Retirement

Retirement is a ten-letter word.  I bet some of you have not given it much thought, and for others, it is all you think about.  Over the years, there were times I thought about retirement and I think it is interesting how I have changed my mind about it through various stages of life. 

Dreaming of retirement may first start in your twenties or thirties.  Responsibilities may begin for you with the start of your first job, purchase of your first house, birth of your first child…and maybe your first meeting with a financial advisor who tells you to plan for the future, even though it seems very far off.  You may plan big.  I did.  My husband and I love Sedona and we decided it was where we wanted to retire, when the time came.  We visited many states and lived on both coasts, understanding the climate pros and cons of both.  Sedona was a far off, scenic, cultural, wonderful place to live during retirement.  The climate is dry and there is only a sprinkling of snow in the winter; not enough to need shoveling.  The fact that it was expensive to live in Sedona didn’t matter.  We were young and had our whole lives ahead of us to figure out how we would get there. 

Now go forward a decade or so into your forties.  You start to get involved in your community, making new friends, volunteering, getting involved in the town to make it a better place.  You know shop owners, have doctors you love, and know where all the best restaurants are.  Your children have their childhood friends here.  Your new friends are now some of your best and dearest friends.  So one day when someone asks you where you are going to retire, you are a little taken back.  ‘Why do I have to leave here?’ you think.  ‘Everyone doesn’t have to GO somewhere else to live in their old age.  Why can’t I stay here where I have friends and know everyone?  I like it here.  I worked hard for this.’

Certainly you don’t have to retire to another town, state, or country.  You can stay right where you are.  But let’s fast forward next to your fifties…

Perhaps your children are now in college, finished college, or even starting families of their own.  Maybe you have experienced the feeling of the empty nest.  Maybe you miss your kids.  Maybe you want to see where they settle down and plan to be somewhere ‘not too far’ from them.  It doesn’t matter so much anymore if you stay in the community where you know everyone and finally have your house exactly how you want it.  Nor does it matter that you live in that fabulous town of Sedona with breathtaking views.  What matters is being near your kids and hopefully one day your grandkids. 

Of course, there are no guarantees.  You can plan your life and your retirement location around where your kids have settled, only to find that they have to move due to a job transfer or for a change that they want to make.  So what do you do now?  You can’t keep following them around the country.  There are no long-term guarantees.

What is the answer?  Do you move or do you stay put?  I don’t know.  I have gone through all these feelings and am currently still in my fifties. We have thought through lots of possibilities.  Luckily, we have time to sort it out.

I would love to hear your thoughts about where you decided to spend your retirement, why, and if there are any regrets or things you wished you knew.  Likewise, I would love to hear your thoughts about where you think you will be for your retirement years and why.  It is a big decision for all of us, kids or no kids.  Lots of stories and experiences are welcome for us all to share. 

The Retirement Dilemma

Whether you are years away or can see it on the horizon, retirement is a 10-letter word that we all have to think about at some point or another.  Personally, we are getting closer to the ‘seeing it on the horizon’ side and with that seems to come the question:  Where are you going to retire?

First of all, it kind of annoys me when people ask that.  They assume that you have to move away.  We have made a nice home for ourselves where we are.  We have a ton of friends and relatives nearby.  We know where to shop, worked hard to find doctors we like, and we all know how hard it is to find a good hairdresser.  Our boys grew up here and want to continue to come back to visit their home, their town, their friends, and their family.  That said, we have begun to give the question some thought.

There are so many factors to consider when you think about whether you want to move when you retire.  First of all, you need to consider the size of your house and yard.   Many of us could definitely consider downsizing at retirement time.  There is a fine balance between still having enough space for guests and entertaining, yet keeping a smaller space for cost savings.  Less space means less to clean, which is a definite plus.   There also comes a point when cutting the lawn and shoveling the driveway become tasks that you don’t look forward to.  Maintaining the trees and plants and chopping wood for the fireplace can get old after many years too, or it could be that you are just too old to want to do it anymore.

You might consider downsizing to a smaller house in your town or you may even move to a smaller house in a nearby town, if taxes are lower, staying in the general are where you live.  If you no longer have kids in the school system, living in a town where taxes are high because of the great schools may no longer be a factor to keep you tied to that town too.

Let’s face it though; climate is probably the number one factor that people think of when deciding where to retire.  Many people are sick of the cold, or sick of the heat, or just sick in general and need to move to a different type of climate.  There are few places with a perfect climate though.  Plus it depends what you consider perfect.  Then you have to factor in your natural disasters and what scares you.  Earthquakes?  Hurricanes?  Tornadoes?  Smog?  Mudslides?  Blizzards?  Floods? 

What about some action?  Retirement should not mean inactivity.  Do you want to retire to a small quiet town or still be near a larger city with cultural activities?  Do you want have access to a decent size airport for traveling?  All food for thought.

Some people say they want to wait to see where their kids end up living and move near them.  The problem with that is obvious though.  If you relocate near them, their jobs or situation may change and they may end up moving which leaves you in a new place without them.  So caution needs to be exercised in this regard.

I have a few friends who have recently relocated to other states.  Although they are enjoying the warmer climate and relaxed atmosphere, the number one complaint seems to be that they miss their friends and family.  They continually want everyone to come visit them, but it costs money to travel and that is easier hoped for than done.  Moving far away definitely puts a damper on seeing friends on any kind of a regular basis.

So, where would we like to retire?  My husband would love to retire in the desert or the mountains; I would like to be near the ocean or in Italy.  Maybe we can spend a few months here and a few months there or maybe we won’t move at all.  What I do know is that we are starting the conversation and learning from others who have done it before us.