There are many "What If" types of questions we all like to ask each other:
- If you won the lotto, what would you buy?
- If you were stranded on a deserted island, what would wish most that you could have with you?
- If you were the president for a week, what would you do?
- If you could move anywhere when you retire, where would you go?
Over the past year or two, my wife and I have been asking each other that last question, a LOT! We were all about Bora Bora early on, then the Tuscan region outside of Florence Italy, then we settled for Kauai. THEN, we looked at our bank accounts and realized that (if we wanted to pay bills and EAT), we were going to be limited to the "lower-48."
No worries, there are plenty of amazing places to consider for retirement in the good 'ol USA! We were looking to check the following boxes:
- Tax friendly
- Fairly central to friends/family
- "Common Sense" state legislature (not extreme on either end of the political scale)
- Temperate climate (not the arctic, not the desert)
- Close proximity to an international airport
- Near a beach, lake, or mountain
- 5+ acres for gardening, chickens, and maybe some target practice
If you take a serious look at these items, there are precious few states and cities that check them all. For years (literally) we talked to friends, neighbors, and family. We anonymously read facebook groups, library books, we listened to podcasts, read blogs, and we generally got super "nosy!"
What we found was, the Northeast corner of Oklahoma brushes up against the Ozarks. It's VERY green, there are lots of lakes and lots of rolling green hills. It's gorgeous! I took this sunset picture from a campsite that's only a few miles from where we were house hunting.
So... with a location in mind, the next step was to find a realtor and to start looking!
