Step 5: Get to know your top choices well

You have no decision to make until you have at least one specific place where you may be willing to relocate. As obvious as this may seem, a lot of folks get all churned up emotionally before they have even one realistic alternative. Also, remember that one possibility is to “relocate” to a different situation in the area where you live now – a new house, apartment, condo, or retirement community.

Using the chart on the previous page, choose one, two or three of the best possibilities you have identified. Keep the list short to minimize the amount of work you will have to do getting to know those places. Now it’s time to get to know those places better – well enough so you can decide whether you want to live there.

Once you have chosen, there are many things you can do to get information: do “library research”, research on the internet, and visit or vacation there. If you can, visit and spend time in each area you are considering. Vacation at the most likely location if at all possible. A small inn or bed-and-breakfast in a neighborhood will give you more information about what it is like to live there than a central hotel. Consider being there in different seasons.

When you visit, here are things you may want to do:

  1. Go to the visitors’ bureau, chamber of commerce or other promotional offices you can find.
  2. If they interest you, visit any tourist attractions, museums, art galleries, colleges, and public buildings.
  3. If you have special interests or hobbies, visit stores that sell to people like you. They will probably know people with interests like yours.
  4. Talk to (interview) almost everybody you meet – clerks, police officers, gift shop operators. Ask about things like where the locals eat. Talk to the servers and proprietors about the location, how long they have lived there, what they like most and least, how new people are treated, recent changes or plans for the area and any special interest you have. Try to visit in off-hour times so they will have time to chat.
  5. Scan the Yellow Pages in the telephone book.

Some other things you may want to find out about include:

  • Can you meet any special requirements you may have – professional associations, facilities for hobbies or other interests?
  • Are the medical services you need available?
  • Before you go, get referrals from your doctor, dentist, chiropractor, lawyer, and real estate agent.
Most cities now have web sites with a lot of information for tourists and people considering living there, including stores, maps, entertainment, places to stay, history, and tourist attractions.