Retirement pending, I'm out!!

[nybluebird]

looking for place to retire/ raise family

So as I sit here typing, the snow is swirling around the light on my back deck. All the more reason to leave!! What better time to start up a thread, and ask y'all where to move. Due to an injury sustained in the performance of duty, I MAY be awarded an early disability pension. Not sure yet, but it is a real possibility. If it happens, it will be in the next 6-18 months presumably. Even if I complete my service (full 20 years), I will be eligible for retirement in about 5 (20 and out! as we say). :beach:

I have lived in and around the southeast NY/ NY metro area my entire life, and while I'll always be a little but New Yawk, I gotta get out. Can no longer stand the people, the traffic, the pollution, and more recently the weather. I've driven across country on several occasions, North route, South route, up and down the Atlantic coast, Gulf Coast etc... I've seen many places in these beautiful United States, and almost always like it better than NY.

So I'm looking for opinions on where to move. :help: My criteria is not concrete, but here are some things that I need to consider:
School: I have a daughter 7, and son 5, and they are THE most important part pf the criteria. Their education is the very important.
Hospital: Guess it may be important to have a good Health Care facility, hospitals etc.
Golf: Obviously, golf is important.
Transportation: Proximity to a preferably major airport would be a +
Outdoor rec: I love my hiking, wifey and kids as well. We love the South West US (Az, Ut, etc..)
Cost of living: Housing, general economy
Crime rate: after spending seemingly half my life in Law Enforcement :busted_cop: , you get the idea.
Weather: I am done with being cold, and not being able to golf for 4-5 months a year.
The above just scratch the surface, I guess I'll see what kind of responses I get.
Some places that I have been which I like are, St George Ut, Phoenix Area, Myrtle Beach, Ocean City MD, Orlando area, Hilton Head, Charleston SC, etc...
Some other places that I haven't been to, or have only passed through or read about; Tucson area, Albuquerque NM, Austin TX, Johnson City Tn area.

Any and all input appreciated, thanks. :drinks:

[Sean2]

Before I finished reading your thread I was thinking Johnson City, TN. You still get the four seasons, but winters are much milder, and the golf courses are open year around (the public course in JC charges $11 to walk 18 holes in the winter--plenty of nice golf in the area). There is a teaching hospital in town and a fairly large university (Eastern Tennessee State), plenty of hiking in the nearby mountains (go to the top of Roan Mountain in June when the Rhododendrens are in full bloom--just beautiful), and it's a lot less expensive than metro Northeast. The Tri-Cities airport is small, but can accommodate large passenger jets with no problem. I don't know about the public schools or the crime rate.

As a member of law enforcement could you call one of your colleagues on the JC PD and get some more detailed information?

In any event, good luck where ever you decide to go! I wish I could move myself. :-)

[FightingScot93]

If I were in the same situation as you my list would look like this:

Wilmington NC
Huntsville AL
Corpus Christi TX
Santa Fe NM
Flagstaff AZ

[MadGolfer76]

So...I have a place in mind. The schools are excellent - high standards with great higher education. There are NO unsafe places in the entire state (I know that sounds naive, but it is the truth). Many people leave their doors unlocked, even at night or when they go on vacation. There is no better outdoor recreation in the country. Hiking, skiing, kayaking/water sports, hunting/fishing, etc.

Housing is cheap. You can buy superior homes for unbelievable low prices (except for the coast). There is a great international airport and one of the best medical facilities on the east coast. A major research university is about 10 miles away.

Economy is ok in the southern parts of the state (as good as anywhere else right now) and around the coast. Cost of living around the coast is high but not bad if you go a little inland.

BUT...

You will be in Bangor, Maine, which I know you might not like because you said you didn't want to be cold. Cost of heating can be high, too, although the overall cost of living/housing is very cheap. Golf memberships are way under $1000.00.

The upside of this is that you will NEVER have to worry about being safe again and your children will get an excellent education. Cost of living is cheap, and so are the homes. Outdoor rec. can't be beat.

By the way, whatever you did to get injured in the line of duty, thank you for doing it.

[Tmiller72]

I play a lot of golf in the Johnson City area. East TN is a very nice area.

[Lefty Cat]

There are enough New York/Jersians in Orlando/Cocoa Beach area that you would feel right at home. Seriously, this is where they [b][i][u][size=4]ALL[/size][/u][/i][/b] retire to. Golf any day of the year you want. I've played day after Christmas two years running and will probably do the same again this year.

[nybluebird]

[quote name='DefConOne' post='2134575' date='Dec 19 2009, 10:52 PM']Before I finished reading your thread I was thinking Johnson City, TN. You still get the four seasons, but winters are much milder, and the golf courses are open year around (the public course in JC charges $11 to walk 18 holes in the winter--plenty of nice golf in the area). There is a teaching hospital in town and a fairly large university (Eastern Tennessee State), plenty of hiking in the nearby mountains (go to the top of Roan Mountain in June when the Rhododendrens are in full bloom--just beautiful), and it's a lot less expensive than metro Northeast. The Tri-Cities airport is small, but can accommodate large passenger jets with no problem. I don't know about the public schools or the crime rate.

As a member of law enforcement could you call one of your colleagues on the JC PD and get some more detailed information?

In any event, good luck where ever you decide to go! I wish I could move myself. :-)[/quote]
Thanks. I drove through the area over the summer, and told my old man that we should stop for a couple hours to check it out but unfortunately decided not to. Only because we were driving from NY, to Austin TX, and really were on a bit of a tight schedule. Before we made the trek, I had asked on another un-named golf forum where to stop and golf on the route and a couple of guys said the Tri-City area. We "settled" on 3 days in Al on the RTJ Golf Trail, which was great.

I guess I could make a phone call to my brothers in blue whenever the time comes, great idea thanks.

[Guia]

I recommend Albuquerque, NM. It is very dry and very comfortable to play in any weather that is 38 degrees or better. Doesn't get much snow, golf is cheap, lots of great courses, housing is relatively inexpensive.

Santa Fe is expensive for housing, and it has too many snow days. Same for Flagstaff, AZ, I like the town but winter is snowy.

Phoenix and Tucson get very hot, but they do have a lot of good courses.

[potuna]

Go west young man.

[heisagoalie]

Hershey, PA

Top public schools
Top hospital in town (which includes Penn State's medical school)
Golf - lots nearby, Hershey Country Club (where Hogan was a pro), and Hershey Links - a US Open qualifying course I believe
Outdoor rec - Gifford Pinchot State park is 40 minutes away, and lots of other more local stuff
Transportation - Harrisburg International, and Philly and Baltimore also fairly close. (1 1/2 hr)
Cost of living - a bit more expensive, but this obviously leads to the next...
Crime rate - non existant.
Weather - probably the toughest sell, but being in south central PA, it is a normal east coast style winter, mild, golfable when snow isn't on the ground. Probably out from mid December to end of Feb.

hope you find the place you're looking for!

[Bucken77]

I moved from LI NY to Raleigh, NC, and wished I had done it much sooner. Loving it down here and you can play pretty comfortably 10 months of the year.

[potuna]

[quote name='Chunkylover77' post='2134694' date='Dec 20 2009, 12:09 AM']I moved from LI NY to Raleigh, NC, and wished I had done it much sooner. Loving it down here and you can play pretty comfortably 10 months of the year.[/quote]

Golf is a year round sport if you know where to live.

[Texsport]

Give Sugar Land, Texas a look.

[url="http://www.sugarlandtx.gov/"]http://www.sugarlandtx.gov/[/url]

Suburb of Houston.

One of the fastest growing, very low crime, "best places to live" list maker, good economy with low unemployment.

New, modern, highly rated schools.

Young population--many have medical, computer, and oil related jobs.

Housing costs are way lower than N Y---maybe the lowest of any major city.

No state income tax, great weather, MLB, NFL, NBA, + minor league hockey teams.

Close to the coast, hill country and a few hours from Big Bend.

Houston area has over 100 golf courses also!

Texsport

[sev20]

[quote name='nybluebird' post='2134551' date='Dec 19 2009, 10:39 PM']So as I sit here typing, the snow is swirling around the light on my back deck. All the more reason to leave!! What better time to start up a thread, and ask y'all where to move. Due to an injury sustained in the performance of duty, I MAY be awarded an early disability pension. Not sure yet, but it is a real possibility. If it happens, it will be in the next 6-18 months presumably. Even if I complete my service (full 20 years), I will be eligible for retirement in about 5 (20 and out! as we say).

I have lived in and around the southeast NY/ NY metro area my entire life, and while I'll always be a little but New Yawk, I gotta get out. Can no longer stand the people, the traffic, the pollution, and more recently the weather. I've driven across country on several occasions, North route, South route, up and down the Atlantic coast, Gulf Coast etc... I've seen many places in these beautiful United States, and almost always like it better than NY.

So I'm looking for opinions on where to move. My criteria is not concrete, but here are some things that I need to consider:
School: I have a daughter 7, and son 5, and they are THE most important part pf the criteria. Their education is the very important.
Hospital: Guess it may be important to have a good Health Care facility, hospitals etc.
Golf: Obviously, golf is important.
Transportation: Proximity to a preferably major airport would be a +
Outdoor rec: I love my hiking, wifey and kids as well. We love the South West US (Az, Ut, etc..)
Cost of living: Housing, general economy
Crime rate: after spending seemingly half my life in Law Enforcement , you get the idea.
Weather: I am done with being cold, and not being able to golf for 4-5 months a year.
The above just scratch the surface, I guess I'll see what kind of responses I get.
Some places that I have been which I like are, St George Ut, Phoenix Area, Myrtle Beach, Ocean City MD, Orlando area, Hilton Head, Charleston SC, etc...
Some other places that I haven't been to, or have only passed through or read about; Tucson area, Albuquerque NM, Austin TX, Johnson City Tn area.

Any and all input appreciated, thanks. [/quote]

Have you ever thought abought retiring oversea's?

[Mr.B]

New Zealand !

[FATC1TY]

Move to Georgia or South Carolina.

Good schools, good economy for the most part.

Safe if you stay out of the major cities..

Year round golf.. short drives to coasts, and mountains.. Plenty of outdoor stuff to do, like hunting, fishing, hiking.. Cheaper cost of living than ANYWHERE up north.

And we have 4 seasons down here. No snow, too.

[Rolex]

There's a state law requiring all New Yorkers move to South Florida.

From Boca Raton to North Miami Beach, hundreds of thousands of former police and firemen on disability from bad backs are going through rehabilitation cleaning the swimming pool, washing the Cadillac and playing golf. The other hundreds of thousands or New Yorkers moved there after retiring from the "gaaaament bidness" after receiving the payout from the insurance after the mysterious fire that occurred close to their 55th birthday. In another strange coincidence, a large group of young, retired fire insurance adjusters seem to have settled there also...

[nybluebird]

By the way, whatever you did to get injured in the line of duty, thank you for doing it.

Wasn't too big a deal really. Some shmo didn't wanna go to jail, but I had other plans for him. Busted up my wrist pretty good in the process, had surgery 2 weeks ago and start therapy soon. It's all good. Thanks for the reply...my best friend was born in Bangor, but claims to never have "stepped foot" in the town (he moved before he could walk

[nybluebird]

[quote name='Rolex' post='2134798' date='Dec 20 2009, 01:48 AM']There's a state law requiring all New Yorkers move to South Florida.

From Boca Raton to North Miami Beach, hundreds of thousands of former police and firemen on disability from bad backs are going through rehabilitation cleaning the swimming pool, washing the Cadillac and playing golf. The other hundreds of thousands or New Yorkers moved there after retiring from the "gaaaament bidness" after receiving the payout from the insurance after the mysterious fire that occurred close to their 55th birthday. In another strange coincidence, a large group of young, retired fire insurance adjusters seem to have settled there also...

[/quote]
Ha-Ha! Include my folks (my Pop is retired FDNY) in on that...they are about to close on a place in Jupiter. C'mon man, don't hate! Your talkin bout 50'000 uniformed employee's between FD and PD...guys are bound to get banged up. Remember, most of these guys ain't pushin pencils, and talkin around the water cooler. I hear ya though, unfortunately its the American way. The land of oppurtunity. Not sure if wifey would dig Florida anyway, for some reason she says she just couldn't live there. I dunno, chicks are wierd. Thanks.
BTW, maybe if I get my disability pension, I'll jump out of my pool into my Caddy, and down to an expensive jeweler in Palm Beach and git me an uh...."ROLEX".

[fore_life]

[quote name='Tmiller72' post='2134617' date='Dec 19 2009, 09:29 PM']I play a lot of golf in the Johnson City area. East TN is a very nice area.[/quote]


That was going to be my suggestion.
Im moving there in two years when my fiancee's pharmacy contract is up and shes able to transfer.

[Rolex]

It's refreshing to see someone with a sense of humor, nybluebird. Too many people take everything too serious...

Check out Nashville, Tennessee. You'd be surprised how affordable and how nice a place it is. Don't tell too many people about it, though. Many transplants are trying to keep it a secret.

[fore_life]

Doesnt Nashville have worse weather than eastern TN?

[nybluebird]

It's refreshing to see someone with a sense of humor, nybluebird. Too many people take everything too serious...

 

Check out Nashville, Tennessee. You'd be surprised how affordable and how nice a place it is. Don't tell too many people about it, though. Many transplants are trying to keep it a secret.

 

Ain't no thing but a chicken wing. Ha, I know when I'm being mocked, and when tongue is planted firmly in cheek.. Like water off a ducks back.

 

Seems to be lots of love for Tennessee, that will definitely be on my list of places to show wifey. Nashville huh? Never even crossed my mind (probably wouldn't want my Yankee a** there anyway :cheesy: ). I'll bet its as humid as Shaq's shorts in Tennessee from May to Oct.

[fore_life]

check out these pics from my trip to Johnson City, TN.

FANTASTIC golf

[url="http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=310381"]http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=310381[/url]

[rafal]

Plano, TX (no income tax, reasonable housing prices and quality schools)...and if you pick Texas, avoid Houston IMHO.

[Coach Ritz]

Stay out of South Florida if education and a safe place for your family is a priority. Yes the golf is good usually great and year around, albeit very expensive during season. I want to leave here, wanna buy my house?????

[aidandias]

Went to ccollege in Knoxville,Tn and live in Greenville,SC have traveled and golfed the US very extensively. Woould have to say the Greenville SC, up to the Tri cities area of Tn woould have to be the best. Greenville is 3.5 hrs from the ocean and twenty minutes to the mountains has an airport. It is 2.5 hrs to Atlanta and 1.5 to charlotte NC people are as nice as anywhere (people are people everywhere) and several good universities within 4hrs.

[mshills]

Raleigh / Durham / Chapel Hill / Cary / "Research Triangle" area in NC is a great place to live and meets most if not all of your criteria.

Wilmington, NC is nice as well if you want to be closer to the ocean.

Nashville, TN is a great city, very underrated and a good place to live.

Austin, TX is one of my favorite cities. I don't know much about the golf in the area, but have several colleagues who relocated to Atlanta from Austin and they rave about what a great place it (was) is to live.

Portland, OR would be near the top of my list, as would Seattle, WA. Seattle is of course a more expensive place to live, but there are benefits to the larger, pricier cities.

Myrtle Beach is an obvious choice for cost of living and great golf, but not sure it meets your other criteria re: close to major airport and quality schools and such. Atlanta is the same way - we enjoy living here but [b][u]we[/u][/b] feel the public education system gets a big .

[kurob]

Austin, TX. Cost of living isn't bad considering the size of city, good schools (though you'll probably want to live in the 'burbs for that), relatively inexpensive golf and lots of courses to choose from, and the airport is relatively convenient...though you'll find yourself connecting in Dallas a lot. I love it because I wanted the urban conveniences without the cost and crime that come with living in a truly large city. Austin meets a nice middle ground for me in that regard.

[Jameskd2]

[quote name='mrhills0146' post='2134994' date='Dec 20 2009, 09:03 AM'][b]Raleigh / Durham / Chapel Hill / Cary / "Research Triangle" area in NC is a great place to live and meets most if not all of your criteria.
[/b]
Wilmington, NC is nice as well if you want to be closer to the ocean.

Nashville, TN is a great city, very underrated and a good place to live.

Austin, TX is one of my favorite cities. I don't know much about the golf in the area, but have several colleagues who relocated to Atlanta from Austin and they rave about what a great place it (was) is to live.

Portland, OR would be near the top of my list, as would Seattle, WA. Seattle is of course a more expensive place to live, but there are benefits to the larger, pricier cities.

Myrtle Beach is an obvious choice for cost of living and great golf, but not sure it meets your other criteria re: close to major airport and quality schools and such. Atlanta is the same way - we enjoy living here but [b][u]we[/u][/b] feel the public education system gets a big .[/quote]

+2 on the triangle. There is no place I would rather raise a family then Chapel Hill. I lived between there and Durham from birth to college and it really does meet all of your criteria.