Retirement spots

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gtyellowjacket

Inconceivable Member
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I'm still probably about a decade away but interested to hear from anyone that has already retired.

-Did you move to some place like the beach or the mountains or did you sit tight?

-did you end up staying there or not like it?

-Did you move to be near kids/grandkids?

-anything for any of us planning to retire to consider based on your experience?
 
gtyellowjacket said:
I'm still probably about a decade away but interested to hear from anyone that has already retired.

-Did you move to some place like the beach or the mountains or did you sit tight?

-did you end up staying there or not like it?

-Did you move to be near kids/grandkids?

-anything for any of us planning to retire to consider based on your experience?
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I retired 19 years ago at 55yo. I owned a beachfront 2nd home in 2007 just before the Great Recession and decided to sell it for an insane housing bubble profit anticipating the burst of the housing bubble.

I took the profit to pay off my primary residence in the Southern Part of Heaven which allowed me and the missus who had retired 4 years earlier to settle in and be the day care center for our two grandchildren.

We have loved retirement and I joke that if I had known retirement would be so rewarding, I would have retired earlier.

We recently have moved to Hillsborough NC to be near our kids and teenage grandchildren so we can "age in place"... so far so good

There are so many things to consider as you plan for retirement such as:

1 ) Do you want to maintain your current lifestyle in your retirement or a lifestyle of the rich and famous ?
2 ) Are you living below your means in order to set aside savings and investments for your retirement ?
3 ) Do you have a specific idea of how you would like to enjoy your retirement years ?
4 ) Will your health care needs financially impact your lifestyle as you continue in retirement ?
5 ) Do you want to leave an inheritance for your kids or do you want your last dollar spent be the moment you kick the bucket ?

I could go on but I hope this gives you an idea of what to consider in planning for your retirement 🙂
 
As a real general statement.....Living in the Mountains or the Beach can often mean not being near top notch Health care
 
heelinhell said:
I retired 19 years ago at 55yo. I owned a beachfront 2nd home in 2007 just before the Great Recession and decided to sell it for an insane housing bubble profit anticipating the burst of the housing bubble.

I took the profit to pay off my primary residence in the Southern Part of Heaven which allowed me and the missus who had retired 4 years earlier to settle in and be the day care center for our two grandchildren.

We have loved retirement and I joke that if I had known retirement would be so rewarding, I would have retired earlier.

We recently have moved to Hillsborough NC to be near our kids and teenage grandchildren so we can "age in place"... so far so good

There are so many things to consider as you plan for retirement such as:

1 ) Do you want to maintain your current lifestyle in your retirement or a lifestyle of the rich and famous ?
2 ) Are you living below your means in order to set aside savings and investments for your retirement ?
3 ) Do you have a specific idea of how you would like to enjoy your retirement years ?
4 ) Will your health care needs financially impact your lifestyle as you continue in retirement ?
5 ) Do you want to leave an inheritance for your kids or do you want your last dollar spent be the moment you kick the bucket ?

I could go on but I hope this gives you an idea of what to consider in planning for your retirement 🙂
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Was 55 too early? Sounds like not based on your post. How did you fill your day?
 
gtyellowjacket said:
Was 55 too early? Sounds like not based on your post. How did you fill your day?
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For me 55 was not too early

My very best friend had non - Hodgkin's lymphoma and I took care of him while his wife was at work. After he died I joined my wife to provide day care for our grandchildren.

I wasn't playing golf or taking cruises, but those years were very meaningful to me. I wouldn't trade those times for spending more time in my work a day world.
 
keywestheel said:
Key West of course
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Do you like that sort of place. Pretty cool, good weather outside the occasional storm, and tourists everywhere. Kind of a party atmosphere a lot of the time too which I'm probably a little too old for but do like socializing.

What are the positive and negatives from your perspective of that kind of place
 
I moved “home” to NC when I retired after living in various locations around the country for the previous 40 years. Weather was a big motivator for our move as we were living in Cleveland for the 12 years prior to my retirement. I really enjoyed living in Cleveland other than the weather, and not simply because it was cold. Cleveland is very gray in the winter, averaging three days of sunshine per month November-March unless Lake Erie freezes over completely, which happens much less frequently with climate change.

After five years here, we are planning to basically become snowbirds because the hot humid summers here are just as objectionable to me as the winters were in Cleveland. We plan to spend our winters in Charlotte and our summers in Ohio. We still own a home by the lake in Huron OH and intend to spend our summers there when my wife retires. We have friends here who own a home on Lake Leelanau in northern Michigan and they keep increasing the time they spend up north as the summers here get hotter. They leave Charlotte in early-to-mid-May and don’t come back until late October. We have other friends here who have a place at Mountain Air up near Burnsville and they stay there almost all summer.

Moving to the beach or mountains is fine, but if you live in a city and enjoy all the things city life provides, moving to a place more remote can be quite an adjustment. We like being in a more urban environment and might swap the Huron house (about 45 minutes west of downtown Cleveland) for something closer to the city for our summers, or we might decide that is close enough to the city when we want to go to a ball game or whatever.

I guess my point is that as many Yankees like to come south for the winter, more and more southerners try to escape the heat in the summer and that’s worth considering as you make your retirement living decisions.
 
farce© said:
I moved “home” to NC when I retired after living in various locations around the country for the previous 40 years. Weather was a big motivator for our move as we were living in Cleveland for the 12 years prior to my retirement. I really enjoyed living in Cleveland other than the weather, and not simply because it was cold. Cleveland is very gray in the winter, averaging three days of sunshine per month November-March unless Lake Erie freezes over completely, which happens much less frequently with climate change.

After five years here, we are planning to basically become snowbirds because the hot humid summers here are just as objectionable to me as the winters were in Cleveland. We plan to spend our winters in Charlotte and our summers in Ohio. We still own a home by the lake in Huron OH and intend to spend our summers there when my wife retires. We have friends here who own a home on Lake Leelanau in northern Michigan and they keep increasing the time they spend up north as the summers here get hotter. They leave Charlotte in early-to-mid-May and don’t come back until late October. We have other friends here who have a place at Mountain Air up near Burnsville and they stay there almost all summer.

Moving to the beach or mountains is fine, but if you live in a city and enjoy all the things city life provides, moving to a place more remote can be quite an adjustment. We like being in a more urban environment and might swap the Huron house (about 45 minutes west of downtown Cleveland) for something closer to the city for our summers, or we might decide that is close enough to the city when we want to go to a ball game or whatever.

I guess my point is that as many Yankees like to come south for the winter, more and more southerners try to escape the heat in the summer and that’s worth considering as you make your retirement living decisions.
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Ever worry about somebody breaking into your place when you're not there half the year? Is that an issue and how do you minimize it?
 
It’s never been something I’ve concerned myself about. I’m more concerned about a burst water pipe causing damage than criminals breaking in. Before we moved Uptown we lived in a townhome community in Elizabeth with 29 homes. Almost every resident had another home somewhere (mountains, beach, lake, up north) and I don’t recall anyone ever mentioning concern about crime while they were gone. Neighbors recognize when something’s not right. A shitload of the townhomes and condos in Charlotte are marketed as “lock and leave.”
 
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We will build a house on the family farm in Edgecombe County. Its 140 acres. I'll inherit my mom's half and my cousin will sell me the half she inherits from her mom because she doesn't care about it.

We will have a dozen or so dogs and probably some livestock since I grew up with it all and miss animals. Biggest challenge will be someone to care for the animals when we travel. Gotta talk the hubby into a live-in houseboy I assume.
 
Live in Winston-Salem right now but moving back to Durham next year. I have lived in and around Durham for the past 25 years and find it to be the perfect balance (for me) of urban living and distance to other areas. Wife inherited waterfront (waterway) property in Porters Neck and that's the retirement second home (expensive as hell to keep up and maintain, but also irreplaceable in our income bracket). Don't know if we'll be able to pass down to kids with the financial burden it carries. And Durham to Porters Neck is a lot quicker than WS to Porters Neck.

Pre-dawn view last week. 1765803655827.png
 
My hope is that I retire by 60. My plan is to remain in our current home in Charlotte as our main residence. We have a family cottage in the NY Finger Lakes where I hope to spend July and August.

In a perfect world, my wife and I would also have a mountain house and a beach house where we could take short trips for the remainder of the year, but I don’t see that happening. I do hope to travel a good bit.
 
BoonetheAiredale said:
Live in Winston-Salem right now but moving back to Durham next year. I have lived in and around Durham for the past 25 years and find it to be the perfect balance (for me) of urban living and distance to other areas. Wife inherited waterfront (waterway) property in Porters Neck and that's the retirement second home (expensive as hell to keep up and maintain, but also irreplaceable in our income bracket). Don't know if we'll be able to pass down to kids with the financial burden it carries. And Durham to Porters Neck is a lot quicker than WS to Porters Neck.

Pre-dawn view last week. 1765803655827.png
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Looks absolutely gorgeous. We did have a house near the ocean and you are right. The upkeep was insane and that's when we were living there all the time. We also dodged any major hurricanes but that's always there.

Can't imagine a weekend house unless we paid someone to mow the yard and take care of all the little stuff that breaks on top of paying for all the major stuff that rusts out.

Do you think living in a small town like that full time would get old or do you think you would like it?
 
gtyellowjacket said:
Looks absolutely gorgeous. We did have a house near the ocean and you are right. The upkeep was insane and that's when we were living there all the time. We also dodged any major hurricanes but that's always there.

Can't imagine a weekend house unless we paid someone to mow the yard and take care of all the little stuff that breaks on top of paying for all the major stuff that rusts out.

Do you think living in a small town like that full time would get old or do you think you would like it?
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Porters Neck is really the northern edge of Wilmington so it's definitely not a small town feel. And we do pay people for all the maintenance. Between the constant maintenance, insurance, and property tax it is damned expensive...but that view and that access. And from Durham it will be 2 hours travel time. At some point it will probably be sold and kids inheritance set. Hurricanes and rising water just keep me "puckered" much of the time. That damn pier will cost major dollars when the time comes. I really don't know how rich people do it. I mean you have to be really rich to not worry about the annual cost.
 
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