Prices have been going up. That’s no news to anyone. But for retirees, stretching the dollar can only go so far. Add to that high demand in favorite retirement locales like Florida, and some retirees are making adjustments, like looking for areas with lower cost of living. The Wall Street Journal’s Arian Campo-Flores and Paul Overberg report:
SARASOTA, Fla.—Michele Butler and Wells Chapin moved to the west coast of Florida from Michigan in 2023 in anticipation of her plan to exit the restaurant business and join her partner in retirement. They bought a $950,000 home at a new resort-style development in Lakewood Ranch, just outside Sarasota, that draws many new, well-heeled retirees. Butler, 70, and Chapin, 82, golf at the 18-hole course, ride bikes on winding trails and enjoy sunsets on their lanai.
The following year, Jim and Nina Cope headed in the opposite direction, selling their mobile home in a retirement community in Avon Park, Fla., for $59,000 after repeated rent hikes for the lot. The couple, who are in their mid-80s, bought a home for $40,000 in Haleyville, Ala., where their living expenses are more manageable with the income they get from Social Security and his Navy retirement benefits.
If you’re planning to move during retirement, Your Survival Guy suggests you rent in a new area for a year if you can before you buy a home there. Watching all four seasons go by will give you and your spouse time to get to know the area, to understand its unique characteristics, and to decide if it is right for you.
Action Line: When you’re planning a retirement move, start your search with Your Survival Guy’s 2025 Super States, and click here to subscribe to my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter and be among the first to receive my forthcoming 2026 Super States.
