Deciding Where You Want Be

This question, for us, wasn't too difficult. We both knew we wanted to be on the water. We already knew in what area of the country we wanted to settle, (east coast, near our family), then decided on what amenities we wanted to be near. We decided we wanted to build a home, so we would just look at "lots" (it wound up to be lots of lots!), then we narrowed down the "type" of body of water, (ocean, lake, river) and with that answer, we jumped in.

For some of you, though, it may not be as easy. You can start your search by writing down a list of what things will be important to you; health care and hospitals near by (of course), what climate zone?, cost of living?, housing costs, activities?, restaurants?, shopping? Will you want to be near family? Do you want the city life, where you can walk to all the amenities, or a more private setting, where you'll need to drive everywhere, but will have some peace and quiet. Did you always dream of living by a golf course? A lake? A ski resort? Do you think you want to look at an active adult community? There are many around the country, and more being built with so many of us reaching retirement age. This is the time to write down all these ideas, even if they seem crazy. Then, little by little, you will change your mind about some of your choices. Once you see them in print, and let yourself accept them as a real possibility, you will find that some were just notions, some just whimsy. And then you will find that some really have meaning for you. An area may call to you, and you can't get it out of your mind, no matter how impractical it may seem. That's where to start.

There is a magazine called "Where to Retire" that has some very good information. You can't access too much on the web site, www.wheretoretiremagazine.com but you can try a free issue, or request some free brochures from the current issue's advertisers. My advice is to get a copy once you've narrowed down your choices a bit. Each issue highlights certain areas, so you can buy or back-order one that has the area you may be interested in.

You can also check out www.epodunk.com, it has tons of information about different cities, or www.citysearch.com.

So first, write down your wish list of areas and amenities, then narrow it down it much as possible. This is just the beginning and you have to start somewhere, so don't worry too much that it's not complete or perfect.

In the coming weeks and months we hope to bring you some information from some of the people who we have had the pleasure of working with, our realtor, our builder, our landscaper, etc. If you have any questions, please send them in.

Till next time.