"Shopping" just ain't what it used to be.

We Baby Boomer Divas love to shop til' we drop! But I've recently discovered that I may end up passing out and be in need of some serious resuscitation when it comes to looking for a place to live out my golden years.

Unlike the old days when people just migrated South because of the nice, warm weather, I'm not necessarily looking for the warmest climate but I am looking to go where the action is. Retired does NOT mean dead so I want to make sure I'm in a place that is thriving with lots of night life and entertainment. But it looks as though the places I would be considering at this time are way out of my price range.

Take SAN FRANCISCO for example:

Typical monthly mortgage payment: $3,536. And that's only to live in the house. Never mind the furniture, transportation, groceries, parties, etc.

Then there's the beautiful suburbs of OXNARD-THOUSAND OAKS where the typical monthly mortgage payment is $3,252.

Dionne Warwick once asked the question, "Do you know the way to San Jose?"  Well, looking at a monthly mortgage payment of $3,668, coupled with a property-tax payment of $308 makes me glad I don't know the way!

And why is it that 7 out of the top 10 most expensive places to live in the U.S. are all in California? Hasn't anyone told real estate developers out there that the whole state is going to fall into the ocean soon? Shouldn't that mean we could get record deals on housing?

It doesn't get any better if I want to retire in the city that never sleeps. The typical monthly housing payment in New York is $2,262.

Well at these prices I might just have to stay right where I am.

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