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we thought we would like the somewhat rural life in pa even though we are 30 minutes from scranton pa and middletown ny .
the fact is after living there part time almost 4 years we realize its not really what we want in retirement.
winters are far colder and snowier than nyc. we dont like constantly having to stay in because of the ice.
we find we get bored by just the few local selections of restaurants,places to go,stores etc.
we really do want more in the way of medical facilities in the area . things that didnt matter to us when we looked at the area now are taking center stage.
there is no public transportation in case you cant drive.
even getting the mail requires a drive just to get to our mail boxes in our development.
all in all we thought we would like that kind of life year round but i think not. its fabulous from april to november but after that its lets get out of dodge.
if we do keep the house we will be snow birds.
Snow birds from NYC to PA ? And 30 minutes from Scranton??? Only thing my husband remembers from his last trip to Scranton (business trip - I used to go through Scranton all the time to get to college) were the huge potholes - he almost broke his leg when he was out jogging one morning .
Come take a look down south. I don't know what kinds of things you're looking for. Our part of NE Florida is kind of nice. But not exactly a vibrant metro urban kind of area (it is pretty much suburban - which is to my liking - but perhaps not your cup of tea). If you want a city place - maybe try a rental in Atlanta - or perhaps Miami. Of the 2 - considering your reservations about the place in the Poconos - I'd try Atlanta. Better restaurants - museums - public transportation - etc. Both are very hot in the summer (as is most of the eastern US up to about Maine ). But summer in the south isn't so bad if you're an early riser and get outside and do whatever you want to do before about noon.
FWIW - I live about halfway between Atlanta and Miami and enjoy our trips to Atlanta more than our trips to Miami. Robyn
Good point mathjak107. I could probably live anywhere and be happy. I am not sure what I would miss from where I live now. I pretty much work all the time and work with a local rescue league. I'll be taking on a second job soon so even my weekends will be tied up. So - I don't do anything but work, volunteer, and hobby gardening because that's all I really have time for. Oh - I do enjoy bonsai as well . We basically eat at one of three restaurants....we don't go to malls, we don't go to the movies, I'm trying to think of what we do do besides work....ummmm...work .
We are very outdoorsy...we love winter activities. We've snowshoed in -20 and loved every minute.
I agree about the medical facilities. We have a good hospital about 20 miles from us. Yes - it can make it crazy in the winter....but it might take just as much time to get to the hospital here in our area because of the traffic. What? Moving to the side because an emergency vehicle needs to get through? I think not . But seriously - those are things to consider and think about.
We've thought about them. I've addressed my concerns about them....my husband is set on living where he wants to live. I say 'where he wants to live' because I love Vermont with all my heart...but I'm very flexible and could pretty much live anywhere. I am the one that wanted to move back...and he wound up falling in love with it.
Bonsai. My late mom did bonsai. I couldn't take hardly any after she died - because they were mostly tropicals. Here's one I did take. This is a 5 year old picture. Crape myrtle looks about the same - except the trunk is getting a lot bigger. BTW - her best stuff was donated to a local botanical garden in south Florida: http://www.morikami.org/. Robyn
Snow birds from NYC to PA ? And 30 minutes from Scranton??? Only thing my husband remembers from his last trip to Scranton (business trip - I used to go through Scranton all the time to get to college) were the huge potholes - he almost broke his leg when he was out jogging one morning .
Come take a look down south. I don't know what kinds of things you're looking for. Our part of NE Florida is kind of nice. But not exactly a vibrant metro urban kind of area (it is pretty much suburban - which is to my liking - but perhaps not your cup of tea). If you want a city place - maybe try a rental in Atlanta - or perhaps Miami. Of the 2 - considering your reservations about the place in the Poconos - I'd try Atlanta. Better restaurants - museums - public transportation - etc. Both are very hot in the summer (as is most of the eastern US up to about Maine ). But summer in the south isn't so bad if you're an early riser and get outside and do whatever you want to do before about noon.
FWIW - I live about halfway between Atlanta and Miami and enjoy our trips to Atlanta more than our trips to Miami. Robyn
i have never been there but im very interested in checking out the charleston area.
Thank you, MrRational. Never paid attention to the govt civil service/employment conditions/administration until lately, when my eyes were opened to how seriously underserved I have been by our illustrious capitalist/private sector on the retirement benefit side.
Can someone answer the other two Qs?
Or perhaps government employee benefits have been much too much generous? Robyn
'Military retirement' is a retainer check. Military retirees are 'on-call' should the military ever need us again.
As far as I am aware 100% of military retirees carry an assortment of disabilities.
I was not aware of how many 'medical retirees' the military has until I retired myself. Used to be if you became 50% to 100% disabled they would discharge you and assume that the VA would treat you good. But with how poorly the VA has been administrated, now we see more and more 'medical retirees'. If you get disabled bad at 20 years old, they will sometimes do this to ensure the VA does not slip you through the cracks.
Yup - I have a friend whose "retired" military brother is serving his third - maybe fourth tour of duty in Iraq/Afghanistan as a pilot - at age 46. He has a wife and 3 kids. Robyn
the fidelity annuities are not immeadiate annuities. they only pay 4-5% but they include all sorts of other options and are coupled with variable investments. the fixed income annuity isnt a straight annuity either it has all kinds of perks and cash value to it..
annuities should not be an all or nothing deal. you should always have most of your nest egg to pull from . the annuities are like buying into a company pension plan or buying years of service so you can get a pension.
the annuities are a tool to generate income in years where rates are low like now so you dont blow through excessive principal. getting 7k from the annuity per 100k instead of 4500.00 on your bonds means a lot less spending down.
in fact at 3% inflation adjusted and 4% withdrawl off bonds returning 4-5% will leave you pennyless in only 27 years. no principal at all left..
right now the 6800 a couple would get with spousal carry over would last well over 35 years.
its all about the combination of your equities,your bonds,the cash and the annuity income all working together that leads to almost a 98% success rate of never outliving your money.
as far as risk? nothing is without risk, you just keep the risk as low as you can. even a pension has risk.
No - I was looking at the immediate annuity stuff on the Fidelity website. You're basically getting back all your principal and a return of about 3% if you live to your normal life expectancy.
And - in terms of annuities - there is no adjustment for inflation. So what looks good today may not look so good 20 years down the road. Robyn
No - I was looking at the immediate annuity stuff on the Fidelity website. You're basically getting back all your principal and a return of about 3% if you live to your normal life expectancy.
And - in terms of annuities - there is no adjustment for inflation. So what looks good today may not look so good 20 years down the road. Robyn
im looking at it now. except for the fixed annuity they are all coupled with investments. the fixed annuity is about 5% which is low at fidelity. . if you go to immeadiate annuity.com the rates are way higher being offered. i ran them and got the 7200 for single and 6400 .00 for a couple at 62 in new york.
you cant really put a percent return on an annuity until the day you die. its like trying to associate a return on your pension. its not something you can guess at. in fact you have to guess not only your death but your spouses to even try to compute it.
per 100k per month
Single Life Income with No Payments to Beneficiaries ("SL")
You receive this income for your lifetime, which means, you can never outlive this income. After you die there are no payments made to beneficiaries. $606
Joint Life Income (100% to the Survivor) With No Payments to Beneficiaries ("J100-0CC")
You receive this income for as long as one or both of you are living, which means, you can never outlive this income. Your income is not reduced when either of you dies. After the last person has died there are no payments made to beneficiaries. $527
Last edited by mathjak107; 05-17-2011 at 06:38 PM..
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? And 30 minutes from Scranton??? Only thing my husband remembers from his last trip to Scranton (business trip - I used to go through Scranton all the time to get to college) were the huge potholes - he almost broke his leg when he was out jogging one morning 
.
). But summer in the south isn't so bad if you're an early riser and get outside and do whatever you want to do before about noon.
. We basically eat at one of three restaurants....we don't go to malls, we don't go to the movies, I'm trying to think of what we do do besides work....ummmm...work 
