7 Steps to Successfully Relocate or Retire to the Carolinas
A lot of people ask me about how they should go about relocating or retiring to North Carolina or South Carolina and I do my best to offer some rules of thumb on a case-by-case basis.
This week I want to offer you 7 useful steps that will help you not only physically relocate or retire to the Carolinas, but also help you comprehend the “big picture” stuff that will ultimately give you more peace of mind as you make that move to your Best Place to Live successful.
These 7 steps are based on advice given to us by Ron Manheimer, the former director of the Center for Creative Retirement in Asheville, NC and someone who believe you me really knows his stuff. I had the opportunity to interview Ron back in October ’09 and it was a real eye opener even for yours truly.
If you haven’t heard it yet, go to our Special Interviews section. Although a good deal of our discussion dealt with issues facing retirees, I think you’ll see that the steps Ron laid out can help everyone.
Anyway, here goes!
- Create a Vision: As Ron likes to say, “It’s good to dream a little.” What’s important to you? What do you want to do or be when you move to the Carolinas? Think about what you’re going to be and what changes that might mean for you be it in lifestyle, work, finances and so on.
- Generate Options: Once you have an idea of what your new life in the Carolinas will be like, where do you need be, or as we say, where is your best place, in order to enjoy your new life? I started Places of Value so that it’d be easier for people to come up with a good list of options as to where they need to be.
- Explore the means to make your options come true: Do your homework. Come up with a good checklist to help you evaluate your list of best places to live according to your goals and intangibles. If you haven’t done so you may want to take a trip and see some of these places and it never hurts to check out local news sources for more information. Also, meeting people and making new friends in places you’re thinking of relocating or retiring to can only help your decision-making and relocation process.Take a hard look at even the smallest things…
- Make Choices: You’ve done your homework and made up a short list of best places that fit your goals, wants and needs and now you want to take a hard look at even the smallest things that can help you come to a decision about your best place to live. For instance, if you have a health condition that may require attention then that lovely little town in the mountains four hours away from the nearest hospital might not make the cut.
- Develop a Plan: Now that all of your hopes, fears, wants and needs have been taken into consideration, you’ve done your homework and made the hard choices, it should be easier to set out a step by step plan for relocating to your best place in the Carolinas. Make a list of all the different affairs you’ll need to attend to and start moving the process forward to implementation.
- Synchronize with Others: I could just as well call this step “Communication”. Do not under estimate the importance of this step. Don't assume your spouse and family are on the same page much less happily. Ron tells a really funny story about a gentleman who having spent decades vacationing in Florida assumed his wife would love to retire there only to find out she never really liked going to Florida.
- Evaluate and Repeat as necessary: Don’t be afraid of mistakes. Making a mistake along the way is part of the learning process and it never hurts before you’ve fully implemented your plan to go back, rethink or redo aspects of the plan before moving forward.
Best wishes as you start the process and we’ll see you again next week!
About Bob Bencivenga
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Bob Bencivenga is a professional site locator and location analyst for major corporations and has been researching the growth of NC and SC to find the Best Places to Retire or Relocate that are still affordable. |
| Visit his blog The Carolina Report and sign up for FREE updates by email,his FREE Affordable Best Places To Live Report and, get FREE Expert Advice on how to find Your Best Place to Retire or Relocate to in North Carolina and South Carolina, additional resources, and a lot more.
Bob does not sell real estate. |
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