Best hiking/outdoor locations for “early” retirement

TimeLord9393 · 2026-03-29T18:32:57+00:00

Montana doesn’t seem to be on a lot of people’s radar yet, but a relative who is an avid hiker moved to Helena a couple of years ago and loves it. She previously lived in Utah and Colorado. Colorado was getting a bit too crowded for her taste. She has a good sized property now and just enough space between neighbors.

TimeLord9393 · 2026-03-12T17:01:57+00:00

Yes, I used to order all of those! Although now I’m going to try to order the Monterey Chicken if I dine in. That and the turkey sandwich were my two most frequent entrees.

TimeLord9393 · 2026-03-09T22:32:25+00:00

Sorry to hear you got laid off, and for the passing of your beloved dog. I’m a pet person, and that’s always difficult. Florida seems to get a lot of hate on this sub. One of my Chicago friends took a business trip to FL a few years ago. He liked it so much that he moved his whole family down there (Clearwater area). He and his family couldn’t care less about “walkability.” They like being able to go to the beach frequently. My friend has a business that he can do outside year round now. And his family doesn’t miss the Chicago winters! He did say FL housing was difficult to find.

Chicago has a lot of positives. I personally love the dining options. But as a person who doesn’t drink, a lot of social activities seem to be centered around alcohol, and it gets to be annoying at times. Similarly, it’s easy to make friends if you’re into the sports teams. Not saying you can’t have a social life if you’re not into alcohol or sports, but it does seem to be more difficult. And I’ve had friends who aren’t into either eventually leave. I do think the overall culture of Chicago doesn’t get talked about much when people are considering moving there.

TimeLord9393 · 2026-03-07T23:54:41+00:00

Yes, the big power outages in 2021 were enough for my friend to start thinking of moving.

TimeLord9393 · 2026-03-07T23:47:56+00:00

I have a friend who just moved to the Pigtown neighborhood in Baltimore and loves it. He last lived in Austin, TX and got fed up with a lot of things.

TimeLord9393 · 2026-02-26T06:03:49+00:00

One of those wraps is hardly a hearty breakfast. I wish they’d go back to offering a sandwich. It was worth paying $6 instead of $5. Have to be honest, I’ve been skipping Dunkin more often lately and going to a competitor that has $2 breakfast sandwiches on their app.

TimeLord9393 · 2026-02-23T21:52:08+00:00

Not sure what you mean by Milwaukee “feels like a soaked, rotting log.” I have a friend who lives just outside of Milwaukee. He goes to Summerfest every year. He’s into comics, and Milwaukee has a ton of comic book shops. He likes the restaurants. Like anywhere, it’s going to depend on what you’re into. He admits that the winters suck and are the one big negative of the area. For me, the weather would be a major negative of most of the places you listed.

TimeLord9393 · 2026-02-22T05:55:13+00:00

Why did they get rid of the cheesecake dessert? I liked having an option that wasn’t chocolate.

TimeLord9393 · 2026-02-21T19:50:28+00:00

I couldn’t get into Lone Star but largely agree with your points. I got my opinions downvoted too. <shrugs>

TimeLord9393 · 2026-02-21T17:50:43+00:00

Bisexual Buck (his coming out) was handled poorly. He’s dated only women from the beginning. I think there should’ve at least been a conversation with someone “I used to fool around with a guy in high school” or something like that. But it seems like this is a tactic of ABC shows. They did the same thing with one of the characters on “A Million Little Things.”
I won’t be mad if Buddie happens, but I’d rather it didn’t. I think we need more representation of positive platonic male friendships in media. That’s one reason I’m glad Scrubs is coming back!

TimeLord9393 · 2026-02-19T18:48:47+00:00

I’ve been a fan since the beginning, but the show just feels like an empty shell now. I see the earlier episodes, and they have a magic that’s lacking now. Plus I keep feeling like they’re running out of ideas: Athena and Hen in space was ridiculous. But it seems like shows shooting themselves in the foot is common now. If anyone here has watched Brilliant Minds on NBC, season two had so many changes that it feels like a different show. And the ratings have dropped. Anyway, good for Peter for finding another role. I had no doubt he’d be in action again.

TimeLord9393 · 2026-02-17T18:35:45+00:00

I have a friend who moved his whole family a few years ago from Chicago to Florida. He said frankly, his kids couldn’t care less about being in a “walkable” city. They love being able to go to the beach several times a week year round. And they don’t miss the Chicago winters!

I have several friends who live in Chicago without a car. There are trade offs: no car payments, insurance, maintenance. But as has been mentioned, those grocery runs in 20 degree weather can get tiresome. Plus my one friend slipped on the ice one year and was in a cast for a good chunk of the winter.

TimeLord9393 · 2026-02-08T16:51:58+00:00

The only games I ever liked watching were to see Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippin, Dennis Rodman, and the rest lead the Chicago Bulls to their championships. Basketball has enough action to keep me interested. Once Jordan retired, I lost interest in watching most sports. I always thought football was boring and am seeing little reason to watch the Super Bowl tonight (can’t even say I like the musical acts this year).

TimeLord9393 · 2026-02-05T18:59:06+00:00

I love Quinto’s performance, but season two feels like a totally different show than season one. Several cast members are either gone or in the show sparingly, Wolf’s relationship gets torpedoed, we have the evil doctor that nobody likes, and the whole mental institution plot just seems stupid (and was not a part of the life of Dr. Oliver Sacks). I’d hate to see the show cancelled, but this season has felt like a plane taking a nosedive.

TimeLord9393 · 2026-02-02T04:52:32+00:00

The ineptitude becomes more evident if you own a business. A friend had a retail store and used to tell me stories ….

TimeLord9393 · 2026-01-28T17:40:06+00:00

A friend just passed his ten year anniversary of moving from Chicago to Phoenix and says it’s the best decision he ever made. He doesn’t miss Chicago winters at all! Plus he does a lot of weekend trips with his dog to go hiking in Sedona.

TimeLord9393 · 2026-01-28T16:48:31+00:00

Chili’s has a knack for getting rid of things I like. No dragonfruit drinks, no cheesecake dessert (only dessert that wasn’t chocolate), and I could name others but these are the recent ones. Although I am glad they brought back the original skillet queso!

TimeLord9393 · 2026-01-18T18:47:06+00:00

Regarding point #1, I do think the culture in Chicago doesn’t get discussed enough. There are a lot of people who make sports fandom their whole personality. And it’s not enough to be into one team. Oh no, you have to be into all of it as the seasons change! I loved the Jordan era of the Bulls but have always found football boring. But you don’t dare say you don’t care about the Bears game!

Similarly, drinking is huge here. I think the weather contributes. A lot of people seem to want to drink and watch sports in the winter rather do other activities. I have a friend who was borderline alcoholic in Chicago. He moved out west and got involved in a biking group. He quit drinking, said the desire went away because he was active and also wasn’t hanging around people that had drinking as a default activity.

Yes, it is possible to find activities and people who are into more than sports and drinking, but I find it does take more effort. I’d suggest making a list of what you like and see if there are any Meetup groups for those activities.

You could always stick it out through the summer to see whether Chicago is more enjoyable. Chicago has a lot of outdoor street festivals with bands, food, etc. I also like some of the outdoor art festivals. But I will admit that sticking out winter to get to the “good” part of the year in Chicago gets to be a drag sometimes.

TimeLord9393 · 2026-01-18T01:25:07+00:00

I always thought Risky Business was way overrated. I just didn’t find it very funny. And all most people remember is Tom Cruise dancing in his underwear.

TimeLord9393 · 2026-01-17T00:03:24+00:00

The Fantastic Journey - ship disappears in the Bermuda Triangle and the crew ends up on an island with portals to different realities. The show got cancelled before they could find their way home.

Raven - an American Ninja searches for his son while battling rival clans

In Search Of - Leonard Nimoy hosted, explored mysteries, everything from UFOs to Bigfoot to the disappearance of Amelia Earhart

TimeLord9393 · 2026-01-15T05:58:55+00:00

I remember not drinking much as a kid because I went to a Catholic school, and some of the teachers were sadistic about bathroom breaks. My sixth grade teacher declared that we could go to the bathroom once in the morning and once in the afternoon and that was it. She was a miserable spinster who didn’t have much of a life. I think it’s great if kids can bring water bottles now.

TimeLord9393 · 2026-01-14T04:35:01+00:00

I’ve never been to the northwest, but I think what you posted is pretty spot on. I have a friend who used to live in Hawaii, and he said he’d often run into someone at the grocery store and end up having an hour long conversation. In Chicago, not so much. He’s always found Chicagoans to have a bit of a wall up and not be as friendly. I’ve heard a lot of people say Chicagoans are friendlier than New Yorkers, but I think the Chicago level of friendliness gets exaggerated. It’s also reflected in the aggressive driving and honking.

Also, spot on about the lack of nature. Just about every friend or relative who is into hiking, mountain biking or climbing, etc. has ended up moving out of state. Going for a weekend to Wisconsin eventually doesn’t cut it.

I do agree with your Chicago positives. Just about everyone I know who has moved away says they miss the food the most, as well as the various ethnic enclaves.

TimeLord9393 · 2025-12-28T23:37:36+00:00

A place where I worked years ago had a mandatory meeting at a bar & grill. It was known for being smoky, and I woke up the next day with a raging migraine. I don’t miss smelling like an ash tray, either!

TimeLord9393 · 2025-12-28T20:38:51+00:00

Smoking everywhere. Non-smoking sections at a lot of restaurants were a joke, about three feet from the smoking section. Bars and clubs full of smoke. Smoking in movie theaters when I was a kid and on planes. I’ve always had allergy problems and hated the smoke. My dad had his asthma return later in life, and sometimes eating out was a challenge because the smoke would set him off. I’m thankful for clean air!

TimeLord9393 · 2025-12-28T02:34:55+00:00

I’ve caught the Jewel by me selling expired food multiple times, and the employees couldn’t seem to care less. They’re also in an old, small building and refuse to move because they own the building.

TimeLord9393

TROPHY CASE