Hi, I am... Dreaming of ER

[Sheryl]

Hi there all -

This seems to be a great forum! I've been enjoying browsing around, while I should be working (UGH, work! :-/)

I'm 43 my S.O. is 48, and we're both burned out and ready to ER, or at least scale way back. We think we have skills to freelance anywhere, if the money doesn't last, or we get bored.

We've just started thinking and planning in a more serious way in the past year or so, and are always intersted in hearing/reading about others' experiences.

I'm curious whether there are any forum sections related to particular areas for retirement? I didn't see anything but I haven't browsed every folder. We've been looking into the Pacific Coast of Mexico and would be interested in hearing from anyone there who is retired there either full or part time.

Looking forward to cruising the boards, and getting to know some of you.

[BigMoneyJim]

Hi Sheryl,

Most of the "places to retire" are in "Lifestyles in Retirement", but some are scattered about elsewhere, like maybe Costs of Retirement Live and certainly in a few of the "Hi, I am..." posts turn into discussions of where to live.

Every now and then I think about creating an index of what info is where, but then I realize that's more work, and I'm here to strive to get out of work.

[Sheryl]

Thanks for the guidance Jim. I've found a lot of good stuff there, and everywhere on the site.

One of the better ones I've seen, to navigate.

Thanks again!

[Traveler]

Hi Sheryl:
Best of luck to you with your early retirement dreams! I'm counting down the months until I get out. Figure that 27 years of full-time work is enough.

If you're considering a run for the border, look at the town of Loreto in Baja California. It's being positioned as the next "great place" for Americans to retire. A beautiful spot on the Sea of Cortez, a little more than half-way down the Baja Peninsula. My boyfriend (retired travel reporter) and I have seen a lot of places in our many years of globe-trotting (I was a television travel writer for 11 years). Baja tops of the list of places we'd consider for pretty much full-time living.

One caveat: Baja tends to be more expensive than the "mainland" of Mexico. This in part to the fact that commodities such as food need to be imported. Baja is one of the few places in Mexico without a primarily agriculture-based economy. We found that Los Cabos (where we've spent time for both work and pleasure) tends to be as pricy as vacationing state-side. As a friend of mine said, "In Cabos you'll find the price-gouging of Paris combined with the poverty of Mexico." While something of an overstatement, it gives one pause when thinking about ER south-of-the-border.

[Sheryl]

Hi Traveler - thanks for your comments - I have a friend who loves Baja, Unfortunately I don't remember the exact locations he talked about. If you've traveled as a career and still recommend the area, that says a lot!

I know what you mean about the lifestyle in Mexico as well. We plan to do a lot of exploring before we actually settle anywhere (if we ever do!)

[AltaRed]

About 6 years ago when I was part of a group running the Baja in dune buggies, I found La Pas (or La Paz) in the Baja to be a very interesting place for possible retirement. Beautiful big town (small city) with many conveniences where it appeared many retirees from Mexico and USA had located. About 100 miles or so north of Los Cabos I believe.

[Sheryl]

Near La Pas is near the tiny little undiscovered town my friend talked about. It is Cabo "something" (not THE CABO, ie. San Lucas) he said there is an incredible reef there - one of the best he'd seen for snorkeling. Time for an exploratory trip I think. We are hoping to spend all of November in Mexico, but probably want to stay put and relax some of the time.

[cute fuzzy bunny]

That might be Cabo Pulmo (I think I spelled that right).

I made the acquaintance of a rather large and curious hammerhead there once upon a time.

Fortunately I wasnt wearing an expensive wetsuit and the stains came out.

"Large and curious hammerhead"...............sounds like a
girl I once dated.

John Galt