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Too funny; I actually lived in Cape Elizabeth when I was a toddler. Don't think it's not on the list! Anything from there down to the Keys.
Well you can consider the Gulf and the West Coast as well if you want.
Offhand it seems to me taking an RV and driving around a bit might help you get your thoughts together. If you are a bit handy you can probably buy an older RV and if you take care of it, do whatever repairs you need yourself, if you want you can probably sell it later for nearly what you paid for it. Or even a small profit. Maybe even Air B&B can point you to some cat-friendly lodging? Although, the problem with Air B&B is that cat people have their own cats, and if you were going to stay with me a while, I'd want to know how to keep our cats from going to war. Which is what they would tend to do.
I'm not much on being near the ocean myself, but, I do have some ideas on what climate I'll tolerate and what climate I want. If I just had to be on the East Coast, I'd probably be in South Carolina or Georgia. Florida is just too damn flat for me, hurricanes are too big an issue. Although I guess hurricanes are a problem all along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Less an issue on the West Coast.
Although, to completely muddy the water, you have sea coast all around the world. Parts of the Med and Black Sea area are not horribly expensive (Bulgaria, for example). Would involve learning a new language and culture, but what's wrong with that? And all sorts of sea coast in South America. Although international travel with pets can be complicated, it can be done, if you want.
Just do what you always wanted to do, within your physical and financial limits. I'm fortunate that I live where I always wanted to live, with the lifestyle that I always wanted. The only thing that changed when I retired was that I quit punching a time clock, but I kept busy. I just replaced a leaking water heater today, which was kind of fun. This week I'll mow some brush, cut some firewood, go shoot a new hand cannon at the rod and gun club, play an online MMO, call a couple of friends, and work a docent shift at a local wildlife safari. Next week might be entirely different. Maybe I'll take off for 3 or 4 days and check out the scenery, or go fishing, or fix my dilapidated mailbox. Who knows? I do what I please. All I know is that if you don't stay physically and mentally active you are going toes up in short order. If you have a chance to go, go. If you have a chance to do, do. Learn a language. Learn to dance. Learn to scuba dive, then spend a couple weeks in Belize.
Planning does not mean you lock yourself into handcuffs. Planning means identifying steps to a goal, and it doesn't have to be long term. You can plan to raise chickens, and if you don't like it you can plan to get rid of the chickens. You can have it all, just not all at once.
Cape Elizabeth is perhaps the priciest place in Maine. (–:
Well, it might have the highest average income, or wealth, but priciest? I don't think so. Very varied housing stock, and relatively low property taxes, because there are only 3 schools. Now, the wealth average/income average is probably so high because the ultra wealthy live here as well as lower, working, middle and upper middle class. It is a mixed community economically. But because many of the professional class who work in Portland live here, and there are those multi million dollar homes on the water, I would say the average is skewed.
To clarify, I'm not panicking at the thought of no longer working (far from it), but of making the wrong choice and blowing my assets on the wrong place... That I'll be moving somewhere else is certain, but "where" seems to be a perpetually moving target.
Eastern philosophy: Choice is agony, choicelessness is freedom!
And for those pressuring you to make a decision, perplexed by your indecision, what to say to them?
Only a fool never changes his mind!
I'm going thru this right now!
"You said 2 years ago you were retiring to Tucson! And the excuses keep rolling in!"
"Only a fool never changes his mind!"
"Sheesh! You criticize and criticize Las Vegas, and now you're thinking of staying here?"
"Only a fool never changes his mind!"
"Aha! Now you're think of other cities to retire to!"
"Choice is agony, choicelessness is freedom!"
"This takes the cake! As much as you hate your job, at 66, you're now considering working another year!"
"Only a fool never changes his mind!"
Eastern philosophy: Choice is agony, choicelessness is freedom!
To me, choicelessness is hopelessness, or a prison. I live and die by my own choices. One always has choices, even if the choice is to be happy where you are.
One place I disagree with The Shadow is that there has to be a #1 reason. It can be a number of factors that lead you to think you would be happier elsewhere. I would move "what are the deal breakers?" to #3 by itself. #1 is why are you unhappy with where you are and #2 is "can those reasons be adressed?".
Oh, I agree with you. There can be more than one number one reason. In fact everybody's list of questions might be a little different or in a different order. Those were our questions, and I simplified our questions and answers for brevity's sake. It can get very complicated. I like your suggestion about "#2 can those reasons be addressed?" For many that might be a yes, or a qualified yes. Such as in our case. If COL was truly our only reason for leaving CA, we could have moved to a smaller house, and simplified our lifestyle while staying in CA. But in our case we wanted to live the same lifestyle, but for less money, and pay less taxes. So "COL" was a shorter version of our full answer.
Compromises will almost always have to be made, as I don't believe there is a "perfect" place for anyone that doesn't have at least some drawback. But are those drawbacks something you are willing to accept in order to receive the benefits? No one can answer these questions except the people involved.
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