As I tell (mostly pilot) friends who are considering moving to CA, specifically San Diego, to retire, if you’ve decided this is really where you want to
be–and you know you can afford it for the balance of your life–go for it. On the other hand, if the finances are not available for the duration–I tell them it’s probably best to look elsewhere.
Most of the people we know in our age group (50’s) started planning for retirement or, at the very least, a future transitional period, when we were very young.
Life is full of surprises, and the last thing anyone should want would be to find they are financially unprepared to go the distance when they reach their 50’s and beyond. I would never want to see anyone in that position.
It’s difficult for most people to retire to more expensive areas. Dealing with expensive housing is a life long leaning process.
People who live in lower cost areas are used to it so it’s hard to adjust to paying more to retire to expensive areas. That’s why there always is Florida, a state dedicated to serving retirees.
San Diego is a relatively late comer to being expensive. Qualcomm and tech put San Diego on the map.
If you can buy a home free and clear (either owned a home in SD that you paid off or owned a home somewhere else which you sold and used to pay for a home in SD), San Diego is relatively cheap.
Low food costs (that may change with drought).
Low/nil HVAC costs.
Low property tax.
That’s why I’m considering retirement outside of San Diego most likely Nevada or Oregon if I don’t stay in California. I’m also considering Florida as having an airpark home near Travolta would be pretty cool and close to Caribbean.
Over the years. we’ve tried out several other locations around the world with friends, thinking we might want to relocate, and have spent extended periods of time in each, but, when we come home to San Diego, we know there’s just nowhere else we’d rather be on a permanent basis.
Also, since my wife is in the film business, and plans to stay active for many years to come, it’s as close as we want to get to Los Angeles without living there.
Since I’m single and can retire anyplace I’ve considered coastal Chile, southern France, Spain, Italy and the Caribbean. I might keep a sailboat in the Caribbean and a small coastal villa in the Med when the time comes.
Neither of us (nor our grown kids who visit often) have any desire to leave our home in RSF, but we do enjoy visiting friends all over the world–including those in my wife’s Hollywood crowd–all of whom have graciously made us welcome anytime.
Among other trips, last year we were invited to a Villa on Lake Como, one in Cabo, and the south of France always beckons.
