The missus was a geriatric nurse practitioner and got fed up with families who just didn't get it. In mid-2012, she told me that she would stop at the end of the year (malpractice monies made that decision). I was working in a non-profit as a volunteer coordinator and followed her a few weeks later.

Since that time we have moved from central Illinois to Florida. She and the cat ganged up on me, I enjoyed the winter weather and I shoveled my own drive.

Now, we cruise a bit. None this year, but last year was 85 days. The missus knits, but has not gone out knitting with 'the girls' in many months. I do gardening stuff around the house and we both are fiction readers. Fortunately, our local library will 'hold' books for us and we drive there once a week to pick up our stuff.

Both of us are in our 70s and some health things are moving into our lives. That takes a lot out of us on a regular basis.

It is just a waiting game on cruising. That is what we really like to do. Lots of days at sea; not so much fun to re-explore ports of call we have been to.

We monetarily planned well. No big issues with that - and that can make a BIG difference with retirement. I just wish that I had some of my hair on the top of my head!!!

I retired in my mid-50s and we've remained in place in the SF Bay area. Good quality of life, lots to do, excellent weather. We're both from coastal SoCal and we have a place down there near the beach. And many lifelong friends so we visit regularly. If we were to ever move, we'd sell our house here and buy a bigger place down there. That's maybe a 60/40 possibility. I'd describe us as near-urban people, we'd never be happy far from the amenities cities and populated areas can provide.

My wife works part time at something she likes to do, her earnings aren't needed. We always took long vacations usually involving plane flights when I was working and with kids in the house and we've traveled more since I retired. Though, not in the last 6 months. We had a couple of trips planned that we cancelled. We hope to be able to safely resume traveling before too long. Otherwise, we do things with friends, like to eat out and enjoy the varied cuisine available here (both of which we haven't been doing as much of as before) and pursuing exercise and hobbies. None of our kids live nearby so the travel limitations have limited our ability to visit them.

I had a challenging career that I did well with and retiring was an opportunity to leave a demanding environment. That alone was obviously achieved and I don't regret the lifestyle and financial consequences of doing it early.

North Wales, eh, Hotrod? We spent a fun 4 days staying at the Portmeirion Hotel with an English couple we're longtime friends with. What a goofy place. I should mention both I and the male of this couple are Prisoner fans so that was a fun experience. We explored the area and took a tourist-type train north (forget where from) through the park to Caernarvon, enjoyed a visit to the town and the castle there. It's a lovely part of Britain but oh man, you got to like damp and cool weather to feel comfortable. Good luck, I'm sure you know what you're getting into.

I'm retired, and other than not being able to travel right now, I'm pretty much doing what I planned. I moved rural, and am raising chickens and quail. I probably wouldn't have started quail this year, but they keep me busy in lieu of a little travel.

We are planning to move when retired. We are gearing up for it soon, but Covid has thrown our plans a little off.

SIL has had her income curtailed a bit due to the economy and low interest rates, so she wouldn’t have been travelling anyway. I’m just thinking we may tack on a couple more years of working as a buffer. We were retiring early anyway, so it’s not that much of a hardship. If I might get bored anyway, I might as well keep working.

Or maybe that’s just me rationalizing working a few extra years out of fear.

Yes, Elmer - North Wales is a place we both love dearly, and it's close to some of our cousins. Caernarfon Castle and the town are fun, but we're looking more along the Irish Sea (Penmaenmawr, Llandudno, Rhos-on-Sea) for the ease of access to the beaches. I love the palm trees and the relatively mild winters!! :) We're still planning this, even with the current situation with Brexit and all, but are realistic enough to know that things may change drastically and we may have to regroup/rethink. I'd also be happy in Dorset or Somerset. We shall see!

Are you British?

I plan to retire in a little over 4 years at age 62 when I have attained the 30 years of service needed to receive full railroad retirement benefits. My wife hasn't worked in over 2 decades due to MS and raising our son.

We will pay off our house next July and we have only one more semester of tuition to pay on my son's college education. We will sell our current house and move to the lake cabin in the Ozarks after retiring.

Post retirement, we have plans to purchase a small travel trailer and snowbird along the gulf coast during the coldest winter months.

Hot Rod, you could be on the show, Escape to the Country. :)

We are looking at retirement very soon, well, dh is. I'm not working this year (I'm a very part-time elementary sub,) but hope to next year if the vaccine actually happens. I guess we've had a little preview since he's been working from home since March; I'm learning to share the space. Ha! We hope to travel a little but otherwise life will probably go on in a similar fashion to how it is now. If dh gets bored, which is very likely, he may take on a consulting job or two. Barring unforeseen health issues, of course.

There are some things I don't see adequately addressed in most guides to retirement, or maybe it's a human trait to ignore our own old age. We plan to be able to afford retirement, but fail to see how our physical abilities will decline and factor that into the plan. (This is probably what JLM said about his wife's frustration as a geriatric nurse practitioner.) Now nearly 80 myself, I'm aware how blind I was -- back when DH retired, and we were merely 'middle aged'.

There are exceptional people who enjoy exceptional health until they simply close their eyes and expire at 100. Think about the word 'exceptional'. It's not me, and probably not you.

We save to afford retirement -- maybe a second home, vacations, travel, hobbies, but that's not the whole nine yards. With age comes diminshed health and expenses for dealing with it: Medical care, maybe assisted living or nursing care. Will your 'forever house' now be too big, with too many stairs, isolated -- unsafe and inappropriate for the older you?

Can you imagine yourself as an older person? It's hard. There are classes for nurses where their arms and legs are tied to restrict movement. Ears are plugged, and they wear glasses blurred with gel. (I don't know how they simulate arthritic pain.) Look more closely at elderly people. What do they enjoy? What do they struggle with? Think about how choices you make now will serve the older you. Enjoy your current vitality...and plan to create a comfortable environment for your future.

I could have retired 2 years ago, have enough time in to get full retirement benefits because I bought back my military time. I'm a federal employee. But there are things I want do to the house and would like to travel and save some more. Not sure what I will do with my house, keep it and travel so that I have a place to come home to? Or, sell it and stay longer in various places? I kind of want to take a couple years while I'm still physically able and live in different places around the world and explore them, live there for about 3 months at a time (I'm pretty sure most of the places I want to go, 3 months is the max for visiting). I really want to go back to Japan and see the northern and southern parts, along with visiting my family again.

I also would love to go back to Germany for a long stay and see the eastern part, where I've never been.

After traveling not sure what I will end up doing, or where I will end up living. My son is moving to England in January. We had planned a trip to Scotland next year but not sure that's going to happen now. Hopefully will be able to go in 2022 to see him and visit Scotland finally. Wish I had gone back in the 80s when I was stationed in Germany, before it was the big tourist destination it has become now.

In the meantime, trying to work out in the garden/yard getting back some strength I've lost after I sprained my ankle and became a chair potato. I really have noticed a difference and not liking it. Being a nurse and taking care of mostly older patients when I worked in the hospital, I noticed the ones who were healthiest were the 80 and 90 year olds who had never been in a hospital before and still worked on their farms. So, I'm going to expand my mini farm here and work in it as much as I can.

Much as I hate to go out into a store, have to go now and find a drill bit big enough to drill a hole in some bourbon barrels I bought recently for planters. They actually made them into the planters but why they didn't drill the holes is beyond me.

I don't ever see me retiring. We never made a lot of money while working so had a hard time putting money aside. If it wasn't for the lawsuit we won, there would be $0 savings in the bank. It paid our house off and all our debt, plus we were able to set aside what to us is a large amount of money. Now that the house and debt are paid for, I've been able to put 1/2 my take home pay into RRSP's and a tax free savings account, so all the money we used to pay things off is finally back in the bank. But it's still not enough to retire on. The government only pays about $1100 for seniors pension after taxes are removed, and I'm still 4 years away from getting that. Household bills takes more than half that amount, then we still have to eat and pay for fuel for our cars. Retire? Not in Canada unless you win a lottery.

The reason the holes were not drilled is because pots were to be put in them so that they last longer. Wood/potting medium against dirt can rapidly rot them.

I have addressed some of the things that chisue mentioned with my niece. Where she lives the estimated assisted living/care home is over $100,000 a year. Here it is around $65,000. If and when I need one my income would pay for the second assuming that it could still be deducted without digging into my savings. If I moved/was moved to where she is within about 5-8 years I would be on Medicaid to cover the difference. I have told her to find me a comfortable place here. For me since March other than I am living at home I am basically living in a old age home of some type. I can not say I care for it but it will make it easier to transition when the time comes.

When she called yesterday she quizzed me about my health right down how is my vision and do I still drive. For many older people being able to see well enough to drive and what to do with living arrangements after that is important. I see more people mentioning wanting to move to a rural area. While some rural areas do have rural transportation many do not.

Maifleur, even if you put pots into the barrels they still need to be able to drain water from the barrel.

Most of what are sold as bourbon barrels are not water tight by the time they have been sawn in half the connections have loosened enough to allow water to slowly seep out. Put some water in one then mark the depth of the water. Come back in a couple of days and see where the water is in relation to the mark. Then the question would be how quickly would water drain from the pot if you did drill holes.

Maifleur, mine are real, in fact my entire garage and car reek right now. I hope I don't get pulled over cause if I do they're going to think I'd been drinking, a lot.

Our plans were derailed and drastically changed by the flood. My husband really had to retire a bit before he had planned just to handle the situation we were in. I have been retired for a while due to medical reasons. We would have liked to have a nice piece of property in the country or outside the city. We knew we had to remain close to the medical centers and my doctors. We are happy and living the life that was dealt to us. We have no debt which is a wonderful thing at our age. But as others have pointed out our health concerns are valid and we never know what to expect next.

We just lost my husband's last brother two days ago. He was a strong healthy man and it was totally unexpected. A tragic accident. And it just brings home the fact we can make the best of plans and it can change in the blink of an eye. Especially these days.

Best wishes to all.

I don't have to imagine myself being old

I am old.

My doctor has always encouraged me to keep going, doing the things I enjoy. I do have arthritis....but I can't sit around and wait to die as long as I can keep moving. I do move slower. I hope when the time comes I can do myself the same favor as I have done for my old horses. I hope it isn't any time soon, but I have given a lot of thought to it and have a plan. Of course, things can change in an instant. I realize that, but I have to keep moving forward, slower as it may be.

raven, how shocking and sad; condolences to your family.

We're 67 and my DH retired at 59 and we had lots of plans. Then my mom was diagnosed with early Dementia and while she didn't live with us I became her advocate and manager of affairs. We finally got her into a facility and then DH's mom needed care and we finally got her into a home (she should have been in care years ago) in January and then covid hit. And then we lost our home in a fire in August and now we're tied to dealing with insurance companies and replacing the house which is probably an 18 - 24 month endeavor.

How is my retirement? It's a s#@t show. But so far, at least we have our health.

(((((((Raven)))) My deepest sympathy to you and husband.

My husband retired and closed his business at the end of last year. I really didn't retire as such, I more just stopped going. I had given my employer a year-and-a-half of notice, so there was no surprise.

Our plans are pretty much on track. We sold our big house and moved to a smaller town in a less expensive area. This year we were supposed to be living on our sailboat, traveling the Chesapeake Bay and the East Coast. Covid-19 put a halt to that, but DH has been spending this summer making some improvements to the boat, so when we are able to travel again we will be ready to go. Hopefully early next year.

He has spent so much time on the boat this year, I told him last week that I've lived in this house for 6 months, but he's only lived in it for 3.😅

Raven, my condolences on the loss of your husband's brother.

Much as I hate to go out into a store, have to go now and find a drill bit big enough to drill a hole in some bourbon barrels I bought recently for planters.

Just sayin' Amazon sells tools.

Blfenton, I read about your ordeal on other forum before it was archived, and hope your rebuilding process will go smoothly to your satisfaction. At least you both don’t have to work and stay healthy to see it through, while also juggling many other duties.

I’ve planed my retirement since my twenties, soon after landing my first job out of college. Everything has gone mostly as planned and I am looking forward to retired early in a few years, but still have decade before collecting SS. My SO will still work awhile to pay off the mortgage. I own my place free and clear and have no debts so will definitely enjoy more time for gardening, traveling and many other hobbies while we’re still in great health. I will keep my professional license active to be able to volunteer in my own time or when duty calls should another pandemic happen. No plan to move anywhere as we have aging parents nearby to look after. This pandemic has affected so many people, and put a lid on our travel plans, among other things, but I’ve learned to live in the here and now. The garden and the flowers have been my saviors during this crazy time. And indoor gardening in my sunroom is going to help me through this winter.

Where are you moving HG? Portugal?

Palisades,

Yes, Portugal. We were in the middle of viewing houses when the pandemic hit, then we finally had a chance to get back there in September and didn’t find something suitable. We were planning a return trip but now everything is shut down so we are stuck. The real estate agent is great, but we are not going to purchase a property without seeing it first.

We need to get somewhere warm. Sure, winter in Canada is great if you happen to be in the middle of a hot flash, but what about the other 23 hours and 55 minutes of the day?

Blfenton,

Take the insurance money and rebuild your house on a tropical island.

I'd hesitate to move permanently to another country. Owning property in Hawaii has been dauting enough. Yes, it's the 50th State, but it's a different culture, even from island to island. I wouldn't expect to feel accepted there, or in many new locales for a very long time, if ever. In a remote location, there would be no expat society.

Most of us on the KT are used to a lot of services in our home nations. There may not be the same basic options abroad -- especially those required as we age. *Living* somewhere is completely different from being a tourist there.

I remember the director of our Visiting Nurse Assn. talking about 'the community' and specific health needs of different populations within it, especially 'the elderly', 'the old', and 'the old old'. While some cultures are traditionally respectful of seniors, attitude isn't everything. Existing medical services may seem primitive to us. Even in Hawaii, people routinely fly to the mainland for medical procedures, or from another island to Honolulu -- for services I have in my suburban hometown.

I live in a mild good weather location and from which few people move away when retirement comes. Those who can afford it often have second homes in more vacation-like locations, whether ski destinations like Lake Tahoe or elsewhere in the Sierra, beach places like SoCal or Hawaii, or something similar.

When I retired, we talked about getting a convenient apartment in one of our favorite European cities so that we could visit more comfortably and for longer stretches of time. We may still do that.

Maybe it's often people who live where the weather is miserable and there can be snow on the ground for parts of a 6 month stretch every year but I've never understood the "drop everything and move away from friends" to somewhere they know no one. Makes no sense to me. If the weather where you spent the majority of your lifetime isn't what you like and you want to get away from it, why did you live there in the first place?

why did you live there in the first place?

First, because my ancestors decided for some misguided reason, that the weather was just fine here so they produced generations until they finally got to me.

Then, to be near my son’s father so he could spend a lot of time with his dad.

Now that he’s grown up, it’s because I love my current job and coworkers.

But as soon as I retire, I plan on blowing this frozen popsicle stand.

It makes sense to me, I guess because I’m not dependent on my friends for my happiness. I have hubby, I have a warm destination, and I have a new adventure to embark upon in life. I’m good to go!!

I have dual nationality, Elmer.

I understand chisue's reluctance to uproot herself and move, but I'd happily move to another country, and have lived more than half my life outside the USA. Yes, some "services" are different. Yes, some countries treat their elderly residents with respect, while others do not. Have you seen how "invisible" the elderly are in, say, New York City? It is heartbreaking to see, if you just sit and watch. If they're not invisible to people, they're treated as obstacles on the sidewalks. The area we're moving to has a strong community of older folks, and the (current) state of healthcare in that area is excellent (and free).

My perspective is probably fairly unique, though. I don't consider the USA to be the be-all, end-all of places to live.

" I don't consider the USA to be the be-all, end-all of places to live."

Oh NO!. Oh my! What a scandalous, rude, disrespectful, embarrassing and traitor-like comment. You ingrate!

I'm native born, several generations away from immigrant ancestors. But with having had the experiences of a lifetime of much foreign travel and the wonderful experience of living like a local in Continental Europe with a private sector job for a number of years,

I AGREE COMPLETELY!!!!!

I don’t think I’ve ever considered moving away from where I live.

I just go with the flow. When it’s winter, I do winter stuff. When it’s summer, I do summer stuff.

I love to travel, but I love being at home, too.

Rox,

I grew up in Northern Alberta. The cold never bothered me when I was a kid. Even in my 20’s, 30’s...

Now, I just don’t enjoy it.

HG, I get it.

I’m still growing up in Northern Alberta but I love it. I truly enjoy winter...and spring, and summer and fall.

eta There’s an old Cree saying that goes something like this, “thank goodness we don’t see all things the same way or everyone would want my woman.”

Retire what! It doesn't look like it's in our vocabulary, the cards, in the bank money wise or in my husband's sights at all. Oh well there are worse things than never retiring... Can't think of any right now but I'm sure there are. What's not to love about dog training and walking till you fall over. I have officially quit cleaning except for for one client. Covid and maybe Covid and covid had a lot to do with my decision. I am definitely being hurt by covid 19 financially.

I am retired but looking forward to getting my old age pension so I can do more things around my house, maybe take a few trips. My brother is going to be 76 this week, semi retired but still works 4 days a week but in his spare time he has set up a woodworking shop in my basement and turns out wonderful planes and jets of different sizes and types made of wood and wooden shelves that look like canoes. He makes them, then gives them away. They are so good I told him he should start selling them on Facebook Marketplace locally.

for us, retirement will be in Canada, for healthcare reasons (we're in the US now, but he's Canadian so that was always our plan). we hate yardwork, so it'll probably be a condo or townhouse in a neighborhood that has the amenities close by.

I insist on living in high walk score areas, and it will be even more important to us when we're old. I see myself being that old lady who's seen dragging a wheelie cart to all of my errands, and that's how I get my daily "exercise".

ILoveMod, retire to Windsor, Ontario, specifically the Riverside area. We have an excellent walking score. Beautiful walking trails everywhere and stores within walking distance. Plus being close to the US border

@ILoveMod - I want a wheelie cart in the worst way! My dear 90-year-old friend in London uses hers every day for her trips to the neighborhood Tesco. :) She's such a hoot, and I aspire to be as active and fit as she is!

We were ahead of the curve, hot rod. When we lived in Europe as a then childless late 20-something to early 30-something couple, we took a wheelie cart the several blocks to the neighborhood shopping street where we could get a lot of our day to day food needs. We haven't used one since, we've been in suburbia. They're very useful and speak to the advantages of urban living.

Cherryfizz I'll take that into consideration for sure! but we really love the west coast (we're in seattle right now). I absolutely can't stand the idea of living with snowy winters, and also BC will put us in closer proximity to my sister in Portland OR. But my husband's family is all in Toronto, so who knows, maybe we'll brave the snow to be closer to them.

also...I've been looking at housing prices in Vancouver BC, and YIKES.

Hot Rod get one! I noticed that all over Europe, young people use them too. it's just what they do!

currently we're just over a mile from the grocery store, so we find backpacks to be easier. or we drive, which I hate.

LOL - I have a wicker handbasket that I use in Germany, and I just use my Bags for Life in the UK. My husband says I'm "too young" for the wheelie cart, yet. :)

Get a tricycle! There are only 6 left at Walmart! :-)

https://www.walmart.com/ip/3-Wheeled-Adult-Tricycle-Foldable-Basket-26-Wheels-For-Men-Women-Cruise-Bike-Exercise-Bike-Recreation-Shopping-Water-Proof-Bag-Classic-Bicycle-bell/871476658?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=14427&&adid=22222222227322878891&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=402110793969&wl4=pla-847270783663&wl5=9005550&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=118770228&wl11=online&wl12=871476658&veh=sem

haha, I wish! unfortunately my city is full of steep hills and crummy sidewalks / cramped streets and really bad drivers. too scary and difficult for a bike. I tried it one summer and let's just say... never again.

I don't mean to be a drag here. I just know that I was caught unawares by accelerating physical disabilities as I aged past 70. Maybe there's an cartoon character timeline for this -- more incremental than the Baby to Centenarian in just five steps. (This awareness came well before I was diagnosed with a cancer; it was just 'normal aging', according to my doctors.)

It could be that we can't comprehend our future physical limitations by age 80 when we are retiring. I don't see a need for most people to go directly from a Raising A Family home to buy-in Senior Living that will see you through to Hospice. However, you don't want to sink everything into a place that will uncomfortable and unsafe by the time you're 75. You'll be even less able to make *another* move then.

Chisue,

I can understand what you are saying, especially considering your condition.

I think for me, I would rather take the chance of living in a place I like, then making another move later if needed. Even if I sink money into a “fun” place to live, I would be willing to take the trade off of being forced to move later.

Between DD being diagnosed with breast cancer and COVID, our retirement plans are fluid. We are in our mid 60's and had planned to split our time between FL, NH and ME. We had also hoped to at some point to boat the Grand Loop. As of now, DD and her three year old are living with us and we are helping support them so retirement is on hold.

Our goal is or was to pass our business on to the children, work part time helping them out, spending time in our other homes and traveling. Doesn't look like that is going to happen anytime soon. My parents aged in place until they passed and my in laws are 90+ and still live in the family home so that is our plan. Our primary home is a ranch that we have been slowly renovating to accomodate us as we age.

If anything happens to my DH, all bets are off. I can't manage a business, rental properties and multiple homes without him. The kids are great and they can manage most of the business but I would defnitely have to liquidate some things. I have two very close friends and we have plans in place if one or all of us lose our husbands. I am grateful we started making those plans many years ago.