About Great Retirement Places and Our Mission
Our mission is finding and exploring affordable retirement places in warm climates-places with no snow. This includes southern Arizona, Florida and seaside regions of other Gulf states, as well as tropical overseas locations such as Mexico and Central America. We explore Costa Rica, Panama, and Belize, as well as other tropical places in the Mediterranean, Asia, Oceania, and South America.
Some folks about to retire will be quite happy to remain where they are, near family and friends, and others have the financial resources to retire when and where they wish. However, a large, growing number of baby boomers like us hope to move away from winter, but without the nest egg they once had. Now that retirement age is clearly in sight, we all have to do the best we can with what is left of our savings. We hope we can help you as we explore the possibilities.
This website investigates active adult retirement communities that are reasonable, affordable, or just plain cheap. You won't find luxury mansions of the rich and famous on this site! We look at all the elements it takes to provide a comfortable retirement lifestyle: location, housing density, urban/suburban/rural, nearby shopping, safety, medical facilities, public transportation, neighborhood amenities, and other facets of life. We review a variety of retirement housing options, from single-family homes to condos to manufactured homes to apartments. You are invited to come along on our journey as we explore the best places to retire.
Neither Dave nor Linda began life in a tropical setting. Dave was born in the Northeast US, spent time in Southeast Asia serving in the military, and moved to Michigan when he returned stateside. After enduring 13 winters in the frigid Northland, Dave moved to Florida, where he spent the next 8 blissful years. Family matters brought him to the Midwest, where he has lived ever since. But he misses Florida, with its warm sunshine and ocean breezes. He continues to dream about retirement in a warm place, and now the time has come to begin planning for retirement. This website was a natural result of his love of warm weather, penchant for research, and desire to share with the Internet community.
Linda was born and raised in the Midwest and has lived there all her life. Although she has hated cold weather seemingly forever, her epiphany came during a goal-setting exercise at her employment. She wanted to vacation somewhere warm, and because she was traveling alone, a cruise sounded safe. She could see several Caribbean islands and unpack only once. The experience changed her life. The sunny blue skies, warm tropical climate, and especially the lush, green, rainforest vegetation, had her hooked. She thought she would be a "cruiser" during retirement, living in the temperamental Midwest weather and escaping only a few times each year to her personal paradise.
In 2005, Linda met Dave-on the Internet! She found Dave's picture on a dating site-he was wearing a tropical shirt and Diamond Head was in the background; she was smitten. They met and "clicked" immediately. A couple of years later they were married in a simple ceremony many couples only dream of: on an island beach, surrounded by palm trees and ocean.
Together now, they are searching for the best place to retire, a location with warm sunny days and no snow, ever!
We write most of the content on this site. You can find out more about our backgrounds and our contributions to the mission of this website in the bios for Dave and Linda.
