Hot Rods Where old hot rodders retire

The cor'elelane,idaho and lake Cort'elane [SP] area is totally beautiful! Last time I was there, I made a mental note to check into it for retirement. Local girl told me it hasn't frozen in winter since the 20s.

 

Today may have put me over the edge! Leak in house from ice dams on roof.
Spent the day breaking ice and cleaning up. Look out HRP I may be on my way soon.
Oh and it is about 12 degrees out and snowing now.
And did I tell you about my taxes?

 

you need a vacation.

 

Wow! I was sitting down to write he question and hear what you guys would say about this very subject. Wife and I are headed for TN and FL. in a month or so to look for new digs. This has given me some great ideas from solid knowledge. Thanks gentlemen.

 

Coeur D'alene Idaho is beautiful. If I were looking in that area I would move to Spokane Wa. and enjoy both. Bosie is OK but the further north the better.

 

'Have historically significant 200 year old farm house for sale...NC. Sits on five acres...75 miles south of Norfolk. Near the water, Great hunting area. Great Retirement project. Great weather. Be great if one of you fellas wanting out of the city would make me a offer...just sayin'.

 

I'll retire early if this comes about!

 

Pat Thompson, excellent idea ! A Hot Rod community would be neat !

 

Wisconsin lite.....

 

I LL LIVE STAY JAMESTOWN NY FOR EVER I HAVE 2 HOTRODS DRIVE FOREVER MY TAXES CHEAP MY HOUSE REALLY BEATUP TIM

 

No state taxes in TN or FL, but you have other payments to catch up. TN is nice in the south eastern part of the state, Florida is best enjoyed knowing that you don't have to stay. I live in Atlanta most of the time which GA has an income tax. Winter is two months long, summers are very tolerable but can be hot. Atlanta is 1,000 ft above sea level. Summer nights are easy cruising weather. You can dine out on the patio when the sun goes down. Chattanooga is a great place to live, Nashville can be much colder. I'm also wondering how my garage will follow me when I retire and have grandchildren. You think you don't have time when your kids live at home, then you don't have time when they move out and have a family themselves.

 

You say potato...



Let's call the whole thing off!

 

( In my best John Milner voice ); "Bullshit Man! I ain't goin off to no fancy retirement State. I'm staying right here having fun as usual".
That's been my plan all along. I'd be happy as hell to stay and retire here, but honestly, I'll have to see if I can afford to stay in Cali when I retire in 8-10 years. I have 2 kids that are through college and out on their own and 2 that are pre college. I should be close to mortgage free by then, but how much college I have to pay for is a huge factor. Taxes, DMV fees and cost of living are high here.
Family and friends are here. The beach is 30 minutes. Mountains and desert a hour and hour and a half. Took the kids snowboarding in Big Bear last weekend (8500'). It was a 3 hour drive, but I came home to 75 degree Feb day and didn't have to deal with the snow. All the theme parks (Disneyland, etc.), Pomona, etc. are all within a 1 1/2- 2 1/2 hour drive. Tons of things to do (car and non car).
Plan B would be to stay in the Southwest, just outside of CA. in Az or Nv. If the kids settle and stay here, the Wife and I can always RV for extended stays.
Been a very interesting and sobering thread to read. It's never too soon to start planning. Be pragmatic. Everything in life is a compromise or trade off. You can't have everything (where would you put it?).

 

You build your hot rod retirement city called Hambsville (AKA Sun City) then someone says "hey, I got an idea, lets form an HOA and make some rules to abide by", like no lawn chairs newer than 1965. Then to make it worse the adjoining property is developed into "Off Topic City" with all them people and those cars. I think by nature, "Hot Rodders and Custom guys" are individualist and with that, do you really want to live in a place where everyone else wants to live?

 

HAMBsville would be a utopian community where all late models would have to be parked out on the perimeter. The only vehicles allowed in the central part of the community would be traditional hot rods and customs. Of course all homes would come with multiple car garages with 14 foot ceilings and lifts in each one. Shaving would of course be optional but weekly baths would be encouraged. Temps would never go above 82 or drop below 50 year round. Humidity would be a constant at approx. 50%. Water would come from a central reservoir and of course be free. Each home could be equipped with taps for hot, cold and your choice of beers. For those into exercise bikes, (really?) each one would be equipped with tiny generators to help create electricity for the community to offset that cost. Crime would not be permitted of course. When and where can we start construction??

 

We'd need an airport for those of us that are into warbirds also, a lake for those who like old boats, a truckstop nearby for those of us that like old trucks, a special little parking lot at the local shopping center for pedal cars, special parking areas for those "Fords in Fords", "Dodges in Dodges", etc, no muffler rapping after 10PM, (my wife has to get up early to go to work to support me) LOL Central Wisconsin is looking better and better!

 

Fellow Wisconsinite, agree with you, these last 2 winters have been brutal.
Chose to retire to north woods, lovin it, still snowmobile, BUT the COLD ! Phoenix has a lot of car activity, was planning on going, Jan/Feb, a health issue stopped me, but it stops because of heat for months in summer, I'm told. Beginning to rethink things, some friends have bought in Florida, great bargains available, humidity is awful. Where is the Best ? Snowbird idea, hopefully next winter for me. Thinking, everywhere has +'s & -'s, need to win lottery to make it simple

 

You are quite right about the fact of getting elderly and needing help that is 1000 miles away however with a little pre planning not waiting until your 70 You can purchase long care or home health policies at a reasonable price.That way you don't need to worry about the distance between you and your family and you won't be a Burden to them.

 

We think about going some where else but home is home no matter where your from. We have been here our whole life. Where its warm in winter its to dame hot for me in summer and then there is that humidity thing. I have been in the trucking business for 40 years and been about everywhere and there are a lot of places I really like. But If you look at it as 365 days a year its pretty hard to beat Colorado's front range. 10 inches of snow this week temps in the 60's next week and not a trace of snow and summer not to hot and there is that humidity thing again. Maybe I'm just to dame old to change. But that HAMBsville sounds pretty cool.

 

Colorado is nice. My daughter lives in Brighton, grandson in Thornton and grandfather lived many years in Fort Collins after a ranching career outside of Cheyenne on the Wyoming Hereford Ranch. As nice as it is, it's another place for those who don't live there think the grass is greener. We all have our paradise found and really don't want outsiders screwing it up. (Are you listening Austin?) But again, In Oklahoma, Colorado is just a nice drive away. Oklahoma, half way to anywhere!

 

Idaho is pretty nice, I'm North of CDA, 10 acres and 1300 SF garage. They have State Income Tax,(last year mine was $291.00, property tax was $1100.00). Car license / registration / insurance reasonable. No smog chks or inspections, just VIN chks on out of state rigs. Winters can be rough, but the last 3 years have been easy. Unfortunately I had to move back to Las Vegas so my place is on the market. 'Vegas is pretty good but more expensive.

 

I think about Pocatello and 80,002# of taters on New Years Eve going thru the mountains to miss the scales. Ooops there was one right over the line in Alpine!

 

QUICK! eat two pounds of taters! Got caught in south central Oregon hauling lumber by a scale I didn't know was there.

 

Just a thought...how many have packed up and left family, friends and home only to find the grass wasn't really greener? So many things to consider: ***Quality Health care access**** ( we are all getting older), social activities, restaurants, crime, religious affiliations, proximity to car shows, swap meets, like minded hot rodders, etc., etc. I have heard of many who have moved to Florida from the cold N.E. and three to four years later are moving back to be closer to family, friends and doctors. Figure I may only have one or two moves left in me so have to be smart about the next one. Afraid the last one may involve custodial care...NOT!

 

I had to get away from the city when I retired, went west from Seattle to
Port Angeles/ Sequim area. It's one of the best decisions I've ever made.
The weather is moderate, traffic is no issue,great car culture going on, it's
just a great place to live. PS. First class health care is minuets away also.


................................. Jack

 

X2 on that!

 

Albuquerque isn't half bad. I'm originally from way upstate NY. Hated the cold. Lived in Houston for several years. Loved it. Nicest folks I could ever know from Tx.

Albuquerque sees mostly 90's in the summer by mid day but there is zero humidity so it really isn't unbearable. 70's overnight and mornings. Winters last about 2 months of mostly 40's. If it snows a couple inches 3 or 4 times its gone within a day. Don't bother shoveling. Mountains close by if you want to spend more time with the white stuff. There are more car shows, events, etc. that you can get to locally. Every weekend there are literally several. You cannot attend them all. I've never seen anything like it for such a small city. And they have a local, 50 yr old drag track which hosts a "Hot Rod Rumble" each year.

Comfortable weather, not too far from So Cal, Vegas, Phoenix, Tx, the gulf... Lots of classic cars. What's not to like?

 

To the Original Poster - To find a new place to call home requires a fair amount of research. We happened to travel with my wife's folks to Prescott AZ where they had bought a lot to eventually build on and that was back in '97. We liked it based on views, traffic ('lack of' when compared to the SF Bay Area), available shopping, land prices and last but definitely not least...other car hobbyists in the area. The intent was to build in about 10 years once we retired but that got delayed with the economy tanking (couldn't build new when the old wouldn't sell) so we finally built that new home and drumroll...two garages and moved in last September. Bottom line, visit any prospective retirement location a number of times (and different times of the year to get a good feel for the weather) and chat up the locals to see it's really the place for you. Good luck.
Mike T - Prescott AZ

 

Vet65te posts some good advice there. Researching the intended area (s) to move to in person and talking to the locals in the area is a prime consideration.

In other news, my Niece in Austin TX posted that schools were closed and people were sliding off the bridges because of winter weather.

 

Mike; Your not he first to recommend this area. My wife and I have visited Prescott a couple of times and we are in agreement with you. Actually looked at several homes when there but couldn't pull the plug at that time and garage space was inadequate for me. New construction makes sense. My wife loved the down town area and I am glad there is an abundance of car related activity. It's on our soon to be developed short list.