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MY home has been paid off now for about seven years now and I just have the taxes,but there is maintenace and have to buy a new wood stove this summer,but now fpr the first time I have health insurance to pay for and that will make a difference as I am just squeaking by.

That doesn't sound 'cheap' to me either. We bought our house 14 years ago and our mortgage payment is only $245/month. I think I'll stay put!! It will be paid off in a few years.

Anyone retiring and worried about their finances should take the time to research places to live outside the USA. You will find there are many countries where it costs much less to live. I chose the Philippines where I live comfortably on my $562 monthly s/s. I built a small house, have a 4W Suzuki, Honda motorcycle, full time help and friendly neighbors. I think I'm living well. Actually, I know I'm living well because my area is pollution free and my diet is mainly freshly grown fruits and vegetables. The pic is a bay next to my home where many yachts anchor year round because it is a safe hurricane hole.

Oh, I forgot to mention NO TAXES. I've lived in the Philippines for 10 yrs and have never had to pay personal taxes. There are excise taxes and import taxes on various items but the P. I. is a totally self sufficient country so you don't have to buy imported goods unless you feel it's necessary. Like for that German chocolate I love so much.

I was expecting more of this topic.

I assume that most of us want to retire to a place where there is little or no snow and ice to slip and fall on.

As to "Cheap", my guess is that Tenn., Kentucky, and Alabama would be pretty cheap places to live. I would choose a small town with a couple of Colleges so there would be things to do.

Another thing I would like, is to retire to a place where English is the only language one would need to speak in order to get by. I would also like to go somewhere where the crime rate is very low. (Wouldn't it be nice to be able to walk around in your own neighborhood?---EVEN AFTER DARK??

There must be good Doctors and Hospitals, and I would love it if Kaiser Perm. were available because I hate to have to change Medical Plans.

Pleasant, reasonably priced Diners, and good grocery stores, as well as a nice, "Old Town", to walk around in on summer evenings would be good. (Big Box Stores are important, but I would not mind driving 20 miles to get to them.)

A decent sized Lake would be a plus. (As would Mountains and an Ocean within 50 to 100 miles.)

I guess an Ocean within driving distance sort of puts a crimp in the, "Cheap", idea.

At least two thirds of the days should be mostly sunny, and the temperature should seldom go above 90 degrees, or below 40 degrees.

There should be at least one large Ballroom. (One that is used for Dancing, not business meetings.) Two or more Dance Studios would be important to me.

Well, I could go on, but you get the idea.

Michael

I think there are at least three location factor for people who retire...

the first retiree loves where they live and wants to stay there regardless of what the weather is like.

The second one always dreamed about living somewhere else and brings a lot of energy to picking where that perfect place is.

The third has $$ as a factor and is looking for the less expensive and it doesn't matter where they live. Maybe can't afford to move from here to there.

I agree - MichaelAllen1 - there is a lot to talk about here...

Hubby is looking into a Dockominium. You buy this houseboat on the bay/lake/water and you have no rent fee or if you do its minimal, no taxes for sure, and quiet neibors usually.

Jerrymerry, don't you pay cable or how do you get your internet? Wouldn't that be expensive?

My main man (Hubby) and I have retired to Baja California, Mexico. We own our double wide mobile home and the land it sits on. We live a block from the main street of our town (Rosarito Beach). We own a two bedroom rental house in our compound. Our property taxes were $41.00US this year. We absolutely LOVE it here. We have lived here for more than five years.

We are only about 30 minutes from the US and can use doctors on either side of the border. If we have a simple illness, like a cold or something, we can go to a doctor less than a mile from here for $4.00, and buy any medicine next door quite inexpensively. Our dentist is about a block from us and is excellent. She was trained and worked in the US for over five years. Not to mention, she is very affordable! A filling or a cleaning is less than $50 US.

The weather is uniformly pleasant all year. We have neither a heater nor an air conditioner. We live 2 blocks from the Pacific Ocean. We garden all year around and what vegetables we don't grow in our organic garden, we can buy locally (remember how much produce in the US comes from Mexico?)

Gee, I sound like a public relations person... LOL! I love it here, so much that I have a blog about it: view link

Feel free to check it out! I am happy to answer any questions about things here also!

Hey BajaGramma, what about all the drug related violence that's been in the news? Since you are so close to the US border, has it affected you at all?