Parents want to buy a house before they retire. Location recommendations?

[fuzzybabybunny]

My parents currently live in a sort of rural area 45 minutes outside Cleveland and they want to buy a house to retire in before they no longer qualify for a mortgage due to no longer having work.

They don't like where they live right now, and they've lived there for over 25 years. They hate the cold and snow, but also hate the heat and humidity. Property prices are entirely stagnant in their community as well.

Also, they're totally Chinese and haven't integrated much into American or western life, so ideally they need a Chinese grocery nearby, authentic Chinese restaurants, etc. An actual Chinatown would be nice but I guess not necessary.

They want to get a house that will appreciate in value.

According to this article, there are some good choices:

https://www.curbed.com/2018/1/9/16868250/2018-real-estate-markets-to-watch

Austin - ok?
Dallas - ok?
Denver - gets too cold with too much snow
Fort Lauderdale - too hot and humid
Nashville - don't know
Portland - too rainy and overcast
Raleigh-Durham - don't know
Salt Lake City - gets too cold with too much snow
Seattle - too rainy and overcast

Thoughts on these areas and the real estate market in these places?

 

[Ns1]

sounds like they want San Diego.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Boston? They've got to really love the four seasons and the presence of an unpredictable climate including snow in the winter.

"Don't like the weather? Wait a few minutes, it'll change."

 

[brianmanahan]

My parents currently live in a sort of rural area 45 minutes outside Cleveland

lol me too

 

[IronWing]

Austin - ok?
Dallas - ok? too hot and humid
Denver - gets too cold with too much snow
Fort Lauderdale - too hot and humid
Nashville - don't know - Rainy, overcast
Portland - too rainy and overcast
Raleigh-Durham - too hot and humid
Salt Lake City - gets too cold with too much snow
Seattle - too rainy and overcast

See bolded above. I don't know about Austin.

Las Vegas and Phoenix get hot but mostly dry heat. I don't know if either has a Chinatown. LA has lots of Chinese and a decent climate but is stupid expensive.

 

[Ns1]

See bolded above. I don't know about Austin.

Las Vegas and Phoenix get hot but mostly dry heat. I don't know if either has a Chinatown. LA has lots of Chinese and a decent climate but is stupid expensive.

OP wants a place that isn't too hot, isn't too cold, is close to a chinatown (ie a real city), and has property that appreciates. Anything that fits into this criteria will be expensive because everyone wants to live in a place like that.

If OP also added in "oh yeah, they only have 400k to spend", I would say that we'd have better luck finding a unicorn.

 

[tynopik]

it might make sense to retire to China at this point

 

[dasherHampton]

If they're rural they should look into Carbondale IL. I'm considering possibly retiring there in a few decades.

The town itself is nothing special but it does host a large university with plenty of activities of all sorts available. There is a large Asian populace there.

And the surrounding area? Unbelievable beautiful in every direction. If they enjoy the outdoors it would be heaven for them.

The weather is great. Like 2 weeks of winter, just to remind you it's there.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

OP wants a place that isn't too hot, isn't too cold, is close to a chinatown (ie a real city), and has property that appreciates. Anything that fits into this criteria will be expensive because everyone wants to live in a place like that.

If OP also added in "oh yeah, they only have 400k to spend", I would say that we'd have better luck finding a unicorn.

I removed the Chinatown requirement. An actual Chinese grocery store and some authentic Chinese restaurants are a must though.

 

[Ns1]

I removed the Chinatown requirement. An actual Chinese grocery store and some authentic Chinese restaurants are a must though.

rofl that's an even worse requirement. Having said that, it probably means you want any college town that can meet your weather requirements AND a large Chinese student population, because that's where all the obscure locations with Chinese grocery stores and authentic Chinese restaurants are.

Otherwise I hope your parents enjoy chow mein sandwiches, chop suey, and moo goo gai pan.

 

[Exterous]

My parents currently live in a sort of rural area 45 minutes outside Cleveland and they want to buy a house to retire in before they no longer qualify for a mortgage due to no longer having work.

I can't add too much to the locations but they can still get a mortgage without employment income. My mother was able to get one when she moved despite being retired. (low interest rates meant she wanted to keep her money in retirement accounts instead of paying cash). Its more of a PITA but they can use Asset Depletion methods of determining income. I believe steady income from SS and any mandatory IRA Required Minimum Distributions counts as income as well

 

[nisryus]

If they don't mind stay home and blast air condition during summer, Austin is cool. we just have H-mart and Ranch 99 opened last month, and already had a small Chinatown plaza (not actual Chiantown but big strip mall with a big Vietnamese grocery store which carries all kind of Asian foods and stuffs, plus other eateries and things). we have an increasing Asian population here, with majority of them Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean.

 

[Carson Dyle]

No heat, humidity or snow. Immediately cross out anything east of the Mississipi.

No Snow. Nothing north of Oklahoma/Arizona.

Sounds like they've painted themselves into a fairly small portion of the US. Shouldn't be hard to go from there. How are they with the 100 to 120 degree heat of summers in the southwest? It's mostly a dry heat.

 

[Dr. Detroit]

Sacramento, CA and the surrounding areas - Home appreciation is questionable as I feel CA is in another major bubble.

 

[deadlyapp]

There are certainly parts of Los Angeles that would work, eg Torrance and Long Beach where you could find property that isn't unbelievably expensive, but expect 400-500k for a moderately sized home. Your money would go a lot further in another state though - everything here sucks except the weather.

My boss just retired to Virginia, but he's an old, wealthy white dude.

 

[Ns1]

Lol @ Torrance on a 400-500k budget

 

[Chaotic42]

A place that's neither cold nor hot, and not rainy, humid, or overcast with a Chinese presence? I think you're basically limited to parts of California.

Chinese population:

Growing Zones (minimum temperature):

Max Heat Index:

I'd throw it all into a single map for you, but I don't see the need. California it is.

 

[madoka]

San Gabriel Valley - it's where all the Chinese are flocking to. Every newcomer on my block has been Chinese for the past several years. I think they are now 70% of the homeowners on my block.

 

[slashbinslashbash]

Having lived there (not Asian myself) the Dallas/Fort Worth area seems like it would be a pretty good fit. Yes it gets hot and humid, but there are plenty of good houses for $200k or less, and pockets of Asians throughout (look particularly in the Arlington area IMO). Snow/cold does happen, but rarely (and nothing compared to Ohio).

My other suggestion would be Houston (particularly the southwest area around Sugarland) as it is CrazyAzn but the heat and humidity are considerably worse than DFW.

Austin is too hard to get around, housing is getting too expensive there too. DFW and Houston suburbs are livable (highways are good enough to get into downtown area when necessary without too much stress), Austin suburbs = retarded commute due to bizarre/congested/poorly-planned highway system.

There are other smaller towns throughout Texas that have decent Asian populations. I live in Lubbock (population 250k) and there is at least one Chinese grocery store that I'm aware of -- there are a good number of Asian students attending Texas Tech University. Also a very dry climate compared with towns in the eastern half of Texas. It does get cold in winter, and we have a bit of snow, but usually it is pretty mild. Hot summers, but quite dry.

I would imagine that Waco would be similar (halfway between DFW and Austin) in terms of having a decent Asian population due to the university there, and the same with College Station (halfway between Austin and Houston). San Antonio is nice, but I don't have enough experience there myself to really comment.

I have heard anecdotal evidence of Chinese (i.e., looking to immigrate from China) purchasing houses in Texas because the prices in other states have gotten too high. I know for a fact that the Houston area is experiencing a large influx of Chinese and other Asian immigrants.

 

[Carson Dyle]

A place that's neither cold nor hot, and not rainy, humid, or overcast with a Chinese presence? I think you're basically limited to parts of California.

Or China.

 

[Billb2]

Sell the house, buy a motor home, travel around the country for a few years, pick a place they like, sell the motor home and buy a house.

 

[ctbaars]

Anywhere within 2 miles of the California coastline.

 

[PottedMeat]

Dallas - ok?

do they like to drive - a lot? its all sprawl out here

tons of asian groceries/restaurants/communities basically east of haltom city

 

[BudAshes]

Phoenix. All the old people are already there, they might as well follow the herd. If they have 800k to spend you buy a house in Phoenix for 400k then a condo in Flagstaff for 400k. Phoenix is nice all winter, flagstaff all summer and they are 2 hours apart.

 

[Elganja]

North Carolina