Where to retire?

[VersGuyAnon]

Any suggestions for those in the UK?

Edited July 13 by VersGuyAnon

[hntnhole]

2 hours ago, NWUSHorny said:

There are many trade offs to consider, if anyone knows a place with a moderate 4 season climate, low taxes, reasonably low cost of living, an abundance of men into casual gay fucking (almost everywhere I have scoped out is better than here in the PNW), preferably in the mountains, with easy travel access to visit back and forth with family in he Midwest, let me know

Yeah - some folks call it Heaven. some folks call it The Great Beyond.  There are inconveniences no matter where we live, but give Ft. Lauderdale a re-consideration .... you'd fit riiiight in !!! 😇 

[hntnhole]

7 hours ago, tallslenderguy said:

So, i am torn, i do want to be around more gay guys... i long for real interaction

How long do you have before you make a decision?  Real estate prices in Ft. L. have been leveling off for the past few months, with more to come (so the realtors say).  I well understand how it feels good to know that there are plenty of gay neighbors - even if you don't get around to even meeting some of them.  

!!!!!!!!!!!!!    More later - someone apparently just injured trump at a rally in PA !!!!!!!!!!! 

[BootmanLA]

12 hours ago, NWUSHorny said:

I did have an interesting thought come up in PS last week. While there is an abundance of like minded pigs for me to play with in Palm Springs, I did hear some pretty derogatory comments about guys bringing fetishes/kinks that are common place here in the PNW to the fuck venues in PS. I briefly wondered if those guys were just at the wrong venues or if venues for those kind of things even exist in PS? 

I'd be curious to know what kind of kinks would be unwelcome in a place like PS. My gut feeling is that it was probably more a case of particular individuals being icked out (or otherwise bothered) by those kinks and being verbal about it, rather than a general dislike for those things among the general populace.

12 hours ago, NWUSHorny said:

There are many trade offs to consider, if anyone knows a place with a moderate 4 season climate, low taxes, reasonably low cost of living, an abundance of men into casual gay fucking (almost everywhere I have scoped out is better than here in the PNW), preferably in the mountains, with easy travel access to visit back and forth with family in he Midwest, let me know.

I honestly don't think such a place exists. The problem is that cost of living (and taxes) tends to rise with each of the other factors, and so if a place has four or five of those features, it's probably already on the expensive side. Suburbs of such places can be cheaper, and are sometimes at an earlier stage of "gayification", but the trade off there is that you may well end up with a lot of MAGA neighbors. 

[BootmanLA]

16 hours ago, hntnhole said:

You've just made the case for all the "snowbirds" flocking to South FL during the winter months. Suddenly (usually just after T-day) the streets are struggling to handle twice the normal traffic, the streets are full of "street-legal" racing cars thundering down the side streets, and the fuckjoints are full of guys ready for 'fun in the sun'.  

It's just the opposite when May/June roll around, and they all go back home for the summer,  There's remarkably less traffic, but at least the fuckjoints are still fairly full, and the quotient of "real" pigs improves.    

That pretty much mirrors the straights' equivalent of this. Palm Beach has a "season" - late autumn and winter - when wealthy people closed their northeast homes in New York, Philadelphia, etc. to go south, and yes, just after Thanksgiving (because you'd stay "home" until then for the family dinner). The Palm Beach season lasted until just before Easter - they'd want to be home by then, to be seen at Sunday Easter services, and to enjoy the spring weather. The fact that it was edging up towards 90 and humid by April certainly helped speed them on their way. (The upper middle class types had lesser places in Fort Lauderdale but did the same thing, although sometimes on a more abbreviated schedule.)

[Newportbottom]

17 hours ago, RawNYTop said:

Any places to play around there? ABS, baths, cruising areas?

No baths south of Sarasota. Tampa/St Pete about an hr drive. FTL/Miami 150 miles east. cruising area not that I know of, lot of gays in the area, visitors.

I’ve been busy the last 7 months with construction on my home, so have not dived deep into the gay goings on yet.

I picked my house on location for walkability, laid back, beach, dtn area etc. I’ve lived in many a big cities, crazy life in SoCal.

If I need a weekend of going to baths bars etc, I book a hotel room and drive to ftl, st pete etc. Or I fly out to Palm Springs and stay w friends. Then come home to laid back, not a lot of people or traffic island beach life.

  

[apollobch]

I have lived near Tampa for 12 out of the last 15 years. And I can tell you I’ve gotten plenty of action all sorts of action. Three out of our four  bath houses have closed during that time but there are still places to cruise. But one needs to rely on apps to get cock. I’m also close enough to pack a bag and head down to Fort Lauderdale or east to Orlando. 

Edited July 14 by apollobch

[Nikba]

On 7/12/2024 at 4:47 PM, ellentonboy said:

@RawNYTop - another financial issue to think about with Florida is that insurer's are requiring home owners to put a new roof on their house every ten years.  I got this information from friends who have sold their house and moved near Ashville, NC, just a few months back.  This was not always the case.  My parents moved to Florida from Pennsylvania in 1987, they owned two homes until their deaths in 2017.   I don't recall at any time they had to replace their roof, I would have known.  Obviously things change in 47 years, I understand that.  But I don't know how many people realize that the ability to garner and keep home owner's insurance is getting increasingly difficult in the "Sunshine State".  If I am mistaken regarding these new requirements I welcome a correction from other BZ members, but I was under the impression that the middle class and those on fixed incomes were being forced out in a way.  Where will everyone go?  I have no clue.

20 years, requires by an insurance. For Tile, no requirement, costly to install and last an eternity. 

[hntnhole]

7 hours ago, BootmanLA said:

The upper middle class types had lesser places in Fort Lauderdale but did the same thing, although sometimes on a more abbreviated schedule

Ft. L. is not similar at all to PB, but there are very wealthy areas immediately around the city limits, and mostly to the north (like Lighthouse point, for instance) and along the beaches.  Those would be the rich hets, for the most part, but there are plenty of wealthy gays that live over there too. 

Immediately N of Ft. L. is Wilton Manors - the gay mecca of SE FL.  Plenty of guys from Miami drive up here on the weekends.  While I assume there are some straights living there, it's substantially a gay city (the mayor, city officials are all either "out" gays or gay-supportive.  Housing prices reflect that.  There are plenty of guesthouses (mini fuckjoints offering day-passes), and tons of gay bars (one of which is the Eagle - totally magnificent for wanton, raw sex). The Leatherbars do have "dress code" nights, but also offer areas where non-Leathermen can fuck.- and the more heavily gay neighborhoods of Ft. L. are within walking distance of W.M.  In my block alone I can count 6 households of gay snowbirds (not counting the year-rounders like me).  

That said, it's kind of nice when things settle down for a while.  All the gay "amenities" are still available, but without the masses. Sure, you might not get "fresh hole" every time - but there's nothing wrong with "repeats" at all, at least as I see it.   

[Poz50something]

Honestly, I have thought quite seriously about retiring in Thailand, where the standard of living is much more affordable than anywhere in Canada. There’s two issues: 1.  I will need to deposit 800,000 THB in a Thai bank approved by the government, and keep it there for 5 years. It comes out to about 30,000 CAD. I am not allowed to work. I am not sure about owning a business that will employ Thai workers. Need to find out about that. Second thing: HIV med cost. 

[Newportbottom]

7 hours ago, apollobch said:

I have lived near Tampa for 12 out of the last 15 years. And I can tell you I’ve gotten plenty of action all sorts of action. Three out of our four  bath houses have closed during that time but there are still places to cruise. But one needs to rely on apps to get cock. I’m also close enough to pack a bag and head down to Fort Lauderdale or east to Orlando. 

same for me, but i live south of Sarasota, so travel more for fun. But the relaxed close to beach live is what i chose. Lived the big cities fast style. Wears ya out

[NWUSHorny]

9 hours ago, BootmanLA said:

My gut feeling is that it was probably more a case of particular individuals being icked out (or otherwise bothered) by those kinks and being verbal about it, rather than a general dislike for those things among the general populace.

I suspect that it is more of a case of being disruptive to the accepted purpose of the venue or event, rather than being icked out. The individuals were at the sex venue/event, but were not participating in the sex. In PS they were a distinctive minority at the venue/event, in the PNW they are are almost always at least a significant plurality even at an event like a CumUnion Party.

[PozBearWI]

Good the insurance companies are paying attention to roofs.  Here in Wisconsin I was informed that the classis three tab singles popular 30 years ago are no longer insurable after this year.  

Setting an arbitrary deadline on roofs is insane.  Obviously some are doing that, but roofs have measurable wear and thus physical metrics are a better way to go.  

[ellentonboy]

On 7/12/2024 at 9:40 PM, Newportbottom said:

Seems details are missing.

I live on a island south of Sarasota. 2.5 blocks / 10 houses to the gulf.  I do have different policies on my home. Not in a flood zone. If a insurance company requires a roof replacement, there are other issues. Details are missing. 

I do live in category A, so I have to evacuate if told. As far as the insurance is concerned, I tried with Progressive and they gave me a flat NO, when it came to bundling with my car insurance.   When I ask why, they simply answered they were no longer writing policies in Florida.   I was able to get coverage for my interior.

Still opportunities for home owner's insurance rates are becoming few and far between.  The age of house comes into play as well.  As you said you have different policies on you home, I suppose different insurers as well.

[rednyellow]

interesting topic. I'm spending a lot of time wondering where I'll retire in a couple years. Spain , Valencia or Barcelona are attractive  and I've had wonderful vacations there, but no idea about everyday life. I'm leaning towards Atlanta area, good food, reasonable priced houses, plenty of pig play.  Portland Or is interesting too.   Lots to consider