What kind of retirement do you want?

[Anonymous]

I’m going to spend my retirement seeing my grandchildren grow. I’ll be that grandma at everything.

Can’t wait for little league again.

I’m gonna get a place at the beach too and invite friends/family/nieces/nephews to come visit or stay without me there.

I’ll volunteer.

When I get too old to card for my house I’ll go to an over 55 community so I’m not a burden to my children.

[Anonymous]

If they want us around, we will base ourselves wherever our children end up and split our time in those locations and at our beach houses in the United States and overseas. 3-4 "home bases" of sorts and then we can travel from those spots as long as we are healthy!

[Anonymous]

Right now, DH wants retire at 57. I won't be able to retire at the same time - I'm a little younger but I'll try to have a job that can be done from anywhere when he retires.

We want to stay in our home for the first x many years of retirement while spending half the year or so in different locales. Portugal, Thailand, whatever.

As we get older, we'll see if the kids are having kids. We'll pick a retirement community or something near-ish the kids so we can be grandparents but hopefully not overbearing. We'll still travel as desired, if comfortable with it.

Best laid plans, etc., etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I would love to move back to Manhattan or west side of LA.

Wow surprised to see so many more people here that want to retire in a city.... I thought I was the outlier!

I think it's so important to be able to walk places in retirement. Elders who live in the suburbs and are car-dependent are trapped once they're no longer able to drive.

+1

I'm 50 and wanting to retire in 5 years.

Things I am looking for:

- Decent weather, so not FL or anywhere that has a lot of snow
- walkability - yes, when you get really old, and you are car dependent it will limit you. I have two sets of elderly parents, and none of them drive anymore.
- diversity, good ethnic food choices
- not sky high col

Where is such a place?

I started another thread about retiring in the Philly suburbs, but apparently, it's just as humid there as it is in DC. But, I may just head that way since, as someone pointed out, there is no place that has everything I am looking for.

PP Here... And I want to retire in a place that has a lot of doctors/hospitals, and a major airport so kids can easily visit.

These all definitely limit my choice

Maybe Charlottesville VA or Asheville NC? Not sure about the doctors and airports, though.

I can't go south.. way too humid. DC area is humid enough for me.

The places PP mentioned are higher elevation so they tend to be cooler and have lower humidity. When you think of the really swampy areas of the South- they are lowlands.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think being close to good hospitals is important-so we likely won’t go too far out

I agree. I’ve thought about retiring in my hometown, but there is only one hospital provider and folks there are raging about how terrible it is, and good doctors/hospitals are over an hour away. I know that my Dad wouldn’t have lived as long as he did if he hadn’t moved to northern VA to be near me. My hometown just can’t attract top doctors and there’s no competition among hospitals. I’ve heard horror stories of people dying due to incompetent medical care. It’s a nice place otherwise, but poor healthcare makes it a no for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would love to move back to Manhattan or west side of LA.

Wow surprised to see so many more people here that want to retire in a city.... I thought I was the outlier!

I think it's so important to be able to walk places in retirement. Elders who live in the suburbs and are car-dependent are trapped once they're no longer able to drive.

Actually it’s really unsafe to walk everywhere when you are too old to drive. You will fall or get hit by a car.

Nah, many elders are just fine to walk, but can’t drive. What’s the alternative, sitting at home, quietly waiting for death?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I want to retire to a condo with an elevator in downtown Portland, Maine with an ocean view, walkable to shops & restaurants. DH wants to retire to a smallish SFH outside of Portland with some land. We’ll see who wins!

Those both sound like bliss!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I plan to move to my rental property in New England and just watch the snow fall. It's in a smallish town with a strong arts presence and historical interest. I don't have any family so where I end up location-wise is entirely up to me.

I don’t have a rental property, but we do plan to move to New England. Wherever we go, we will not be far from civilization so that we can go to the theater, concerts, etc.

I have no interest in staying in this area beyond my working years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I want to retire to a condo with an elevator in downtown Portland, Maine with an ocean view, walkable to shops & restaurants. DH wants to retire to a smallish SFH outside of Portland with some land. We’ll see who wins!

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would love to move back to Manhattan or west side of LA.

Wow surprised to see so many more people here that want to retire in a city.... I thought I was the outlier!

I think it's so important to be able to walk places in retirement. Elders who live in the suburbs and are car-dependent are trapped once they're no longer able to drive.

+1

I'm 50 and wanting to retire in 5 years.

Things I am looking for:

- Decent weather, so not FL or anywhere that has a lot of snow
- walkability - yes, when you get really old, and you are car dependent it will limit you. I have two sets of elderly parents, and none of them drive anymore.
- diversity, good ethnic food choices
- not sky high col

Where is such a place?

I started another thread about retiring in the Philly suburbs, but apparently, it's just as humid there as it is in DC. But, I may just head that way since, as someone pointed out, there is no place that has everything I am looking for.

PP Here... And I want to retire in a place that has a lot of doctors/hospitals, and a major airport so kids can easily visit.

These all definitely limit my choice

Maybe Charlottesville VA or Asheville NC? Not sure about the doctors and airports, though.

I can't go south.. way too humid. DC area is humid enough for me.

The places PP mentioned are higher elevation so they tend to be cooler and have lower humidity. When you think of the really swampy areas of the South- they are lowlands.

good to know.. never thought about elevation. Philly elevation is low, so it makes sense that it's more humid there.

But, from what I have seen, private insurance is way more expensive in VA than some place like MD. I haven't priced out PA. Since I will have to pay for private ins for at least 10 yrs, I don't know if I can do VA.

I priced out private insurance for VA and MD, and I think VA was something like $450/mo more.

[Anonymous]

We're building a beach house on a decent sized island in Greece and also buying an apartment in a big city in Europe (my hometown).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I want to retire to a condo with an elevator in downtown Portland, Maine with an ocean view, walkable to shops & restaurants. DH wants to retire to a smallish SFH outside of Portland with some land. We’ll see who wins!

How much does a condo with an ocean view cost on Portland Maine?

[Anonymous]

I want to move to a one level house in a lower cost area nearby DC and then use extra money to travel A LOT. When I'm old and can't drive anymore then will move to apt in the city

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I want to move to a one level house in a lower cost area nearby DC and then use extra money to travel A LOT. When I'm old and can't drive anymore then will move to apt in the city

The last thing you want to be doing is making a big move when you are so old that you can't drive anymore.

My MIL is now going through this. The thought of moving now is very daunting for her.

You want to make that move before you get to that point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I actually really want to move to a retirement community where there are lots of planned activities. I read an article about that Margaritaville place and I’m ready to move there now! I’d love on-site golf, tennis, dining, etc. But we are only in our mid 30s with young kids so that won’t happen any time soon.

It's like a cruise that doesn't go anywhere.