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Do any of you live half the year in the Caribbean and half the year at home in the US? If so, how do you do it logistically? Hubby and I are looking ahead to retirement and we think this is what we will want to do. We LOVE the Caribbean and travel there frequently for our vacations.
Let me know what you think of this rough plan: when we are ready to retire, purchase a small home outright in the USA in a low property tax area and live there 6 months of the year (warm months). For the other 6 months of the year, rent in the Caribbean and if we want, try a different locale every year. The thinking behind this approach is...we can have one place that is "home base" (i.e. the home in US) that we own, and where we can keep our stuff and have one steady place that is ours. We can rent it out (if we need to) the 6 months we are in the Caribbean (VRBO, AirBnB, etc.) to recoup some money. And then we can find long-term rentals in the Caribbean for our 6-month-a-year stay. We've thought of buying in the Caribbean, but realize we'd rather have the flexibility to move around and travel to different places every year if we want, than to commit to owning in one place. Plus, we have discovered from our travels, that places in the Caribbean change a lot. You might fall in love with a place only to watch it become overdeveloped and lose its character to the point that you no longer like it. We would hate to be stuck with a property in that situation and have to sell.
We're currently renters, but were previously homeowners for 20 years, so we know all that homeownership entails. We actually prefer renting, but I think when we retire, it might be more cost effective for this retirement scenario to purchase a relatively low maintenance home outright (like a townhouse with little to no yard), and if the property taxes are low, overall expenses can be kept pretty under control.
What do you think of our ideas? This is for a bit in the future as we are in our 50s, but we are socking away lots of money for retirement and I think we will be able to afford to do this.
BTW, we are a childfree couple, so have a bit more flexibility in our lives than most people.
Here's my plan. Sell my 4,000 sq ft home in PA along will all my possessions except clothing, good knives and some pots and pans. Rent on the Jersey Shore (Stone Harbor, Avalon, Cape May) from May 1 to Sept 30. Rent somewhere snow free for the rest of the year, maybe Myrtle Beach one year, Scottsdale the next. No more "brick and mortar". When we die drop everything off at Goodwill and cash out the accounts. Already planned that my body be donated to science, ashes in the trash. Have a nice open bar lunch in my honor and say a few kind words.
Now if I can only convince my wife to go along with my scheme.
Sassy, if that is your dream go for it! I would also recommend renting in the Caribbean instead of buying, plus you can enjoy new destinations. Less headaches of ownership of two homes. I think a townhouse or a condo would be an excellent idea for your home base as far as upkeep, but there may be restrictions on renting it out.
I really feel my parents extended their lives by renting in a warm climate 3 months out of the year. They got way more exercise, enjoyed the sunshine, gave them a change of scenery and something to look forward to every year. I would definitely do this if we didn't already live in a moderate climate.
We've been all over the Caribbean - sometimes land trips, often on cruises, so lots of the islands. Our favorite area is the Caribbean side of Mexico - Isla Mujeres, Tulum, Akumal, etc. But we'd like to visit other areas too.
Does anyone know which of these states is most favorable to retirees as far as taxes, etc...
PA
NJ
DE
(I am pretty sure we can scratch NJ off the list due to property taxes).
We live in NJ now but would like to stay in the general area when we retire so we can stay connected with friends and family the 6 months of the year we are here.
We lived full-time in MX in 2008--2012, only returning to our US home for 6 weeks a year (for medical/dental).
We had to sell MX house and return to US to care for elderly parent. Sadly he died late 2015.
We are buying a new home in MX and will move in April.
This time we plan to spend 7 months in MX and 5 months in US, but broken up throughout the year, not consecutive months.
We own both our US and MX houses outright. In MX, the cost to carry a house is very low, while rents can be very high in desirable areas. Annual real estate taxes in MX are only $200 to $300 a year on a $300K house.
Here's my plan. Sell my 4,000 sq ft home in PA along will all my possessions except clothing, good knives and some pots and pans. Rent on the Jersey Shore (Stone Harbor, Avalon, Cape May) from May 1 to Sept 30. Rent somewhere snow free for the rest of the year, maybe Myrtle Beach one year, Scottsdale the next. No more "brick and mortar". When we die drop everything off at Goodwill and cash out the accounts. Already planned that my body be donated to science, ashes in the trash. Have a nice open bar lunch in my honor and say a few kind words.
Now if I can only convince my wife to go along with my scheme.
Actually, a neighbor of mine goes to Corpus Christi TX every winter for a month and uses a Holiday Inn extended stay deal.
He claims it is just as cheap as what small, furnished rentals charge .
I envisioned some of your ideas.
However, when I checked furnished rentals for 6 months or so the rents were sky high and scarce.
I wanted places we could arrive with just suit cases and leave 6-8 months later with just suit cases.
Sorry to hear about your dad, dothetwist. I lost my dad a few months ago, so I empathize.
Do you rent either of your properties out when you are not there? Or do you leave them vacant?
We leave them vacant, though we'll invite family and friends to use whichever house isn't being used by us.
It was actually my FIL, but he was like a Dad to me....I'd known him for 45 years. Sorry about your Dad too.
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