Shogun610
Masterpiece
Hahah nah just playing dawgFor real?
Best Retirement City for Bonsai Enthusiasts
- Thread starter ForThemWhatCare
- Start date
Cruiser
Omono
+1 for the northwestern US, west of the Cascades. People have touched on the perks of Washington and Oregon.
Iāll expand on that and recommend somewhere in or around Olympia. Itās not as populated or expensive as the other better known cities up here. More like a large town really. Thereās a year round farmers market downtown and a strong sense of community. Itās centrally located between the Olympic Peninsula, Seattle, and Portland. Itās easy to get to mountains, cities, lowland forests, and the ocean from here.
Elandon Gardens and Issho-en Bonsai are nearby, as is the Pacific Bonsai Museum. The scene in Portland is a couple hours south. A straight and easy shot on I-5.
Thereās a bonsai club for Olympia area and also the Puget Sound Bonsai Association. Dave DeGroot, Dan Robinson, Eric and Victrinia Ridgeway, and other professionals are affiliated with the clubs and sometimes put on demonstrations. It seems like a lot of pb nutters are up here too.
If youāre concerned about lack of sun and too much rain, then Sequim or Port Angeles would be good choices. Theyāre in a rain shadow and are close to the north side of Olympic National Park. Some areas get sunlight and annual rainfall comparable to Los Angeles. Lots of California retirees choose Sequim. Theyāve even got a Costco.
Retiring somewhere in the San Juanās would also be super sweet but youād have to accept living on an island and the conditions that come with that (ferries, solitude, summer tourists, etc)
As a former east coaster and Californian, Iād also like to add that thereās hardly any ticks or poison oak/ivy up here. I work in the woods and have found only 1 tick in the last 7 years. Also, thereās no dangerous snakes or spiders. Although there are cougars and spikey plants.
Iāll expand on that and recommend somewhere in or around Olympia. Itās not as populated or expensive as the other better known cities up here. More like a large town really. Thereās a year round farmers market downtown and a strong sense of community. Itās centrally located between the Olympic Peninsula, Seattle, and Portland. Itās easy to get to mountains, cities, lowland forests, and the ocean from here.
Elandon Gardens and Issho-en Bonsai are nearby, as is the Pacific Bonsai Museum. The scene in Portland is a couple hours south. A straight and easy shot on I-5.
Thereās a bonsai club for Olympia area and also the Puget Sound Bonsai Association. Dave DeGroot, Dan Robinson, Eric and Victrinia Ridgeway, and other professionals are affiliated with the clubs and sometimes put on demonstrations. It seems like a lot of pb nutters are up here too.
If youāre concerned about lack of sun and too much rain, then Sequim or Port Angeles would be good choices. Theyāre in a rain shadow and are close to the north side of Olympic National Park. Some areas get sunlight and annual rainfall comparable to Los Angeles. Lots of California retirees choose Sequim. Theyāve even got a Costco.
Retiring somewhere in the San Juanās would also be super sweet but youād have to accept living on an island and the conditions that come with that (ferries, solitude, summer tourists, etc)
As a former east coaster and Californian, Iād also like to add that thereās hardly any ticks or poison oak/ivy up here. I work in the woods and have found only 1 tick in the last 7 years. Also, thereās no dangerous snakes or spiders. Although there are cougars and spikey plants.
MeDupree
Mame
Another vote for Pennsylvania it's plenty of nature, art and decent retirement homes all over, my parents just moved into their forever home last year not far from outside of my city.
Longwood gardens is opening a new bonsai garden next spring/summer if you're visiting any relocation possibilities in the near future. Still locating all of the bonsai stuff here but it seems the majority of the nurseries and clubs are near the capital Harrisburg or Poconos
Longwood gardens is opening a new bonsai garden next spring/summer if you're visiting any relocation possibilities in the near future. Still locating all of the bonsai stuff here but it seems the majority of the nurseries and clubs are near the capital Harrisburg or Poconos
Cajunrider
Imperial Masterpiece
Philadelphia because my grand-babies are here and thereās some room for my bonsai. The rest is immaterial.
ForThemWhatCare
Mame
My wife is going to love all these vote for Pennsylvania as it is on the top of a lot of retirement list. 
WNC Bonsai
Masterpiece
Actually Asheville isnāt bad. I moved here in 2009 from Manassas VA and retired here in 2010. We have the arboretum with its great bonsai collection, a good and growing bonsai club (Blue Ridge Bonsai Society), and the climate, although at a higher altitude is milder. I have collected trees in the National Forest and this June weāll have a new bonsai show at the Blue Spiral art gallery down tow. The cost of living is about the same as NVa, taxes are lower, housing was cheaper, utilities about the same. Land out in the county is reasonable but close in to town has become very limited and expensive, but then it probably is still cheaper than NVa.
Gabler
Masterpiece
Most places are cheaper to live than Northern Virginia. My rent in Wilmington, DE, is less than half of my cousinās in NOVA, and I have more square footage and a small yard.
penumbra
Imperial Masterpiece
Love it.
ForThemWhatCare
Mame
Asheville is on the short list but it is becoming very trendy with a lot of people fleeing Florida (left leaning) and driving up the prices. If we want to go there we are going to have to do it soon or we will miss the economical window.
shohin_branches
Omono
Come to Milwaukee. Cost of living is cheap. We have the friendliest bonsai club in the US with over 200 members. Two bonsai sellers, some private instructors, lots of bonsai potters. We have a club show, State Fair, and Winter Silouette shows each year if you like showing your bonsai. Lots of workshops and learning opportunities. Plus many club members have created bonsai study groups that meet regularly. We're also not far from Chicago which has two bonsai shows a year.
The main downside is you can't overwinter your trees on a bench. You need a heated garage or greenhouse.
The main downside is you can't overwinter your trees on a bench. You need a heated garage or greenhouse.
WNC Bonsai
Masterpiece
Actually we seem to be suffering a wave of New Yorkers moving south these days, Floridians only come to visit when it gets too hot down there.
Asheville is already ruined to many half backs and Yankees who think how they do it Florida or New York is right for everyone.
Gabler
Masterpiece
Itās a common problem. People vote the cost of living too high where they live, move away, and then ruin the new place theyāre moving to.
ForThemWhatCare
Mame
Truth...
There are some small issues with the west coast like the fact that much is in permanent drought, burning up or going to fall into the ocean and itās not trending in a positive direction.
I think mid Atlantic states maybe in the more mountainous areas if alpine conifers and maples are a thing you like. Bjorn seems to be doing ok in TN.
I think mid Atlantic states maybe in the more mountainous areas if alpine conifers and maples are a thing you like. Bjorn seems to be doing ok in TN.
Gabler
Masterpiece
Unfortunately, at least in the U.S., there isnāt much the good states can do to protect themselves from the immigrants from the bad ones. Between the Interstate Commerce Clause of the Constitution and the Privileges and Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, US citizens have free range to cross state borders and live wherever they want. Thatās usually a good thing. Itās nice not to need a passport to visit my parents a few miles down the road in Maryland. On the flip side, New Englanders are free to drive up the cost of housing in Delaware because they made it too expensive to live where theyāre from.
rifujiin
Seedling
Kyoto without a doubt
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
By and large, if you're in N. Va., I'd opt to remain in Va., only further south--Richmond, Fredericksburg, or the Northern Neck. Shenandoah Valley too. Lower Cost of living, access to world class bonsai at the National Arboretum with a relatively short drive. The Middle Atlantic states have reasonably good climate to grow a wide variety of species--winters aren't too bad, summers the same. The Pacific Northwest is fine, but expensive and it's 3,000 miles away.
What is a āhalf-backā?
