By: Arthur Cooper
Submitted: 2011-03-07 21:15:18 | Word Count: 664
Most people searching for retirement homes in the Dallas or Fort Worth areas are already homeowners. They understand the process of sifting through real estate listings to find a good home in a good neighborhood. What they don’t necessarily understand, because few of them have ever experienced it, is how to pull up the stakes and head off to another part of the country…for good.
Buying or moving to a retirement home is a big decision, one of the last really big decisions a person can make. For that reason, it can be intimidating, just starting the process can be overwhelming. But as with all big decisions, breaking the process down into smaller steps makes it much easier not only to start, but also to finish.
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There are a lot of factors to consider; but nearly everything can be assigned to one of three categories: Location, Lifestyle, and Cost. Today we’ll focus on one factor: Location.
It is, of course, a truism within the real estate industry that location is by far the most important predictor of value for a property. True to form, it’s also where most people begin when they start thinking seriously about buying a retirement home in one of Dallas’ finer retirement communities.
For younger homeowners, tied to a job or hobbled by family or financial obligations, the choices are more limited. But a retiree who can afford to pull up stakes and move to Florida can probably afford to move anywhere else as well. It is the sheer breadth of choices that presents the biggest problem: if you can live anywhere, how do you choose?
It all depends on what is most important to you. For a lot of people, a warm climate really is the most important consideration—that’s what makes Florida and Arizona, as different as they may be, such popular retirement destinations, even if you live in Texas. And they are different: Tucson’s highest summertime humidity is about the same as Orlando’s lowest. If your dream involves escaping once and for all the chill of a northern winter, consider carefully what type of warm climate best suits you…hot and humid, or hot and dry.
Other factors enter into the climate equation, of course. Coastal areas typically enjoy steady onshore breezes that mitigate the worst of summer heat. Rural areas can be several degrees cooler than nearby urban areas, whose extensive asphalt and concrete surfaces absorb and trap more heat. And some retirees actually hate the heat and love winter. For those, there is an entirely different set of climate questions to consider.
One of the best resources to start with is the Climate Maps of the United States from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). A number of downloadable maps are available, showing such climatic factors as temperature, rainfall, snow, wind, dew point, and many others. From these, you should be able to gain a much clearer idea of which parts of the country feature the climate that you like best.
But climate isn’t the only factor to consider in assessing a new location outside the Dallas area. Every location in the United States has unique demographic and economic characteristics that should be taken into account—for instance, crime rate. Not only that, but if it’s important to you to maintain close links to family and friends, you should consider a new home that is either close to them, or close to good transportation facilities. (For instance, your dream home may be in a small community tucked away in the mountain West…but if it’s far from a major transportation hub, you probably shouldn’t count on having many visitors.) Finally, if you have any special needs—for instance, if you must live near a world-class medical facility—consider whether or not they can be met in a particular location.
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