Men and Women retiring alone to a new city/state -- where will you go and why? (Michigan, Dallas)

[ConeyIsBabe]

Originally Posted by MN2CO

Listen ----there's NOTHING wrong with repeating. Everyone of the posters here has done the same thing - I thought megonow might be referring to me.

Megonow - I don't think you get the culture of this thread. If it doesn't appeal to you - don't read it.

Speaking of repeating oneself....... personally, I need to hear/read repetition cuz I tend to forget; and on a thread of "almost" 200 pages...... it is impossible to remember who said what

P. S. I wonder who is going to get the opportunity to HIT the 200 pg. mark

[Dancingearth]

Originally Posted by ConeyIsBabe

Speaking of repeating oneself....... personally, I need to hear/read repetition cuz I tend to forget; and on a thread of "almost" 200 pages...... it is impossible to remember who said what

P. S. I wonder who is going to get the opportunity to HIT the 200 pg. mark

I'm positive I have repeated myself. I'm positive I have repeated myself. Geez...that's really bad doing it in the same post. I appreciate hearing some things many times--who has time to go back and reread them all!

LiveContent you always have great insight and I appreciate your input and as you said,it wasn't the same.

Wisteria Thanks for the catchup--you're almost there! Can't wait to see you and Nancy in New Mexico.

[Tesaje]

Originally Posted by ConeyIsBabe

Speaking of repeating oneself....... personally, I need to hear/read repetition cuz I tend to forget; and on a thread of "almost" 200 pages...... it is impossible to remember who said what

P. S. I wonder who is going to get the opportunity to HIT the 200 pg. mark

Not me. My page says 49 pages. The 2000th post, that might be achievable.

I'm sure I have repeated myself too. Who know who the post was directed at?

Thanks for the update Wisteria. You will get thru this!

Happy mom's day to all of you who are mothers. My cats are not interested in making me fell special - tho I do get purrs from them.

[karcon]

Originally Posted by mollyblythe

I'm a caretaker for a parent with dementia and don't often have interesting or new things to post at this point in my life. At the same time I feel so grateful to still have my mom, it has narrowed the focus and range of my life considerably. Some of you have had this role and know what I'm talking about.


What a great group this has become. Wish we could wiggle our noses and all be able to meet up someplace. Northern California is lovely this time of year

Molly; I completely understand and empathise with you regarding your current "career" in life. I too was my mother's caretaker (she had dementia/early Alzheimers and suffered from TIA's and many falls). It was the hardest job I ever had but I'm so glad to have had the opportunity not to have had too many regrets looking back. She lived with me for the last year of her life. It was hard, challenging, frustrating, funny, and rewarding. She passed away a year ago,at the age of 90 , peacefully in Hospice. She was only there a week so she did not suffer. Please know there are those of us out there who understand.

[mrschilicook]

I've been retired for 7 years. Lived in Pleasanton CA for 20 years and worked for a computer company in San Jose. That's where I made my friends, my collegues, and my mom lives in the Salinas area about 65 miles away.

I retired to Las Vegas NV because of the "no income tax" thing..and they have flat property tax rates. The heat was a killer 4-5 months out of the year and the cost of keeping the house cool seem to eat up a great deal of the savings of income tax. The other costs were more or less the same as California.

Then to Missouri near Branson where I currently reside. They have income tax, real estate tax, and personal property tax. However, the cost of housing more than makes up for years, years, and years of taxes. And the real estate taxes, at least where I live, aren't all that bad (1%). Some counties are less some are more..it's a county thing here, not a state-wide tax. Insurance is less than Nevada or CA. Auto registration ends up being the same because of the personal property tax.

I've looked at Tennessee seriously and New Hampshire..all tax haven states.
But after living in a high tax state, a no tax state, and a mid-level tax state I've come to the conclusion you are going to pay one way or another. In my current case, I paid probably 1/4 of what it would have cost for this place in CA and 1/2 of what it would have been in Las Vegas. In the end, I may pay income tax now, but it would be decades before I spend more on tax then I did on savings with a house.

[karcon]

Originally Posted by ConeyIsBabe

The two gentlemen who have posted on this thread express their choice for staying-put! All their reasons make sense and work for them.

However, this thread has almost 200 pages written by women who are facing retirement "alone" wanting to move to a new location, but don't know where. As a woman who has already made one such move, I can say it was one of the most difficult of life's events, even though I made the move with a friend. I can't imagine how daunting it must be to do it alone

As women, we've probably lived most of our lives raising a family and doing "for them", or working and doing for "the boss". Perhaps retirement is some sort of new rebirth, a time to do for ourselves - fulfill a fantasy, find adventure, a new start, better/different lifestyle ? Whatever our reasons are.......... we have what it takes to move forward (or stay put)

Happy Mothers Day to all the moms

CIB; I think your post captures why this post was started and what has attracted so many of us to it. It's become a sounding board to help us sort out the chaos of uncertainty in our lives, to help make sense of the road maps life (and ourselves) have in front of us. Move/stay; buy/sell/rent? East coast/west coast or somewhere inbetween. We, for the most part, have spent our lives taking care of others and now we are alone - husbands/partners are gone for one reason or another, kids are grown and living their own lifes in all the far corners of the world, some of us are grandparents/some aren't and never will be. We pretty much have done things on our own and now we can focus on ourselves. And that, I think, is the hardest challenge we face. I have had to make tough decisions and changes but always did it because I was taking care of others. Now that it is just me, I find making those decisions much harder. Wonder why that is? Anyway, I have found this group of women to be amazing listeners and wonderful therapists. Just having you as friends, being able to talk things out, express hopes/dreams/fears, helps to clear the dust. Maybe the path that's decided for now will change. It probably will. But that is the path of life. There is always going to be the next fork/challenge/adventure. This thread helps make the journey much more fun!!!!

[karcon]

Originally Posted by ConeyIsBabe

P. S. I wonder who is going to get the opportunity to HIT the 200 pg. mark

Not only the 200th page but almost the 2000th post! I think post #2000 should definitely be reserved for Wisteria who started this wonderful thread!!!!

[ConeyIsBabe]

Originally Posted by karcon

Not only the 200th page but almost the 2000th post! I think post #2000 should definitely be reserved for Wisteria who started this wonderful thread!!!!

YES, let's try to reserve post #2000 for our esteemed leader.... Wisteria

['M']

This forum is so positive....I hope that it is still going strong...don't see any recent posts...hoping it continues on. We Steel Magnolias of a certain age have much wisdom and humor to share.

['M']

Since I was raised in Texas, I've been thinking of retiring in the Dallas area...visited there in 2/08 and the weather was fabulous. Now...I know the temp there gets in the high 90's/low 100's on avg for summer, but that lasts only 3-4 months...the rest of the year is rather nice. Plus...housing in Dallas is very inexpensive, esp compared to where I live: Colorado. In South Texas, south of Houston, heard of a lady who bought an adorable bungalow for $40,000. There's also no state income tax in Texas, and have friends who travel between Colo and Texas...they say everything is cheaper in Texas. So for now, I'm dreaming of Texas in the next 6 years, and will see where I am led to go. I will need to work part time, and that is OK with me.