has become more year-round, but it lacks the train service that many of the the Morris County lake communities have. (I don’t think any of them would be great to retire to, but fun to have as second homes when you are working or only approaching being elderly. Great for boaters, but heavily car-dependent for errands, among other things, and often very family/child-centered. Weather is a matter of taste; I would agree that Midcoast Maine, might be a nice place to retire to though sure it is at least as cold as Denville in February.)
grayhill2 said:
Regarding Estling Lake, it seems to be one of the more restrictive lake communities in the area. Presumably it shuts down in winter to preserve the second-home nature of the community and possibly also do away with the ned for the entity that owns it to have to pay high snow-clearing bills. And precludes use of that home as a base for families with school-age children attending public schools. Many of the lake communities in Morris and Passaic Counties have become year-round (some always were), and some people perceive that to have reduced their socioeconomic level. I don’t know if that is valid now or ever was. I lived in Rock Ridge Lake, another Denville lake community, in the 1970s, and it was largely year-round even then, with a range of house styles and sizes, from very solid almost Maplewoodian to basic lake-community fake log cabins with propane heat. Rock Ridge is a beautiful man-made lake, as most of them are. Highland Lakes in Passaic (or maybe Sussex) County is another former mostly summer resort community that has become more year-round, but it lacks the train service that many of the the Morris County lake communities have. (I don’t think any of them would be great to retire to, but fun to have as second homes when you are working or only approaching being elderly. Great for boaters, but heavily car-dependent for errands, among other things, and often very family/child-centered. Weather is a matter of taste; I would agree that Midcoast Maine, might be a nice place to retire to though sure it is at least as cold as Denville in February.)
We have friends who live in Rock Ridge (Denville) now, they love it but it's definitely a year-round community, not a vacation destination. Estling Lake seems more like Beaver Lake in (I think) Sussex County, off Rt 23, which is totally a second-home community. A few listings for Beaver Lake:
http://www.lakehouse.com/page-322889.html
http://www.lakehouse.com/page-329843.html
new207040 said:
kthnry said:its MLS # 3227785
mumstheword said:Ditto. Can you post the MLS number or some other info that will allow us to run out and buy this house behind your back?
new207040 said:The link brings you to the search page. Darn!
I have been watching this house with interest as its a great location for NJ, lake front and well priced- given its a three season house i would go to warmth in the winter months
http://www2.gsmls.com/publicsite/propsearch.do?method=moredetails&sysid=3227785
DYING to buy it - waiting for my house to sell - hopefully an offer is coming in soon
LAKEFRONT - ESTLING LAKE-RELAXATION & UNCOMPLICATED VACATIONING IN THE HEART OF MORRIS COUNTY--ESTLING IS A 3 SEASON PRIVATE GATED LAKE COMMUNITY ON 300 SCENIC WOODED ACRES W/80 ACRE LAKE
We just moved to a very similar lake house in Denville (already a 4 season house). We're loving it. Feel free to PM me if you'd like to chat.
We're on Rock Ridge Lake.
Check out Chattanooga......
Voted one of the best places to retire. We are checking out homes as we speak.
This is an interesting thread. For those who live now in NJ and have moved out of state (several states away) or will do so when they retire, how far away would you be from your family? It seems when people move away from family and friends, they issue a standing invitation to visit them and they rarely have visitors.
Take a look at Williamsburg, VA. I was born and raised there and both my parents still live there (although in separate houses since they divorced!). They both have many many neighbors who are transplants from NJ, PA etc. You are 45 minutes (depending on traffic) from VA Beach/Norfolk. Not too far from the Outer Banks. Easy days trips to Washington DC and the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is about a 6-7 hour drive from here. It is hot and humid in the summer but certainly no worse than Florida.
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It seems like everyone I know is planning to buy an inexpensive place somewhere wonderful (ex: Tamarindo, Costa Rica; Belize; Cefalu, Sicily; tiny hill town in Andalucia; San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; probably places closer to home as well though I haven' theard of any) with the plan of renting it out/using it for vacations now and living at least half the year there later. This sounds heavenly to me, and I wondered if people would share their proposed and/or dream destinations? Seems like it would be fun to do some rental vacations and see what we liked!