VICKY AND I took a 2-week road trip through North Carolina, Georgia, and South Carolina. We spent the Easter weekend with 3 of her siblings and numerous nieces and nephews and their families. From there we drove to Savannah for 4 days of southern charm, beautiful architecture, and great food. After Savannah we drove to Kiawah Island for the wedding of one of my best friend’s daughter.
Meeting fellow retirees, and hearing their stories is always fascinating. On our road trip through I was exposed to quite a number of interesting stories. They have some interesting similarities, and differences. A few categories came to mind.
- Staying Put. The first couple’s children lived in two different parts of their state, about 2 hours apart. Instead of moving to a new town near one of the kids, they downsized a mile away from their long-time home. By staying in their community, they were able to maintain their connections with friends, doctors, and their routine.
- Chasing Children. Two couples moved from Pennsylvania to be closer to children and grandchildren. One couple moved right after they retired. The other couple was able to move while still working; their employers supported remote work with some travel. The second couple had lived in North Carolina in the past, and they had friends in the area. The first couple left a large extended family and friends. They have close family nearby, and are working on making new friends through Pickleball and volunteering. They are finding new doctors, and learning the area.
- Splitting Time. Our fourth couple spent their adult lives in Rochester, NY. The wife’s family had a vacation home in Michigan’s upper peninsula, that they enjoyed. They bought a place there and moved there after retiring. But the winters were brutally cold, and they decided to look for a second home in a warmer climate. They did a multi-year search in different southern towns. They settled on Savannah, and bought an historic home near the town’s main park. They love the history, architecture, and food. They spend half the year in Savannah, and half in Michigan. We also met a number of folks who were returning north from their wintering in Florida.
- Hitting the Links. While we were waiting for the wedding to start, we met a couple from Rumson, NJ. They lived a few miles from our new home in Monmouth County, NJ. Their retirement was all about golf. They bought a place on Kiawah Island so they could golf year-round. They spend from New Years to May in Kiawah, and summers in NJ. They return to Kiawah for some of the fall. They belong to golf courses in both locations. They also said friends love to visit.
I was intrigued by these different retirement stories. Retirees have lots of different reasons for choosing their retirement life. A few common themes were following children and grandchildren, looking for better weather, and flowing a passion. The one common denominator, however, was that they each had the resources to make the choices that fit their desires. Our retirement journey has taken several twists that weren’t planned, but have worked out well. I’d love to hear what retirement surprises HumbleDollar readers have experienced.
While working I fell into a habit where I tended to listen to a fairly static list of musical performers. Since I retired I’ve started searching for additional artists to add and have been pleasantly surprised to find plenty of new artists that I like. Now I try to regularly make the effort to look for more. So far it’s been pretty working pretty well and when it’s one my wife also likes then it goes on our road-trip playlist.
Old, I just saw this, I’m in complete agreement. I love finding new (to me anyway) artists and songs and have a Spotify list that is over 600 songs. When we travel to new places and I hear music I enjoy but I’m unfamiliar with I look it up and add it to my list. It’s made for quite a diverse collection.
One of the nice things about our new location in Monmouth County is the vibrant music scene. There are many places that have free outdoor music spring into fall. The quality is generally very good.
I have discovered in retirement that I need to simplify my life because it makes me happier and gives me the ability to sleep better. I haven’t been able to do it yet but I’m working on it.
I can’t say there have been surprises. I am hoping that some detours created by health issues will soon abate. I’m happy that when Chris and I got together around ages 50 we immediately went on a vacation spree during our first 15 years together. Not some of the lavish vacations I read about on HD, but frequent trips (2 or 3 per year) to many Caribbean islands. We were able to do things at that time that aren’t possible at age 70.
The things that strikes me about the folks you describe is that they are a