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

Go skiing in TN and let me know how happy you are. Unless you do t care about quality, it isn’t going by to make the cut. There was a ski resort 5 mins from my house in CT. Nobody is retiring there.

2) if you only want to do something on vacation, a 6 hour drive is not an advantage. You can travel the whole world on vacation

3) see 2.

unless you are poor or have some flying phobia, a 6 hour drive doesn’t get you anything.

if this were me, I'd opt for Sacramento

My dad got a place in VT when he retired. He was not into winter sports. So, his place was at least 90 min from any of the ski areas. But real estate in VT/NH is reasonable, especially compared to the mountain towns in the Rockies. Hanover/Lebanon NH has the Dartmouth Medical Center, which is as good as any hospital in any major metro in the US. It is also close to a bunch of the ski areas, all of which have great Nordic areas. In the Rockies, the Nordic areas tend to be a bit of an afterthought. And Nordic skiing is much more manageable in your later years when you are doing it at 2-3000 feet instead of 8-9000 feet. The airport in Manchester is a Southwest hub. The drive to Boston isn't that bad if you need something outside of the Southwest system.

Santa Fe, NM is a great place for retirees. Real estate isn't cheap, but the nice thing about Santa Fe is that there are lots of small houses (1,500 sq ft on average) that are great for retired folks. And it is desert climate, which means desert landscaping and no lawn to mow. Santa Fe, NM is close to ABQ for flights (another SW hub). Hospitals are excellent in Santa Fe. Lots to do year 'round in Santa Fe. Lots of museums, galleries, great restaurants, etc. Nordic areas are decent, but you do have to drive up into the mountains a bit.

You never said where you currently live or if you want to be close to the ocean or lake. I lived just above Charlotte, NC. There's the biggest man made lake there. Within 30min drive you have 3 states I believe. Within those thirty minutes you have just about any type of town or city you want to live in. It give you so many options for city life, country life, lake life and close enough to the ocean to drive as well as seeing professional sports if that is your thing. Not to mention you could be an official at track meets if that's something you want to do in retirement. There's a bunch of colleges within a 1.5 hour drive not to mention that airport is one of the major hubs to half the country. so potential to get a direct flight to most places would be hirer. Davidson, NC is an awesome upscale small feel town that's 20 mins away from charlotte. Give it a look.

My wife and I plan to go the VRBO renting for a month route rather than owning. This way we'll be able to choose a different place to visit each winter and other times of the year. There are lots of great deals throughout the year.

I didn't realize you live in the northeast, you certainly know Vermont, New Hampshire and other beautiful areas a short drive from you.

I forgot to mention. You are within a 1.5hr drive of mountains for camping and skying. up there by App State.

You are very weird.

I lived in California for almost 5 years. We enjoyed greatly that we could drive to the beach (many different ones), to the mountains, to national parks, to southern California, to Utah, to Nevada, to wine country, to interesting cities and towns. What do you have against driving? It's an American pastime.

It's great to have a variety of things you can do. I know that some people just want to go to the beach every single day. Not me. I enjoy traveling, and the travel to get there is part of the fun. Weirdo.

...AND ANOTHER THING!

By the time you make your way to the airport early, go through security, have the flight that may or may not be delayed (or cancelled), wait to get your luggage, get the rental car, and drive to the place you want to be, it's probably going to take you close to 6 hours anyway, AND I can bring a lot more things I want to bring if I drive my own car. You're afraid of a 6-hour car ride? Man, that's a bit crazy. 6 hours is nothing.

I don't know, I don't consider sitting in traffic or dealing with airports fun.

Just being real, if one is the kind of person that prioritizes skiing, Tennessee doesn't really tick the box. Pennsylvania has ski hills too, but a dedicated skier would not go to Pennsylvania to ski.

If the clouds bug you but Western WA still sounds appealing, you could consider a couple options that get some rain shadow from the Olympics, so relatively more sun and less rain. Sequim (which puts you on the other side of Puget Sound from the metro areas and the airport, but easy mountain access to the Olympics and Hurricane Ridge) or Anacortes would work.

OP - My sister lives just outside of Snoqualmie and North Bend, and loves it - within an hour of SeaTac airport, and within and hour of skiing at Snoqualmie Pass.

Thanks for the suggestion - however, there's no Nordic skiing near Charlotte, and the thought of officiating at a track meet holds no appeal. Those meets go on for hours.

The way climate change is going you may need to think way up north or high elevation to be near a Nordic center for skiing.

The Birkie xc ski race this year barely occurred due to lack of natural snow.

Sounds like you have a nice little next egg for retirement and have given this some thought. As per Flagpole's list it is quite thorough except when considering property taxes in certain states. I have some friends that retired/moved to locations where the taxes were such that they had to go back to work. Lastly, be aware that Medicare does not make healthcare free for people over 65.

This. Do NOT buy a second home for vacays. Just rent a place wherever you want for a couple weeks.

problem with NW is the weather -- dark, cold, cloudy, rainy, & muddy for way too long each year, and wildfire smoke every summer.

nope to SLC metro area -- terrible air pollution & nightmare traffic

Higher elevation is not much of a guarantee. We here at 8800ft had a long drought from before Christmas through the end of January that ruffled the winter sports this year. While the past three years were amazing this year's snowpack was weak. Most locals who have been around for a while took on other interests.

You’re describing the Twin Cities area in MN.