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You are describing a pied-a-terre, which is a small apartment or house kept for occasional use. Many people who must work in, say, NYC, keep a pied-a-terre to make their lives easier. I would look for the smallest nice condo I could find in my chosen area.
We have a friend who did that and the end result was, she decided not to move at all and stayed in her home town. The beach was just too lonely during the off seasons.
There is - or was, maybe - a lady who lived on the QEII. But that is, as was frostily explained by a crewmember, an ocean liner, not a "cruise ship". It would probably be prohibitively expensive for us mortals.
T Bills are paying 5.4% and are absolutely safe. You can buy them with 4 week expiration, so that your money become available every month. And that is absolutely what I would do with the money while the fog of decisions cleared.
FWIW, we retired in 2010 and stayed in our home. It turned out to be a good decisions for us.
When we become less mobile, we have several places we can move to and still stay where we know people. But I am someone who traveled an awful lot in his career and have no interest in doing much travel - none, if I could arrange it.
That is why that even though tourist places might seem to be a great place to live all year round, it takes a certain type of personality to live there ALL YEAR LONG. My husband and I are introverts, however, so living in a tourist-oriented community that seems to be almost deserted from early November through early May does not bother us, but it is VERY quiet here in the off-season. I think that living here would be very lonely for newcomer retirees who need active social interaction and/or plenty of things to do outside their home.
I will also interject and say that although living by the water (whether ocean or lake) has appeal for many people, if a lake is frozen in winter, there really is not much to look at, imo. We are VERY glad we chose to live in the woods where there seems to be always something new to see along with the changing of the seasons. Of course, that is just personal choice, and I am very glad that not everyone feels the same way I do!
Last edited by katharsis; 11-16-2023 at 12:20 PM..
There are several "live on a cruise ship" options out there now. These are entire ships dedicated to luxury living aboard ship, not regular ships with short -term passengers. These ships are purpose-built for full-time living by all the passengers. Unless you have a couple million bucks lying around, it's not that feasible. Out of curiosity, I looked at 2 or 3 "live aboard" ships and they typically require you to purchase your cabin (half a mil to 2 mil+). Many are "resale" cabins now, as the original owners are moving on, and have escalated in price from $500K to the first owner, to over $1.5 mil resale for the smallest cabins, and you'll also pay a monthly fee of about $5000+ per person double occupancy for your monthly services like food, entertainment, housekeeping, etc. You can sell your cabin when you are through with that life, or it can be left to others, but it's just not really do-able to us mere mortals. I did see one ship with fractional ownership as an option. You could own 1/4 or 1/2 fraction of a cabin and live aboard for 3-6 months per year. That actually appealed to me more than full-time cruise living, and would be more feasible for some folks, but you could accomplish the same with just taking months-long cruises without the steep investment.
For full-time ship-board living, you would also need to think about medical needs beyond what a ship's medical staff can provide. They aren't set up to handle things like knee replacement surgery, or caring for a stroke victim, cancer treatment, etc. You would need a land-based doctor in your medical insurance plan to handle those, and somewhere to stay while you rehab, not to mention medical evacuation and flight to some home base in the case of an emergency. And after your medical care, you'd need to fly to wherever in the world your ship has sailed on to without you. I think it would be a fun thing for a year or two if you are healthy, but for long-term aging, not so much.
Last edited by TheShadow; 11-16-2023 at 11:58 AM..
Unless you are truly a very social person, a cruise ship or even a condo is not going to provide anywhere near the privacy of a single-family home. You cannot assume it is going to have the same feeling as your vantage point from your SFH. Sure, you can fantasize about some perfect life somewhere. But, you have to realize you chose where you live and you continue to live there (all for a reason).
As someone else already mentioned you keep asking the same question for literally years and then give an excuse why you can’t do anything. But new people find your thread and have no idea that you have been given a ton of advice that you refuse to act on so they waste their time giving suggestions.
My crystal ball says you will do nothing until your house literally falls down or you are forced by health, etc somehow to make a decision. You have been extremely frugal for so long that you can’t spend your money even on things you want.
Since you’re in your late 60’s time is ticking away while you continue to ask the same questions repeatedly. I would get therapy to see why you remain stuck in inertia.
As someone else already mentioned you keep asking the same question for literally years and then give an excuse why you can’t do anything. But new people find your thread and have no idea that you have been given a ton of advice that you refuse to act on so they waste their time giving suggestions.
My crystal ball says you will do nothing until your house literally falls down or you are forced by health, etc somehow to make a decision. You have been extremely frugal for so long that you can’t spend your money even on things you want.
Since you’re in your late 60’s time is ticking away while you continue to ask the same questions repeatedly. I would get therapy to see why you remain stuck in inertia.
A friend of mine who is a single mom recently relocated to a town in South Carolina that is about 35 minutes from the beach.
If someone like her can do it, I’m going to say this isn’t rocket science.
A friend of mine who is a single mom recently relocated to a town in South Carolina that is about 35 minutes from the beach.
If someone like her can do it, I’m going to say this isn’t rocket science.
You are correct... this isn't rocket science.
But analysis paralysis come into play here. Lots of recommendations will all be dismissed and nothing will change.
My crystal ball says you will do nothing until your house literally falls down or you are forced by health, etc somehow to make a decision. You have been extremely frugal for so long that you can’t spend your money even on things you want.
Since you’re in your late 60’s time is ticking away while you continue to ask the same questions repeatedly. I would get therapy to see why you remain stuck in inertia.
I watched a parent go down this same path. He was always a careful spender which certainly isn't a bad thing, but despite having built up a comfortable nest egg by the time he was pushed into retirement by the realities of business, he had locked himself into thrift/save against what he saw as the money grabbing world so long he couldn't shake loose enough to enjoy that nest egg. He had imagined himself buying and living on a boat in a favorite marina and sailing whenever he wished, but instead he became increasingly paranoid, suspicious, and pinched his pennies even more than before. The home he did have decayed until it became a dismal mess full of broken down clutter he wouldn't replace, wouldn't repair, but couldn't part with. The exterior and structure may have looked OK because it was maintained by the HOA/community association, but the inside was all him. The aging car that kept stranding him but he wouldn't repair, the dying appliances he'd complain didn't do the work he expected, on and on. And none of it gave him joy. He became more and more morose and bitter. He was convinced everyone and everything was out to steal him blind. Money was no longer a means to an end. It was everything.
He definitely had options in terms of how to live out his latter years but he couldn't bring himself to make a decision...just collected more and more data, analyzed and re-analyzed, counted, re-counted. It was never enough. So, he isolated himself and sat and sat and sat clutching his nest egg until those options were taken away because of ill health and true old age. In the end he was forced into a situation he never wanted. Of course, he raged about that and blamed everyone else for what he did to himself. I'm sure he regretted what he could never bring himself to do.
Oh sure, he did leave nice chunks of $ to his children but I suspect all of us would have preferred to deal with a contented, healthier, happier parent enjoying his latter years instead.
Last edited by Parnassia; 11-16-2023 at 01:08 PM..
I watched a parent go down this same path. He was always a careful spender which certainly isn't a bad thing, but despite having built up a comfortable nest egg by the time he was pushed into retirement by the realities of business, he had locked himself into thrift/save against what he saw as the money grabbing world so long he couldn't shake loose enough to enjoy that nest egg. He imagined himself buying and living on a boat, but instead he became increasingly paranoid, suspicious, and pinched his pennies even more than before. The home he did have became a dismal mess full of broken down clutter he wouldn't replace, wouldn't repair, but couldn't part with. The exterior and structure may have looked OK because it was maintained by the HOA/community association, but the inside wasn't. And none of it gave him joy. He was so certain everyone and everything was out to steal him blind. Money was no longer a means to an end. It was everything.
He definitely had options in terms of how to live out his latter years but he couldn't bring himself to make a decision...just collected more and more data, analyzed and re-analyzed, counted, re-counted. It was never enough. So, he sat and sat and sat clutching his nest egg until those options were taken away because of ill health and true old age. In the end he was forced into a situation he never wanted. Of course, he raged about that and blamed everyone else for what he did to himself.
Well, it's good to have a giving spirit at Christmas -->
Charles Dickens describes Scrooge as "a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint... secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster." He does business from a Cornhill warehouse and is known among the merchants of the Royal Exchange as a man of good credit. Despite having considerable personal wealth, he underpays his clerk Bob Cratchit and hounds his debtors relentlessly while living cheaply and joylessly in the chambers of his deceased business partner, Jacob Marley. Most of all, he detests Christmas, which he associates with reckless spending. When two men approach him on Christmas Eve for a donation to charity, he sneers that the poor should avail themselves of the treadmill or the workhouses, or else die to reduce the surplus population. He also refuses his nephew Fred's invitation to Christmas dinner and denounces him as a fool for celebrating Christmas.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HokieFan
If I were in your shoes and not ready to relocate yet, I would go with Option C.
I disagree with your last sentence. Just like everyone else who travels, you'd have experiences and memories.
Something to consider: Add up how much you spend on lodging for your trips. Then ...
Consider OTHER options. My mom had a Toyota Chinnook camper for many yrs, then a Roadtrek campervan (bought for $11,000, sold for a profit 10 yrs later)
I just use Guest homes (more memories, more info when traveling lots of great local information and home cooked meals, and VERY safe.) Servas is FREE worldwide since 1947. Travel lodging at ZERO cost.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigCityDreamer
A friend of mine who is a single mom recently relocated to a town in South Carolina that is about 35 minutes from the beach.
If someone like her can do it, I’m going to say this isn’t rocket science.
We found some very quaint coastal towns in SE, quite livable (not for me, I won't live east of Missouri river).
One gal was SO happy in Hilton Head. Her last kid was a senior in HS, and she said G'bye to Chicago and left him behind! (20 yrs ago!)
She is SO happy and well engaged in community and was a great host. Very fun, informative and adventurous.
You are correct... this isn't rocket science.
But analysis paralysis come into play here. Lots of recommendations will all be dismissed and nothing will change.
My mom has analysis paralysis. She couldn't sell her business when she had a willing buyer. She couldn't agree to move to the beach with dad. She can't move out of the big house now that she's all alone and not working. She says she wants to, for years, but can't just do it. She's waiting for perfect.
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