2023: where will you move when your kids leave home?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're moving to Belize in October. Can't wait. The kids can't wait to visit and we will be back a few times a year for a few weeks each time.

Oooh! Sounds amazing! Tell us more!

We're moving to an island off the coast so not on the mainland. The mainland is cheaper but we fell in love with the island (Ambergris Caye). We're buying a small house on the lagoon side on a canal with a small swimming pool and a nice fenced in lot for under $300K. There are no private cars so you have a golf cart or bike or walk (or boat). There's about 20,000 people on the island altogether at peak season. It's around 82 degrees and usually sunny every day. English is the official language. There's no one day delivery, no chain stores or restaurants, no mass shootings, no commuting. It's a simpler, slower way of life. I've been working online/phone throughout the pandemic so I'll continue to do that. We're also starting a small, simple business that we can at least afford to run/break even on and will probably significantly contribute to our expenses.

Including my portion of my kids' college tuition, health insurance in the US just in case of a catastrophic illness (routine care down there is super cheap), and a reasonable day-to-day existence including travel to/from the US, tickets for the kids, and meals out usually at local, sometimes at tourist restaurants, we can live on under $4,000/month. Easily. Most Belizeans on the island live on under $1,000/month so that would be a very comfortable existence.

We're tired of the violence in the US, the political situation, the orange man possibly coming back, the traffic, the commute, the commercialism, the expense. Belize is absolutely not perfect, but people are happy, it's beautiful, we can work to live and have more time for outdoor activities, we will have a lighter footprint on the earth, and it's really not that much harder to get to than if my kids went to college anywhere from the Midwest to California. Around 8 hours from BWI to the island if you work it right.

Looks absolutely stunning, pp. What's your plan if there is a major hurricane?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You people are really something else.

You move to the DC area because you have a single focus in your life – your high-powered career. You spend your entire life here focused on that, and when you do decide it’s time to fit some kids in you make damned sure they follow your single-minded footsteps and go off to the best bumper-sticker worthy college they can get into and off they go and never return. Then, once your all consuming career is over and your high achieving kids are long gone, you look around and tell yourself there is no community here and that this area is too transient for you to stick around.

Some of us haven’t structured our lives the way you did. So we do have a community here, and we have every reason to stick around.

We have community here. But we can also find community somewhere more pleasant. If we don’t have to live in this sheethole then why would we stay? We will keep in touch with good friends. Just like we keep in touch with friends we met when we lived elsewhere.

If my life was merely one of “keeping in touch with friends”
who now live elsewhere I’d be pretty depressed.

We don’t “have” to live here either. We choose to live here because our roots are now here and our entire family also lives here. Apparently none of this is true in your case - presumably because you structured your life just as I have described.

I'd be pretty depressed if I had poor reading comprehension.

And I'd be pretty depressed to forever live in this sheethole.

YMMV.

Maybe if you weren’t such an angry and nasty twit you wouldn’t have to keep moving hoping you can “find community somewhere more pleasant.” Clearly you haven’t found it yet.

How far away have your kids moved from you? Probably not as far as they wished they could.

Clearly, you are projecting.

My kids are still young, but I'm encouraging them to leave this area so they can discover the great big world out there. There are much better places to live and you can find good friends wherever you go. It'd be sad if this area was the only one they knew.

Again, what’s up with the either / or proposition? Why the presumption that you can’t both explore the world and have your home base being where you grew up? What’s noble about encouraging your children to grow up and move away?

You say your kids are still young. Come back to me in 20 years when they live clear across the country and have nothing to do with you and tell me then how awesome it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're moving to Belize in October. Can't wait. The kids can't wait to visit and we will be back a few times a year for a few weeks each time.

Oooh! Sounds amazing! Tell us more!

We're moving to an island off the coast so not on the mainland. The mainland is cheaper but we fell in love with the island (Ambergris Caye). We're buying a small house on the lagoon side on a canal with a small swimming pool and a nice fenced in lot for under $300K. There are no private cars so you have a golf cart or bike or walk (or boat). There's about 20,000 people on the island altogether at peak season. It's around 82 degrees and usually sunny every day. English is the official language. There's no one day delivery, no chain stores or restaurants, no mass shootings, no commuting. It's a simpler, slower way of life. I've been working online/phone throughout the pandemic so I'll continue to do that. We're also starting a small, simple business that we can at least afford to run/break even on and will probably significantly contribute to our expenses.

Including my portion of my kids' college tuition, health insurance in the US just in case of a catastrophic illness (routine care down there is super cheap), and a reasonable day-to-day existence including travel to/from the US, tickets for the kids, and meals out usually at local, sometimes at tourist restaurants, we can live on under $4,000/month. Easily. Most Belizeans on the island live on under $1,000/month so that would be a very comfortable existence.

We're tired of the violence in the US, the political situation, the orange man possibly coming back, the traffic, the commute, the commercialism, the expense. Belize is absolutely not perfect, but people are happy, it's beautiful, we can work to live and have more time for outdoor activities, we will have a lighter footprint on the earth, and it's really not that much harder to get to than if my kids went to college anywhere from the Midwest to California. Around 8 hours from BWI to the island if you work it right.

I give it 5 years, tops, before you’re back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're moving to Belize in October. Can't wait. The kids can't wait to visit and we will be back a few times a year for a few weeks each time.

Oooh! Sounds amazing! Tell us more!

We're moving to an island off the coast so not on the mainland. The mainland is cheaper but we fell in love with the island (Ambergris Caye). We're buying a small house on the lagoon side on a canal with a small swimming pool and a nice fenced in lot for under $300K. There are no private cars so you have a golf cart or bike or walk (or boat). There's about 20,000 people on the island altogether at peak season. It's around 82 degrees and usually sunny every day. English is the official language. There's no one day delivery, no chain stores or restaurants, no mass shootings, no commuting. It's a simpler, slower way of life. I've been working online/phone throughout the pandemic so I'll continue to do that. We're also starting a small, simple business that we can at least afford to run/break even on and will probably significantly contribute to our expenses.

Including my portion of my kids' college tuition, health insurance in the US just in case of a catastrophic illness (routine care down there is super cheap), and a reasonable day-to-day existence including travel to/from the US, tickets for the kids, and meals out usually at local, sometimes at tourist restaurants, we can live on under $4,000/month. Easily. Most Belizeans on the island live on under $1,000/month so that would be a very comfortable existence.

We're tired of the violence in the US, the political situation, the orange man possibly coming back, the traffic, the commute, the commercialism, the expense. Belize is absolutely not perfect, but people are happy, it's beautiful, we can work to live and have more time for outdoor activities, we will have a lighter footprint on the earth, and it's really not that much harder to get to than if my kids went to college anywhere from the Midwest to California. Around 8 hours from BWI to the island if you work it right.

I give it 5 years, tops, before you’re back.

Yeah, OK, not too concerned about your opinion. We are well aware of the downsides of our move, but feel the upsides way outweigh them.

In terms of hurricanes, they're not too frequent on Ambergris Caye -- something about the reef being protective. They do evacuate to the mainland occasionally and there is some damage. We're buying a low profile house away from the Caribbean side of the island so we have more protection than we would. My house here had quite a bit of hurricane damage previously so it's not like we are out of danger of that here. Again, we all choose what we are willing to live with and I choose not to go to shopping malls, drive in traffic, deal with the prospect of mass shootings, and the consumerism of American society. To each his own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're moving to Belize in October. Can't wait. The kids can't wait to visit and we will be back a few times a year for a few weeks each time.

Oooh! Sounds amazing! Tell us more!

We're moving to an island off the coast so not on the mainland. The mainland is cheaper but we fell in love with the island (Ambergris Caye). We're buying a small house on the lagoon side on a canal with a small swimming pool and a nice fenced in lot for under $300K. There are no private cars so you have a golf cart or bike or walk (or boat). There's about 20,000 people on the island altogether at peak season. It's around 82 degrees and usually sunny every day. English is the official language. There's no one day delivery, no chain stores or restaurants, no mass shootings, no commuting. It's a simpler, slower way of life. I've been working online/phone throughout the pandemic so I'll continue to do that. We're also starting a small, simple business that we can at least afford to run/break even on and will probably significantly contribute to our expenses.

Including my portion of my kids' college tuition, health insurance in the US just in case of a catastrophic illness (routine care down there is super cheap), and a reasonable day-to-day existence including travel to/from the US, tickets for the kids, and meals out usually at local, sometimes at tourist restaurants, we can live on under $4,000/month. Easily. Most Belizeans on the island live on under $1,000/month so that would be a very comfortable existence.

We're tired of the violence in the US, the political situation, the orange man possibly coming back, the traffic, the commute, the commercialism, the expense. Belize is absolutely not perfect, but people are happy, it's beautiful, we can work to live and have more time for outdoor activities, we will have a lighter footprint on the earth, and it's really not that much harder to get to than if my kids went to college anywhere from the Midwest to California. Around 8 hours from BWI to the island if you work it right.

I give it 5 years, tops, before you’re back.

Yeah, OK, not too concerned about your opinion. We are well aware of the downsides of our move, but feel the upsides way outweigh them.

In terms of hurricanes, they're not too frequent on Ambergris Caye -- something about the reef being protective. They do evacuate to the mainland occasionally and there is some damage. We're buying a low profile house away from the Caribbean side of the island so we have more protection than we would. My house here had quite a bit of hurricane damage previously so it's not like we are out of danger of that here. Again, we all choose what we are willing to live with and I choose not to go to shopping malls, drive in traffic, deal with the prospect of mass shootings, and the consumerism of American society. To each his own.

I think it's an awesome idea, and ignore the naysayers. People here in DC can be crabs in a bucket, mostly driven by envy and fear that the safe treadmill they've chosen may not be the VERY BEST option in life. Great on you for getting out of here and seeing what else is available. I hope to have the guts to explore that when my kids are a little older.

[Anonymous]

I would love a second home in Israel near the sea. That would be a dream.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're moving to Belize in October. Can't wait. The kids can't wait to visit and we will be back a few times a year for a few weeks each time.

Oooh! Sounds amazing! Tell us more!

We're moving to an island off the coast so not on the mainland. The mainland is cheaper but we fell in love with the island (Ambergris Caye). We're buying a small house on the lagoon side on a canal with a small swimming pool and a nice fenced in lot for under $300K. There are no private cars so you have a golf cart or bike or walk (or boat). There's about 20,000 people on the island altogether at peak season. It's around 82 degrees and usually sunny every day. English is the official language. There's no one day delivery, no chain stores or restaurants, no mass shootings, no commuting. It's a simpler, slower way of life. I've been working online/phone throughout the pandemic so I'll continue to do that. We're also starting a small, simple business that we can at least afford to run/break even on and will probably significantly contribute to our expenses.

Including my portion of my kids' college tuition, health insurance in the US just in case of a catastrophic illness (routine care down there is super cheap), and a reasonable day-to-day existence including travel to/from the US, tickets for the kids, and meals out usually at local, sometimes at tourist restaurants, we can live on under $4,000/month. Easily. Most Belizeans on the island live on under $1,000/month so that would be a very comfortable existence.

We're tired of the violence in the US, the political situation, the orange man possibly coming back, the traffic, the commute, the commercialism, the expense. Belize is absolutely not perfect, but people are happy, it's beautiful, we can work to live and have more time for outdoor activities, we will have a lighter footprint on the earth, and it's really not that much harder to get to than if my kids went to college anywhere from the Midwest to California. Around 8 hours from BWI to the island if you work it right.

I give it 5 years, tops, before you’re back.

Yeah, OK, not too concerned about your opinion. We are well aware of the downsides of our move, but feel the upsides way outweigh them.

In terms of hurricanes, they're not too frequent on Ambergris Caye -- something about the reef being protective. They do evacuate to the mainland occasionally and there is some damage. We're buying a low profile house away from the Caribbean side of the island so we have more protection than we would. My house here had quite a bit of hurricane damage previously so it's not like we are out of danger of that here. Again, we all choose what we are willing to live with and I choose not to go to shopping malls, drive in traffic, deal with the prospect of mass shootings, and the consumerism of American society. To each his own.

I'm the pp who asked about hurricane plans. Sounds like you have thought this out well. I am excited for you and wish you many years of happiness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Florida or Wyoming.

'Cause, damn!, Florida and Wyoming are so similar!

Both are free of state income taxes. People winter in Florida and summer in WY.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're moving to Belize in October. Can't wait. The kids can't wait to visit and we will be back a few times a year for a few weeks each time.

Oooh! Sounds amazing! Tell us more!

We're moving to an island off the coast so not on the mainland. The mainland is cheaper but we fell in love with the island (Ambergris Caye). We're buying a small house on the lagoon side on a canal with a small swimming pool and a nice fenced in lot for under $300K. There are no private cars so you have a golf cart or bike or walk (or boat). There's about 20,000 people on the island altogether at peak season. It's around 82 degrees and usually sunny every day. English is the official language. There's no one day delivery, no chain stores or restaurants, no mass shootings, no commuting. It's a simpler, slower way of life. I've been working online/phone throughout the pandemic so I'll continue to do that. We're also starting a small, simple business that we can at least afford to run/break even on and will probably significantly contribute to our expenses.

Including my portion of my kids' college tuition, health insurance in the US just in case of a catastrophic illness (routine care down there is super cheap), and a reasonable day-to-day existence including travel to/from the US, tickets for the kids, and meals out usually at local, sometimes at tourist restaurants, we can live on under $4,000/month. Easily. Most Belizeans on the island live on under $1,000/month so that would be a very comfortable existence.

We're tired of the violence in the US, the political situation, the orange man possibly coming back, the traffic, the commute, the commercialism, the expense. Belize is absolutely not perfect, but people are happy, it's beautiful, we can work to live and have more time for outdoor activities, we will have a lighter footprint on the earth, and it's really not that much harder to get to than if my kids went to college anywhere from the Midwest to California. Around 8 hours from BWI to the island if you work it right.

I give it 5 years, tops, before you’re back.

Yeah, OK, not too concerned about your opinion. We are well aware of the downsides of our move, but feel the upsides way outweigh them.

In terms of hurricanes, they're not too frequent on Ambergris Caye -- something about the reef being protective. They do evacuate to the mainland occasionally and there is some damage. We're buying a low profile house away from the Caribbean side of the island so we have more protection than we would. My house here had quite a bit of hurricane damage previously so it's not like we are out of danger of that here. Again, we all choose what we are willing to live with and I choose not to go to shopping malls, drive in traffic, deal with the prospect of mass shootings, and the consumerism of American society. To each his own.

I think it's an awesome idea, and ignore the naysayers. People here in DC can be crabs in a bucket, mostly driven by envy and fear that the safe treadmill they've chosen may not be the VERY BEST option in life. Great on you for getting out of here and seeing what else is available. I hope to have the guts to explore that when my kids are a little older.

Disagree. PP is moving for emotional reasons and sounds hysterical. Moving because of school shootings and consumerism? The only reason there isn’t consumerism in Belize is because everyone is too poor and their government and legal system is so incompetent that your average person can’t build any wealth or really accomplish much at all. It’s easy to bash American consumerism but it makes our life very comfortable and it’s what pretty much what every single person on the planet wants. I doubt PP will be giving up his American consumer goods (iphone, TV shows, antibiotics, Tylenol, clothing etc) when he or she moves to his or her second world country.

PP will be back because of bad healthcare, corruption, lack of building codes, crime that actually affects wealthy people, a lack of infrastructure and consumer goods, etc. I could go on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're moving to Belize in October. Can't wait. The kids can't wait to visit and we will be back a few times a year for a few weeks each time.

Oooh! Sounds amazing! Tell us more!

We're moving to an island off the coast so not on the mainland. The mainland is cheaper but we fell in love with the island (Ambergris Caye). We're buying a small house on the lagoon side on a canal with a small swimming pool and a nice fenced in lot for under $300K. There are no private cars so you have a golf cart or bike or walk (or boat). There's about 20,000 people on the island altogether at peak season. It's around 82 degrees and usually sunny every day. English is the official language. There's no one day delivery, no chain stores or restaurants, no mass shootings, no commuting. It's a simpler, slower way of life. I've been working online/phone throughout the pandemic so I'll continue to do that. We're also starting a small, simple business that we can at least afford to run/break even on and will probably significantly contribute to our expenses.

Including my portion of my kids' college tuition, health insurance in the US just in case of a catastrophic illness (routine care down there is super cheap), and a reasonable day-to-day existence including travel to/from the US, tickets for the kids, and meals out usually at local, sometimes at tourist restaurants, we can live on under $4,000/month. Easily. Most Belizeans on the island live on under $1,000/month so that would be a very comfortable existence.

We're tired of the violence in the US, the political situation, the orange man possibly coming back, the traffic, the commute, the commercialism, the expense. Belize is absolutely not perfect, but people are happy, it's beautiful, we can work to live and have more time for outdoor activities, we will have a lighter footprint on the earth, and it's really not that much harder to get to than if my kids went to college anywhere from the Midwest to California. Around 8 hours from BWI to the island if you work it right.

I give it 5 years, tops, before you’re back.

Yeah, OK, not too concerned about your opinion. We are well aware of the downsides of our move, but feel the upsides way outweigh them.

In terms of hurricanes, they're not too frequent on Ambergris Caye -- something about the reef being protective. They do evacuate to the mainland occasionally and there is some damage. We're buying a low profile house away from the Caribbean side of the island so we have more protection than we would. My house here had quite a bit of hurricane damage previously so it's not like we are out of danger of that here. Again, we all choose what we are willing to live with and I choose not to go to shopping malls, drive in traffic, deal with the prospect of mass shootings, and the consumerism of American society. To each his own.

I think it's an awesome idea, and ignore the naysayers. People here in DC can be crabs in a bucket, mostly driven by envy and fear that the safe treadmill they've chosen may not be the VERY BEST option in life. Great on you for getting out of here and seeing what else is available. I hope to have the guts to explore that when my kids are a little older.

+1

This sounds great, PP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The real trick is to have a couple of residences that you can bounce between during your retirement years. If you keep residency days below the statutory threshold, you can conceivably also eliminate any state taxes. When not staying in a home, you rent it out as a furnished unit.

Lets say you had a 1BR in NYC, house in Chevy Chase MD, and a home in San Diego CA. With enough documentation and staying below the 183 day/six month rule, you could conceivably pay no state income tax other than that related to rental income of the home in the jurisdiction.

Climate criming.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You people are really something else.

You move to the DC area because you have a single focus in your life – your high-powered career. You spend your entire life here focused on that, and when you do decide it’s time to fit some kids in you make damned sure they follow your single-minded footsteps and go off to the best bumper-sticker worthy college they can get into and off they go and never return. Then, once your all consuming career is over and your high achieving kids are long gone, you look around and tell yourself there is no community here and that this area is too transient for you to stick around.

Some of us haven’t structured our lives the way you did. So we do have a community here, and we have every reason to stick around.

We have community here. But we can also find community somewhere more pleasant. If we don’t have to live in this sheethole then why would we stay? We will keep in touch with good friends. Just like we keep in touch with friends we met when we lived elsewhere.

If my life was merely one of “keeping in touch with friends”
who now live elsewhere I’d be pretty depressed.

We don’t “have” to live here either. We choose to live here because our roots are now here and our entire family also lives here. Apparently none of this is true in your case - presumably because you structured your life just as I have described.

Only DCUM would commodify and weaponize community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You people are really something else.

You move to the DC area because you have a single focus in your life – your high-powered career. You spend your entire life here focused on that, and when you do decide it’s time to fit some kids in you make damned sure they follow your single-minded footsteps and go off to the best bumper-sticker worthy college they can get into and off they go and never return. Then, once your all consuming career is over and your high achieving kids are long gone, you look around and tell yourself there is no community here and that this area is too transient for you to stick around.

Some of us haven’t structured our lives the way you did. So we do have a community here, and we have every reason to stick around.

We have community here. But we can also find community somewhere more pleasant. If we don’t have to live in this sheethole then why would we stay? We will keep in touch with good friends. Just like we keep in touch with friends we met when we lived elsewhere.

If my life was merely one of “keeping in touch with friends”
who now live elsewhere I’d be pretty depressed.

We don’t “have” to live here either. We choose to live here because our roots are now here and our entire family also lives here. Apparently none of this is true in your case - presumably because you structured your life just as I have described.

I'd be pretty depressed if I had poor reading comprehension.

And I'd be pretty depressed to forever live in this sheethole.

YMMV.

Maybe if you weren’t such an angry and nasty twit you wouldn’t have to keep moving hoping you can “find community somewhere more pleasant.” Clearly you haven’t found it yet.

How far away have your kids moved from you? Probably not as far as they wished they could.

Wow, the irony here hahaha.

Anyway, it's hard to predict what grown kids will do. My ILs bought a large house with a pool to host us when our kids were little, then we embarked on 15 years of overseas postings in 5 countries. We visited maybe 2x, they came to us a few times, and more often than not we gathered at a beach rental in SC.

[Anonymous]

We are retired but have not moved from the area yet. We do like the idea of moving north. Regardless, there has not been discussion on this thread about adult community living. It just seems like a nice option to live in a community filled with people who are in a similar phase of live. Plus, these communities often have infrastructures set up that allows for easier community building (activities, club house, shows, trips, etc.) Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are retired but have not moved from the area yet. We do like the idea of moving north. Regardless, there has not been discussion on this thread about adult community living. It just seems like a nice option to live in a community filled with people who are in a similar phase of live. Plus, these communities often have infrastructures set up that allows for easier community building (activities, club house, shows, trips, etc.) Thoughts?

I think it could possibly be appealing if we moved to a completely new place. However, I know when my parents were looking for a new place (moving from our home town to somewhere closer to my sister) that they looked at and ruled out the "55+" communities because they did not like that everybody was old. That it lacked some life. They ended up with a great compromise -- a house in a golf/lake community with a lot of recreation resources and community activities like golf teams (my dad's main hobby), tennis teams, book clubs, community service, club house with regular events. There were a lot of retirees there but also families and my parents liked having younger people around.