Is Erie, PA, a good place to move to for retirement?

If a married couple, about to retire, wants to get away from big cities, and find a place that has reasonably nice weather and is economical, is Erie, PA, a good place? The reasons for choosing Erie are that it's a medium sized city, not close to a big city, and that it doesn't get hot very much there in the summer. A lot of other cities the same size have summer daytime highs averaging 90F. Erie sometimes gets to 90F, but not as often, and doesn't stay that hot for very long. Some people like snow, and dislike summer heat. A good winter low is 20F. If some nights go below zero, that would be tolerable, as long as it's only some nights, and not the whole winter. Does Erie have a bad mosquito problem? Does it ever get flooded by Lake Erie? What other problems should people be aware of when deciding whether to move there?

Public Comments

1. Wow, never thought of Erie as a retirement spot. The big problem for many is the weather. Erie gets something called Lake Effect Snow, which means the lake is a snow-making machine when the wind is blowing correctly. Erie can get blasted, just like Cleveland and Buffalo. The summers are nice, though, as the lake moderates the temperature. I would think you'd be better off in some place like North Carolina, where snow isn't a problem most of the time. Yes, it gets hot at times, but it's not as bad as some places and you get 9 months of pretty good weather. Can't say bugs and floods are a big problem along Lake Erie in most places. Pennsylvania health care should be fine, if that's an issue for you. Housing prices probably are pretty cheap, if that's a factor.