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A few weeks ago I wrote about relocating upon retirement and concluded it isn’t for us.
This summer we are getting to test that conclusion. We are spending the entire summer at our place on Cape Cod, which means several months away from our routines, church, friends, golfing buddies and mostly family. I suppose if we moved here we would become accustomed to many things, but not being six hours away from family, let alone a three hour plane ride, if, as many friends have done, we moved to Florida.
Our daughter and family came for 10 days, but they left – with their 80 lb dog who I also miss. One son and family are coming in August for a week. Two other families don’t come because they don’t like the drive.
Relocating out of financial necessity is one thing as is the quest to be near family, but beyond that it takes serious consideration in my opinion.
I’ve heard people say it’s about the weather, but the reality is no matter where you go, there will be weather issues of one kind or another at some point in the year, cold, snow, extreme heat, (it’s 109 in Phoenix as a write this and 96 in Lakeland, FL) hurricanes, tornadoes, drought – except maybe Hawaii, but then you might find lava in your backyard 😢
Several friends and relatives have sought the best of both worlds. They have homes in NJ and condos in Florida and have become Florida residents thus avoiding NJ income taxes, but increasing the weather risk and paying outrageous premiums for property insurance. One friend just sold his condo in Florida after the ocean spent time in the building lobby for the second time – but others didn’t seem to care, it sold quickly.
One person in NJ told me they moved to Florida to avoid inheritance taxes, but neither state has such a tax applicable to family members and charities. I hope that wasn’t their primary goal.
Moving is a big deal anytime, but relocating to another state on top of the life changing event of retirement is a bigger deal I would think.
Roughly 25% to 33% of retirees move after retiring, according to studies by the U.S. Census Bureau and retirement-focused surveys (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College).
The majority of retirees who move tend to stay within their current state, often downsizing or moving to more affordable or accessible housing. About 15% of movers choose to relocate to another state.
What are your thoughts, plans about relocating upon retirement? And if you have already relocated, how has it worked out? Was it the change you expected?
Relocating to a new CCRC. What do you call it if we’re moving 10 minutes from our home? “Aging in a different place?”
I thoroughly enjoying reading your posts Dick. So we’re in our mid 60’s, retired for four years now, but my elderly in-laws are still alive and my wife is their primary care giver. As a result we are “stuck” in Hawaii, but we’ve been here for nearly 50 years. Both us came here as teenagers in the 1970’s for different reasons. Since then we’ve raised two children. However, they along with our four grandkids live in TX and VA. So Lord willing our plan is once the parent’s expiration dates are up we plan on moving. Looking to live approximately equal distance between our kids, perhaps in Winchester, TN, although we’ve never been there, but who knows we’ll just have to wait and see. As for lava in our backyard that will never happen and the weather 99.9 percent of the time is like “paradise”. 😎
Living in Paradise already. Where to go? My son moved to Nashville, TN, from SF. Now lives in Puerto Rico. He was a mediocre musician in Tennessee, but he’s a rock star in Puerto Rico.
Yup, tried Nashville as a drummer. Found out quickly those studio guys are incredible. Tons of competition. Fled back to Georgia, LOL.
Well, Hawaii is not a bad place to be stuck, but I empathize with your situation.
The move you contemplate in your 60s or perhaps even 70s is not easy. You are facing not only a meteorological shock, but quite a cultural shock too. And then you still face long drives to see family.
I suggest you try out TN even for a few week visit. And, taking a longer term view, as hard a decision as it may be I would move closer to one of your children. That may work better for you and them if you need assistance one day.
We lived in our house in MA for over 25 years. During that time, we also built a four-season lakefront vacation home about two hours north in NH. While it was our vacation home, we also envisioned it becoming our retirement home. We discovered quickly that retiring out in the middle of nowhere was not for us. Taking 30 minutes to get anything turned out to be more of an issue than we thought. It was fine when we wanted to “get away from it all” but different when you live there all year around.. We decided to live out the two years (as our primary residence) so that we could get some of the capital gains exclusion. We then used that time to find our “final” retirement house.
After looking for almost a year, our picky nature made it clear that we would not be happy unless we built from scratch and could specify what we wanted. We started to look at property only. In NH, property tax became a key factor in where we would consider buying since each town has its own tax rates and assessments. Our previous house was in the shade (which was nice during summer). For our final house, having great southern exposure was key to support both passive and active solar energy use. Property size was another factor in that we did not want to be so close to neighbors that sound becomes an issue. Proximity to our friends, relatives, stores, hospitals, restaurants, etc. also took on some priority. This would also give us a chance to build an “age in place” residence, all on one level with certain “enhancements” for seniors.
It took another year to find the lot (4.3 acres with excellent southern exposure) and custom build a single level house with all the features we wanted. In addition to relocating, this was also an opportunity to build in hopes that we will be able to live more comfortably as we age.
We’ve been in our house for 11 years now and have been very happy with our decision. All the amenities we want are a short drive away. Our children are within one hour’s drive and there are several medical facilities within 20 minutes or less. The solar panels have kept our utility bills in check and fuels our EV, too. The choice of the town we live in was such that our property tax has increased only 10% over that 11-year period (mostly due to new businesses taking on more of the town’s revenue requirements). Our car and house insurance has barely increased over the past 11 years as well. In fact, the year-to-year variations is typically more than the cumulative increase from 11 years ago (in dollar amounts). The property tax and insurance premiums are completely out of our control so luck also plays a part in all this. At the same time, I think it is also reflective of the area we live in, too.
Welcome to NH. I’m surprised you didn’t even mention there is no income nor sales tax in NH. When we decided to build our retirement home and move from the Concord NH area one of the main criteria was a low property tax town (this is where they make up the loss in revenue). We built a home that was assessed at about 50K more than our previous home and cut our taxes by 1/3. Nine years later we are still not near what we were paying previously. We are only 1 1/2 hours from Logan airport to meet our frequent travel.
We wanted to build a ranch but found they were much more expensive, so built a colonial. Both being Physical Therapists we made sure the bottom floor was laid out such that the office could be converted into a bedroom, and the 1/2 bath/laundry could be converted into a small roll in shower with stacked appliances if one of us should become wheelchair bound. If we are ambulatory but can’t manage the stairs we knew we could purchase a stair glide which was recently purchased by my mother in law who could use it to access the upstairs even at 103 years old. So just beware there are alternatives to building or purchasing a ranch.
Oh yeah, and it’s also no accident that is a 1/2 hour vs 1 1/2 from the beach.
We moved from Massachusetts to Florida for my work in the 1990’s. Raised our kids there. Became snowbirds in 2011 and went back and forth to Massachusetts. Started spending more time in Mass and sold Florida property when covid hit. Didn’t like their covid denial as well as increased costs and congestion. Haven’t been back since. Auto and home insurance prices are cheaper in Mass than Florida (auto insurance was half the cost, surprisingly), especially since the condo collapse and bigger storms. The heat and humidity in Florida from early May to October is horrible, and congestion during ‘season’ is bad. 2 of 4 kids live in Mass and we started missing the change in seasons, so that was another reason we came back. We thought of getting a place on the Cape, but having gone there a lot when younger, did not want to deal with the traffic and congestion in the summer (similar to Florida in season). So we bought a house on a Lake here and don’t feel the need to do the cape scene. We did become Mass residents again and there will be a Mass estate tax which we didn’t have in Florida, but we feel it is worth it. We like it so much better here for many reasons. We enjoyed Florida when we were there, but after 29 years there the novelty wore off. Winters here though are not the greatest, and being a snowbird somewhere other than Florida has some appeal.
We are relocating to Washington state – 30 miles outside Seattle – from Southern California. My husband is already here and I am retiring at the end of the year but needing to work in state in CA. Both our sons live in WA about 15 miles from where we will be. We have no family in this country so being near them makes sense. If they move (highly doubtful) we shall reassess. We bought a small one bedroom condo as the payment will be like rent with no real amenities the HOA is lower than most. The place is great with one downfall on 3rd floor no elevator so we may need to reassess again as we get older (67/70). My parents retired to Mexico as my Mom was from there and they enjoyed having family but they later regretted not being near us and their grandkids. We visited a lot and they stayed with us for months at a time including when my Mom had cancer. Once she had dementia and they lived in a home there it was harder to visit though the cost and care made it wonderful. We shall see how this goes but I am excited to live in a new place – perhaps a little more country than what I am used to but close enough to the city.
My wife and I relocated from a single family home to a single level condo within CT. Our checklist for this move was the same- ability to walk to restaurants, trails and entertainment, along with access to good healthcare. We wanted a development that was relatively new so there would be no big assessment surprises. Our decision was also based on our wanting to live in the same area as our old residence so we could keep our old friends and be near our family. Our decision was a home run! We have made new friends and developed volunteer passions. Yes, taxes are higher but we planned for that in our budget. I think a couple needs to have the same goals in order to make this transition a success.
good idea to think about assessments. Our HOA is focused on avoiding them and that requires a good reserve and making 100% sure the monthly HOA fee is adequate and keeps up with inflation.
That is something some owners don’t understand. Ours just increased $50 a month to $950.
After 31 years in the same home, we moved in 2019 from a traditional two-story (bedrooms and full baths upstairs) to a ranch. Turned out to be fortuitous timing, location – we now live within two miles of my brother, my wife’s sister, and one of my wife’s nieces. Between my ankle injuries and my wife’s hip replacement surgeries …
We live only five miles further from church – we are both in the choir and are very active in the Church’s life.
There is a walking/bicycle path to a close-by park, the bank, the local high school, the library, golf course, even Wendy’s and ice cream and doughnuts. In a few more months, we will be able to walk to a brand new grocery store and to a new medical office complex. There’s even a vet, if we had a pet. Lots of convenience.
That said, in May, we went to Florida to visit our daughter and her husband, and in June, we visited our son in Greece. Both are moving this summer or a year from now. So, don’t know where they will end up, but, whenever their location finally looks to be indefinite, we might consider a change.
Dick, my wife and I relocated to Cape Cod 7 years ago as we retired. We had our CC home for many years, so we had an idea what we were getting into, but agreed to move back off Cape if we found the Cape too isolated in the off season, or just difficult to make new connections. We only moved about 1.5 hours away from our old neighborhood, so we can easily visit there if we choose, but as time has gone by, we try not to cross the canal bridges, and preferably not cross the Bass River bridge.
We made a commitment to put ourselves out into the community, joining various groups and a local church, and quickly had a great network of friends that we socialize with year round. Our children are on 1-1.5 hours away, and they visit us fairly regularly. My wife and I both agree that we wouldn’t have been as active socially or physically had we stayed in our old community. Weather is also better year round on CC. Heck. We’ve only had measurable snow maybe 4-5 times in 7 winters.
Some folks grumble about our income tax, but I don’t find it burdensome, and is somewhat offset by the generally lower real estate taxes when compared to a state like NH (which has no state income tax).
We find the off seasons the best time on the Cape, especially fall. You can actually get into a restaurant. For many years we have come up for New Year’s Eve, First Night in Chatham.
I like the low property taxes too. And yet I hear locals complaining. They have no idea. Our condo taxes just increased to $14,000 while on the Cape a four bedroom three bath house on over a 1/3 acre they are $2700.
Agree about the fall. Before we bought our home on CC, and before kids in school, we always vacationed the second week of September- the tourist crowds were much lower, and the weather was perfect- though this summer has had exceptionally good weather (less humidity and high temps)- much like we used to have 15 years ago. Before we retired, we always treasured our weekends during the off season. It’s a great time to explore. We’ve done First Night Chatham, but usually during the day, and have a nice late lunch to avoid the crowds, and celebrate the year.
We moved 10 years before retirement, to a town where our children were living. Our daughter had settled there, and son was still in college. Spouse was able to find a good job in their field. We are near the airport, so could travel to visit easily if they move. We help with the grandkids that came after we moved. When we bought a house, we were careful to buy something that would age with us. 10 years later, it has worked out, except we are farther away from our parents who are still living and more needy. Chris
It sounded like the whole move worked out great until the last line about aging parents. Ouch. Another consideration making a move a difficult decision.
We relocated in Maine after working and raising three children in Maryland over 40 years. Maine is a place where we’ve vacationed often over the years and we have many favorite places to hike and explore. Prior to the move we had no close friends in Maine, just a few acquaintances. We are very happy that we made the move. Our 28 year old and 35 year old children – still in Maryland and still single – visit us 3 or 4 times each year. They love coming up to ski in the winter and hike and boat in the summer and fall. Our oldest, his wife, and our granddaughter live in California but have managed to visit for two or three weeks each year since we moved here. During the past two years we’ve visited them twice each year. Our eldest and his wife both work remotely and are planning on visiting for three weeks in September and have indicated that they might relocate in New England, possibly in Maine. We knew some time ago that we did not want to retire in Maryland. As much as we love the state and have lots of friends there, we wanted a slower pace of life and easier access to outdoor recreation. If I had to do things over again, we would have begun the process of planning the move several years earlier. After retiring at the end of 2020, we took about 2 1/2 years before settling on a community and purchasing the condo we live in. The cost living here is slightly lower than in the DC metro area (aka the DMV) and we’re glad we made the move.
Glad you’re happy with the move. It sounds like you’re there in the winter?
I have heard property taxes are a bit high in Maine. Is that correct?
We’ve found that property taxes are slightly higher but the additional expense is well worth it.
I was just notified the property taxes on our condo were increasing $500 to nearly $14,000 a year.
Spouse and I mid 60s, good health, me just left my full time gig. We’d leave the heat of central Texas in heartbeat but are choosing to stay put to help her parents. Also one of our kids is here. I will think long and hard about moving away from one of my kids. We are already 4 hour flight from the other one.
And circumstances will change. We’ll see.
We lived in Portland for my residency, loved it, would strongly consider going back to the PNW.
I would love to relocate to a smaller town but my city offers too many medical, social, cultural, educational advantages. Cities have a lot to offer seniors.
We live in a town of 6600, but can still be in midtown Manhattan within 30 minutes if desired. I think it’s possible to pretty much have both.
When we moved back to Queens after two decades in the Finger Lakes area of Upstate NY, we were still working but knew that Queens wouldn’t be our retirement home. We did plenty of research, some of it by visiting potential locations. Our criteria included relative proximity to an international airport and to family and friends scattered across Brooklyn, Queens and the aforementioned Upstate NY. We settled on a lovely little town in PA just across the Delaware River from both NY and NJ, and 1 1/2-2 hours from all NYC airports. It also has a good school district because we knew our grandson would join us for at least a year (it’s been six – he just graduated). Even though Doug passed less than two years after our move, I had settled in well, as had our grandson. I hope to be here for 10 or so more years, health permitting, after which I will likely move to an apartment near one of my stateside children. Maybe a CCRC will eventually work for me, as it has for Kathy.
We started wondering where a good place to retire might be in the mid-teens, agreeing that we both had had our fill of New England winters, with their ice, snow, and darkness. Visits to friends in Key West during Christmas-New Years in 2017, 2018, and 2019 allowed us to fall in love with the island and buy there in 2020, several years prior to my retirement. To deal with the heat and humidity of the summer months, we held on to our NH lake house, which for the prior two decades served primarily as our excuse not to spend every waking hour working. In Key West, a tank of gas can cover me for five months or more. One can walk everywhere (at least from our location). You can choose from a hundred or more restaurants, when you feel like going out. Plenty of cultural events and institutions, and quite an international crowd in the touristy areas. But a couple blocks off the main drag, it’s a restful spot to read a novel by the dipping pool in January.
Do you drive back and forth between the two?
Have done that, when we had a cat and could not use the Amtrak AutoTrain (no pets allowed). Lately we’ve used the train, which leaves Lorton, VA, ca. 5pm and gets into Sanford, FL, near Orlando, the next morning ca. 10am. We sleep in a roomette and have meals on the train. That still leaves about a 7 hour drive to KW. We stay with friends when leaving NH, stopping in relatively close by Sturbridge, MA, and then either family north of Philly or friends in VA about 10 minutes from the train station. Reverse that on the way back. Nobody minds coming to KW in the winter as compensation!
Sounds like you have it well sorted. The one time we’ve visited NH we drove there from Delaware then after drove to SC. It’s way up there alright. We really liked NH a lot though. (This was late spring.) It would be ideal to pair it with a warmer place for winter.
They say hurricane vulnerability and therefore home insurance are both increasing in Florida. Nice that you’ve already gotten plenty of enjoyment from your KW place before that starts taking a bigger bite.
The various policies one needs, especially wind and flood, do take quite a bite. For the former, we’ve mitigated with new hurricane-rated doors and windows. For the latter, we seem to have lucked out by being in what’s known as the “X-Zone,” meaning our bill is some 1000s lower than our friends just a couple blocks away. It is unfortunate that state government seems more concerned with “culture issues” than skyrocketing insurance rates. Not sure how high things have to get for those priorities to flip.
And you can visit the little White House too.
We usually pass by it the first Sunday of each month on our way to the Aquarium to take advantage of free admission for locals on that day.
Learned a valuable lesson 60 years ago as a child. My grandparents sold their business in a small Iowa town and retired to an urban area in Wisconsin to be closer to their daughter (my mother) and the grandkids. Two years later my father took a job in Tennessee and we moved. My grandparents were understandably upset and decided to remedy the situation by relocating to Phoenix to live near their son. They hated the heat and lack of greenery but thought it was worth tolerating because they were once again near family. Shortly thereafter my uncle accepted a job transfer to Hawaii. My grandparents were in a quandary. They couldn’t envision a third move in three years so they reluctantly stayed in Phoenix. A year later my grandfather had a massive stroke and was in a nursing home until he died a few years later. My grandmother lived another 15 years – over 1,000 miles from the nearest relative. She never failed to let us know how much she regretted the moves they had made.
I’m retired now and always vowed I’d never make the mistake my grandparents did. My wife and I have deep roots here with good friends and dear neighbors. We live within 30 minutes of all of our children/grandchildren. Good for them if career moves necessitate moving to a distant part of the country – we live near a major airport and our passports are up to date.
My mother in law waited to leave her beloved Brooklyn until her oldest son had retired to NC. He and his wife moved there from NJ to be near their son. The son made a job change and moved away a few years after his parents joined him. Now they are far from all their children, but they will stay.
Seems that a majority of comments mention proximity to the kids and grands … Always wonder about the folks who move to be near them. What happens when the kids pickup and move or lose their jobs or transfer?
That’s why we left Upstate NY (see my comment), to be near a son who was in NJ at the time, but then moved to Denver less than a year later. We stuck it out in Queens for a few years before returning to a less urban setting that we had come to enjoy while in the Finger Lakes.
Exactly. Also, which kid do you pick if there’s more than one and they don’t live near each other? This is another reason to move to a CCRC rather than planning to age in place. No reason it can’t be near a child, but it will continue to provide support and community if the child moves.
My two children live in northern New Hampshire two hours from the Canadian border. My daughter lives in Orange County California an hour and a half from the Mexican border. They are separated by 3,000 miles. We live in southern NH only because that is where we have lived for 40 years. No grandchildren so that is not a factor.
Very good point. I have seen it happen several times. Often the retirees are stranded in a way because they can’t afford return to their original home. Even worse, they move and one spouse passes and the other is really stranded especially if the death occurred relatively soon after the move and they are not fully settled in the new community.
New Jersey born and raised here (both my wife and I) and moving/ relocating in retirement (which was 2 years ago for me) was never even a consideration. Our daughters and our 4 grandkids are all nearby us and are a big part of our lives. We are fortunate to have a condo at the Jersey shore where we spend a lot of time with our family during the summer and is only an hour from our home in North Jersey.
Reading the comments from others here, I understand the draws/ reasons why some do relocate. Having family and grandkids dispersed in different areas of the country does make the decision more difficult.
When friends asked us if we would “get a place in Florida” in retirement, my answer was always, “no thanks, we just want a few of our friends to have places there so we can come visit.” lol. 😂
We follow a similar strategy in the winter, but also rent a house for a month or so. Our NJ roots go back to at least 1840.
It’s highly personal to individuals’ wants and needs and indeed the specifics of personal factors like family, friends.
Thus everyone will differ to some extent. I’m already committed on where home base will be in retirement, chosen for its small local amenities – shop, pub, cafe and regular bus service and great walking, cycling and lakes almost from the door. I’ve even got the fallback option of nearby retirement appartments run by a charitable trust identified. But it will be a base and I plan to acquire an RV for continent wide adventures. Absolutely no proximity to where I’ve lived in recent working life.
I would say on the being near family point – many people seem to end up conflicted. Adult children and their families move away in pursuit of career or cultural opportunities and then people end up in toss up between staying close to friends who are also aging or quite late in life relocations for family support
We continue to talk about this but aren’t any closer to a decision. We spent three weeks this month in a condo at the beach in North San Diego County near our younger daughter. We loved it. The area was great, the weather was perfect, we found a church we’d love to get involved with if we moved there, lots of good restaurants, and so on. We didn’t see all that much of our daughter, so if we moved there, we wouldn’t be expecting her to meet our relational needs.
Then we got home to our lovely, comfortable condo, our bucolic college town, and our many connections here and remember how much we love living in Davis. It helps that we’re having an incredibly moderate summer, weather-wise.
Part of the hang-up is how incredibly expensive the beach in SoCal is. We stayed in an 800-square foot condo right on the beach, but you’d be horrified to hear what those go for, and I don’t want to move to a place less than half the size of where I live now. The larger homes we could afford are not at the beach, though you could drive there in 15 minutes (unlike where we live now).
The conversations continue, but right now staying put and having enough disposable income to go rent a condo at the beach for a few weeks sounds pretty good.
When we retired, we were living in Colorado. We sold or gave away everything, bought a motor home and hit the road for 5 years. Fast forward to 2020 we came off the road due to Covid, built a house in Georgia to be near our oldest son and our grandkids. Georgia wouldn’t be our first choice, but we now have 2 of our 3 boys living here along with the grandkids. We have made a great group of friends thru pickleball, cost of living is very manageable, so all in all we’re happy with it. We just lost our pup of 14 years, so more travel is on the horizon, both domestic and international. Still not used to the summer heat and humidity!
Born & Raised in GA, still not used to the heat and humidity!
I really want out of NJ when we retire.
I’m looking for somewhat of a mountain climate, with lots of sunshine. Areas I’m looking at include Bend OR, Grand Junction CO, the Reno/Tahoe area, or something similar.
I want to live somewhere with easy access to scenic trails and gravel riding. If you’ve ever been on The Flume Trail at Lake Tahoe, you’ll know what I’m looking for.
We may just rent for a few months in different areas to see if we like it, and then buy a house at some point. I already know Tahoe (Incline Village) is super expensive, and homeowner’s insurance is through the roof due to wildfires and snow damage…but we could rent!
I’ve thought about Portugal as a home base, but in reality I like the US. We might just do some slow travel around Europe – rent a place for a month or so, move on to another area, etc.
I like your priorities. Slow travel around Europe sounds great.
As a former Oregonian, I can offer a bit of visibility on Bend. It isn’t as expensive as Tahoe, but it’s up there, and wildfires have become a problem. Tremendous trail opportunities in summer and fall, but winters are very long if you’re not a skier.
And to put it indelicately, Bend is really, really… white. If you value diversity and culture and food more exotic than Mexican or Thai, you might reconsider.
For Tahoe consider Minden/Gardnerville area. Really expanding but still relatively small town feel. Easy “backdoor” access to the basin up Kingsbury or Spooner, might even be quicker sometimes than battling peak tourist traffic round the lake. Way less snow shovelling in winter. City amenities like Walmarts, hospitals and a Costco up by US50. Endless terrain for hiking/horseback/ATV
Sounds like quite an adventure.
We moved eight years after I retired, but we should have moved sooner. It was my mistake. Our home of 45 years was three stories and the washer/dryer were in the basement.
Connie could not do all the stairs. And I had no desire for any inside or outside maintenance.
Our condo (no stairs) in a 55+ community is less than a mile from our old house. And we are still only about an hour from all our children.
We didn’t save any money though. Property taxes are virtually the same and in most years the HOA fee is larger than what we might have spent on house maintenance.
Like 1PF, I moved to a CCRC, but unlike 1PF I moved less than five miles. I did look, hard, for the equivalent of a CCRC in England, but didn’t find one. Aside from the fact that I hate the central NC summers, I’m fine where I am, and now I’m walking distance to shops and restaurants. I’m also still very happy with the CCRC lifestyle.
We “relocated” only a handful of miles from our forever home. It is smaller, on a single level, and more equidistant – time wise – from our grandchildren. I guess that means our kids are close by too. 🤪
I’m very interested to hear how people respond, especially where they chose to live and why. We live in Florida which is not a good fit for us (mainly me). We regularly talk about moving here or there but nothing seems to be enough of a match for us (beauty, cost of living/taxes and moderate weather). I’d move to be closer to my daughters and their young families in a heartbeat if they didn’t live on opposite coasts (Seattle and Long Island). The whole situation is a source of varying degrees of frustration for us (again mainly me), so I’ll be closely watching the comments in case the answer for us lies within the answers for others. 🤞
“Neither rain, or snow, nor death of night, can keep us from our duty”. Wait. That was the Pony Express, not beer truck drivers. At any rate, I stopped agonizing about the weather in 2002 when I retired from the beer truck. So the weather is no incentive for me to move miles away from my family.
We did move into an age 55 community about 18 months back. I wrote a little about the the move here; https://humbledollar.com/2024/03/our-spending-spree/
I’m happy to report that it was the right thing for us. Chris has had a blast furnishing, decorating, and landscaping. I had fun building a workshop in the garage. In preparation for the no-go years it is all on one floor with one exception. My Vinyl Resting Place is upstairs; I figure I can install a chair lift when I am unable to climb a few steps in order to reach my music.
Though the house is only a tad smaller than our last place, it did cost nearly twice as much. Even so, we are still living below our means, which enables us to do whatever else we desire.
Dan, have you ever noticed wives have a habit of making us come to our senses?😁
Thank God! I don’t know what would become of me if left to my own device,
In 2021, two weeks after retiring from teaching in MA, I relocated to OH, to the CCRC in my college town, where, as a student, I’d spent all four years and three summers. It’s the only place I considered for where to retire. I was used to living “in community” at the boarding school where I taught, so the transition to CCRC living was seamless. I don’t have close family and I don’t enjoy travel, so I stay in touch with preretirement friends by email and Zoom. Life at the CCRC is so much simpler. As anticipated, I’m 100% happy with the move.
Upon retirement, my spouse and I moved to Greece. After a year we realized we missed our family and friends in the States. So for the next almost 10 years we spent half the time in the states (at our home in Baltimore that we kept) and half in Greece. We bought a condo in athens and had it renovated. I have to say after all this, I am over Greece and would love the simplified life of maintaining one home in Baltimore. My spouse’s parents live in Florida but neither of us like it there. So here we are in Athens looking forward to returning to Baltimore in the fall.