Retirement Age

What age do you plan to retire?

  • 55

    Votes: 21 25.3%

  • 60

    Votes: 11 13.3%

  • 62

    Votes: 8 9.6%

  • 65

    Votes: 19 22.9%

  • 70 or above

    Votes: 24 28.9%
  • Total voters
    83
paflyer said:
Why PR? What's the attraction?
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Puerto Rico has a lot of the benefits of living in the states. Reliable mail, which is very handy, especially at tax time. And as Hindsight 2020 says, my medicare and my healthcare insurance works here. Some things here are quite familiar. The banking system down here is FDIC, and buying property is the same as it is in the US. The laws and the legal system is familiar. A lot of the conveniences you find in the states are found here as well. If I want to fill a prescription, or get one renewed, I can call my doctor in Iowa, then pick up my prescription at the Walgreens an hour later. You can fly in and out with no more trouble than flying to anywhere else in the US. But at the same time, it is somewhat exotic. It isn't Florida. It is a country full of history, culture, art, and music. Life here is very much influenced by its Spanish, Caribbean, and African roots. A lot of people speak English here, but the language of PR is Spanish. I think that Spanish is a beautiful language, and I like hearing it and speaking it. It is warm, I'm surrounded by ocean. There is a lot to do and see. I can walk to the beach, or go sailing.

But more than anything it is the people down here. Perhaps it is just a perception, but I find the people in PR to be much easier to live with. They seem to be close. They seem to value community, and they are inclusive. They respect and treat senior citizens well. They respect each other. I could go on and on, and I've probably gone on too long already. But I live in a very upscale neighborhood in San Juan, and a middle class neighborhood in Iowa, and it still costs me less to live here on a monthly basis than it does in Iowa.
 
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@Maxmosbey, sounds a lot like Florida to me, including the Spanish speaking part (warm, near water, elderly folk). All you need now are the tourists (which are coming) to make it like a Florida part II.

I hate Florida and given the chance I'd move out of here in a heartbeat. The weather sucks, the traffic sucks and there is very little opportunity for professionals (unless you work remote).

I foresee two options for myself at retirement:

1 - I get divorced and move somewhere up north with good healthcare, decent views and low cost of living.
2 - I stay married and move somewhere up north with good healthcare, decent views and low cost of living.

Never understood the appeal (other than warm weather) that makes people flock to Florida or Caribbean destinations at retirement age, but hey, whatever floats your goat :).
 
Caramon13 said:
@Maxmosbey, sounds a lot like Florida to me, including the Spanish speaking part (warm, near water, elderly folk). All you need now are the tourists (which are coming) to make it like a Florida part II.

I hate Florida and given the chance I'd move out of here in a heartbeat. The weather sucks, the traffic sucks and there is very little opportunity for professionals (unless you work remote).

I foresee two options for myself at retirement:

1 - I get divorced and move somewhere up north with good healthcare, decent views and low cost of living.
2 - I stay married and move somewhere up north with good healthcare, decent views and low cost of living.

Never understood the appeal (other than warm weather) that makes people flock to Florida or Caribbean destinations at retirement age, but hey, whatever floats your goat :).
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I lived in Jacksonville for three years. I did not particularly like Jacksonville. I did like the areas down the coast between Jacksonville and Daytona though. But your comment reminded me of a skiing trip I took with my wife and son. We were in this beautiful skiing area, surrounded by mountains. The views were unbelievable. I was getting fitted for skis, and the girl who was helping me asked me where I was from, and I told her Iowa. She said that she had been to a wedding in Iowa just that summer. So she went on and on about how beautiful Iowa was and how she would like to live there. I finally asked her why she would want to live in Iowa, when she already lived in one of the most beautiful places I had ever seen. She told me that she had lived there all her life and that she was so sick of looking at those mountains, that she just wanted to see sunsets that weren't blocked by one. I think she is crazy, but like you say, whatever floats your goat.

By the way, we have plenty of tourists here, and they do get in the way sometimes, but I can live with it.
 
All you goat floaters out there...

I've been considering moving at retirement, too. I kind of think of it as being similar to the renting vs buying argument of airplanes. If you can find something that meets 80% of your mission, buy it (move), and rent (travel) for the other 20%.

Maybe looking at a new location as being "home" instead of "retirement" makes a difference, I dunno. Having relatives in CO means I get to to visit and wish I lived there. Then I hear from them about how they are ready for something different themselves and, similiar to the young lady in the previous post that is ready for the wide open spaces of Iowa, they are also ready for a change. Nearly everywhere you go has something to offer, but sometimes it's hard to see what it is.
 
@Maxmosbey yeah, I think living in the same place for 22 years now has just tired me out. It's hard for me to see the appeal of Florida, though it obviously HAS some appeal. I've never been to Iowa, or really anywhere in the North Central/Northwest part of the US but I suppose the concept applies anywhere. Owning two homes as you do must be nice for the times where you start to tire of the heat and want a change. For me that's not in the cards so I kinda have to pick a spot and stick with it. My "change" will be retirement heh..

@Matthew I think that's a great idea regarding retirement/ownership. Your mission at retirement is a much bigger deal then an aircraft though (I know you didn't imply any different) simply because wherever you move is where you will stay through the end of your life, so make it count.

I'm also not a big fan of moving and I have maybe one or two moves left in me (at most).
 
I'm guessing I have at least 2 moves yet. First one would be our "early retirement". Downsize from our current house into something smaller, but staying local because we are responsible for a relative in assisted living. Then there is the "regular retirement" that would come later. The timing between the first and the second is where the suspense comes in.
 
Caramon13 said:
@Maxmosbey yeah, I think living in the same place for 22 years now has just tired me out. It's hard for me to see the appeal of Florida, though it obviously HAS some appeal. I've never been to Iowa, or really anywhere in the North Central/Northwest part of the US but I suppose the concept applies anywhere. Owning two homes as you do must be nice for the times where you start to tire of the heat and want a change. For me that's not in the cards so I kinda have to pick a spot and stick with it. My "change" will be retirement heh..
.
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Except for four years in the Navy, and two years going to college in Jacksonville, I've lived in Iowa most of my life. Iowa is a nice enough place, if you like farms. But some people love to come to Iowa and look at all those square fields with straight rows of corn and beans. Owning two homes has both positives and negatives. It ties you down a little. You have two places to maintain, two places that you have to pay the bills, and sometimes you don't go somewhere else, just because you feel like you should be at the other place. It isn't any different though than people who have a cabin on a lake somewhere. The nicest thing is having all your stuff already at the other end. I go back and forth with a small carry-on. We fly into San Juan, catch a taxi to the condo, unlock the door, mix up a drink, and we are there, for five days, or three months, it doesn't make any difference.
 
Wisconsin has been my home longer than any other place since I've turned 18. I've been getting the itch to move lately. But I will probably stay here until retirement and then move somewhere south. Or keep the house here and just get a small condo somewhere warm for the winters.
 
Matthew said:
I'm guessing I have at least 2 moves yet. First one would be our "early retirement". Downsize from our current house into something smaller, but staying local because we are responsible for a relative in assisted living. Then there is the "regular retirement" that would come later. The timing between the first and the second is where the suspense comes in.
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Just did your first step myself last year. Moved from my 20-year home on the lake (which was awesome....loved every minute there), to a newer townhouse with similar square footage but a fraction of the taxes, energy costs or upkeep. It's been awesome....so glad I did it. This will be home until my folks and the in-laws are both gone, which is probably at least ten+ years away. Then we'll evaluate options, including warming climates, at least for a portion of the year. Minnesota is great April through December, but lots of other places are attractive the other three months!
 
The grass is always greener! As for FL, I prefer NW FL, anywhere from TLH to PNS, actually extend that to the S. Alabama coast, Gulf Shores is nice. Sugar white beaches, some seasonal weather changes. Downside is all the condos and development, and Spring Break. Cities are slowly running the college kids off thankfully with their wild partying and disregard for private and public property. Around 1970 I drove through Destin and there was nothing there except a few houses and couple of restaurants. Now it has everything, traffic being the worst. And condos almost completely block the Gulf view from Hwy 98. Progress right?
 
Retirement age was however old I was yesterday, finished almost 34 years at the power plant. May do some contract work to pay for toys, but not looking for anything until after the summer.
 
mscard88 said:
Around 1970 I drove through Destin and there was nothing there except a few houses and couple of restaurants. Now it has everything, traffic being the worst. And condos almost completely block the Gulf view from Hwy 98. Progress right?
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We take the kids down there for a week every year. A lot of memories.
 
mscard88 said:
The grass is always greener! As for FL, I prefer NW FL, anywhere from TLH to PNS, actually extend that to the S. Alabama coast, Gulf Shores is nice. Sugar white beaches, some seasonal weather changes. Downside is all the condos and development, and Spring Break. Cities are slowly running the college kids off thankfully with their wild partying and disregard for private and public property. Around 1970 I drove through Destin and there was nothing there except a few houses and couple of restaurants. Now it has everything, traffic being the worst. And condos almost completely block the Gulf view from Hwy 98. Progress right?
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I remember going out with a girl who lived in a tiny trailer on the beach outside of Destin. It was deserted, nobody for miles. We had the beach all to ourselves. Now, its ridiculous how much its built up.
 
wilkersk said:
I remember going out with a girl who lived in a tiny trailer on the beach outside of Destin. It was deserted, nobody for miles. We had the beach all to ourselves. Now, its ridiculous how much its built up.
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Yep no more naked sunbathing on a deserted beach in that area. That's what I hear. ;):)
 
Dad retired with full pension and benefits from Lockheed at the ripe old age of 45. At 87 he says that's the best move he ever made.
 
lbfd101 said:
Retirement age was however old I was yesterday, finished almost 34 years at the power plant. May do some contract work to pay for toys, but not looking for anything until after the summer.
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Congrats!
 
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