What kind of retirement do you want?

[Anonymous]

I have a list that we have been using to figure out where we will live. We will be retired before our children are settled, so we can’t make decisions on where they will be.

In no particular order:
1) excellent healthcare
2) a view -can be water, mountains, pastoral, cityscape, I just want to be able to see beyond the neighbors.
3) further north from DC- at least cooler and I want a place that is not having a water availability issue
4) an active congregation in our faith
5) ideally, I would like to live so that we can walk to the village- Library, grocery, pharmacy, a few nice restaurants, PO, coffee/tea/pub
6) DH wants to be near some sort of winter skiing and ideally he wants to be able to hike from our house
7) a blue bubble in a blue state, I am done with purple.
8) a decent airport within 45 minutes
9) a college or university would be nice.

Obviously 5 and 6 are somewhat contradictory and we have to iron that out
The other is that, while we have found places we like that tick off most of the above-the view seems to be the one that is most likely to be jettisoned as it seems to be out of our price range when the rest are all in play- and I would really like one- so I have to figure out what else has to be dropped.

We liked Northampton and have friends there too.
Burlington, VT was a bit too far but still on the list
West Hartford is a possibility-my sister is nearby.
Next up are places near Hanover NH and Portland Maine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

OP here and I'm really trying to understand... you don't think you would get bored of this lifestyle? Would you be fine with just seeing only people of your age group? You wouldn't feel disconnected from the rest of the world and society?

I will retire in two years,and don't have a plan yet.but I think you do not realize now how different you will feel in 30 years.

You will likely be stressed by things like the beltway. When your children go off to their own lives, your world shrinks.

Hectic days (or cooking for a large crowd) will seem more exhausting/daunting.

I am not saying you will want to just sit in a rocking chair, but when you are twice as old as you are now, you will feel differently. I guarantee it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Definitely want to stay in DC as home base. Sell the house in AU Park, buy a 2 BR condo downtown and another 2 BR condo in Rehoboth for the weekends, and we will all be set for a long time.

This is us. Want to keep/stay in our townhouse in old town Alexandria and spend time at our house in rehoboth. Go back and forth depending on what we are going.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

OP here and I'm really trying to understand... you don't think you would get bored of this lifestyle? Would you be fine with just seeing only people of your age group? You wouldn't feel disconnected from the rest of the world and society?

I will retire in two years,and don't have a plan yet.but I think you do not realize now how different you will feel in 30 years.

You will likely be stressed by things like the beltway. When your children go off to their own lives, your world shrinks.

Hectic days (or cooking for a large crowd) will seem more exhausting/daunting.

I am not saying you will want to just sit in a rocking chair, but when you are twice as old as you are now, you will feel differently. I guarantee it.

Hard to tell. I'm closer to your age that the person that you are addressing. Neither DH or I are interested in "active adult" communities although we will move to somewhere like Riderwood when we need help. We want to live in a mixed community. Of course, I still have a kid at home. I think that we will want to live close to the kid.

[Anonymous]

I’m staying out in my walkable Boston SFH with easy public transportation access to Boston.

I’m trying to figure out my second home now. My parents are in a desirable town in the Cape, but not ocean front. (I’m the only child who would consider buying out the others and my parents hope one of us will keep it). I’m more inclined to look for a small cabin in Maine or NH on a lake.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a list that we have been using to figure out where we will live. We will be retired before our children are settled, so we can’t make decisions on where they will be.

In no particular order:
1) excellent healthcare
2) a view -can be water, mountains, pastoral, cityscape, I just want to be able to see beyond the neighbors.
3) further north from DC- at least cooler and I want a place that is not having a water availability issue
4) an active congregation in our faith
5) ideally, I would like to live so that we can walk to the village- Library, grocery, pharmacy, a few nice restaurants, PO, coffee/tea/pub
6) DH wants to be near some sort of winter skiing and ideally he wants to be able to hike from our house
7) a blue bubble in a blue state, I am done with purple.
8) a decent airport within 45 minutes
9) a college or university would be nice.

Obviously 5 and 6 are somewhat contradictory and we have to iron that out
The other is that, while we have found places we like that tick off most of the above-the view seems to be the one that is most likely to be jettisoned as it seems to be out of our price range when the rest are all in play- and I would really like one- so I have to figure out what else has to be dropped.

We liked Northampton and have friends there too.
Burlington, VT was a bit too far but still on the list
West Hartford is a possibility-my sister is nearby.
Next up are places near Hanover NH and Portland Maine.

PP, considering your sister is near West Hartford CT, that's probably a good fit. You could live near West Hartford Center, or in Elmwood. Those have 'village' areas to walk to.

[Anonymous]

Good lord, this post is a list of young people desires. Guess what: when you retire you will:
1. be much more likely to live near your kids/grandkids
2. have health limitations that make urban living and walkability a challenge
3. still have life obligations if you have other humans in your life
How shitty OP to say joining up with other old people, preparing to die
It reads like such a selfish point of view like your entire retirement is a personal vacation. I'm so thankful instead that my mom was near us and in our kids' daily lives. And now that she has to move into a senior living facility, yeah I guess she is preparing to die. No need to actually bother living in the meantime I guess.
I'm 51 with two young kids. My sister is 49 with two teenagers. We have had my mom in our lives every day for the last 15 years because she moved to DC to be near us when we had children. And now as I'm getting near retirement age, I'm taking care of my mom every day. I can pretty much guarantee that my own retirement isn't going to involve a lot of self-indulgence or a nonstop vacation. It may suck but it is reality. Sure, I'd love go to live in Paris in the Marais, but I'm not leaving my mom to die alone and also planning to be around for my kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good lord, this post is a list of young people desires. Guess what: when you retire you will:
1. be much more likely to live near your kids/grandkids
2. have health limitations that make urban living and walkability a challenge
3. still have life obligations if you have other humans in your life
How shitty OP to say joining up with other old people, preparing to die
It reads like such a selfish point of view like your entire retirement is a personal vacation. I'm so thankful instead that my mom was near us and in our kids' daily lives. And now that she has to move into a senior living facility, yeah I guess she is preparing to die. No need to actually bother living in the meantime I guess.
I'm 51 with two young kids. My sister is 49 with two teenagers. We have had my mom in our lives every day for the last 15 years because she moved to DC to be near us when we had children. And now as I'm getting near retirement age, I'm taking care of my mom every day. I can pretty much guarantee that my own retirement isn't going to involve a lot of self-indulgence or a nonstop vacation. It may suck but it is reality. Sure, I'd love go to live in Paris in the Marais, but I'm not leaving my mom to die alone and also planning to be around for my kids.

I respect this view.

It seems somewhat rare in the US, at least among the wealthy in the US.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good lord, this post is a list of young people desires. Guess what: when you retire you will:
1. be much more likely to live near your kids/grandkids
2. have health limitations that make urban living and walkability a challenge
3. still have life obligations if you have other humans in your life
How shitty OP to say joining up with other old people, preparing to die
It reads like such a selfish point of view like your entire retirement is a personal vacation. I'm so thankful instead that my mom was near us and in our kids' daily lives. And now that she has to move into a senior living facility, yeah I guess she is preparing to die. No need to actually bother living in the meantime I guess.
I'm 51 with two young kids. My sister is 49 with two teenagers. We have had my mom in our lives every day for the last 15 years because she moved to DC to be near us when we had children. And now as I'm getting near retirement age, I'm taking care of my mom every day. I can pretty much guarantee that my own retirement isn't going to involve a lot of self-indulgence or a nonstop vacation. It may suck but it is reality. Sure, I'd love go to live in Paris in the Marais, but I'm not leaving my mom to die alone and also planning to be around for my kids.

I am the pp with a list of hopes for our retirement. We are 57 and 60 and plan to retire in the 3 years. So, not young. All parents are deceased. We have done our bit to help them-including moving my father in with us for nine months for what was his final illness. We have two children who are 24 and 22. We have no idea where they may land. Currently, we really do not have any obligations to other humans. The reason we want walkability is because I want a place where my DH can get around without driving as his driving vision ability is declining. Urban in that sense is better for us as we age.

[Anonymous]

I want to be close to wherever my kids and family are. I would never move in retirement further from them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No. I am fifty and when I retire I am moving into an apt either in downtown D.C. or NYC. I want culture, good food, and walkability.[/quote

You should consider crime, healthcare cost, and the cost of support staff or assisted living if you need it later. DC or NYC is $$$. Also, the taxes suck. Soon as you are old enough to retire, the muggers will keep you from wanted to walk around, then you will seize up and be so stiff you can't walk and you'll need help and that's going to cost a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Definitely want to stay in DC as home base. Sell the house in AU Park, buy a 2 BR condo downtown and another 2 BR condo in Rehoboth for the weekends, and we will all be set for a long time.

This is us. Want to keep/stay in our townhouse in old town Alexandria and spend time at our house in rehoboth. Go back and forth depending on what we are going.

The stairs in your townhouse are going to kill your old knees and you won't be able to safely drive back and forth to Rehoboth every weekend. Your free time will be spent maintaining and making repairs to your homes or paying someone else to do it. So unrealistic.

[Anonymous]

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.

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?

There are Uber like car services for the elderly and also public transportation/buses.

[Anonymous]

Some elders are decent drivers, they are still driving but can not walk far - certainly not several blocks. You just don't know until you are older yourself and are facing your particular limitations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No. I am fifty and when I retire I am moving into an apt either in downtown D.C. or NYC. I want culture, good food, and walkability.

I grew up in a big city and would want my walkability back. We are now in the NoVa suburbs due to having kids and needing a very good public school district. But who knows. I love the ocean too and I do want to try to live for a year or two near a beach. I hate big city traffic.