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Best Place to Retire and Airport Fly-In Communities
Any one have an opinion? I'm about 10 years from the final approach to the retirement fix, but want to start planning. I'd love living at an airport community or shared private strip.
I always loved visiting Spruce Creek Fly near Daytona FL. I looked there 20 years ago, and properties were reasonable. They are about doubled today. I suppose still a good value. I know Florida is a love it or hate it for people. South, Mid, North Florida are different. Hurricanes are a factor I don't have a preference, but below snow belt. Pros and Cons of living on a field (verses renting a hanger and living off field). Pros and Cons of different states for retires? I have lived, worked or extensively traveled in WA, OR, CA, AZ, TN, NC, MI, NY, LA, TX, MS... I know where I don't want to live. |
Well now, thats a question that ought to elicit a huge amount of answers..... I have unbuilt property on two airparks, 7MD1 and 2VA1...(2VA1 is for sale). In reality, this is retirement and retirement happiness is a sum total of a lot of things, good and bad. First, you need to decided what state you want to live in - taxes, health care, city vs country setting etc (unfortunately its really which state sucks the least in your opinion), then find an airpark, or if youre really into it, apply to have your own strip.
I retired (the first time) right where my final job was - kids grew up here, went to school here, are working here and will go to grad school here. Nuclear family is 80% of the decision IMHO, tho kids may depart the area, they know where home is. Weather wise, the DelMarVa peninsula, and really the mid-atlantic in general has mild 4 seasons - lots of fishing, hunting, boating, wet water flying (and crabs to eat! Yum!), not a lot of bugs, and if you look for it, plenty of quiet farm land but within spitting distance of major metro areas ie the arts, music, shopping etc. Our 2VA1 property on the NorthernNeck is very mid-west farm-style and offers all the same, but it turned out not to be close enough to family, so we bought on 7MD1 and will build there in a few years. Bottomline: there is no nirvana place - if there was everyone would live there, so just pick your top 3 things you enjoy most in life, and choose a location - but remember one thing: saving money in and of itself is NOT an "enjoyment" activity, so dont get hung up on taxes. |
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FWIW, I retired 5yrs ago and had the same dilemma. About 3yrs from retirement we (wife & I) started looking into which general area we wanted to live based on climate, cost of living, amenities, family and other factors. We looked at Georgia, Florida, Texas, Puerto Rico, Panama, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador and eventually decided on the North Florida coast. After looking at many airparks in this general area, we fell in love with St. Augustine. So we decided not to buy in an airpark but to buy a house very close to the airport. This way the house would be less expensive and easier to sell once my flying days are over. Once we made that decision (2012) I got on the extremely long hangar waiting list at KSGJ. I retired in 2013, found a house we liked 5minutes from the KSGJ airport and we moved. For 3 years I had the airplane in a hangar at an airport 45minutes away (KFIN). Then in 2016 I finally got a hangar at KSGJ, my #1 preferred location. As of today we are very happy with our choice and would do it again, no questions asked. Quote:
Our thinking was that flying is a HUGE part of our lives, but our lives are more than just flying. In making this decision consider your current and long term lifestyle. And remember, you can always change if it isn't right for you. It might be hard but not impossible. YMMV PM me if you want more info on the North Florida area. :cool: |
Anybody know anything about airparks in Texas? We are just starting to do our "retirement" research, and have pretty much zeroed in on Texas as where we want to end up (at least in the winter). Anybody have any insight?
Thanks! |
Retirement
Joe, we can cover a lot of that when you come down to Fredericksburg. You need to decide close to big city, or country. How far to health care and airline if you need them. Cost of living is reasonable in Texas, property tax big item.
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in TX
I live at Pecan Plantation, Granbury, TX. Airport ID is 0TX1. EAA chapter is 983. Google it for info. Great place! Has second airpark just east called The Landings. Come check it out.
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Well, there are lots of negatives about MS (see today's news), but cost of living isn't one of them. The biggest home (~5000 sq ft) & hangar on our airpark just hit the market, and I'd consider it overpriced at $550k. Taxes on it are likely well under $4k/yr.
There's a new, more upscale airpark on the other side of town with lots available. Charlie Slobovia Outernational (MS71) |
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