I love cool weather and hiking, but can’t afford to stay in Oakland – where in the western US should I retire?
I need advice. I am a single parent looking to retire in around 4 years. I’m ready to buy a home but want to stay under $ 700,000. I want to stay in the west (I’m currently in Oakland, California, but can’t afford it), and I love cool weather, the outdoors for hiking, a safe environment, and a bit of culture … and in that order.
If I have to drive a bit to get a change, I’m fine.
Is it possible?
Dominique
Dominique,
I’m just as excited as anyone to see if working from anywhere will be enough to bring real estate prices down in the Bay Area on a sustainable basis.
But let’s assume that’s not the case. You could spend the next four years focusing on growing your savings (perhaps through higher income) and thus your housing budget, so you can stay in an area you know. You could lower your expectations for space requirements or proximity to transport, and this could open up cheaper housing options.
Or, you can look beyond the Bay Area as you seem ready.
In general, this means continuing up the coast unless you can handle a lot of snow in the mountains. I have suggested a few college towns in Oregon in the past; You might want to consider Corvallis and Eugene. If you’re looking to look the southwest, Santa Fe (suggested here) might work.
Below are a few more suggestions. As always, spend some time as a local before getting fully involved.
Before you begin exploring these options, however, double-check your retirement data, be it with the help of the company managing your investments or this calculator, created in partnership with MarketWatch, that you can use to test various assumptions. Be conservative; You don’t want any nasty surprises 25 years later.
Eureka, California
Getty Images / iStockphoto
If you’re looking to stay in California, check out Eureka – the largest city on US 101 between San Francisco and Portland – and the rest of Humboldt County. Low humidity in summer. No snow either. Average highs will range from the mid-50s to the mid-60s throughout the year. You would be surrounded by redwood national and state parks, as well as other forests and state parks. About half of the population of the district describe themselves as artistically active.
Eureka, known for its Victorian architecture and cannabis-friendly atmosphere, is the county seat and has a population of 26,000; Tiny Trinidad half an hour north is a magnet for retirees. In total, Humboldt County, one of the largest counties in the USA, has around 135,000 inhabitants.
The area is more than Murder Mountain, the marijuana-themed Netflix series, although there are plenty of cannabis-related stores here. This once difficult economic area has been discovered by the WFH crowd and others, and cash offers for homes have become commonplace; WSJ / Realtor.com’s Emerging Housing Markets Index was ranked 15th in the summer of 2021.
Further growth will come, in part as Humboldt State University becomes a college and gets a STEM major, potentially doubling its size. The local economy could get an extra boost from a trans-Pacific underwater fiber optic cable that will land in Eureka. But it could mean even greater pressure on the housing market.
You can get your cultural offerings at the Arkley Center for the Performing Arts, as well as at outdoor concerts and live music. As you explore, take the time to stroll past some of Eureka’s many murals. And of course you will find a strong artisanal food culture here.
Okay, taxes. Yes, there are these property taxes to consider. But California may be a little more senior-friendly than you think; California is one of the 37 states that do not tax social security benefits, and there is no state inheritance tax. They are already used to the state’s high sales tax.
The median price of Eureka homes in the market in July 2021 was $ 392,000, according to Realtor.com, which, like MarketWatch, is owned by News Corp. are. The national median is slightly higher. Here’s what’s currently on the market in Eureka and across the county.
Vancouver, Washington
The 5-acre Esther Short Park is a public hangout in Vancouver, Wash.
Courtesy Visit Vancouver USA
This town of nearly 190,000 is across the river from Portland, Oregon and all of its cultural amenities, but average house prices are about $ 100,000 lower. Because it is in Washington state, there is no state income tax. There is no sales tax in Oregon, so you can get it too.
You can hike near your home in Whipple Creek Regional Park or drive to the Columbia River Gorge. When the mountains call, it’s about 90 minutes to Mount Hood in Oregon or Mount St. Helen’s in Washington.
It’s also just over 90 minutes to Tillamook or Cannon Beach on the Oregon Coast. Just one caveat: while the Oregon coastline is breathtaking, these aren’t your warm-weather white-sand beaches.
Although Portland will be the cultural center of this larger metropolitan area of 2.4 million people, you will still find cultural offerings on the north side of the Columbia River. Start with the Sunlight Supply Amphitheater north of Vancouver, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and the Magenta Theater, a community theater.
You can expect average winter highs in the upper 40s to 50s with minimal snow (but you will have rain) and average summer highs in the lower 80s.
This is what the real estate market looks like in Vancouver, where the average list price in July was around $ 440,000. But given your budget, you can also afford Portland.
Glenwood Springs, Colorado
One of the public hot springs in Glenwood Springs
Getty Images
That’s my wild card: a historic mountain town of 10,000 people, rather than a more obvious choice like Denver. Glenwood Springs offers nature – not just mountains and hiking (starting with Glenwood Canyon), but also two rivers for rafting and fishing and then hot springs.
But while Glenwood Springs draws the tourist in, it still has the feel of a town, not a resort. For example, you can find Target and Walmart here.
You will get some big snowfalls too, but the average winter altitudes in this high alpine desert climate are in the upper 30s. Average summer temperatures hit the upper 80s.
If that’s your winter thing, you’ve got some great skiing nearby to spend the day – Aspen is 45 minutes away and Vail is an hour away.
True, Glenwood Springs is more about outdoor activities than high culture. Theaters can be found at the Sopris Theater Company at Colorado Mountain College and the Thunder River Theater Company in Carbondale, 13 miles away. Glenwood Springs also hosts free outdoor concerts during the summer.
Despite being in the mountains, the average summer highs hit the upper 80s. Is that too warm? The average winter highs are in the upper 30s.
You need your large residential budget to live here – the average list price for a home is around $ 654,000, according to Realtor.com. And it only gets more expensive the closer you get to Aspen (for example, the average home price in Artsy Carbondale is closer to $ 1 million). Are you thinking of condominiums? Here’s what’s on the market right now.
House prices get cheaper to the west. You can reach Grand Junction (suggested here) in 75 minutes. It’s more desert, less snow and cheaper, but also more spacious.
Where should Dominique retire? Leave your suggestions in the comment section.
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