Water - Supply and Cost: A Must-Factor-In for Retirement Relocation

 The smart thing for the successful along the Northeast Corridor to do was plan a financially safe retirement in the southwest. The specific city or town would be determined by availability of healthcare, cultural infrastructure and ease in developing new social networks. Oh! What an adventure. Such a different lifestyle. 

Now - and it's urgent - what has to be added to the checklist are the supply and cost of water. 

In cute tiny towns like Kearny, Arizona there may be no supply. Vulnerable in supply are all locations which depend on the drying-up Colorado River. According to ChatGPT those range from the Phoenix/Tucson, AZ region to Las Vegas and Denver. 

As for cost, the monthly bill for a two-bedroom condo in Phoenix ranges from $25 to $45. But usually the fee for sewer is bundled in. That combo fee ranges from $70 to $120. 

Those realities deterred me from returning to Tucson, where I had first relocated from the New York Metro area after I had aged out of the Manhattan communications market. That was 20214. I left when the California Invasion started. Those discontented with the progressive CA politics brought their money to AZ, boosting living costs.

For several years I have been in the northwestern Ohio. Here in Cambridge Woods, Toledo, there are no dire warnings to conserve water. Its cost also is covered in the rent. Without any financial squeeze I enjoy long showers. 

Of course, also a current factor-in is the temperature. You have to consider if the pets can endure 100-plus degrees as the usual for summer. When I was in Tucson I could only walk the dog very early in the morning and after sunset.

OH does have its hear waves. But the intensity and duration are less than in AZ. State parks, including for parking, are free for cooling off, especially in Lake Erie. 



BTW, air conditioning is also included in the rent at Cambridge Woods.

Another plus provided by the overall midwest, in contrast to the southwest, is the lack of wildfires. Those don't happen here. They did when I was based in Tucson. 

Obviously, planning for where to live in retirement has lost some of the ethos of searching for adventure. The focus has to be more pragmatic. It's not unthinkable that some areas in the southwest could become ghost towns. Therefore all that re-building of a life in a new location could be blown up. Instead, you could become a climate-change migrant. Yes, this could happen in America.

In my coaching I guide those over-60 to find a retirement forever home. 

Career Paths? So Over. It’s about Earning a Good Living. No matter what.

Complimentary consultation. No Pressure. Street-smart Guidance. Contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.


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