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A 24 year running start on ageing in place is probably more than most people do, but I have always wondered at people who retire and relocate. How many years did they spend living where they didn't want to live? Was it worth it?
We built this house 25 years ago with the plan to retire here, which we have done, and we're very happy with it.
My sister and her husband sold the house they had built when they were young, and they moved to a 55+ community 20 years ago when they retired, and they've been unhappy with that decision ever since. I learned from her mistake, that's what big sisters are for...
I bought my age in place home as my summer house at age 51. Small single level house on a small but very private lot in a relatively low property tax rate town. I remodeled the over four years keeping limited mobility in mind. Lots of town services targeted at the elderly including daily van service to the Boston hospitals.
I love where i’ve lived since 1995 but that doesn’t mean I want to die here. I’m within spitting distance of millions of others. It’s where my career has been also. But, once I pull the plug - or rather once my wife pulls the plug - on retirement (not me!), we want to retire to the country.
Friday, I looked at land in the Deep South and it’s a strong possibility that we’ll purchase either be 5 acres or a portion of 49 acres by next April. The 5 depends on the road cost going in and the 49 depends on my buddy who holds the options to purchase it. He’s on several hundred acres and will be one of our (few) neighbors. Either way, with apologies to Canned Heat:
I'm goin' up the country, baby don't you want to go?
I'm goin' up the country, baby don't you want to go?
I'm goin' to some place, I've never been before
I'm goin' I'm goin' where the water tastes like wine…
Buying my "retiring in place" house next year. I don't retire for over a decade.
I do find it odd that so many people decide to relocate upon retiring. It seems to make so much more sense to move at least a few years ahead of retirement.
We had to. We lived subsidized housing as part of my job. I managed a fish hatchery, and was on call 24/7 so we had no choice where to live.
We bought our retirement home about an hour away in a nice little community, basically a double lot with fencing, so I can go hide out when I want to, plus a big shop and a music room.
I guess this an example of "not" retiring in place.
I have enjoyed many homes but cannot stay I have ever lived in any one place that I felt like I wanted to stay permanently. When I retire we will travel until our health or money is no longer able to sustain it. Then perhaps we will find a perfect spot to spend those last years but until then, we’re gonna ramble on.
i guess it's different for everyone. we each have our private inner wants, needs.... others i think are often able to relocate a whole lot easier if they are moving to be closer to grand kids, or to live in an idyllic setting like yours seems to be.
i moved back home after 9/11 and the death of my father. i figured i would be as well liked and part of the extended police/fire fighting family but that didn't happen at all, after all, i hadn't lived at "home" for over 30 years, no one remembered me or even knew me at that point. i just thought i would feel safer and dad's friends would keep an eye on me, at least there were one or two neighbors left who remembered me fondly as a child. Home meant everything to me, even if all my hopes weren't panning out. Metro NYC is paradise for me, I could go to a Broadway show every week, hit the museums every week, visit the Hayden Planetarium at will go to the Bronx Zoo that i totally adored (Gert the goose was the daughter i never had, lol), and don't even get me started on being with my hero Pete Seeger or how much i miss Billy Joel ( he and Cristy used to summer in my CT town where i raised my kids, and we always stayed in touch) i could keep tabs on the graves of the ancestors, take care of aged neighbors now in nursing homes.... hike up the Palisades each fall and watch the raptors fly by in the thousands in the fall, sail up and down my beloved Hudson River on the Clearwater...... but the property taxes were killing me and i thought "HECK C, you've never lived anywhere but metro NYC, the writing is on the wall about being able to afford living here, let's have an adventure, take a road trip and settle where there is lots of great poetry and a few friends i know."
well, even that didn't turn out as planned, whatever could go wrong did go wrong and i wound up in North Narrowlina and i don't belong here. I just don't. i AM NOT MEANT TO LIVE ANYWHERE BUT metro NYC. I REALLY am not. I am a NYC kinda gal, i love the smell, the noise, the vibrant arts scene unlike any other city, i love being amidst so many creative people, i made friends again so easily at home, i was able to become a part of whirl and swirl of excitement of the art scene even at my age. i wound up hanging out at the Knitting Factory way downtown, started getting to be known in the rarified world of poetry circles and schmoozed weekly with world renown poets, even my old dance past was resurrected as i helped found a new dance academy in my home town which was thrilling. life was so good, but oh those property taxes.
i hate it here. i just do, the racism is palpable... do not believe what you hear about the "NEW south"..... it is pretty much the same ole same ole south .... they just got better at hiding their true feelings. the KKK here is still the largest contingent in the USA and very active. the hatred of anyone muslim, hispanic, mexican, black is palpable.
i guess some people are of a place and it is deeply deeply a part of who they are. I am of that one place and only there am i the happiest. anyone know of a basement i can rent back in metro NY/NY? let me know
I keep multiple living spaces in each rural home, for future caregiver / or ME!
At the moment traveling a lot, so rent the spaces out so someone is there to mow / water and feed the pets and livestock and collect the mail.
That plan works OK. (at the moment)
Likewise. Our house sitter is a vet tech, so we don't worry about the animals. She also packs a sweet little .38 revolver and knows how to use it, so we don't worry about her in a rural area. It's a match made at the vet clinic. We have used her for 9 years, and have complete confidence in her ability. Once we're on her schedule, we can just pack a bag and go.
I think the reason most people who do move after retirement is due to the fact that they have a job and moving before retirement isn't realistic if they have a fixed location that they work at. You'll find that as you get older that getting a new job in a new location is much easier said than done. We tried moving to Arizona after we retired and there is no way we could have done it beforehand.
We plan to stay where we are. We moved here with jobs 16 years ago and are in a trilevel log house. We view stairs as a plus. Keeps the legs and knees going. We don’t have knee issues. Our move was planned partly to be connected in the community prior to retirement.
Buying my "retiring in place" house next year. I don't retire for over a decade.
I do find it odd that so many people decide to relocate upon retiring. It seems to make so much more sense to move at least a few years ahead of retirement.
It only makes sense to move a few or more years prior to retirement IF you can keep your job or find a new one in the retirement location. So the ideal might be to move ahead of time, but practical things like maintaining your income will most likely win out.
It only makes sense to move a few or more years prior to retirement IF you can keep your job or find a new one in the retirement location. So the ideal might be to move ahead of time, but practical things like maintaining your income will most likely win out.
Very true. I wonder how many people don't even try to move earlier and just decide to run the clock out in their current location.
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