"You may be in good health when you move, but that could change in 10 years," said certified financial planner Karen Altfest, executive vice president of client relations at Altfest Personal Wealth Management.
Altfest recommended that people start researching where they want to live in retirement five years in advance. They should visit often, talk to others who have already made the move, and look into real estate and the availability of doctors.
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Finally, suggested Altfest, take your retirement locale for a spin by living there for six months at a stretch. "It's one thing to be a tourist, and quite another to live somewhere," she said, likening the process to what parents of young children go through when deciding which school district to call home.