Did You Have To Leave An Area You Loved Because You Simply Couldn't Afford To Retire There?

After reading everyone's comments, personally I would prefer a blue state since I've been a New Yorker my entire life & considering I'm 20 min. from Hillary Clinton's house (met them 1x when they were looking to move here from the White House).  Anyway, the core issue for us must be financial.  Ideally, it would be great if we could live in our home state or a similar one with a low cost of living, low taxes & great medical care.  Unfortunately, not all 50 states have this, so we must weigh retirement survival vs. idealism.  This is an individual decision but reality does set in at retirement and you're faced with enjoying your freedom with the money in your bank account.  Once the money is gone, you can't return to work & collect another paycheck.

No I built my retirement home back where I was raised as a child I always said I am going home whenn I retire and God made it possible for me to do so...............

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@catrheaper wrote:

I live in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and I moved here about a dozen years ago. I love my friends, my church, my doctors (I am a cancer survivor, and we have a great health care system in the Bay State). The problem is, I don't have enough to retire here, because there is simply no affordable senior housing except subsidized housing that is tiny, depressing and few and far between with an incredibly long waiting list. With my ex-husband's social security that I would collect after I retire, it looks like I would have too much income to qualify for one of them anyway. I live in a small apartment as it is, and have no family here. 

My sisters live in Florida, but they are constantly complaining about how the Republican government (I guess this is the case with the majority of Southern states) is making life harder and harder for the poor and elderly. I worry that I wouldn't be able to find the quality of medical care I have in Massachusetts, and if the Republican Congress does away with Medicare, it might be the only safe state to stay in where you can keep your health insurance. 

Did any of you have to make this hard choice? Where did you live and where did you end up retiring to? Or did you just stay put, grit your teeth, tighten your belt and learn to live more lean? How did it go? Did you regret your decision? Did it turn out to be a good thing? Did you wish you had stayed put? Thanks!

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My husband and I moved into our California two-story home 37 years ago.  We were both working,  in our late 20's, and in good health. He was diagnosed with systemic lupus at age 36 and was forced to permanently retire at age 49. I was diagnosed with sarcoidosis at age 40, was the primary caregiver for my husband and two autistic grandsons (while my daughtr worked), and suffered from depression, so I retired at age 59. We are now 65 and he has major health issues: end-stage IV renal, severe heart disease, and peripheral neuropathy (in the hospital Nov-Feb-Apr). Our two-story house is very difficult for him, but we haven't relocated locally because we would be forced to part with valuable equity and settle for a far more restrictive mobile home or a condo--all we can afford due to the high cost of real estate in Orange County. It is difficult to leave this area because our three children live nearby and provide social-emotional support for us, and they will play an integral part in our aging process, as our placement in a convalescent home. We are vacillating between leaving this area/having more comfortable living conditions versus staying here/ waiting until we absolutely have to move to less accomodating living quarters.

My thoughts as well. I lived in MI, UT, and now NC. We need affordable housing for middle come 55+. We need AARP to go to Washington, DC or states to help the middle come seniors stay afloat and make affordable apt. living for us all. We do not quilfy for low income or make enough for "A Place for Mom".

No, we did not. We also live in the SF Bay Area but financial planning helped us recover from a personal bankruptcy in our early 40's and enabled us to take early retirement despite the Great Recession of 2008-9. We have a very comfortable lifestyle and have LTCi policies to cover old age infirmities (which feel like they're already starting, LOL!).

But we do have friends and family who are very worried about being able to keep living here. With Prop 13 came the good/bad: education suffered a loss of financing but seniors are able to keep a home as their property taxes rise only at a defined, moderate limit. It is hard on renters, though, of any age: very little rental housing is built here (land is very, very expensive) so costs often jump dramatically.

One couple we know moved to Panama. It took them 2 yrs to do a permanent move and once there they moved four or five times, trying different areas/elevations. They are currently happily settled in a gated community in Boquete. But if the husband could afford it, he'd move back to the US in a heartbeat. His wife was born in South America so not a problem for her.

The State of Florida welcomes retirees.  It is a haven for those seeking a senior friendly lifestyle.  I am not happy about having to relocate but reality is that I can no longer afford to live in California.

I live in western Massachusetts in a small town, I find the cost of living is fairly low. You might consider relocating a bit to the west .The cost of living here is much lower than Cape Cod, though probably slightly higher than the Midwest or South. I have enjoyed my 24 years in Massachusetts, but I miss the wide open spaces of the West and I have  decided to relocate to Wyoming or Idaho, where  I expect the cost of living for a low income persom will be slightly higher. I will miss living in a state where the average IQ seems to be 15 points higher than the rest of the country, living here was almost like living in a more advanced European country. I will also miss the beautiful New England Fall, I tell friends to try not to die until you have seen Autumn in New England.