help me find a new home

June 18, 2020 3:53 PM

I am giving serious thought to retiring, wholly or partially, in the next two to three years. I would like to start doing some basic research about places to live.

What are some sites/resources that I can start to use? Say I wanted to enter a population range, median age, climate, basic cost of living, etc. Are there sites that are geared for this? I realize it is only a start. Eventually I would like to narrow down to a few options and then go visit in person and network with people who live there.
What I have turned up so far is information that is very thin, or is real-estate sales related. I am looking for data at this point.

posted by jtexman1 to Society & Culture (15 answers total)

Um, are you looking within a specific country? Or internationally? This can change things quite a bit; most of the resources I'm familiar with don't span this gap in anything other than the most half-assed way.
posted by aramaic at 3:57 PM on June 18, 2020

For the USA, city-data.com has some decent data and features for a first pass.
posted by SaltySalticid at 4:09 PM on June 18, 2020 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: I am looking here domestically, at least for now. I can check out city-data.
posted by jtexman1 at 4:42 PM on June 18, 2020

Also, just Google "Top 10 beaches to retire on" and 'Top 10 small towns to retire in" etc. There are a million of those articles out there, and they can serve as inspiration for helping narrow down your choices.
posted by COD at 4:53 PM on June 18, 2020

Niche.com has categories of cities: Best for Retirees, Most Diverse, Best Place to Buy a Home, etc.

For each city, it has info on population, median home price, median age, and other stats.
posted by cheesecake at 5:07 PM on June 18, 2020

Honestly, I know you’re looking for facts, but “where should I move given these criteria?” is a pretty common question on this site. I wouldn’t rule out asking one once you have crystallized exactly what you want.
posted by Night_owl at 5:16 PM on June 18, 2020 [4 favorites]

Although I don't have references at hand, during your research don't forget state/local tax situations, highways and mass transit, insurance costs, health care infrastructure, climate change forecasts, crime rates and availability of high speed internet (if you are partially retiring and working from home).

I am currently partially retired and had to consider all these things w/r/t staying or moving. I realize taxes could be considered part of "cost of living" but they can vary based on how you earn/draw your income, your age, housing, etc.
posted by forthright at 5:18 PM on June 18, 2020

City-data (their forums are pretty good too) or Sperling’s Best Places. In my experience there’s a lot of overlap, but the former is more comprehensive while the latter is better presented.
posted by kevinbelt at 6:34 PM on June 18, 2020

If being able to walk (or cycle) for errands and leisure matters to you, you can check out Walk Score, but be aware of some of the problems with it.
posted by brianogilvie at 8:02 PM on June 18, 2020

Zengargoyle, yes, from the OP replying with “here” and “domestically” and then saying they will use the US-based site we can manage to figure out they’re probably thinking about the US. (And also not even thinking to specify is another hint maybe?) People all over the world use the internet, and this site, so if you don’t say where “here” is everyone aware of this fact has to comb through the post and conversation to try and figure out the location (hi my time zone!)
Anyway, no hard feelings OP, but try to tell us where you actually are next time! If we had the same “here” I’d recommend southern Tohoku for the weather, and because I’m biased, but this site seems to have a good comparison tool (Japanese)
posted by sacchan at 12:19 AM on June 19, 2020 [3 favorites]

Usually frowned upon, but past posting indicates as of June/July last year, OP was living in Houston, TX.
posted by cooker girl at 6:42 AM on June 19, 2020

Mod note: Several comments removed. Being frustrated by US-centricism on MeFi is totally understandable, but let's not take that out on an asker. Please keep things in here helpful and kind
posted by travelingthyme (staff) at 7:41 AM on June 19, 2020 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: So sorry for the confusion. I was writing in a bit of a hurry. I do live in Houston currently and my question pertained to searches in the US. I was looking for good demographic sites/resources rather than "best places to " whatever. At least initially.
Thanks.
posted by jtexman1 at 9:25 AM on June 19, 2020 [1 favorite]

You should still look at Sperling's Best Places. The name is misleading. It's mostly statistics about whatever place you search for. There's a comparison feature, too, which is helpful in your case.
posted by kevinbelt at 9:39 AM on June 19, 2020

One thing to consider: you can deduct most, if not all of your Social Security income on your federal taxes, but you may have to pay state income tax on any other source of retirement income. You might want to consider moving to a state that does not have state income tax.
posted by Lynsey at 11:15 AM on June 19, 2020