Plenty of Retirees Move South for the Warmth. After 75, the Summers Are What Send Some of Them Back North
Retiring south at 65 and still living there at 75 are two very different experiences, and the gap between them carries a price tag most retirement plans never account for.
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Some retirees who move south for warmer weather later reconsider as they get older. For example, a couple who relocated in their 60s to enjoy golfing in January may find that, a decade later, they spend June through September indoors to escape the heat.
Errands get pushed to 7 a.m., lunches with friends drop off, and for four months the house is pretty much the whole day. That’s a big part of why some retirees who moved south for the warmth start looking north again after 75.
The heat also carries real costs, and they’re worth pricing before the first move, along with the second one some people end up making.
Why Heat Gets Harder With Age
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says people aged 65 years or older are more prone to heat-related health problems. According to the CDC, these same adults don’t adjust as well to sudden temperature changes.
They’re also more likely to have a chronic condition that changes how the body responds to heat and to take prescriptions that affect the body’s ability to control its temperature or sweat. The agency says a fan shouldn’t be the main cooling source in serious heat.
People who are on fluid limits or water pills should ask their doctor how much to drink in hot weather. Some retirees review current medications with a doctor while exploring a move.
Phoenix offers some of the clearest local data. In Maricopa County’s 2025 heat death report, people 50 and older made up 90% of indoor heat deaths. Among deaths where an air conditioner was present, the unit was not functioning in 72% of cases. In one recent summer, Phoenix logged its 100th straight day with temperatures of at least 100 degrees.
What a Southern Summer Costs Now
The National Energy Assistance Directors Association projected the average summer residential electric bill at about $792 in 2026. That’s up 10.5% from $717 the year before and more than 39% higher than in 2020. The group expects the highest costs in the West South Central region (Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana) and the South Atlantic, which includes Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.
Those figures are national averages. A household that keeps the thermostat low from May into October can run well above them.
Power outages carry more weight for someone who can’t stand heat. NEADA counts 19 states and the District of Columbia with some form of summer shut-off protection, and most of that protection applies only during extreme heat events.
Florida runs a year-round heating, cooling, and crisis assistance program through LIHEAP, the federal energy aid program for lower-income households. Some households budget for a backup plan, such as a generator that can cool one room or a nearby place to go.
Prices for older households are also rising. R-CPI-E, the research index for Americans 62 and older, rose 3.6% year over year. Social Security’s annual increase is tied to a different index, CPI-W, so when the senior index rises faster, the COLA can undercompensate retirees.
Pricing a Summer Escape Into the Portfolio
Many longtime southern retirees handle the heat by leaving for the summer, which means paying for two places. Take a hypothetical $12,000 a year for a three-month rental up north.
Covering that one line at a 4% draw takes about $300,000 in savings. Using a more conservative 3.5%, which fits a 25-year horizon better, the figure is about $343,000.
That 4% guideline has aged poorly in a different-looking market, something we walked through in a free guide on the income-first alternative. A second home costs more, since property taxes, insurance, and maintenance continue year-round. Our second-home piece walks through that math.
Housing is another factor for anyone who might move again. FHFA data show Cape Coral-Fort Myers prices down 0.9% over the past year and North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota down 0.46%, following five-year gains of 27.83% and 37.54%.
Selling into a flat market at 78 plays out differently from buying into a rising one at 65. Some retirees move “halfway back” to cooler places, a trend covered in our earlier reporting.
IRS migration data for 2022-2023 list Georgia, Texas, New York and North Carolina as the top destinations for people leaving Florida, though those figures don’t break out age.
Planning for the Decade After the First Few Years
The planning steps are fairly simple. Some retirees rent through one full summer before buying. Features often checked include good insulation, west-side shade, a newer cooling system, and a second way to stay cool if the main one fails. Some budgets also include a summer escape line, even if they don’t use it in the first few years.
One way to frame the total is the base retirement budget plus a heat line. That line covers a summer power bill that can top the $792 national average, a backup cooling plan, and an escape fund.
Funding a $12,000 escape at a 3.5% withdrawal rate takes about $343,000 on top of the core portfolio, and the costs that matter most to older households are rising at 3.6% a year. August conditions give a closer picture than a spring visit of what it can feel like to live there at 80.
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David Beren has been a Flywheel Publishing contributor since 2022. Writing for 24/7 Wall St. since 2023, David loves to write about topics of all shapes and sizes. As a technology expert, David focuses heavily on consumer electronics brands, automobiles, and general technology. He has previously written for LifeWire, formerly About.com. As a part-time freelance writer, David’s “day job” has been working on and leading social media for multiple Fortune 100 brands. David loves the flexibility of this field and its ability to reach customers exactly where they like to spend their time. Additionally, David previously published his own blog, TmoNews.com, which reached 3 million readers in its first year. In addition to freelance and social media work, David loves to spend time with his family and children and relive the glory days of video game consoles by playing any retro game console he can get his hands on.
