Confirmed my decision to RE last night.

[LeapDay2012]

A lot of my former work coleagues do happy hours at Rough Draft or Green Flash and wonder why I don't join them more often. It is precisely for the reason noted by Rodi. Perhaps we have the same former employer. I'm always happy to meet at Culture of Pizza Port in Solana Beach if they are willing to head north a bit. Also, they have to accept that I only go to lunch at 11:30 or 1:30 --- before or after the masses hit the good lunch spots.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

A lot of my former work coleagues do happy hours at Rough Draft or Green Flash and wonder why I don't join them more often. It is precisely for the reason noted by Rodi. Perhaps we have the same former employer. I'm always happy to meet at Culture of Pizza Port in Solana Beach if they are willing to head north a bit. Also, they have to accept that I only go to lunch at 11:30 or 1:30 --- before or after the masses hit the good lunch spots.

+1 on lunch time as well. I make it a habit to not eat lunch any earlier than 1:30...It's just too crazy from 11-1.

Sent from my mobile device so please excuse grammatical errors.

 

[Walt34]

Now it would be just over $26. I don't miss that, either.

Yeow! How do people do that? Just under $800/month for commuting expenses? I can't imagine having to deal with that.

Around here that's a house payment.

 

[scrabbler1]

Yeow! How do people do that? Just under $800/month for commuting expenses? I can't imagine having to deal with that.

Around here that's a house payment.

I should point out that it would cost me $26 per day to commute to work if I were still working only because I was working part-time, only 2 days a week. This left me unable to take advantage of most discounts available such as buying a monthly unlimited ticket on the LIRR. Today, that monthly would cost me $242 which, averaged out over 22 weekdays, would be $11 per day. Add to that the just over $4 per day on the PATH trains, would cost me about $15 per day together.

Working the number of days per month I did in my most of part-time years (10-12 per month for a few years, 8 per month in other years), made it more costly per trip. My marginal cost had I worked a few more days per month would have dropped a lot with the switch to a monthly LIRR pass (a rush-hour, round-trip ticket costs $22, or 1/11th of a monthly).

Another way to put this into perspective: In 2000, the last year I worked full-time, and used the LIRR and NYC Subway to get to work, I paid $2,200 in commutation expenses. In 2007, when I worked 5 months at 3 days a week and 7 months at 2 days a week (mostly using per-trip LIRR tickets, not discounted monthlies), I paid $2,230 in commutation expenses for only 118 working days, or just under $19 per day.

For people who live further east of NYC, their monthly LIRR tickets rise from $242 in my area (pretty close to NYC) to $276 to $325 to $363 and beyond. And that doesn't count the NYC Subway/Bus or PATH which would add $80-$110 more per month, or any parking fee at the LIRR station. So I guess it begins to approach a monthly rental if you think about it!

 

[Walt34]

Okay, that makes a bit more sense. Still an expensive commute though.

 

[Meadbh]

The PATH train was the lesser or my two evils, or trains, I used for the last 7 years of working. It was the shorter of my two train rides and it was a reverse commute, going from 33rd Street to Pavonia/Newport in the AM and back to 33rd Street in the PM.

I did hear about PATH's problems last week and was glad I did not have to deal with them. There were several times in those 7 years I was detoured onto the WTC PATH line, sometimes from PATH and other times from no LIRR service into Penn Station, forcing met go to Brooklyn then take a subway to the WTC. A few times, I could not take a PATH train to Pavonia/Newport so I either had to go to Hoboken or Exchange Place and take the Light Rail to P/N. In that latter case I once took FIVE different trains to get to work - 2 LIRR trains ("change at Jamaica") to get to Brooklyn, then the NYC Subway, then PATH, then Light Rail! I was in a foul mood when I got to work that morning LOL!

After the 9/11 attacks, PATH was crippled with no service into lower Manhattan until November, 2003. My ride wsn't impacted directly but the trains were more crowded. At least I was mostly telecommuting so it was 12 days a week going to Jersey. I once had a PATH card machine steal my $20 bill and shut down without giving me a card (this was before only merchants sold those cards). I was made whole.

I remember one day in 2007 I went to Penn Station and the 33rd Street PATH station only to learn there was no PATH service to NJ due to flooding from heavy rains. I wasn't going to find a ferry or swim across the Hudson or take a costly taxi to the office so I just got back on the LIRR and went home. Cost me $15 and a vacation day and running around outside in the rain for nothing. I was in a foul mood.

Hurricane Sandy in November 2012 crippled the PATH trains for a while. Sandy also shut down the LIRR's Long Beach branch (one of 2 branches I could use for my LIRR trip) for a while, so a trip from LI to NJ would have included two nightmares.

PATH fares were always lower than the NYC Subway. The gap is shrinking, huh? I see it is going to cost $42 for a 20-trip card. The last time I used PATH in 2008 it was $26 for a 20-trip card, just raised from $24. My total commuting cost per day on both trains was about $20 per day when I ERed. Now it would be just over $26. I don't miss that, either.

This sounds ghastly. I don't know how you (or anyone) could put up with this, day in, day out.

 

[Sea Kayaker]

What made me desperate to retire at 42? Well, it wasn't the commute (Scrabbler, that's insanity). I had a company truck with a gas card, so not only did my commute cost me nothing over 20+ years, it actually paid me because I used the company truck on weekends as much as possible.

No it was the ACTUAL JOB that made me retire. The commute (probably averaged around 40 minutes one way over my career) was the BEST part of my job.

 

[meekie]

The ebb and flow for traffic and busy lunch spots has been really interesting to me over my 18 years in Sorrento Valley. It got really crowded during the dot com bubble, all the buildings were full, people were doubled up in cubes, and going out to lunch was impossible between 12-1. The traffic was horrendous as well, but then the bubble burst, traffic lightened up, and tons more lunch places opened up. The new construction on the 805 on ramps is starting to help, but there's still a few hot spots that are hard to get through.

Going to lunch at noon isn't too bad now, but there's more and more buildings going up, so I know it's just gonna get worse around here for the forseeable future.

 

[robnplunder]

The only thing I'll miss about Silicon Valley are some of the good restaurants I like. Other than that, I've grown to loathe this place.

Ditto. When I leave the area, I am going to miss the restaurants more than anything.

 

[RetiredAndFree]

Ditto. When I leave the area, I am going to miss the restaurants more than anything.

Am genuinely curious about how those of you looking to leave metro areas feel you'll fare in quieter, more rural areas? In all of our US travels over the years, I find that while I enjoy visiting quieter areas, I really couldn't live in any of them. The things that make a metro area frenetic are the exact things that make them enjoyable to me - outstanding weather (at least in the case of coastal California), outstanding sports, entertainment and theater venues, and wonderful restaurants. Avoiding traffic, the biggest complaint for most, is pretty easy in ER.

Do you all really think adjusting to a loss of one or more of these will be feasible once you've become accustomed to them? I rather envy you if so, as I just don't see leaving my 'nice' metro area for life in the less expensive country, or interior states.

 

[Jay_Gatsby]

Am genuinely curious about how those of you looking to leave metro areas feel you'll fare in quieter, more rural areas? In all of our US travels over the years, I find that while I enjoy visiting quieter areas, I really couldn't live in any of them. The things that make a metro area frenetic are the exact things that make them enjoyable to me - outstanding weather (at least in the case of coastal California), outstanding sports, entertainment and theater venues, and wonderful restaurants. Avoiding traffic, the biggest complaint for most, is pretty easy in ER.

Do you all really think adjusting to a loss of one or more of these will be feasible once you've become accustomed to them? I rather envy you if so, as I just don't see leaving my 'nice' metro area for life in the less expensive country, or interior states.

I don't want to derail the thread into where is the "best" place to retire for someone currently living and w*rking in a metro area. Suffice it to say, the best place to retire is somewhere that you're happy to live. I think all of us would agree that anywhere with traffic jams (for no reason) isn't that place. Then again, if you're retired and can stay off the roads during peak hours, then maybe you can retire in place.

 

[Totoro]

Do you all really think adjusting to a loss of one or more of these will be feasible once you've become accustomed to them? I rather envy you if so, as I just don't see leaving my 'nice' metro area for life in the less expensive country, or interior states.

I've been wondering about this for myself.

There is a swimming pool, three supermarkets, a few theatres, lively restaurant scene from all over the world and a very large library and a fitness area all within walking distance or a 5 minute bike ride through the city.

Then again, I love nature and e-books are easy to get, I rarely eat out anyway and maybe I can find a nice spot near a river to swim in

Pretty conflicted.

 

[MRG]

Am genuinely curious about how those of you looking to leave metro areas feel you'll fare in quieter, more rural areas? In all of our US travels over the years, I find that while I enjoy visiting quieter areas, I really couldn't live in any of them. The things that make a metro area frenetic are the exact things that make them enjoyable to me - outstanding weather (at least in the case of coastal California), outstanding sports, entertainment and theater venues, and wonderful restaurants. Avoiding traffic, the biggest complaint for most, is pretty easy in ER.

Do you all really think adjusting to a loss of one or more of these will be feasible once you've become accustomed to them? I rather envy you if so, as I just don't see leaving my 'nice' metro area for life in the less expensive country, or interior states.

We moved to a midwest metro area for economic opportunities. Have no family within 1500 miles. The times we've enjoyed the most here, we lived in rural or semi-rural areas. No, this is not California coast, I would not like all the congestion.

I keep asking myself, why am I here? I enjoy the big city things, but I feel I could do that 1000 other places. All that said we've been looking for 4 years and have yet to find a place we both would enjoy.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

 

[EastWest Gal]

Ditto. When I leave the area, I am going to miss the restaurants more than anything.

Food is food, and there is much better local produce and great restaurants outside of the Valley. There are no farms left in the Valley, I am old enough to remember the cherry orchards that are now gone. It just means more places to explore. I left the area 15 years ago. Have found many amazing restaurants elsewhere. Our little town in Central PA boasts a a Greek restaurant I'm dying to try. I had grilled kangaroo at one of my favorite local places two weeks ago. We have found much more fresh local produce type places elsewhere. Washington DC boasts some of the best Ethiopian restaurants around, for example.

We visited Silicon Valley 3 years ago and was not that impressed, actually.

Don't worry, excellent restaurant adventures await you wherever you go.

You won't miss the ridiculous gas prices, the smog, the traffic, or the hype.

 

[RetiredAndFree]

I don't want to derail the thread into where is the "best" place to retire for someone currently living and w*rking in a metro area. Suffice it to say, the best place to retire is somewhere that you're happy to live. I think all of us would agree that anywhere with traffic jams (for no reason) isn't that place. Then again, if you're retired and can stay off the roads during peak hours, then maybe you can retire in place.

Definitely not my intention to evolve this into a 'best place to live' debate. More a response to the multiple references in this thread of 'getting the heck out of Dodge' once ER is initiated. Am sincere in asking how realistic that really is for those that may be more accustomed to the stimulation and pace of a metro area than they realize. I know that in our case we've been surprised at how much we crave certain aspects of metro life after many weeks/months of exploring quieter corners. Once the issue of commuting was eliminated, we were more easily able to enjoy the good while avoiding the bad.

To be fair, I should have kept weather out of the discussion altogether.

 

[LeapDay2012]

For many of us who ER, retiring in place is the only acceptable option. I have two kids in high school in the community where they have grown up and have every intention of letting them finish their upbringing with the community they know and at a school that has been outstanding for both of them. Now, once both have left the roost, revisiting the question of just how much aggravation (traffic, expense, etc.) is worth putting up with will need to be revisited. For us, climate, coastal access, great food, active lifestyle are the reasons we moved here in the first place (North County SD area), so the alternatives are a bit limited. The only contender in my mind might be the Central Coast (north or south of San Luis Obispo like Shell Beach or Cambria or surrounding areas are possibilities.)

 

[LoneAspen]

Am genuinely curious about how those of you looking to leave metro areas feel you'll fare in quieter, more rural areas?

The most rural area I've lived was in Teller County, Colorado, where my house was in a subdivision on 2-acre lots (not really that large, you can still see neighboring homes) about 45 mins west of Colorado Springs. I loved it, except for two downsides:

1. Grocery store can be 20-30 drive if you need something, or worse, you forget something on the drive home from work, and have to go out again.

2. Reliable, fast, broadband internet connectivity restricts where I can live. Fast internet access is a MUST-have utility for me now, just like electricity and water. I'm restricted to only buying homes in areas that have hard-wired (no satellite or wireless) cable modem or DSL.

I would always want to be within at least an hour to 90 minutes from a major city, because I do enjoy taking advantage of things in a city. I just don't want to live right in it, nor the suburbs.

If/when I move from Silicon Valley back to Colorado, I'm probably going to shoot for the mountain areas west of Denver along the I-70 corridor, like Evergreen or Genesee. That would give me enough of a living-in-the-mountain feel, while still being close to a major city.

At one time, I thought about trying to live way off in a rural area on a lot of acreage (like 50 or 100 acres) but I think I'd get too bored. That might be okay for a weekend or vacation getaway, but I don't think I could live in such a remote rural place permanently.

 

[robnplunder]

Am genuinely curious about how those of you looking to leave metro areas feel you'll fare in quieter, more rural areas? In all of our US travels over the years, I find that while I enjoy visiting quieter areas, I really couldn't live in any of them. The things that make a metro area frenetic are the exact things that make them enjoyable to me - outstanding weather (at least in the case of coastal California), outstanding sports, entertainment and theater venues, and wonderful restaurants. Avoiding traffic, the biggest complaint for most, is pretty easy in ER.

Do you all really think adjusting to a loss of one or more of these will be feasible once you've become accustomed to them? I rather envy you if so, as I just don't see leaving my 'nice' metro area for life in the less expensive country, or interior states.

For me, yes. Although I live in near metro area, I pretty much stay home, play golf, or travel away from the area. I.e, I don't get much benefit of staying in metro area. Sure, there were times when we frequented SF, Oakland, San Jose for various reasons (Symphony, Baseball, exotic food, site seeing, ...). But those years are behind me.

 

[robnplunder]

Food is food, and there is much better local produce and great restaurants outside of the Valley. There are no farms left in the Valley, I am old enough to remember the cherry orchards that are now gone. It just means more places to explore. I left the area 15 years ago. Have found many amazing restaurants elsewhere. Our little town in Central PA boasts a a Greek restaurant I'm dying to try. I had grilled kangaroo at one of my favorite local places two weeks ago. We have found much more fresh local produce type places elsewhere. Washington DC boasts some of the best Ethiopian restaurants around, for example.

We visited Silicon Valley 3 years ago and was not that impressed, actually.

Don't worry, excellent restaurant adventures await you wherever you go.

You won't miss the ridiculous gas prices, the smog, the traffic, or the hype.

Good to know. We eat much more healthier at home. So, not frequenting the restaurants will help our health and pocket if it comes to that.

 

[Willers]

The PATH train was the lesser or my two evils, or trains, I used for the last 7 years of working. It was the shorter of my two train rides and it was a reverse commute, going from 33rd Street to Pavonia/Newport in the AM and back to 33rd Street in the PM.

I did hear about PATH's problems last week and was glad I did not have to deal with them. There were several times in those 7 years I was detoured onto the WTC PATH line, sometimes from PATH and other times from no LIRR service into Penn Station, forcing met go to Brooklyn then take a subway to the WTC. A few times, I could not take a PATH train to Pavonia/Newport so I either had to go to Hoboken or Exchange Place and take the Light Rail to P/N. In that latter case I once took FIVE different trains to get to work - 2 LIRR trains ("change at Jamaica") to get to Brooklyn, then the NYC Subway, then PATH, then Light Rail! I was in a foul mood when I got to work that morning LOL!

After the 9/11 attacks, PATH was crippled with no service into lower Manhattan until November, 2003. My ride wsn't impacted directly but the trains were more crowded. At least I was mostly telecommuting so it was 12 days a week going to Jersey. I once had a PATH card machine steal my $20 bill and shut down without giving me a card (this was before only merchants sold those cards). I was made whole.

I remember one day in 2007 I went to Penn Station and the 33rd Street PATH station only to learn there was no PATH service to NJ due to flooding from heavy rains. I wasn't going to find a ferry or swim across the Hudson or take a costly taxi to the office so I just got back on the LIRR and went home. Cost me $15 and a vacation day and running around outside in the rain for nothing. I was in a foul mood.

Hurricane Sandy in November 2012 crippled the PATH trains for a while. Sandy also shut down the LIRR's Long Beach branch (one of 2 branches I could use for my LIRR trip) for a while, so a trip from LI to NJ would have included two nightmares.

PATH fares were always lower than the NYC Subway. The gap is shrinking, huh? I see it is going to cost $42 for a 20-trip card. The last time I used PATH in 2008 it was $26 for a 20-trip card, just raised from $24. My total commuting cost per day on both trains was about $20 per day when I ERed. Now it would be just over $26. I don't miss that, either.

Ugh. That was my future if I hadn't left LI when I did. My sympathies to you for enduring that.