Looking for Beaches, Culture, and Biking – And Oh, We’re On a Budget

March 15, 2022 — Everybody looking for a place to retire probably has a list of must-haves. Today we explore possibilities for a hypothetical couple that has the three priorities listed in our headline – sandy beaches, lots of culture, and hassle-free biking. They also have a fourth consideration, having a nearby airport with good connections. Both people in this couple had average working careers, and now collect the average (2021) Social Security benefit of $1,555 each month. Adding income from their retirement savings, they have a combined income of just over $4,500 per month.

How these filters work

Sandy beaches don’t exist everywhere, so that narrows the possibilities to one of the coasts, unless this couple is willing to consider living near a lake. They didn’t mention a minimum winter temperature range, so that gives them many possibilities. Having lots of cultural opportunities adds a filter that will narrow the search to towns of some size, or one that has a college or other cultural outpost. Good biking is available in towns of all sizes. But, having access to it means choosing your neighborhood carefully, unless you want to put your bike on the car and drive somewhere. An airport with good connections, if that is really important, also puts some important limitations on the search. Having a budget of $4500 a year will constrain the neighborhood where they live and the type of home they buy or rent, but not necessarily the city chosen.

Some possibilities near the beach

Florida

The Sunshine State probably provides more possibilities for living near the beach at an affordable price than any other state. It has the Gulf of Mexico on the west, the Atlantic on the east, and hundreds of lakes in the middle. To avoid being constrained by budget, retirees can settle for being an hour or so from the beach, or choose one of the many manufactured or RV communities near the coast that offer more affordable living. Biking in Florida can be difficult though, particularly in towns of any size. Eight and ten lane roads with complicated crossings and roaring cars take the fun out of biking pretty quickly. But smaller communities often have rail to trail, parks, or bike paths that make biking a pleasure.

Winter Park, FL has the merit of being east of Orlando, which has one of the best airports in the country. It is only one of many towns in the area that could be a good choice. People love its cultural options from the many colleges located here including Rollins College, plus an extensive collection of parks. The prestigious Winter Park Sidewalk Arts Festival attracts 350,000 visitors from around the country.

Vero Beach, FL and nearby Sebastian could be a good option for this couple. Located midway down the east coast, this area is not quite as expensive as cities further south, but it does have enough cultural options to keep people engaged. Like cities everywhere, finding somewhere to bike safely here means careful research. For people with their own planes the Vero Beach Airport is a nice airport as well. Allegiant offers limited service to Newark, NJ and Portland, ME. Nearby Melbourne Airport is served by several major airlines.

The Clearwater Area has some great possibilities to fit these criteria. Towns like Dunedin (which has a rail trail) and the smaller neighborhoods near St. Petersburg offer good biking options. The beaches here are beautiful white sand. The Tampa airport offers great connections to just about everywhere. Tampa and St. Petersburg offer amazing cultural opportunities, including the Salvador Dali Museum.

Pensacola Beach. Located in Florida’s panhandle, water and beaches abound here. The city is big enough to offer many cultural opportunities, and there are interesting smaller neighborhoods like Pensacola Beach where biking is available. Home prices in the area are about 20% lower than the national average (NAR). The airport claims it offers nonstop flights to over 20 cities.

Alabama and Mississippi Coast

Fairhope, AL, is a former utopian community with ambiance and a tradition of outstanding cultural opportunities. A 1,450-foot town pier serves as a local gathering spot. Biking is good in the community. Nearby Foley is farther from the water, but offers a less expensive alternative that might better align with this couple’s budget goal. Mobile would be the closest airport, although Pensacola is a good alternate.

Coastal Virginia, Carolinas, and Georgia

From Maryland to Georgia there are many towns and cities with access to beaches, and that aren’t far from a city big enough to boast a good airport and cultural offerings. Here are two that could be good for this couple.

Norfolk or Virginia Beach, VA. The beaches near here are legendary. For culture, the Virginia Beach Amphitheater presents concerts with popular performers, and The Sandler Center is a 1200-seat performing arts theatre. The Norfolk Airport has many flights to choose from. And the price of homes here is less than the national average.

Myrtle Beach, SC or Conway, SC. The “Grand Strand” is extremely attractive because of its low-costs, 120 golf courses, varied housing arrangements, and of course – that great sandy beach that runs uninterrupted for almost 60 miles – from Pawley’s Island in the south to North Myrtle Beach. Biking can be problematic due to heavy traffic, but there are bike trails like the Huntington Beach State Park 26-mile bicycle trail, which runs from Murrells Inlet. The airport is designated as a small hub and is served by most of the major airlines, although many of them are seasonal.

South Texas

The Lone Star State has a very long coastline that runs from Port Arthur in the East to South Padre Island in the south. There are three major cities along the coast: Galveston, Houston, and Corpus Christi. There are also numerous beach towns like Port Isabel in the south, but they do not offer much in the way of culture.

Corpus Christi might be the best bet for this hypothetical couple. Home prices are well below average. Great beaches are a short drive away, and the city has numerous museums and other sources of culture. The airport is served by American, Southwest, and United with service to Dallas and Houston. There are cycling groups here who have staked out certain routes.

The West Coast

From Washington State to California there are an amazing number of great beaches. In Oregon and Washington, however, the beach towns tend to be small so cultural offerings are slim. Larger towns are separated from the coast by big mountains so beaches are not that accessible. In California towns near beaches are expensive, so if you want to live near the beach you will have to settle a bit inland or live in a modest home or neighborhood.

Long Beach, CA is considered one of the best cycling towns in America. The paved paths along the beach that go for miles are a top attraction, and there are many more as well. Home prices are well above the national average, so our couple is going to have to look for a bargain. Culture level is high here with attractions like the Long Beach Museum of Art, and you can take a train to San Diego or LA for more. Long Beach airport offers good service and LAX is not far away.

The Santa Rosa, CA area is another good choice for these criteria. This being wine country, there are many great restaurants. Cultural offerings include the very active Santa Rosa Symphony and events in the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts. The Charles Schulz Airport is served by four airlines with flights to LA, San Diego, Portland (OR) and Seattle.  The area is popular with cyclists who particularly enjoy peddling by the many vineyards here, as well as in the trails in the Annadel State Park.

Bottom line

Finding and setting your priorities for what you want in a place to retire is an important step on the way to retirement happiness. After you do that you can start to identify places that match your criteria, and then spend time in the ones that look like the best fit. Do you know some spots that deliver on culture, beaches, biking, and airports that we missed? What are your top criteria – if we see some good ones we will try to deliver suggestions that might fit! Please let us know in the Comments section below.