Kim Woodhouse, a friend of mine, loves snow. She lives in Montana, so that’s a good thing. I wish I shared her joy.

We’ve begun our snow season here in Wyoming–which lasts 7 months, and even longer in the mountains. It’s a time when the temperature never gets high enough to melt the snow. The roads are covered in ice, and the city doesn’t plow because there are so many double-parked cars on the streets that a plow cannot get through. Thus we have packed snow, which turns to ice, which causes wrecks all winter. And it’s still October!

Do I sound depressed? I’ll get over it. We just got our first two snowstorms in the past two days, plus a low of 15 below. And so I retreat to scenes of summer…and plans for retirement in a place where we can get away from the ice. I’ve done some research for retirement, and have discovered that my dream state–for winter–is Arizona. Mel wants to stay where it’s warm enough to heat a pool without needing a heater. We love Arizona. Recently, my cousin gifted us with a subscription to Arizona Highways Magazine.

Did you know that some states are set up better for retirement than others? If you’re planning to go to a southern state for retirement, I would strongly recommend you check out the tax set-up for each state before you make plans to move. That can make a huge difference in the quality of your retirement. Check out the ten most friendly tax states, and check more than one site, since I found some very erroneous information yesterday.

As a heads-up, Wyoming has the best summers I’ve ever seen, with low humidity, temps rarely in the 90s, and no state tax. We do, however, have grizzlies and lots of winter.

When I think of retirement I dream of hitting the road and leaving all cares and worries behind. That dream becomes more vivid the colder it gets. How lovely it would be to pull up to a beach and walk in the sand, collect seashells, bask in the sun. I’d love to make a checklist of the types of cactus on a hiking trail–as we did last time we were in the Phoenix area.

I also think of our true retirement. We have a heavenly retirement to consider, which deserves our priority. Saving money on this venture is not in our best interests. Investing financially in that future seems counterintuitive on a human level, but in all honesty, it is the most important thing we will ever do.

There are so many ways we can invest in that future. You choose your way, and bask in the joy of a quality investment.