Greetings from the beach

[BoodaGazelle]

I guess I already know the answer to "can I retire early?" (at 61): yes. But that is not the same as actually doing it, and as I will be getting laid off in May, I am going to do it. I found this forum by looking for snowbird info, as I will be splitting my time between our main home in Florida and a summer home in Rhode Island.

I have been a computer programmer for 36 years, and have done pretty well. I have been married for 35 years this year. I am looking forward to doing more bird-watching and playing my guitar (Fender American Strat)...

Glad to be a part of this group!

 

[panacea]

Welcome to the forum BoodaGazelle. Condolences and congratulations on your lay off / retirement. Sounds like you already have everything in good order so all you have to do is enjoy!

 

[BoodaGazelle]

Thank you, panacea. No condolences necessary.
It is a funny thing about human nature. It is still hard to imagine this being real, despite my being very well set!

 

[Dawg52]

Congrats! Do you have a weekend band you play with? I have a buddy who does this and it's a fun hobby for him. He picks up some pocket change in the process.

 

[BoodaGazelle]

No... the only person who has to hear my screechings is my wife. Maybe if I were good enough I would change my mind, however. Thanks!

 

[Montecfo]

Booda, congrats and welcome to the forum.

Love to hear more about your home strategy. Are you from Florida, RI, or somewhere else?

 

[BoodaGazelle]

No. Born and raised in Louisville, KY. Went to WKU in Bowling Green, KY. I went to greater Boston in '78 for an ill-advised grad school, but ended up as an entry-level programmer at a bank. I maneuvered to software engineering with stints at Wang, Digital Equipment, and 3 startups, one of which was acquired by Alcatel, so I did ok. The wife also worked in high tech, for companies like Sybase, but she retired when my other company was acquired (funny how that works). We lived in southern NH for most of my career, but bought a 2nd home in Narragansett, RI in 1995 instead of a bigger house for us (no kids). We bought a condo in St Pete with some of the equity proceeds, then sold the house in NH... I ended up working for Bright House Networks (now Charter) in Tampa for the last 6+ years....

So that is my story.

 

[Montecfo]

Surfing the proprietary computing/consolidation wave. Sounds pretty interesting. I was also born on Louisville, but spent my career mostly in Texas and Northern Va.

Hope you are enjoying the beach and again welcome.

 

[BoodaGazelle]

Thanks, Montecfo... Doss '74

 

[FiveDriver]

Welcome and Congrats Booda. What are you plugging that Strat into ?? Got a favorite Guitarist ?? Now your chance to watch all the youtube videos of Eric Clapton or Stevie Ray Vaughn.

 

[BoodaGazelle]

I have not graduated to a tube amp, although my teacher wants me to. I have a small Mustang mini, mostly for space reasons, although I like the ability to feed in from an MP3 via the auxiliary jack. And I am a big blues fan, mostly SRV and BB King, but I like Clapton's blues stuff as well. Also love rockabilly, like Johnny Burnette (The Train kept a Rollin') and Gene Vincent (Race with the Devil).

 

[Katiek]

Welcome, look forward to hearing more from you in the future!

 

[Aerides]

Congrats - did the layoff come with a pretty nice package, given your tenure?

 

[gregory r.]

DW and I purchased a condo 3 years back on Blind Pass, just down from Sea Hags, not there full time , still in MD but get there 5-6 times a year....luv it. B-T-W also luv Brighthouse C/S, best I ever dealt with......1.5 years to go

 

[MBAustin]

Welcome! If you haven't found them already, we have a helpful list of things to think about before your last day at w*rk:

https://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f47/some-important-questions-to-answer-before-asking-can-i-retire-69999.html

And feel free to join the Class of 2017!

 

[Pellice]

Careful with the amplification, Booda! You need your hearing for birdwatching. I'm hoping to join you in birding in Florida in a few years. I never thought I'd like Florida, went for a birding trip in 2011, and knew instantly I'd move there some time after retirement. My habit is bad enough that I intend to pick an area based on how good the migration flyway is (that most likely means SW Florida). I love steamy weather with afternoon thunderstorms.