Starting to think about where to move for retirement . . . .

Living on the shores of lake Zurich. Surrounded by prosperity and civilized behavior. No better place. Enjoy your 8 hour car rides. Need week may jump on a flight heading for Ibiza, 1.5 hours away. Taxes negligible.

Out my backdoor this morning, we have green grass and plenty of water here.

https://imgur.com/a/5E310UU

The Eagle Trail System starts about a quarter mile from my house, connects to Boise Trail System goes all the way to Lucky Peak Dam about 20 miles away. Greenbelt areas on both sides of Boise River.

lol. I rest my case.

Might as well fly to Turks & Caicos, BVI, St. Barts or the like if you’re going to take 7 hours.

If you are serious Nordic skiers that will rule out most traditional places. You haven’t saved enough for some place like Boulder. You could do Denver area though. Salt Lake City is probably the easiest. Otherwise you are looking at upper Midwest or north east.

Lots of suggestions on this thread that are totally unworkable if you actually ski.

Absolutely. We'll probably do some vacations and check out various towns.

Yes, Nordic accessibility is a priority. I'm thinking somewhere outside of Minneapolis might be the ticket. I know there's good skiing in upper Wisconsin and Michigan (although not this year), but I'm not sure I'd want to live there. I'm also wondering what Durango CO is like. Great outdoors opportunities. Not sure what the medical care system is like, and there really isn't a decent airport closer than Denver, I don't believe.

Burlington, VT?

Strange logic, Iggy. The fact that he is considering places where you think those things are the "societal norm" doesn't mean that they are requirements for him.

And it is sloppy thinking to suggest that those things are all the "societal norm" in liberal areas any more than suggesting that neo-Nazism is the "societal norm" in Idaho just because it is present.

Once you narrow it down to two or three, spend some quality time in those places. Go there as long as you can and at different times of the year. Take a year or so after you retire to do this. I used to think I'd want to retire to Maine. Then I spent two weeks there when it got dark at 4:00-4:30pm.

Maybe consider Logan, UT, which is a nice little college town, if conservative and w a Mormon influence. But great town, about 70 min from SLC.

Sheridan, WY is another little gem, though it’s not quite two hours from an airport in Billings, MT. But, low cost of living and not windy like the rest of WY. Very low cost, tax efficient, beautiful state in the right areas.

Spearfish, SD fits the bill too, but I’m not sure about the Nordic skiing there. Rapid City has an airport.

Finally, Bozeman, MT is awesome but also very overrun and priced out by liberals from the left coast.

Btw, Phoenix absolutely sucks. Cement, strip mall jungle, and they are having water issues in surrogates. Way too hot in summer. It’s not like you’re going to go to Flagstaff every day.

I was in Switzerland last September and I have to admit it's pretty great. I spent time in Zurich, ran on the shores of Lake Zurich but I think I'd prefer living somewhere near Thune or Interlaken. No doubt about it, Switzerland (or at least the Germanic areas of Switzerland) is pretty awesome. I've been a lot of places in the world and, so far, the only places I'd remotely consider leaving CA for is Switzerland and Norway.

As a small but growing number of Americans are finding, Europe is a good option, if you can swing it, for may well-documented reasons. The USA overall is good for working and that's it. Mention ANY spot in the U.S. and there are numerous euro places that are superior. Get yourself a Wise account and money is not the hindrance it used to be. The only hitch would be if other languages/cultures are a turnoff, or you later realize you miss US culture.

OK, fair enough, but if religious fundamentalism or showing a picture ID to vote is repugnant, Idaho is not a good choice. I recall the chaos in Seattle during the Summer of Love.

Auburn, CA

Funny, that's one of the two or three places at the top of my list right now.

Yeah, Utah would be a cultural jump, but I've also met a lot of Mormons who were very nice. No interest in Phoenix, even ignoring the fact that there is no Nordic skiing for hours in any direction. Bozeman MT might check off the boxes except that the housing costs became beyond ridiculous, and I really can't think of a major airport close by.

I've been to Spearfish (I think I ran a downhill 10K down Spearfish Canyon maybe 35 years ago) - - but I'm not really a fan of South Dakota culture. Unless Rapid City has changed a lot!