[bigtone]

Dreamer1, I'm with you. I'm 49, I live in PA most of my life. I absolutely hate it here, mainly the weather. I have a very good job with a defined pension, crazy to leave it now. I can retire with a reduced benefit at 55, and that's what I plan to do. 5 years ago I bought a home in Ocala, before the prices went up. I rent it, and am doing fairly well with it. I plan on moving there in 6 years. I know it's a gamble, but you really don't know how long you are going to live. All this talk about living to 90 years, I have seen way too many die early, way too early. I plan on working somewhat after 55, but like mentioned above, on my terms. We all need a dream.

[observer]

dreamer1, I also say, GO FOR IT!!! There is nothing wrong with having a well thought out plan where you can enjoy more free time while at the same time not be in the poor house.

I have always felt that I would rather live a quality life rather than have quantity in my life. How many people do you see out there that are earning big bucks in high stress jobs but do not have the down time to enjoy their money. Instead, they look for much stuff to buy, or how to upgrade to a bigger house when they do not need it, yet b**ch and complain how hard life is . Bottom line, more people make their lives harder than it needs to be by complicating it instead of simplifying it.

By the way, I hope to be semi retired myself with no mortgage on my house wherever I am living then when I am about 55; still close to 15 years away.

[dreamer1]

Good to hear that there are others with the same plans. Slow and steady. Live like no one else so later, you can live like no one else. Save, keep out of debt. Don't worry about keeping up with the Jones's. I truly feel that this is the right path so that life can be enjoyed earlier than 65.

Thanks for all the replies.

Dreamer1

[imagardener]

Originally Posted by DaniellaG

.... For some though they did not have a lot in place and the day had no structure which after many years of working they had no idea what to do with themselves and contributed to depression. I am not trying to be a downer but I think having a purpose in the day whether it be a hobby,pt work,volunteering is important. There is only so much sitting by the pool one can do in my eyes. ....

I have seen what happens to the over-65 crowd when they have nothing to do except gossip by the pool, it isn't a good thing. They tear their neighbors up, whoever isn't present at the time. They spend their days looking out the window and reporting the smallest infractions to the manager.

It is almost a reversion to school days and cliques. Never say anything out loud, just talk behind peoples backs. And then there are the ones that drink...

[bcfarmlady]

We recently left Florida. When I first moved there in 1991 I felt the same way others here did. I was sick of the cold northern weather... I was born/raised in Mass. I had never lived more than 20 miles from where I grew up. A job transfer came about and we were on our way. But we were not retirees, we were a working couple with 2 small children. We chose our town carefully, picking one that was small and away from the hub bub of the city, but close enough for a reasonable commute.
The first few years were great... we sent the family photos of us putting up christmas lights in our shorts and flip flops. We were in the pool on Christmas day... more photo ops !!! By the time I moved from that town 7 years later it had quadrupled in size. more roads, more stores, more people, more schools, more traffic !! The 30 minute commute turned into an 1 hour commute because of extra traffic lights and traffic. We felt cramped into a lifestyle we did not want, living in a house 20 feet from a neighbor, every school over crowded, stop lights too close together. Each year the HOT STICKY HUMID summers got longer and longer. The pleasant winters got shorter and shorter. A five mile trip to Walmart took us 30 minutes and a dozen traffic lights !! An accident on 95 causes miles and miles of backup.. and you are stuck going nowhere for hours and turning a 1 hour drive into 3 or 4. Try doing that after working a 10 hour day !

You talk of being confined to your home up north for 6 months because of the cold.... well in Florida you will still be confined, because of the heat, and it will be at least 6 months if not longer. It hits you in the face at 6 AM when you walk out the door, and it doesn't cool down. Being outside will not be enjoyable or comfortable from April to November.

I'm in a new relationship now, the kids are gone. We got out, but it was financially and emotionally painful. We are now loving the quiet country life in Kentucky on 60 acres where the property taxes are 1/3 what we paid for that postage stamp in Florida. The homeowners insurance is 1/2, the car insurance is 1/2. Electric, water and Telephone are cheaper. I still work full time from home, my husband quit his very stressful job at Cape Canaveral. He no longer takes his high blood pressure medicine. We get our exercise putting up fences and building a barn for our new farm and enjoying our new low stress, high quality lifestyle. We grow our own vegetables, tend to livestock, see the stars at night, the wild turkey's in our pastures, fall asleep to the sounds of frogs, crickets and owls.... not cars whizzing by and booming rap music. Our neighbors are friendly and helpful... not like the one in Florida that poisoned our dog because she didn't like him. OR The other neighbor that was a child molester, or the other neighbor that was a drunk. ... and we lived in what was considered a "nice" area of town.

It's all a matter of perspective... and I like the view from here much better !!

[dreamer1]

Bc farm lady, interesting post. I agree with many of the points you state. I'm aware of the heat in Florida as I have been there in the summer. I am also aware of the overcrowding and the types of people you may run across. I guess that comes with everyone wanting to be down there at some point. Nothing is for sure or forever in this life. We will keep our dream alive until we reach that dream. If when we are down there we decide as you did that it was not all it was made to be, we will move onto our next endeavor. But, there has to be a reason for so many loving it down there and deciding to retire down there. As the heat hits you as you leave the house in the morning in Florida, the -10 degree wind chill hits you as you have to scrap the car in the morning here in Buffalo with our extra 10 pounds of coats, sweaters, gloves, hats,etc. The two feet of snow on the ground in the middle of February are as depressing as our Buffalo Bills. Spring usually gets here around the middle of May if we are lucky. So, you can make an argument for both sides. Our taxes are as high or higher than Florida. We have our share of crime, murder, etc. This is a US problem. Not a Florida problem. Crime is an issue wherever you go. and our houses are just as close as in Florida. As I stated at the beginning of this thread, to each their own. Thanks for your thoughts though.

[Lake Joe]

Originally Posted by Sunnydee

My DH and I have talked about retiring to a warmer, sunnier place for the last twenty years. We live in Cincinnati, which is a great place to get an education, raise a family, and build a career, but the weather stinks for over half the year.

We began to research retirement places in 2000, when I was 43 and he was 48. In 2004, I began to take exploratory trips to locations throughout the South that made our short list. In 2006, it became obvious that Florida would be the state we'd retire to and we began scouring the state for a community that met our criteria. Over the next two years I visited over twenty communities across the state before finding one that matched our wish list and felt right. After all of the researching and exploratory trips it was so obvious when the right place presented itself. We purchased our retirement home in Riverview, FL, and can't wait to retire and live there full time. I wish you well and hope you find your special place in the sun.

Sunnydee I am in the same boat as Synergy1. I am feed up with work and plan to retire after the New Year. We have been looking thru advice from friends who moved to Florida in the past 2-3 years at the Tampa and Orlando areas. Would you be kind enough to list some of the other areas that were at the top of your list before you decided on Riverview. I want to ride my bicycle, use my pool, go boating, golfing and be near the cruise ports. Add a little theater,a live concert or two, a few festivals and I think I am in heaven 365 days a year.