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Gay retirement destinations

Stormy

By Stormy
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Epigonos Grand Master

Epigonos

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It is really interesting reading what each of us considers a slice of heaven. I'm with the crowd that hates heat and dislikes desert colors. Heat is heat to me. I hate dry heat just as much as I hate humid heat. Until I started posting on this site and began participating in the Palm Springs Weekend I avoided Palm Springs like the plague. Once Oliver began wintering there and another good friend moved there, about ten years ago, I think I had only been in Palm Springs once or twice. With one or two exceptions the restaurant scene in Palm Springs is really poor. I don't play golf and I find sitting around a pool in 115 degree heat a real bore.

I love blues and greens and cool climates. If weather ALONE was my only concern I would move to San Diego, California.

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LoveNDino Grand Master

LoveNDino

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Interesting nobody has mentioned my two favorite cities: Sydney and Stockholm. Visas are a problem in Australia and the winter weather in Sweden! I have only visited Mexico once, in 1969 --- while Woodstock was happening in the U.S. @mike carey, Yes, flights to Australia take a bit of getting use to, but worth the trouble

 

I did like Mexico City.

Sydney and Melbourne are wonderful cities - but my god! The prices are sky-high!

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BenjaminNicholas Grand Master

+ BenjaminNicholas

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It is really interesting reading what each of us considers a slice of heaven. I'm with the crowd that hates heat and dislikes desert colors. Heat is heat to me. I hate dry heat just as much as I hate humid heat. Until I started posting on this site and began participating in the Palm Springs Weekend I avoided Palm Springs like the plague. Once Oliver began wintering there and another good friend moved there, about ten years ago, I think I had only been in Palm Springs once or twice. With one or two exceptions the restaurant scene in Palm Springs is really poor. I don't play golf and I find sitting around a pool in 115 degree heat a real bore.

I love blues and greens and cool climates. If weather ALONE was my only concern I would move to San Diego, California.

 

I agree with a lot of what you're saying.

 

The only decent thing (to me) about PS is the architecture: They preserved some beautiful homes and the mid-century modern aesthetic is one I really like.

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Charlie Grand Master

+ Charlie

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The Central Valley is a very large area and it very much depends on your elevation. Although the concept of Summer isn't really applicable in a country so close to the equator -- it's really just the wet or the dry season -- I have friends in Atenas who did tell me it's been unusually hot because it was in the low 90s. It never breaks 100 half way up the mountains and I'm not aware of any place in Costa Rica (Although I admit I don't study the weather of the entire country all year long.) that hits 115. The driest hottest part of the country did hit 109 last year, but I live in Texas. I am not impressed. :)

 

That said, the country in general does get pretty warm, but my apartment in San Jose has air conditioning and I will take heat over cold any day. Weather below 50 degrees is simply not in my retirement future.

I thought you were referring to the Central Valley of California (aka the San Joaquin Valley), which is wide and flat, and has some of the worst air pollution in the country, according to the EPA. I travel though the valley a couple of times each summer, and from Redding to Modesto to Bakersfield, it always seems as hot as the desert.

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Charlie Grand Master

+ Charlie

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When I was younger, my requisites for my headquarters would have reflected Amazon's: there had to be at least a million people in the metro area, and a major airport. In old age, I have begun to appreciate the charm of small towns. Their main downside for the elderly is a lack of medical support, but otherwise I appreciate the cheaper cost of living, friendliness, slower pace and convenience of the small town way of life--IF you choose the right small town, of course. My favorites are mostly in the Pacific Northwest and New England, but there are other candidates throughout the country.

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TruthBTold Grand Master

TruthBTold

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I agree with a lot of what you're saying.

The only decent thing (to me) about PS is the architecture: They preserved some beautiful homes and the mid-century modern aesthetic is one I really like.

 

I agree with the majority of what you say. Particularly about the mid-century Dinah Shore/Bob Hope aesthetic. However, there are also the palm trees and mountains ringing PS that are particularly beautiful. If I recall it was hard to go to a restaurant after 9 pm but my culinary tastes are pretty bad any way. The one thing that stood out for me is that there were some guys who provided some great sex. PS here I cum.

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BenjaminNicholas Grand Master

+ BenjaminNicholas

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I agree with the majority of what you say. Particularly about the mid-century Dinah Shore/Bob Hope aesthetic. However, there are also the palm trees and mountains ringing PS that are particularly beautiful. If I recall it was hard to go to a restaurant after 9 pm but my culinary tastes are pretty bad any way. The one thing that stood out for me is that there were some guys who provided some great sex. PS here I cum.

 

When I think mid-century modern, I think of the actual designers who made the movement a classic: Saarinen, George Nelson, Frank Lloyd Wright, Jacobsen, Knoll and Corbusier (among others). These were the artists who created a look that has since survived, thrived and reintroduced itself to a new generation. Palm Springs has been done a fantastic job of not only appreciating it, but respectfully preserving what they have. I admire that... It's not an inexpensive thing to do.

 

Clearly, we differ in what we'd seek for a retirement setting, but if PS floats your boat, I say more power to you :)

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rustyrex Proficient

rustyrex

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I swear, in my recent travels through New Mexico, I never set foot in a single room with a buffalo carcass ... or even a buffalo skin.

 

However, I did come across this picture of Georgia O'Keeffe's house in Abiquiu and I suppose what's on the floor there may once have been on a buffalo ...

http://media.guestofaguest.com/t_article_content/gofg-media/2017/03/1/48576/g_korab__45cn1a_s1.jpg

 

As someone that currently lives in NM, I never thought there were people that actually like this part of the country. Santa Fe really isn't my favorite place, but we tell the tourist to go spend some money up there if they must. I'll admit they do have a better plaza. I was reading Santa Fe and ABQ have large gay populations, strangely it's not overtly noticeable, especially in Santa Fe. It's mostly older gay couples with lots of money, ABQ isn't that much better but at least we have a club and a bar. Santa Fe is expensive and there are areas that there is an attitude of "I live in a better place than you do" but to me it's just ok. I always think about leaving to see what other parts of the country are like, but I vacation enough to know I don't want the east coast (too many people), west coast is the same but I love CA. Can't stand LA, San Diego and San Fran are awesome, hell I even liked Bakersfield. Never have visited Palm Springs but I'm curious about it.

 

But here's the same room without it. So, just a matter of how you want to decorate inside.

http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/d0/2f/11/d02f1156aa770a0bb84e332490565987.jpg

 

Meanwhile, there's a lot of natural beauty outside -- high desert, big sky, mountains, gorges.

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body2body Proficient

body2body

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I've lived in West Hollywood since the 70s, and it feels safe and familiar. But I live in a three story Townhouse, and my knees are giving me problems. I'm also sitting on a big pile of equity. Many of my friends have moved to Palm Springs, but when I go to visit them most of them seem to pass the time in an alcohol stupor sunning themselves by the pool. I don't drink, and I'm a fair skinned blue eyed redhead who is disinclined to spend my retirement applying sunscreen. I enjoy attending the Philharmonic, the Opera, and Theater. I also have begun to feel like I would enjoy a less hectic pace, but with a vibrant local arts scene and access to big city for its amenities, both social and carnal. I've been exploring-

 

1. Santa Rosa, CA. 55 miles north of SF. County seat of Sonoma County (wine country). Vibrant arts and restaurant scene, dry Mediterranean climate (average high August 84) and close enough for weekend getaways in San Franciso. Housing prices are reasonable by SF and LA standards. Two major medical centers.

 

2. Ventura, CA- a climate as fine as Santa Barbara and property near the ocean at affordable prices. Access to LA by train in about 75 minutes. The climate is so temperate that many homes have no AC.

 

3. Ashland, OR. The Ashland Shakespeare Festival is one of the largest Theater Festivals in the Country, it runs from February to October. In Southern Oregon about 20 miles from California, the climate is drier and warmer than Portland. Home prices are reasonable by California standards. The setting is beautiful. The downside- it is a shlep to SF or Portland, or to get to an International Airport to travel. Yet I have friends who have moved there and never want to leave.

 

I'm going to be visiting all these places over the next year. I think it's important to consider what is important to you, and establish some criteria as to what defines a high quality of life by your definition. I will revisit this thread when I've made a decision.

 

There is even still a chance I might end up in Paris ( where I've often dreamed of living) if I were brave, and willing to live in a 400 sq ft one room apartment that might still be the answer.

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jjkrkwood Grand Master

jjkrkwood

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So, when you get to retirement age, it's NOT about where you are gonna live... it becomes about where you are gonna DIE. But until that point you need to be in a place that is comfortable and serves your medical needs WELL. It's the sad truth about Aging... So the question really becomes, "Where do you want your final resting place to be " ??? Those of you that might still have survivors may choose a place that makes it acessible for them to "visit" you? For others like myself with NO survivors, I am choosing to stay in NYC to enjoy eternal rest with my parents in a Family plot.... Morbid, I know but a reality.

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jjkrkwood Grand Master

jjkrkwood

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Find THIS Place.... I'll Gladly relocate HERE ! (they gotta finish Reading at some point :p )

 

http://68.media.tumblr.com/cb3836d02a6d28b94c740aca9bf64f40/tumblr_nqtxwq15eX1qlx9tso1_500.jpg

 

 

http://68.media.tumblr.com/c54e06ad2544c18a0fa3bee49bd79c1a/tumblr_nqtxwq15eX1qlx9tso4_500.jpg

 

 

http://68.media.tumblr.com/e9f3f14f96319cbdf9bf16291f89a024/tumblr_nqtxwq15eX1qlx9tso3_500.jpg

 

 

http://68.media.tumblr.com/40288e5cddf7ab3ea2647f5b40ae789d/tumblr_nqtxwq15eX1qlx9tso5_500.jpg

 

 

http://68.media.tumblr.com/a063361e1921e2178ddbd3592e303373/tumblr_nqtxwq15eX1qlx9tso6_500.jpg

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gallahadesquire Grand Master

gallahadesquire

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There was a restaurant in Copley Square, Boston, called Ken's at Copley. It was a bastion of '70's gay life, as one of the only places to go after the bars closed. It had a balcony, too, to make cruising that much easier.

 

A friend one night was in the balcony. He called the waitress over:

"Do you serve homosexuals at this hour?" he asked."

"Honey," she answered, "At
this
hour, that's about all we serve."

"Oh, good!" he said, "I'll take
that
one over
there."

The same suspect was there another time, and saw a particularly attractive young thing, and sent him a bagel with a banana stuck in the middle. The QYT looked up, and got waved at.

 

I'll take third photo down, on the right.

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