The Retirement Thread

[Lino]

I'll be working till I die. Cheerful prospect indeed! lol

[jake]

...

As a pie-in-the-sky idea, we've toyed with the idea of moving to where our son lives; Yangon, Myanmar (formerly Burma). Our money would go a long way there, and he told us there are three pizza parlors near him and they are terrible. The wife (and she's not even Italian) does great pizza; we could open a little pizza place. Though maybe pizza is terrible there because of lack of the right ingredients. As I mentioned above about Ft. Myers booming not being appealing, Yangon already has over 7 million people.

I wonder where they would get decent cheese from - I know any cheese I ate in Japan was a variation on cheez-whizz. I don't think cheese is a big thing in Asia. Funny you thinking about moving to Burma -I had an idea a few years ago of moving to Sihanoukville in Cambodia and opening a bed-and-breakfast for what I believed was an imminent rush of American military families when I read that the US was thinking of opening a large military base there. After a bit of research I thought better of it - apparently in Cambodia if you want to set up a business you pretty much have to bribe everyone, and if a gangster walks in and decides he now owns your place you don't have much recourse with the local law enforcement. I hope someone who lives there or has lived there can tell me that is not the case, but it certainly stopped me in my tracks.
I think Thailand is more amenable to foreign owned businesses - I know nothing of Burma except that any Burmese people I have met have been really sweet and they make a fantastic, spicy tea-leaf salad.

[spellbound]

I found it too be way too spread out for my liking

Spreading out is the way things are done in Nevada. The model for cities here is Los Angeles, California. They think there is plenty of space available, so why not go with infinite urban sprawl. Now they have the same plan for some of the small towns. They always start out saying, "We don't want this to be like Los Angeles." Then they turn it into just that. No plan, just keep building. If only developers couldn't bribe politicians...Or if politicians listened to the people...

[Duncan Glenday]

I'll be 60 in a few months and don't believe I'll be able to retire until 70

My problem is that Maryland is one of the most expensive states, but my wife doesn't want to move because we have grandkids here. So I'm looking for places that are affordable but within striking distance.

BEFORE the grandkids came along, we actually made a hobby of traveling to many of the "best places to live" to spend a few days reviewing them with a view to eventual retirement...

So - now I'm left with western Maryland, southern Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Delaware. (I will not live in DC or VA.) Parts of West Virginia are very affordable and fairly close, but it doesn't have much aesthetic appeal.

Gotta keep looking, I suppose...

[Duncan Glenday]

Another take-it-with-grain-of-salt resource I have been using is the forum here
http://www.city-data.com/forum/
like most public fora it's usually pretty easy to see who is there just to cause trouble and who is there to help. This site is really good for getting a look at things from the local level.

But http://www.city-data.com (i.e. not the forum) has a lot of good info about each city - it's one of my go-to resources.

I also use this : http://www.bestplaces.net/city/Default.aspx to compare city stats. You can compare any city with your home town, or compare any 2 cities...

[mozo-pg]

I'll be 60 in a few months and don't believe I'll be able to retire until 70

Gotta keep looking, I suppose...

60 is the new 40 Duncan. Can't you "Out" bike the younger dudes?

[Duncan Glenday]

LOL@Greg.

And yes, I do "out-bike" many thirty-somethings.

If I could guarantee my current state of fitness and mental acuity for ever, I wouldn't have to retire. But who knows how the body and mind will hold up. (Besides ... I'm tired, dammit! )

[Birdy]

We talked about this subject many years ago and the general consensus was that some kind of prog retirement home would be ideal.

I'm in!

[progeezer]

LOL@Greg.

And yes, I do "out-bike" many thirty-somethings.

If I could guarantee my current state of fitness and mental acuity for ever, I wouldn't have to retire. But who knows how the body and mind will hold up. (Besides ... I'm tired, dammit! )

"Besides I'm Tired, Damnit!"....now there's a t-shirt idea.

[adap2it]

I'm in!

Maybe it was you and me that discussed this in your shop Mike! You could have a vendors table...

[Duncan Glenday]

"Besides I'm Tired, Damnit!"....now there's a t-shirt idea.

@

(That's speaking in emoticon-ese )

[Jerjo]

If I had a lot of money I'd build/buy a cabin in the front range of the Rockies. My wife is slowly losing her vision so she's not wanting to leave her comfort zone, which is small town North Dakota. So here I sit with my dreams turned to dust. Oh well, I'll at least be able to drive for a day and be in the mountains.

[Camelogue]

Many considerations. Two of three children live in Western PA. Cost of living here is more reasonable than most locations. Wife is 4 years younger than me and who the hell knows what the state of healthcare will be in six years when I plan to hang it up. She works more hours than me but has no benefits. I would like to go to warmer climate but wife is the type of person that wants to "die in the house I am in now"

Any nice places in Russia?

[Yodelgoat]

I dont know if I will ever retire. My company cannot replace me, period. As long as they pay me, I will never be able to quit. We have a 70 year old lady who retired and they brought her back with a huge hourly rate. Lets face it.. no Millennial will ever want to do the job I do.

We have 9 more years on the home. Sell it and move from the country-turned-suburbs out and buy another middle of nowhere old house on a cheap piece of land. put up a 10x20 outbuilding as a recording studio, and just get comfy. Texas has so much space that you can just keep moving out farther and farther and a house on land can be really cheap and very low taxes. You just have to avoid the towns where all the Californians are moving, because they love peeking over the fence at what their neighbor is doing, and trying to control everything and everyone. I'd rather live next to a pig farm or a slaughterhouse.

[Lopez]

I wonder where they would get decent cheese from - I know any cheese I ate in Japan was a variation on cheez-whizz. I don't think cheese is a big thing in Asia.

I have a friend who's originally from India. He told me that if I did move to Burma and opened a shop there, I could get anything I needed from India. That may be so, but according to my son, Burma has a very high import tax. He wanted to ship his car over there when he moved 4 years ago but decided against it when he found out that the import tax was 150% of what he paid for the car.

Not sure if Burma is an example of other Asian countries; foreigners are not allowed to own property. Our son has a condo, but it's in the name of his business partner who is a native Burmese. Also, foreigners cannot stay more than 70 days at a time, so he has to go to Thailand for a day and then go back to Yangon. Retiring right here in the USA looks better all the time.

[Jack in Wilmington]

Absolutely. A lot of companies have either moved there or set up their back office operations there. Be careful about Delaware. I've heard people complain that it is an extremely greedy state as far as resident costs go (even though there is no sales tax there). Just look at the ridiculous toll they charge on their "blink and you miss it" section of I-95. There's also a ton of traffic congestion there. I used to travel to Maryland a lot. Anytime I hit crazy traffic, it was in Delaware. Also, be careful about Connecticut. It's my opinion that it is the most racist state in the Northeast.

I'm retired in Delaware and loving it. Going on six years now and at 67 life has slowed somewhat, but we keep busy. I go to the gym 6 days a week to try and keep my original parts as long as possible. We eat home more now, but that may be because we're not so tired from working all day.

[Supersonic Scientist]

After MUCH research, the Wife and I decided to build our retirement home in this community here in Georgia. (about 45-60 minutes NE of Atlanta proper)

https://www.kolterhomes.com/new-home...t-lake-lanier/

The home should be completed in late July and I should be retiring this coming JAN. We have met many resident's already and many dudes are musicians. Friday evening is "cocktail Hour" at the clubhouse. Full access to Lake Lanier for boating, swimming, fishing, etc. TONS of places to hike, Small but up-and-coming town (Gainesville) just up the road a bit. Should be fun.

Best part is that, since we spent the last 20 years being landlords, (just sold-off the last of our properties) we will be buying the house for cash.



(And yes I will have a full basement studio: 19' x 31' with 9' ceilings)

[JKL2000]

My wife read something recently about Troy, NY being on an upswing and affordable. But a state with legal would be nice.

[SteveSly]

So we decided to snowbird this winter in Sarasota, FL. Great town with lots to do and beautiful beaches. Winter is fine here, but summer can be brutal I am told. And, we are young for retirees, so most everyone here is 10 years older than us, and up. No, we aren't ready to move here permanently, but maybe in 5-10 years. The cost of living here during this season is about the same as LI, but gets cheaper after April 1 when the snowbirds leave, I am told. All prices go down quite a bit.

Our search goes on. But we learned a lot from our travels and living around. I highly suggest you do the same for whatever place you consider before buying anything and moving permanently. You will learn a lot about yourself, your spouse, what you think you want vs whet you need, and the area and its residents. Remember, good friends will make you happy, so find a place where people with like interest live.

Good luck,
Bob

I have spent a lot of time on the western side of Florida. My parents had a place in Englewood for years, my sister lived in Tampa for a while, we have friends in Lakeland, my wife’s sister has a place in Naples, and many years ago my Grandparents lived in Sarasota. My only problem with Florida in the winter is the traffic. It seems like every time we are down there it takes forever to get any place in the season. I like to visit Florida in the winter, in fact we just came back from a week’s vacation there last Tuesday, but I am not sure that I would want to deal with all the traffic hassles. I have only been in Florida once in the summer and yea it was brutally hot and humid.

[Progmatic]

Any nice places in Russia?

I have heard they have some cheap properties in Siberia

[Jerjo]

I would bet that the prairie provinces in Canuckistan are pretty cheap. YMMV depending on your love for poutine and hockey.

[hippypants]

I am retired (age 66) and live in East Texas, Tyler. I was living in West Texas. East Texas is affordable, and prettier, but lacks some of the things I miss about West Texas. East Texas is way more Bible belt from what I've noted. West Texas is more secular (somewhat or just keeps it to themselves), but more isolated. East Texas affects my allergies more, need to go back to an allergist I guess.

I'd thought about moving to Colorado or Austin as well at one time. They are similar in some ways, both are in booms as far as people moving there so expect higher home prices, etc. I don't particularly care for the way the homes are laid out in Colorado--I prefer open floor plans and a tad bigger rooms, since I grew up in Texas. Austin has high city, school taxes as well, but you don't have to live square in Austin. But they also have a bad traffic problem there. They just did not expect the job growth and people explosion. (Course all that is relative. If you come from New Jersey, etc. the traffic might be a cakewalk.) So really those are sort of out for me unless you just live outside Austin or Colorado. Pueblo, CO looked affordable. Round Rock in Austin might be do-able, something like that. The Dallas, Ft. Worth area might be okay too (McKinney, Flower Mound are fairly close to an international airport and not in the heart of the city). Both offer a lot as far as entertainment too.

[Vic2012]

You know it's time to retire when your balls are longer than yer dick......

[Lopez]

You know it's time to retire when your balls are longer than yer dick......

You know it! I sat on mine yesterday.

[Vic2012]

not sure what the property tax bill is gonna look like this year.

It tripled.