I am currently planning on moving to California. I live in the Westchester area of New York state and work outdoors in New York City doing low skilled manual labor. The winter weather has started to get to me these past few years. Last winter was horrible with all of the snow that pummeled New York. This winter is one of the coldest that I have experienced in recent years.
I am poor and I am paying off all of my bills and saving some money to move to Los Angeles by the end of next year. I would have preferred San Francisco, but it is too expensive. I consider Northeast winters to be extremely uncomfortable and they make me very unhappy, so I want to move to a milder climate.
I know it's tough being poor in any place, but I'd rather choose a more comfortable climate over a dreary one. The effects of the weather on my life have been obvious to me over the last several years. I have spent ridiculous amounts of money buying many things that I have not needed in order to cheer myself up. Now I live a more simplistic life and am getting rid of all of the clutter in my life. When I move I will try to be as minimalistic as I can and enjoy the outdoors more.
I don't plan on ever retiring and will try to find a job that I can enjoy doing for the rest of my life. I have stories of an acquaintance and two family members who have retired and died soon afterward.
One of my former clients worked for Con Edision, the power company in New York. He went to retire to Puerto Rico and bought a house by the sea. He was diagnosed with terminal cancer and died several years later.
One of my cousins lived in New York for most of his life. He worked as a porter and decided to retire early and start a business over there. He lived in the Dominican Republic for a few years and then he died the weekend before his financial services business was going to open. He was in his mid thirties and had Crohn's disease throughout his life and died from complications related to it.
Another cousin of mine, who was semiretired and living in the Dominican Republic, was simply murdered in his mid thirties. His girlfriend and bodyguard conspired to kill him and take the money. They are now behind bars.
I am sorry for that detour regarding retirement, but I just needed to get it out there. Now I am going to mention the fisherman story that many of you have probably already heard about or read, but it is worth mentioning in regard to the OP's topic.
I found the following story
here and I pasted version three, the one at the bottom. I have also found it in other websites.
The Mexican Fisherman
A boat docked in a tiny Mexican village. An American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.
"Not very long," answered the Mexican.
"But then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the American.
The Mexican explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.
The American asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"
"I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs...I have a full life."
The American interrupted, "I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you!
"You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat. With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers.
"Instead of selling your fish to a middleman, you can negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even New York City! From there you can direct your huge enterprise."
"How long would that take?" asked the Mexican.
"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years," replied the American.
"And after that?"
"Afterwards? That's when it gets really interesting," answered the American, laughing. "When your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!"
"Millions? Really? And after that?"
"After that you'll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta, and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends!"
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