Anyone transition from big pay/big house/big expense to a low cost, simple, yet fulfilling retirement life?
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Anonymous
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I'm in the thick of the rat race at the moment: high stress / high paying job, expensive house, expensive kids, etc.
One day the kids will hopefully successfully fly from the nest and around that time, I'll be thinking about retirement. The kid-related expenses would go away, as would, maybe the need for the big house? I'm looking for tales of downsizing and simplifying the lifestyle in retirement. What has it looked like for you? |
Anonymous
| Okay this isn’t quite what you asked for, but our HHI has more than tripled and we haven’t moved from our relatively inexpensive neighborhood and it’s great. We liked it then, we like it now. We could move to a fancier neighborhood, we just don’t want to. Why do you live where you live? The most common answer for being house poor is trying to access specific public schools. Is that a factor? |
Anonymous
| I would like to do this but my husband does not want to. He said kids can boomerang back home and mentioned grandkids and helping out the kids financially with businesses if the opportunity arises. |
Anonymous
Can you let him keep working and retire yourself? It's not fair that you have to keep working to fund his priorities if yours are different. I plan on retiring before my DH, who is older than me, for this reason. |
Anonymous
| we started selling our investment properties in the city and started buying farmland. |
Anonymous
Well, I do not work and he does so I guess I am in retirement now 
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Anonymous
| We're starting the process- DS is headed to college next year, and DH has a new job across the country. We'll be fully relocating by the end of the school year. Plan is to rent in the new, higher cost living area while DH finishes out his career, but also buy a smaller home in a different state that has the things we will value in retirement-- I'm currently scoping smallish 3 bedroom homes with at least one bedroom on the main level, manageable yard, HOA to cover things like snow removal, etc. We're going to pay less for the house and carry only a very small mortgage for the tax advantage. I want to travel, renovate a smaller home to my choosing, and age in place. With one DC, 3 bedrooms is enough if the worst happens and he needs to live with us for awhile. |
Anonymous
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Before we retired we sold our single family home in the city and bought 2 condos, one at the beach and one in the city. Makes it very easy to close the door and walk away. HOA takes care of everything, packages, gardens, pool, security, maintenance.
Our life is so streamlined now, we don't really need a car as we can walk everywhere. One of our kids returned after college and we have plenty of room. We may just lend them $ to purchase something, we made plenty of money sending our house and downsizing. |
Anonymous
| My parents kept their house bc we all go there at Christmas. It’s great, but honestly a bit silly - we could all meet up literally anywhere, so it doesn’t make sense to keep a house for 52 weeks because it comes in handy for 1. |
Anonymous
| Not yet but my DH and I are already planning for this. We have one DC who is in high school. Once the kid is done with college, we will sell our big house and use some of the proceeds to buy a small house outright. We plan to cut our expenses a lot by choosing a low cost of living area. The only traveling we will do is domestic to see family. I’ve traveled all over the world for my career and have no desire to do any more. We can share one modest car. I just want a cozy house, a garden, a fenced yard for our pets and enough room for DC to visit. |
Anonymous
| I plan on doing this in about 2 years when DD goes to college. I may stay in the area if she goes to Maryland but then plan on purchasing a cute little place where the cost of living is hopefully less. Don't know where yet other then an area that doesn't tax pensions. |
Anonymous
| Yes. I switched to part time work while my kids are in HS and simplified my spending and lifestyle. It’s been great. |
Anonymous
| My neighbors in Hyattsville sold their home on Capitol Hill. They thought capitol hill got too fancy and they wanted a more chill environment. They renovated the home down to the studs so their home is still nicer than the average Hyattsville home but it’s small, and more manageable. Because they stayed nearby, they still have their existing relationships. Their kids are nearby and are often over. One kid lived with them for a while right after college. Another kid they helped buy a home in Hyattsville. They have family dinners every week. Their life seems lovely - chill and lowkey - and they’re really great neighbors. |
Anonymous
Love this. If DH and I decide to stay local after kids go to college, I’d happily end up in Hyattsville. Signed, another Hill parent with too much $$ wrapped up in our house |
Anonymous
| DH and I both retired early (mid-50s) and are staying in the area because our mortgage rate is under 2%. Our house is nice but not extravagant. The key is keeping other expenses low: kids go to public school/state university, no country club, no boat or other expensive hobbies, 1 nice vacation a year. We might move to a lower cost area later, but for now we like it here and can manage. |