Retirees and near retirees...

[Nayan]

I live in FL and I can tell you both homeowners and car insurance is insane now. I expect my renewal for homeowners to be over $10K, for an older home in an established neighborhood with a new (paid by us) roof. Car insurance jumped from $500 to $900 for 6 months .

We're staying though. Emergency services (fire, police, hospital) are less than 3 miles away, doctors/dentist are less than 5 and tons of options for shopping and dining all are within a 10 mile or less radius.

 

[bluezy]

DH plans to retire in 2-5 years. For the last 30 years, he planned to retire at age 55 (which is in 2 years) and planned/saved accordingly. I "retired" 25+ years ago to stay home with our 5 kids and run the household...the youngest is in college now. DH recently got a huge promotion/appointment at work and there is a financial incentive for him to stay with the company for 5 years from the date of promotion to be fully vested in a special bonus for upper management. That kind of threw a monkey wrench into the retire at 55 plan. He'll see how things are going in 2 or 3 years and decide if he wants to stick it out for the entire 5 years. Anyway, our plan is to stay in our current house as long as we can. We made sure when we built the house 20 years ago that we chose a plan that included the laundry rom, a bedroom, and a full bath on the first floor so that we can live on one floor if we want/need to. The house has been paid off for 4 years now. Four of our 5 kids live within 30 minutes of our house and the fifth one is about 2 hours away. DHs mother and his 3 siblings are about 2.5 hours away and all live within 30 minutes of each other in the same town/area. We plan to do extended vacations to some place warm during winter every year, but don't have any plans to move to a different state/country. When we move, it will be to a Continuing Care Retirement Facility. We've got a few good ones around here.

 

[disykat]

We retired early and plan to stay put for the time being. (I finally got my mom settled here so I no longer have to drive back and forth to help her, so I'm not budging!) We live in a high cost of living area, but our house is paid off and we're pretty frugal.

While I'd love to move somewhere where senior care costs less when/if it comes to that point, it's more important to me to be near the kids to make things as easy as possible for them. We'll probably move near wherever our younger son is since he talks about wanting us to do that.

Meanwhile, once we no longer have caregiving duties but are hopefully still young and spry, we'd LOVE to do some short term living either overseas or near a beach somewhere. The thought is to maybe sell the house and move around a bit before settling into a leveled senior living situation.

 

[adkkev]

We have been retired for five years. We stayed in our home of 40 years in upstate New York just outside the blue line of the Adirondacks. While many might think we’re crazy to stay here we really like it here in our smallish town.

 

[nene0182]

We are about 20 years away from retirement. Right now the plan is FL since we are set to inherit my dads house there but we aren’t set on it. We do know that we will not be snowbirds though.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

DW & I should have <15 years to retirement. So not close, but getting there. Starting to think about WHERE to retire. I know I'm looking for someplace not subject to snow/ice (although the way things are going, that might be the entire US in 15 years.

So, what "sold" you on where you've retired/going to retire? Did you move? Did you stay? I know there are a LOT of factors, money, family, etc, but was there something for you that "sold" you on your location?

I think most northerners get it backwards. They slog it out every day having to go to work in that snow and ice without ever getting to enjoy it. And then just when they retire, they move away. We're doing the opposite. We worked without having to deal with it, and now that we're retired and can enjoy it, snow here we come. LOL everyone cursing the snow all the while we're out making snow angels and carrying on because we can go right back in, make some hot cocoa and get warm. HAHA.

 

[tony67]

Well, 8 years before we retired we remodeled our home from our "family home" to our "retirement home", but I guess we would have gotten some if not all that money back if we sold the house.
And 3 years before we retired, we bought our "retirement" car. 1 year before retirement we decided we would be more comfortable with both cars being new, feeling that our 20 year old second car with 150,000 miles on it needed to be retired. But the cars would have stayed with us if we moved.
Yes, we have a friend who got ACA coverage in a town of 100,000 and not single provider takes that insurance. She was diagnosed with cancer, and had to travel 150 miles to providers who would take her coverage.

Yeah - I just bought our two "retirement cars" but I doubt they will last as long as my 2005 Explorer - that I am still using - its only got 120k but issues. It is also expensive to insure and the tax is high on it. The new explorers are junk IMO.

Our house we bought about 5 years ago and we have set it up well for long term retirement - it will be perfect once my son moves out some day (hopefully) With such a low mortgage rate it would be very hard to move - even with the profit taking. But I am looking at options.

One reason I chose it is it was close to family - but they have since passed and the only family around I don't really deal with so I am starting to look at other options and better places for retirement. Somewhere with a good quality of life and reasonable cost of living - so Portugal is still high on my list - and a lot of folks as well. Was talking to a 30 something at a concert a few weeks back and he and his girlfriend were thinking the same thing - just some random person standing next to me. He had a nice nest egg from a tech company and you can live on 20-30k in Portugal a year (supposedly) The average income in Portugal is about 2750 - the us is 6200 and we have very high health insurance costs and food cost more here.
Still its a culture change, even for someone that has lived in Ireland, things are just not the same as the US and you have to be ready for that. Life is slower there. Things you take for granted here are not even an option there. My wife grew up and Europe and she is not sure she can ever go back permanently.
The big benefit I see is easy access to the rest of Europe - cheap flights on Ryan air and Ryan air has a big presence in the three airports.

 

[tony67]

I think most northerners get it backwards. They slog it out every day having to go to work in that snow and ice without ever getting to enjoy it. And then just when they retire, they move away. We're doing the opposite. We worked without having to deal with it, and now that we're retired and can enjoy it, snow here we come. LOL everyone cursing the snow all the while we're out making snow angels and carrying on because we can go right back in, make some hot cocoa and get warm. HAHA.

Yeah - snow is great the first day or two - but as it gets old quick.

I had family come from Australia and they had not seen snow since they were kids - and that was less than an inch.
So we got a few feet while there were here and for a day or two it was a treat - then they were sick of it.

Most important thing is parking - make sure you have enough parking. In the city, and even the suburbs people fight over parking - it can be very stressful to go out and not be sure you have a spot when you get home.

 

[Cadiewampus]

I've thought about it but I believe I already live in an area with a relatively low cost of living that is just a few hours from both the mountains, the beach, and less than an hour from the busiest airport. Those are all criteria that have kept us in the area and will more than likely keep us in Metro Atlanta in retirement.

If we move in retirement I think where our kids end up will be the biggest influence

Yep we live up in Acworth and I am about 4 or 5 years away from retirement. I like my job so hard to decide. Anyway cost of living is fine and the house is paid off so do I really want to buy another?

 

[antmaril]

I have been retired for 15 years (retired at age 56). My husband died of cancer two months after I retired. I was born and raised here and my only child lives here, as well. I have never considered moving away because my life is here (family and many friends) and I am alone. Now, at long last, I am going to be a grandmother! Very excited about that!!!! So, I am here to stay.

 

[dvcgirl67]

We retired early and plan to stay put for the time being. (I finally got my mom settled here so I no longer have to drive back and forth to help her, so I'm not budging!) We live in a high cost of living area, but our house is paid off and we're pretty frugal.

While I'd love to move somewhere where senior care costs less when/if it comes to that point, it's more important to me to be near the kids to make things as easy as possible for them. We'll probably move near wherever our younger son is since he talks about wanting us to do that.

Meanwhile, once we no longer have caregiving duties but are hopefully still young and spry, we'd LOVE to do some short term living either overseas or near a beach somewhere. The thought is to maybe sell the house and move around a bit before settling into a leveled senior living situation.

We're 56 and 55....have the nest egg where it needs to be, no debt and ready to GO! We want to do what you mention at the end of your post....sell the home and hit the road. Our plan is to travel and do short term stays at first, possibly longer term stays abroad as we go. DH just received his dual citizenship with Italy (got his passport last month!), and so that gives us the ability to stay longer than a few months in the EU.

However, there are tax consequences to consider as well as health ones. We're fit and healthy now, but you purchase insurance both on the ACA and with Medicare based on where you live, and that really complicates matters. However, I've read countless blogs on 50+ year olds doing this kind of thing and relying on the country they're in for healthcare...carrying a catastrophic policy and paying out of pocket for everything else. There seems to be a learning curve though.

For now we're still working because we can't go anywhere with two of our older dogs. And we have two remaining parents, both in great health. My mother is almost 80, but I have two sisters and so we plan to handle issues she has as a team. My FIL is 92, also in very good health. He's trickier because my husband is the only remaining child. My ex sister-in law (she was married to my husband's brother...who passed), is still a part of the family but it's unclear if she'd want to help as he ages. She still comes to most family functions with her new husband, but we're not sure of their plans.

So.....guess we're in a wait and see mode for now. We figured we'll keep working while in this mode as we're in our peak earning years now. We've planned more vacations than usual to keep us happy. We've been homeowners since the late 90s and have had no mortgage for most of that time, however....I'm looking forward to the freedom of renting. We want the freedom of being able to rent for a few months, enjoy a place and then move on to the next adventure.

 

[Pooh2]

We will stay put since we are about 20 minutes from our grandkids. We have lived here for 35 years and are happy with the area. Definitely will consider south bound longer trips to get away from the snow in Feb when we have permanent time off.

 

[tony67]

I have been retired for 15 years (retired at age 56). My husband died of cancer two months after I retired. I was born and raised here and my only child lives here, as well. I have never considered moving away because my life is here (family and many friends) and I am alone. Now, at long last, I am going to be a grandmother! Very excited about that!!!! So, I am here to stay.

Sorry to hear that - one of our biggest fears is I work till retirement and then one of us passes.
One of the reasons I am sort of taking a time off now unless a job falls into my lap.

I saw my Grandfather work till 62 retire and die at 63 - he painted ships during WWII and that got him in the end - no lawsuits back then either.

My dad worked till 70 to get the "full retirement" bonus and died a year or so later - so never got to enjoy it.
Even had he lived he was not as mobile anymore so Disney was no longer an option for him.

I'm going roll the dice and retire as soon as I qualify - I'd rather enjoy what I can well I am younger and I may suffer later but at least I will have enjoyed myself.

Congrats on the grandchild as well.

 

[tony67]

We're 56 and 55....have the nest egg where it needs to be, no debt and ready to GO! We want to do what you mention at the end of your post....sell the home and hit the road. Our plan is to travel and do short term stays at first, possibly longer term stays abroad as we go. DH just received his dual citizenship with Italy (got his passport last month!), and so that gives us the ability to stay longer than a few months in the EU.

However, there are tax consequences to consider as well as health ones. We're fit and healthy now, but you purchase insurance both on the ACA and with Medicare based on where you live, and that really complicates matters. However, I've read countless blogs on 50+ year olds doing this kind of thing and relying on the country they're in for healthcare...carrying a catastrophic policy and paying out of pocket for everything else. There seems to be a learning curve though.

For now we're still working because we can't go anywhere with two of our older dogs. And we have two remaining parents, both in great health. My mother is almost 80, but I have two sisters and so we plan to handle issues she has as a team. My FIL is 92, also in very good health. He's trickier because my husband is the only remaining child. My ex sister-in law (she was married to my husband's brother...who passed), is still a part of the family but it's unclear if she'd want to help as he ages. She still comes to most family functions with her new husband, but we're not sure of their plans.

So.....guess we're in a wait and see mode for now. We figured we'll keep working while in this mode as we're in our peak earning years now. We've planned more vacations than usual to keep us happy. We've been homeowners since the late 90s and have had no mortgage for most of that time, however....I'm looking forward to the freedom of renting. We want the freedom of being able to rent for a few months, enjoy a place and then move on to the next adventure.

Some good points.

Healthcare is a tough one and you have to research it - I know in many countries in the EU you can buy very reasonable insurance. Even having dual citizenship may not help as some countries only cover you if your country of citizenship covers their citizens. Still the cost of healthcare, even out of pocket, is usually far less. With private insurance there is also the issue of gaps in coverage and pre-existing conditions even in the EU.

Banks is another big issue - many banks wont deal with US Citizens at all - too much regulation to deal with.

Taxes are a headache - its costly to so your taxes if you reside in the EU - and you may have to do taxes in both countries.
I think the US is one of the very few countries that has this requirement. I know many folks who did not even know they had to do US taxes when they moved back to Ireland.

Good idea to go places and stay for a bit of time - you would be amazed at the number of people that have only been somewhere for a week and then decided to move there. Vacationing in place and living there is very different. Many folks come back to the US after a year or two. That said there are many folks that give up their US citizenship (its a small number every year - maybe a few thousand) and never look back.

Same with Florida - people move there and leave a year or two later as they cant deal with the summers.

 

[amylevan]

The plan is 12 years to retirement. We will be 56 and both kids will be done with college.

The state we live in (PA) does not tax retirement income, so that is incentive to stay. My parents are the only set living but they are about 4 hours away, so we shall see how they age and what needs to be done there. We also will see where the kids end up.

That said, we will travel south and be snowbirds. We have an RV and we’ve given some thought to full timing, but right now the thinking is that we will keep our house as a home base. As we get closer, we will re-evaluate. All I know is I am not spending my winters in the snow and cold, my body already hates it, I can’t imagine how it’ll feel in 15 years.

 

[dvcgirl67]

Some good points.

Healthcare is a tough one and you have to research it - I know in many countries in the EU you can buy very reasonable insurance. Even having dual citizenship may not help as some countries only cover you if your country of citizenship covers their citizens. Still the cost of healthcare, even out of pocket, is usually far less. With private insurance there is also the issue of gaps in coverage and pre-existing conditions even in the EU.

Banks is another big issue - many banks wont deal with US Citizens at all - too much regulation to deal with.

Taxes are a headache - its costly to so your taxes if you reside in the EU - and you may have to do taxes in both countries.
I think the US is one of the very few countries that has this requirement. I know many folks who did not even know they had to do US taxes when they moved back to Ireland.

Good idea to go places and stay for a bit of time - you would be amazed at the number of people that have only been somewhere for a week and then decided to move there. Vacationing in place and living there is very different. Many folks come back to the US after a year or two. That said there are many folks that give up their US citizenship (its a small number every year - maybe a few thousand) and never look back.

Same with Florida - people move there and leave a year or two later as they cant deal with the summers.

Yup, all good points. We know about the tax issues with respect to Italy. If you spend more than 185 days there you're taxed at their rates, which are very, very high. We'd likely move back and forth between there and another country if we even decide to live there. If you're truly nomadic, then you have to "domicile" somewhere in the States, and I'm honestly not sure how that works. I know RVers like South Dakota for this purpose, where you can establish residency and get a P.O. Box in a 24 hour period, but not sure if that works for international nomads.

I saw that you mentioned Portugal in another post, and that's a popular spot for ex-pats these days. But, it's also driving up the price of real estate in some areas and making it less affordable than it once was. That's happened in Costa Rica as well, another place we have our eye on. But, we've only vacationed there once, and it was at very nice resorts, so not exactly "living like a local". It used to be quite cheap to live there, but now real estate prices, especially near the coast, are pretty high.

I think the FIRE movement and the digital nomad movement are a part of this push for even younger people looking to retire early or work remotely and live cheaply. It seems that Americans are always looking for the "next place" to go. I remember seeing that some Americans were buying pretty cheap ocean front homes in Ecuador in recent years. But in a country with an unsteady government, things can go south very quickly. Ecuador has since been overrun by the drug cartels with murders soaring and property prices plummeting. Wherever we go, we intend to be renters.

 

[tony67]

Yup, all good points. We know about the tax issues with respect to Italy. If you spend more than 185 days there you're taxed at their rates, which are very, very high. We'd likely move back and forth between there and another country if we even decide to live there. If you're truly nomadic, then you have to "domicile" somewhere in the States, and I'm honestly not sure how that works. I know RVers like South Dakota for this purpose, where you can establish residency and get a P.O. Box in a 24 hour period, but not sure if that works for international nomads.

I saw that you mentioned Portugal in another post, and that's a popular spot for ex-pats these days. But, it's also driving up the price of real estate in some areas and making it less affordable than it once was. That's happened in Costa Rica as well, another place we have our eye on. But, we've only vacationed there once, and it was at very nice resorts, so not exactly "living like a local". It used to be quite cheap to live there, but now real estate prices, especially near the coast, are pretty high.

I think the FIRE movement and the digital nomad movement are a part of this push for even younger people looking to retire early or work remotely and live cheaply. It seems that Americans are always looking for the "next place" to go. I remember seeing that some Americans were buying pretty cheap ocean front homes in Ecuador in recent years. But in a country with an unsteady government, things can go south very quickly. Ecuador has since been overrun by the drug cartels with murders soaring and property prices plummeting. Wherever we go, we intend to be renters.

Not just Americans - English, Irish and Germans all looking for places.

Yeah it does seem that by the time you hear about a place, like Portugal and Costa Rica its too late.
Locals cant afford the rent in Lisbon anymore - if they can even find a place.

The housing issues in Dublin are over the top - people waiting an hours to look at an apartment in a decent area.
Towns that were looked down upon in the past are now hot spots for folks working in Dublin as they are only an hour away by train.

I think the digital nomad thing is coming to an end. Its far cheaper to just hire local. I know from experience. In addition its becoming hard as companies are switching back to hybrid mode.

Even jobs that say 100% remote - turns out they are lying and its not. Maybe after six months you can go hybrid.

There is no doubt in my mind a push to go go back to the office even if its two to three days a week.

 

[Ursula J]

Hoping to move back to my hometown in Michigan, where we can live much less expensively than here in Chicago, and then traveling in winter. God willing. My mom's retirement was supposed to be similar but she got hit with a social security nightmare (GPO offset, or what HR 82 in Congress is trying to fix). So based on what I've learned, I don't count on anything.

 

[Disneylover99]

I retired this year. My husband has 2 more years.
We’re going to stay put, but we hope to travel more during cheaper times.

We looked into buying something in Florida, but it didn’t seem worth the stress, hassle and cost of maintaining a second residence. We’ll just go to Florida and rent for a month or stay in cheap hotels. Lol.

 

[hertamaniac]

I was fortunate to buy my home in Florida many years ago before the price and transplant explosion(s). I am not sure how long I will stay (currently at 20 years near Orlando) as the home/auto insurance rates and overcrowded roads are berserk. I guess I'm sort of plotting an escape strategy.