Moving to a low-cost-of-living area to retire?

[dmc]

In Hermann, crime is practically non existant, houses are unlocked. Cars do not get stolen. Probably a package on my porch would sit there until a neighbor became concerned about it in our long absence, and he would take it in. (Well, We,do that here, too. When packages sit on my neighbors’ steps I sometimes take them in and send neighbor note.)

What is a bit unusual about Hermann is that this town is only 85 miles from the big bad city. And, there are plenty of small towns further away with measurable crime. Hermann is more like Minnesota/Wisconsin than rural Missouri.

We have never had a problem with deliveries going missing. I try and not have anything very expensive delivered while I’m out of town. But some of my worry is with it getting wet. I once had a retirement check sent to my house in Portage Des Sioux. I was starting to get conserned as it was for a fairly large amount, mid six figures. I found it under a flowerpot, the delivery guy must have stuck it there so it wouldn’t blow away.

[SteveinMN]

I'm interested in seeing how the huge shift in loss of storefront retail to internet will play out even in vibrant cities. One of my NYC friends posted an article about all the landmark NYC stores that are shuttering. Can you imagine the tumbleweeds rolling down the 5th avenue the way they are in some of the Midwestern cities?? I think we need to acknowledge vast changes in how community operates--not just from the commercial front, but the social front, too, and anticipate a lot more change before we figure it all out.

I believe we are in one of those multi-generational shifts, like the move from farms to industry and the move from industry to services. Some cities will figure it out. Some will win; some will lose.

New York City likely will be a winner. It still attracts a huge number of people participating in very intangible businesses -- finance, entertainment, and tourism. They're not making any more land close to the city so even if a well-known retailer or restaurant goes out of business, someone else will optimistically claim the space. It's not like some national retailer can build a new superstore on a greenfield ten miles away from the old one and then leave the old one to sit, empty, until someone can figure out how to economically reuse it (this happens all too often in the Midwest and South).

Many cities are going to have to figure out what's next, in a very challenging environment. Too many city and county governments are literally mortgaging their futures on commercial tax bases they hope will expand forever. They're not actively thinking about what happens to buildings and entire shopping centers when brick-and-mortar retail contracts; or how they will maintain and replace highways and bridges that don't get any younger as more delivery trucks and automated vehicles pound them into rubble even sooner than cars do; or they're trying to forget that the sweetheart deal they offered that developer (TIF, infrastructure improvements, etc.) puts them on the hook for maintenance of those things long after the developer and all those (temporary construction) jobs leave; or that they have to deal with their increasing liability for public-employee pensions (they won't have the option many for-profit companies had to bag their pensions by going bankrupt).

Yes, there are some big changes afoot. People and organizations being who they are, though, I don't anticipate any of us will see the big changes in our lifetimes.

[SteveinMN]

It is rare that I purchase online. I want to participate in keeping my community afloat. Local jobs to support local residents. I especially try to buy in small businesses not big chains.

I try to do all of that, too, but, honestly, life is pushing it down my list of value priorities. I have an old-ish Canon inkjet printer for which no one (I looked) sells ink locally. Lots of little things that keep my "stuff" going -- ink cartridges, pressure cooker sealing rings, vacuum attachments, etc. -- can't be purchased anywhere I know about in a metro area of almost three million people. Jeans in my inseam are hard to find; I can comb lots of stores -- or I can just order on-line instead of going from place to place, looking. I don't like having to make that trade-off. But it's becoming ever harder not to.

[Gardnr]

I try to do all of that, too, but, honestly, life is pushing it down my list of value priorities. I have an old-ish Canon inkjet printer for which no one (I looked) sells ink locally. Lots of little things that keep my "stuff" going -- ink cartridges, pressure cooker sealing rings, vacuum attachments, etc. -- can't be purchased anywhere I know about in a metro area of almost three million people. Jeans in my inseam are hard to find; I can comb lots of stores -- or I can just order on-line instead of going from place to place, looking. I don't like having to make that trade-off. But it's becoming ever harder not to.

I don't have to drive far or long here and I do very little shopping. When I do need something the furthest I have to drive is 2 miles beyond work. I can do that in less than 30 minutes after work (the dreaded mall). Most of what I need is within 6 miles of home. My favorite quilt shop is the furthest I drive at 12 miles away. I belong to 2 groups that meet there so a special trip is rare. I get what I need while I'm there.

Such a bummer in a city of 3 million you can't get what you need in a reasonable amount of time locally.

[JaneV2.0]

...
Such a bummer in a city of 3 million you can't get what you need in a reasonable amount of time locally.

Even if I were sufficiently mobile to navigate multiple stores, I would have to factor in selecting for a number of variables including availability, price, and quality of products. I miss thrifting very much; I miss browsing the library; I don't miss having to visit numerous retail venues to find what I'm looking for, nor the time, gas, and driving that in-person shopping requires. Online shopping has been a major factor in helping to simplify my life.

[Teacher Terry]

Jane, that’s a bummer that this is not a choice for you.

[JaneV2.0]

Jane, that’s a bummer that this is not a choice for you.

I did enough aerobic retail in years gone by that I should have had my fill of it. For most purchases, I'm more than satisfied with one-click shopping.

I'm also thrilled that there is such a thing as ebooks, and that they're available for just about any title I could want. I can negotiate my small community library branch, if necessary. So I'm not complaining.

[pinkytoe]

I have had a sort of crash course in how cities can differ - by moving from a very progressive, optimistic one to a city that is perhaps the opposite. Most of the money here goes towards new development and infrastructure on one side of town which encourages even more sprawl and chain stores. Meanwhile, the older neighborhoods are decaying and the scuzzy factor is growing. I think we will see the big changes portended in a matter of a few years as a whole class of people continue sinking to the bottom. I never thought that way until I saw how much of a bubble I lived in before.

[Teacher Terry]

The older neighborhoods in Reno are very desirable. People want walkable neighborhoods. Sure we have urban sprawl and suburbs too. Businesses of all types are sprouting up in the downtown and midtown areas. Young people are buying run down houses and revitalizing them which is awesome. If I am still alive in 20 years it will be interesting to see the change since so much has happened for the better in the past 21 years.

[SteveinMN]

Online shopping has been a major factor in helping to simplify my life.

Thanks, Jane, for better illustrating how I feel about this. Having made the phone calls (and, in some cases, the trek) for some of these maintenance necessities, I've decided my time and energy have a value and it's better spent on things I want to do, not riffling through numerous thrift stores looking for men's jeans in decent condition with a 29-inch inseam. I'm not buying jeans every week or even every month, of course, but it may be jeans this month, a part for our 12-year-old vacuum the next, and so on.

Simpler does not always mean frugal or with the smallest carbon footprint. I want to balance it.