Question - a bit out there

[RubyTuesday]

I always thought I would like to retire in the Austin, TX area. I am in California and it is pretty expensive. The Sacramento area is one of the less expensive places in CA. I live more towards the Sierra Mountains, northeast of Sacramento. But, I lived in Sacramento for 25 years. Sacramento is flat, bicycle friendly and not the cowtown it used to be in years past. There is a light rail system that is mediocre, but if you live in an area it services, it is reliable and bike friendly. Hot in the summer, but most nights are very cool due to delta breezes. Winter lows are in the 30's-40's, but no snow and generally pretty dry. Spring is warm and a wet mess. Sacramento is generally conservative politically but battles with San Francisco that is pretty liberal.

[westtexas]

I always thought I would like to retire in the Austin, TX area. I am in California and it is pretty expensive.

Austin is getting pretty expensive these days too. I had lot of friends who wanted to go there after graduation but their job market is so saturated in my field right now that only a few were actually able to do it and they had to give up a lot for those jobs and they're living pretty tight money-wise. My parents want to go there when my father retires in a few years but they are reconsidering because there is no way my brother nor I could afford to be close by.

Sure is a nice part of Texas though. Not too humid, not too dry. Lots of stuff to do, especially if you like live music and good coffee. Much, much better than west Texas, haha!

[BikeDutchess]

Why not SLC?

Also über-red...

ETA: although the city less so than the state as a whole.

[azfiddle]

What about Tucson?

Relatively inexpensive, and if you choose your location wisely, possible to rely on a bike pretty exclusively- if you can avoid midday trips between June and September. I am able to make it through a 10 mile commute once a week even in the summer- but afternoons can be a little bit brutal at times. If you were more centrally located, it would be possible.

We have a good bike lane system, though not as good as somewhere like Seattle. Warmer than Colorado in the winter....

[KnottedYet]

I also have to sell my house here first...not an easy task. I do have family in SF so near there would be good. I also have family in SLC, Boise and Nevada.

What a coincidence....

I've got my finger on a place in the East Bay. I want a house in Seattle. (I grew up here, so I like the gloomy weather and the hills, etc.)

Wouldn't it be handy if we could just trade?

[Kathi]

How about Denver?

700 miles of bike trails/lanes in Denver, 300 days of sunshine, 30,000 riders showed up for bike to work day. We do get snow but they plow the bike trails. Light rail in various parts of the area. Not sure if housing is considered reasonable as we moved from the midwest and thought our 1960's house was pricey.

Lots of outdoor activities in the mtns. hiking, biking, skiing, snowshoeing.

[eofelis]

How about the other side of Colorado?

Grand Junction isn't too big. Not too hot, not too cold, but dry with lots of sun. Economy is so so but the outdoorsy stuff is amazing.

I ride and commute pretty much all year round. Public land starts right at the edge of town. And the Colorado River runs right through it all. Utah is 25 miles away.

[Groundhog]

OK, thanks everyone. Y'all are very helpful.

SLC, Tuscon, Denver, Grand Junction, Fort Collins, Sacramento, East Bay/SF, and Las Vegas all sound like ideas.

[Biciclista]

Just got back from Boise. They have really done a lot to expand their bike trails. Their roads are wide and mostly flat. You can tell by how many cruiser bikes are around. People don't NEED gears, it's flat! and dry!

I was very impressed by how bike-able it is there.

[missjulied]

Check out Eugene, Oregon.

[shootingstar]

Wonder if Eugene, OR gets as much rain as Seattle area. But it would be a place that is bike friendly, has good transit and all services, culture and university/college, that I would choose if was in the US not too far from Pacific coast..as a place to retire or scale down to part-time.

Besides, Groundhog, the Amtrak lines is efficient to get you back up north or go further south.