Geri B

I now live in Illinois...after this last winter I really think I would like to sell here and move to warmer clime......am retired so income is not macmansion size, am thinking maybe mobile home park, or condo, townhouse...low outside maintenance as now have large ranch house with lots of landscaping, pool.....want someone else to worry about this stuff, yet want a nice secure living area close to " things"... Need three bdrms - 2 baths....have relatives in Tampa and Sedona......so maybe Arizona or Florida.......so tell me about where you are......need some guidance here other than real estate agents......

Scraps

Check out The Villages in Florida! 😃

fayeberry

I like north Alabama or north Georgia. Florida and arizona are too hot for me. That said I don't recommend Atlanta, the traffic is horrible.

Marsh

I've loved in AZ now since 1976, and know that Sedona is pretty priicey, but just north of Phoenix about 1hr, 30 min. is Prescott - it is a very nice town, runs cooler that Phx in summer and it can get a little snow, but it never lasts. We live in Flagstaff during the summer months, and if we ever leave there we would buy a place in Prescott. I don't know anything about Fla, except that it is very humid. Humidity just does me in, so that would never be a place I would choose to live. Good luck in your decision

ManiacQuilter2

I would suggest relocating to be near a younger member of the family. I am in a senior low cost housing and it is so nice not to have to worry about any maintenance.

lalaland

We snowbird in AZ, we're retired and older, and we chose a town where we knew people who lived there already - friends and family by marriage. When you are older, having people nearby that you know is really a good thing. We live in a mobile home park, lots of activities, lots of interaction, very low maintenance.

I would chose one of the places where there are people you know. I don't know about the weather during the summer in Tampa but I assume it's humid. In AZ it's not humid but it gets really really hot. If you don't mind running your errands late at night or early in the morning and staying in during the day for a couple months, than AZ might be a good choice.

Jan in FL

I live in Florida, between Tampa and Orlando. I have been in Florida for about 15 years. As long as you are not concerned about the occasional hurricane, Florida is nice and warm most of the year - the temperature varies by about 20 degrees for the most of the year. However, I recommend that you seriously research and talk to people who live coastal in Florida who have lived through hurricanes in mobile homes. Having worked in insurance claims for over 26 years, I don't recommend that particular scenario. Even though it might only be occasional, the one time it occurs can be devastating. I might be jaded from being in that business for so long - otherwise, Florida is an AWESOME place to live! Come on down!

sandy l

I'm sure it's changed a lot since I lived there, but I would second Prescott as a great place to live.

citruscountyquilter

I live in coastal Florida north of Tampa - Citrus County - where the threat of hurricane is minimal. They just never come to this part. It is rural with horse and cattle farms, smaller towns. It is called the Nature Coast because of the springs, rivers and wildlife. Tampa is about an hour away. Traffic is non congested even in the winter. I do not live in a flood plain area so not only don't have to worry about floods but I don't have to buy flood insurance. It does get hot in the summer but that's what air conditioning is for. Housing is affordable. There are planned communities that include lawn care etc, mobile home parks, senior housing, condos and such but you won't find high rises or high density like you find in other areas.

You might want to consider renting for a few months in each area to see what you are most comfortable with. There are plenty of furnished places to rent by the month.

Barb in Louisiana

Go to where to where your youngest, most loved, friends or relatives are. If you end up with older folks, you could end up a caretaker before you know it. I want to be with younger folks that could end up taking care of me, but you got to love them and them you.

Next, compare homes near (within 15 to 20 minutes) where they live with prices of real estate. Zillow is a good website for that. http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale...ct/10_zm/1_fr/

I'm sure the areas where you are going have websites. Check out all the good things they say about their areas. Then read the local papers or find the local news to find out the bad.

Next, go visit for a week or two in the summer and in the winter. While there, ask some very pointed questions about utility costs and taxes. Being with your friends and family for two weeks will tell you how busy they are and if you will see them as much as you thought you might.

Check the quilt guilds and quilt shops in the area you thinking you are relocating in. Might give you a chance to make extra money or a great place to make new friends.

I live on the Gulf Coast. We get colder winters than most of Florida, but have the heat & humidity in the summer. Some of the bugs we have down here will make a grown man scream and panic. There is always yard work here, even in the dead of winter. Mild climates make very good weed zones and let you have a longer growing season for beautiful flowers or vegetables, if that's your thing. A lot of Florida has a breeze all the time, which makes everything tolerable. I've been to several areas of Arizona in the summer. Down in the desert is just plain HOT. Up in the mountains is delightful in the summer months but can have a lot of snow at times.

Edited to add: Being curious, I looked at the temps today on Accuweather. It's 39 degrees right now in Sedona and will be a high of 64 today. That tells me it probably has a much colder winter than I, being a very southern gal, could tolerate. It's 68 degrees here today and will be somewhere in the 80's today with more rain. I am wondering if God thinks all of us in Louisiana have duck feet, because we sure have gotten some rain lately. Seriously, what is the water bill in Sedona? My uncle lived in Pinetop which was up in the mountains. Long, snowy winters (they are milder now) and cool, dry summers. I remember him telling me his water bill was $75 a month, years ago, and they actually recycled the wash & rinse water in their clothes washing machines.