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If you truly wanted out, you could find something else before forty years are up. Sure, you'd take a pay cut, but life is too short and all that...
It's not just a pay cut. Who wants to give up xx years at a company especially if you have a pension? Many jobs in NYC simply don't exist elsewhere. The finance and government jobs there really don't exist elsewhere. There's only one Wall Street. You also need to hold on your house long enough to have equity.
It's not just a pay cut. Who wants to give up xx years at a company especially if you have a pension? Many jobs in NYC simply don't exist elsewhere. The finance and government jobs there really don't exist elsewhere. There's only one Wall Street. You also need to on your house long enough to have equity.
That's so true. Waiting out the rough times mean you will have so much more in retirement. It was togh for me the lat 5 years it y sticking it out I was able to heighten my social security & am able to live much better than I would have.
[quote=.
I worked second shift for about four years after college. I preferred it. I would much rather work 3:30 PM - 2:00 AM shifts than 8-5. Lots of things can get done in daylight hours you just can't do after hours or are tedious.[/QUOTE]
My job has never had straight second shift- it's either work a mix of first/second or only third. I've been working third for years now and as much as it's been brutal on life and health, it beats a day shift that starts at freaken 7a.m. Seventy-nine days left and I'm done.
Regarding the bolded part of your statement, this is true for your particular corner of TN, but not as a general rule. If you are within an hour of a larger city, you have access to multiple grocery stores, and other decent shopping. Competition breeds lower prices. There are very few things here, 30 minutes outside Knoxville, that cost more than other places. Liquor, beer, and wine are higher for instance, but those are not a large part of our budget. Our insurance costs for car, boat, motorcycles, and homeowners are comparable, or lower, than what we paid in CA.
My car insurance doubled when I moved to Nashville from San Francisco. My gas and electric bills are higher in Tennessee. My rent was way higher when I first moved here, so high in fact, that after one year it was cheaper to buy a house. Of course there is no way I could afford to buy that house now because it has more than doubled in value (yea for me when I sell). Alcohol is much more expensive in Tennessee. But hey, at least gas is cheaper and that’s a good thing because you have to drive your car since there’s no public transportation.
When people pick paradise (to them), they are often confronted with something far from it. I know few middle income folks who were happy in the paradise they chose to move to in retirement. I know several who moved "back home", from whence they started and lived happily before they moved and after they moved back.
That's not true in every case, but people need to think about ALL the reasons they moved to the place from which they retired, especially if they lived in this place a long time.
I thought I might add some warnings about things I learned while looking for a new place to live.
As I mentioned before, what I wanted was less congestion, a lower cost area, a better climate. I also expected to move to somewhere in the western US in order to be around areas of natural beauty. I especially like the desert southwest, at least to visit. I did not want to live in an urban area but wanted to be close to a city at least for healthcare.
What I failed to consider sufficiently was the importance of friends and family. I had moved plenty of times during my working career and felt one more move was acceptable. This time we had been in the same house and location for 20 plus years. Moving and starting over was going to be a lot more difficult. We also were going to be moving away from our older daughter and her family. Never underestimate the value of being near family. Especially as we age having family support can be very important.
Next, I learned that although I loved the big beautiful scenic areas out West, they did not really match my requirements for full time living. As much as I like the West, the culture was not what I was used to. I missed the art galleries and museums and the like. Even more I missed being around people who were interested in such things.
Fortunately we avoided making a mistake on a new location. After a few months of full time RV travel in the West, my wife returned to the East to help with grandchild care. She went back and forth for a year but her heart remained back with the grandkids. Also our financial situation changed after the first couple of years in retirement. RV travel was much less expensive than our previous living in a high COL area. Our expenses were way down. Also the stock market was recovering from the 2008 recession. Along with our retirement accounts, the equity from our previous house was invested. In a short period of time our assets doubled. That made it more affordable to return to the East.
We ended up doing something I never thought about. We split a house with my daughter and her family. We each have our privacy but can help out with the grandkids and we have a built in house sitter when we travel. In fact we just finished 3 months of RV travel out West. My wife is in a program she loves learning to write children's books for publication. In a few minutes I will walk to the nearby University to attend a photography critique class. When not traveling, we both take about 4 courses a semester. I also do competitive archery and spent yesterday at the indoor range. Today in addition to my critique class, I have art work to prepare for a local show. We are too busy to keep up with all the things we need and want to do. Most of those activities I had never even considered when planning for a retirement location.
It's not just a pay cut. Who wants to give up xx years at a company especially if you have a pension? Many jobs in NYC simply don't exist elsewhere. The finance and government jobs there really don't exist elsewhere. There's only one Wall Street. You also need to hold on your house long enough to have equity.
Pensions are all but gone in the private sector these days. The amount of people working on Wall Street who couldn't find jobs elsewhere is going to be very small compared to the numbers of average people working average jobs that could be found elsewhere.
In retrospect, after making 22 full moves, with four children, we're content in our current location.
It has to do with age. In our 82nd year, perspective is different. After snowbirding in Florida, and the Chicago suburbs since 1989, we could see a time when this would not be possible. Considering all of the plusses and minuses spelled out in this thread, and realizing that we wouldn't be young forever, we decided to buy in Peru, a small town in N. Central Illinois... in a CCRC, that offered stepped living, from our 1600sf freestanding home (villa) here, to independent living apartments, to assisted living, a complete rehab center, and an Alzheimer unit, as well as a nursing home. Anathema to most younger persons, but a comfortable, worry free sequence of neighborhood, social life and security.
While we still live a fully active life, disruption of any kind... illness to death, will not be traumatic. Expenses, a known factor. Freedom to do whatever we're able... and, by choice, a perfect small town with every amenity... food, shopping, low taxes, safe travel, friendly community, above excellent healthcare in two of the best hospitals in the state.
Not everyone's choice, for sure, and we only settled on this after age 67. Part of my two stage retirement theory. Retired @ age 53.
I thought I might add some warnings about things I learned while looking for a new place to live.
...
What I failed to consider sufficiently was the importance of friends and family. I had moved plenty of times during my working career and felt one more move was acceptable. This time we had been in the same house and location for 20 plus years. Moving and starting over was going to be a lot more difficult. We also were going to be moving away from our older daughter and her family. Never underestimate the value of being near family. Especially as we age having family support can be very important.
Next, I learned that although I loved the big beautiful scenic areas out West, they did not really match my requirements for full time living. As much as I like the West, the culture was not what I was used to. I missed the art galleries and museums and the like. Even more I missed being around people who were interested in such things...
Most of those activities I had never even considered when planning for a retirement location.
Agree with your points. I have lived in FL off and on for 25 yrs, even raised my children here. But my children are now 1000 miles away in different directions and I am always traveling to help with a grandchild either direction. My good friends here retired and returned to their homes/families except for one or two.
Although I like it here, it does all come down to the people and connections really.
I personally favor an easy maintenance home where there are deep connections and just plan on many vacations to get that desert or tropical vibe.
I for one am eternally thankful for those who like the city. My one thought is, when you move to your "paradise" please don't try to remake it into the city you left.
For me, I'd be very happy to live rural. In fact I'd buy a farm if I could afford it. But then I grew up that way and know that way of life. Lived all over the country in several large cities and while they have amenities, I'd trade them in a second for tranquility. Now we're here in Tennessee. When we moved, we were surrounded by corn and soybeans. Now the cornfield is houses. Retirement is just a few years away and I hope to move finally to the country for good.
Oh, OP, have you checked out Murfreesboro? That place has exploded in the last 10 years. You might look there.
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