| The best state to retire in will be different for | | | | Diego to Redding. We were on the coast of Oregon |
| everyone. We all have different family situations, health | | | | one year (freezing I might add) when we moved the |
| issues and recreational requirements. | | | | RV to Sunriver, Oregon. We spent most of the next 4 |
| We have visited every state except Alaska. When | | | | summers in Sunriver. We thought we had found our |
| we started thinking of early retirement 18 years ago | | | | best state to retire. |
| we knew wanted a warm climate (we were then | | | | Unfortunately we realized that spending July and |
| living in Houston) and that was our number one driver. | | | | August in Central Oregon was a lot different than |
| We retired to living aboard a sailboat in the Caribbean | | | | spending the winters there. We love Oregon but |
| in 1994 and then bought an RV to spend our summers | | | | remember our first requirement was a warm climate. |
| in. We wanted no part of hurricane season in the | | | | Wearing swimsuits and T shirts for 6 to 9 months a |
| Islands, so we returned to the US for 3 to 5 months | | | | year on our boat spoiled us. |
| every summer. | | | | By now the boat was gone and the RV went south |
| Now we had it pretty good in the Caribbean but knew | | | | for the winter, Palm Springs mostly. We would slide |
| some day we would want to have a house without a | | | | over to Phoenix each winter. |
| rudder or a steering wheel in the living room. So we | | | | As we became more serious about choosing the best |
| started looking for the best state to retire in with no | | | | state to retire, Arizona looked better and better. |
| time frame in mind. | | | | Southern California was nice but you could get a lot |
| We sold our boat in 2002 and then the RV was our | | | | better bang for your housing dollar in Arizona. This is |
| sole abode. We had been all over the US from Florida | | | | still true today in the midst of our housing mess. |
| to Washington. We kind of gravitated to the western | | | | Low home prices, room to breathe and great cheap |
| part of the country, spending more and more of our | | | | golf courses made our decision easy. We have been |
| summers in the west. We stored our RV in Branson, | | | | at Sun City Grand in Surprise a western Phoenix |
| Missouri with kin folk so all summers started and ended | | | | suburb for five and a half years now and still applaud |
| there, going to and from the boat. | | | | our decision to choose Arizona as the best state to |
| After a few years we fell into a routine of taking off | | | | retire. |
| from Branson and then going to Sedona AZ as our | | | | The road to finding Arizona was fun for us and we |
| first stop. We had joined an RV association that had a | | | | recommend an RV as an excellent way to help you |
| very nice park in Cottonwood close to Sedona. | | | | find the best state to retire. |
| The RV saw a lot of Arizona and California from San | | | | |