How did I research Fort Collins, CO. as a retirement location? For the past few years, my husband and I have been vacationing in potential retirement locations. No, we did not do the kind of research I suggested in yesterday’s post. I had to learn that bit of advice on my own. J One vacation took us to Estes Park, CO. where we visited Boulder, Fort Collins, and some of the smaller cities in the area. Back home in metro Atlanta after these vacations, we reviewed the information gathered during our visit and did some Internet research, as well. We sat down with a map of the U.S. and talked about the many places we had visited on previous vacations. We looked at our list of retirement criteria again. (See my Feb. 18 post, “Retirement Location: Your Criteria” for more on that subject.) After several “retirement location” discussions like this, we narrowed down our first choice location: Fort Collins, CO. That decision coupled with the downturn in the housing market and low interest rates prompted us to talk very seriously about relocation plans. We had visited FC in the summer, but never in the winter and we really weren’t sure if we could handle “winter” after so many years in the south. That was an “unknown factor” that needed to be checked out. That required a visit during the winter and since I am unemployed, I was the person chosen for the mission.
Flights from Atlanta to Denver were $268, but I wanted to find something cheaper than that and decided to wait for a sale. I had a trip already scheduled to California for early February, so when I booked my sale fare to CA., I decided to fly to Denver on my return from CA. and save some money. It was cheaper to fly to Denver ($99) instead of returning to Atlanta ($199). So, I knew when I would arrive in Denver, but I did not have a return ticket at that point. I booked that later on another sale for $120.
Now, how to get to Fort Collins, which is about 70 miles north of the Denver airport? An Internet search for transportation turned up www.supershuttle.com. SuperShuttle, according to their Web site, “is the nation's leading shared-ride airport shuttle service.” They provide door-to-door transportation “to and from 33 airports in over 50 US cities and surrounding communities.” They also offer frequent flyer miles. I caught the shuttle (a 15-passenger van) at the airport and for $40 (and a tip to the driver), I got a ride to the apartment I rented in Fort Collins. It was easy and it meant I didn’t have to rent a car! Money saved!
Where was that little apartment and how did I find it??? That was the greatest find! It wasn’t the cheapest at $1300 for a month, but renting for a month was just about the same price as two week’s rental and the owner was willing to give me a discount because it was the off season. Since I wanted to stay 2-3 weeks, I went ahead and booked for a month. I found my place on www.vrbo.com. Just find the state and city or area you want to travel to and see what’s available. I had a list of “needs,” such as kitchen, Internet, walking distance to town, near bus line, etc. I already had a specific date and the site’s calendar function let’s you see right away the availability of the rental. The place I rented was so fantastic! It was a little one-bedroom carriage house and the perfect space for my research and writing. The grocery store was 2 blocks away, so I made good use of my little kitchen, saving money on eating out.
So, that’s how I got to MY retirement city! Now, it’s YOUR turn to book YOUR trip. At the very least, start the retirement discussion and think about planning your next vacation with retirement in mind. And, let me know where you’re going! Are you using any of my advice?
If you need help with comments to this post, see my Feb. 17 and Feb. 20 posts for some tips.
Coming up in future posts:
How retirement research helps define your housing needs, the total cost of my retirement research trip, envisioning your retirement, taxes in retirement, healthcare, and more!
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